On this day in 1921, The Battle of Annual was fought at Annual, in northeastern Morocco, between the Spanish Army and Riffian Berbers during the Rif War. The Spanish suffered a major military defeat, which is almost always referred to by the Spanish as the Disaster of Annual and is widely considered to be the worst defeat ever suffered by the modern Spanish Army.
It resulted in major political crises, the fall of several governments, a military dictatorship led by Miguel Primo de Rivera, the abdication of King Alfonso XIII and a complete reassessment of the Spanish colonial policy toward the Rif as the entire Spanish colonial enterprise was at one point threatened. The Spaniards may have lost up to 22,000 soldiers at Annual and in the subsequent fighting.
Berbers carrying captured rifles. A Spanish Mauser and a French Berthier Carbine
I meant to post this yesterday, but here it is… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbI_awR4CKE
