Mers El Kébir
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Mers El Kébir ( ar, المرسى الكبير, translit=al-Marsā al-Kabīr, lit=The Great Harbor ) is a port on the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
, near Oran in
Oran Province Oran Province ( ar, ولاية وهران, ) is a province (''wilayah'') in Algeria whose seat is the city of the same name. Geography It is located in the northwestern part of the country. Its population is 1,584,607 and it covers a total area ...
, northwest
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
. It is famous for the attack on the French fleet in 1940, in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.


History

Originally a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
port called ''Portus Divinus'', Mers-el-Kébir became an
Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire fou ...
naval arsenal in the 12th century, fell under the rulers of the
Kingdom of Tlemcen The Kingdom of Tlemcen or Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen ( ar, الزيانيون) was a Berber kingdom in what is now the northwest of Algeria. Its territory stretched from Tlemcen to the Chelif bend and Algiers, and at its zenith reached Sijil ...
in the 13th century, and eventually became a center of pirate activity around 1492. It was fought over by the Ottoman Turks, Portuguese (defeated in the 1501 Battle of Mers El Kebir by Abu Abdallah IV) and Spanish (defeated in the 1507 Battle of Mers-el-Kébir by Abu Abd Allah V), with the Spanish (who named it ''Mazalquivir'') capturing it in 1505 under
Cardinal Cisneros Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
. Mazalquivir was the base used to capture neighbouring Oran in 1509. The Spanish held both cities until 1708, when they were driven out by
Bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
Mustapha Ben Youssef Mustapha Bouchelaghem, also known as Bey Bouchelaghem was the Bey of the Western Beylik from 1686 to 1734/37. Origins and early life Mustapha, born as Mustapha ben Youcef was the son of an Algerian Arabic man called Youcef el-Mesrati, a noble ...
(also known as ''Bouchelaghem''). The Spanish returned in 1732 when the armada of the Duke of Montemar was victorious in the Battle of Aïn-el-Turk and again took Oran and Mazalquivir. Both cities were held until 1792, when they were sold by King Carlos IV to the
Dey of Algiers Dey (Arabic: داي), from the Turkish honorific title ''dayı'', literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 o ...
following a siege by the forces of the Dey. The French occupied it in 1830, and renamed it Saint André de Mers-el-Kébir, enhancing the port in 1868 with an eponymous lighthouse; the latter was destroyed in World War II.


World War II

Following the German defeat of France in 1940, a portion of the French fleet became holed up in the port. On 3 July 1940, Force H of the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, led by Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville, attacked the
French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
's fleet at Mers-el-Kébir after the French refused to accede to any of Somerville's demands which were designed to ensure the French Navy would not join forces with
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
like the
Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
. The attack was successful, although it fueled strong anti-British sentiment in France. However, Britain's resolve against Nazi Germany and France was demonstrated to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Admiral Somerville sank or shelled three of Gensoul's ships, killing 1,300 sailors.


Post World War II

After World War II, France used its naval base at Mers-el-Kébir to assist in atomic tests, the base was substantially developed by the French in 1953. The
Évian Accords The Évian Accords were a set of peace treaties signed on 18 March 1962 in Évian-les-Bains, France, by France and the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic, the government-in-exile of FLN (), which sought Algeria's independence ...
of 18 March 1962, which recognized Algerian independence, allowed France to maintain its base for 15 years; however, France withdrew five years later in 1967. Google Earth imagery has confirmed that a sizeable number of the
Algerian National Navy , image = Algerian Naval badge.svg , image_size = 220px , caption = Algerian Naval badge , dates = 1516–18271963–present , country ...
use the naval base at Mers El Kébir. Including the navy's
Kilo-class submarine The Kilo class, Soviet designation Project 877 ''Paltus'' (russian: Па́лтус, meaning " halibut"), NATO reporting name Kilo, is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines originally designed in the 1970s and built in the Soviet Uni ...
fleet of six boats; as well as other frigates and corvettes.


See also

*
Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...
*
European enclaves in North Africa before 1830 The European enclaves in North Africa (technically ‘ semi-enclaves’) were towns, fortifications and trading posts on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of western North Africa (sometimes called also "Maghreb"), obtained by various European p ...
* Operation Torch


References


External links


A plan of the Mers-el-Kébir anchorage
*
Accueil Kébir
*
MERS EL KEBIR 1940

Mers-el-Kebir – A Battle Between Friends
by Irwin J. Kappes {{DEFAULTSORT:Mers El Kebir Aïn El Turk District Communes of Oran Province Former Spanish colonies