Battle of Douar Souadek

In the early morning hours of 1 November 1954, FLN maquisards (guerrillas) attacked military and civilian targets throughout Algeria in what became known as the Toussaint Rouge (Red All-Saints' Day).{{Cite book|last=Solidarity|first=Permanent Organization for Afro-Asian Peoples'|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=su5AAAAAYAAJ&q=November+1954+Algeria|title=The Algerian Revolution: (1st November 1954-31 December 1961)|date=1962|publisher=Organisation for Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity|language=en}} The country was divided into several Zones, later Wilayas, and each had a leader. The leader of Zone II, was Mourad Didouche,{{Cite book|last=Tarvin|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CtaPBQAAQBAJ&q=mourad+didouche&pg=RA1-PA65|title=The Mysterious Plus|publisher=William L Tarvin|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Vince|first=Natalya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9LAHEAAAQBAJ&q=mourad+didouche+Zone+2&pg=PA64|title=The Algerian War, The Algerian Revolution|date=2020-11-07|publisher=Springer Nature|isbn=978-3-030-54264-1|language=en}} who was one of the six founders of the FLN.{{Cite book|last=Adamson|first=Kay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0N08WVek5hcC&q=Mourad+Didouche+FLN&pg=PA77|title=Algeria: A Study in Competing Ideologies|date=1998-01-01|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-304-70012-7|language=en}} He regularly used hit and run tactics to weaken local French elements, and he was also well known to visit individual maquis, to inspect, or train them.

On 18 January 1955, Mourad Didouche, was at the head of a group of nine Fellaghas, in a local maquis called Douar Souadek located 12 km from the town of Condé-Smendou. He was most likely training them. They were armed with 6 rifles, and 6 pistols. According to the details reported by the La Dépêche de Constantine newspaper, about twenty French gendarmes led by Lieutenant Malherbe had taken the direction of Douar Souadek in the dawn of 18 January 1955. On the spot, near the Boukerker wadi, they were ambushed by the aforementioned maquis.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

According to La Dépêche de Constantine, the battle began around 8:30 am. After only a few shots fired, a French gendarme was killed, and two others wounded, while the Algerians suffered no casualties. Seeing the scale of the engagement, Lieutenant Malherbe asked for reinforcements. At the end of the morning, three gendarmerie platoons arrived from Constantine, Azzaba and El Harrouch, followed by two CRS companies, and reportedly a paratrooper one under the command of Paul Ducournau.{{Cite book|last=Horne|first=Alistair|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f4-UHiZTlpMC&q=Since+the+death+in+January%2C+at+the+hands+of+Ducournau%E2%80%99s+paras%2C+of+Mourad&pg=PP110|title=A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962|date=2012-08-09|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-1-4472-3343-5|language=en}}

Despite their initial successes, the ten Fellaghas got cornered by the numerically superior, and far better armed French units. Despite this, they resisted until about 5:15 pm. By the end of the battle 7 fellaghas died, two were wounded, and one was able to escape, albeit wounded.{{Cite web|title=18 janvier 1955 - bataille du douar Souadek à Constantine : Défendre la mémoire de Didouche Mourad {{!}} El Watan|url=https://www.elwatan.com/pages-hebdo/histoire/18-janvier-1955-bataille-du-douar-souadek-a-constantine-defendre-la-memoire-de-didouche-mourad-16-01-2020|access-date=2020-12-27|website=www.elwatan.com}} One of the killed was Mourad Didouche himself.{{Cite book|last=Simon|first=Georges|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q6EhAAAAMAAJ&q=douar+souadek+mourad|title=1954-1962, l'autre guerre d'Algérie: car assuré d'une vie éternelle|date=1988|publisher=Pensée universelle|isbn=978-2-214-07572-2|language=fr}}{{Cite web|date=2017-01-18|title=Cela s'est passé un 18 janvier 1955: Mort de Didouche Mourad à la bataille du douar Souadek - Algerie360|url=https://www.algerie360.com/cela-sest-passe-un-18-janvier-1955-mort-de-didouche-mourad-a-la-bataille-du-douar-souadek/|access-date=2020-12-27|website=www.algerie360.com|language=fr}}{{Cite web|title=Constantine : Commémoration du 65 ème Anniversaire du décès du Chahid Didouche Mourad {{!}} Radio Algérienne|url=https://www.radioalgerie.dz/news/fr/article/20200118/188557.html|access-date=2020-12-27|website=www.radioalgerie.dz|language=fr}}

Ever since the beginning of the Organisation spéciale, all officers and leaders had Pseudonyms, as to avoid identification. As such, the French army never realized that one of the killed resistance fighters was Mourad,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwGqDAAAQBAJ&q=douar+souadek+mourad&pg=PA71|title=Image, Mémoire, Histoire.: Les représentations iconographiques en Algérie et au Maghreb|date=2006-12-01|publisher=Crasc|isbn=978-9961-813-31-7|language=fr}} as they thought that it was instead somebody called Abdelkader.

• Operation Véronique
• Ambush of Palestro

{{coord missing|Algeria}}

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Category:1955 in the Algerian War

Category:Battles of the Algerian War

Category:History of Constantine Province

Category:January 1955 in Africa