Battle of Smara (1979)

Battle of Smara (1979)
Smara in 2010.
Date October 5 - 8, 1979 Location Smara, Western Sahara 26°44′22″N 11°40′13″W / 26.73944°N 11.67028°W / 26.73944; -11.67028
Belligerents
SADR	Morocco
Commanders and leaders
Driss El Harti †
Units involved
2,000 to 6,000 troops; 400 vehicles[1]	5,400 troops;[L 1] a dozen Mirage F1 and F-5E aircraft[2]
Casualties and losses
According to Morocco: 1,085 dead; and 194 to 250 vehicles	According to Morocco: 121 dead, wounded and prisoners.[L 2] According to the Polisario: 1,269 dead; 1,200 wounded or missing; 42 prisoners; and 3 aircraft set on fire
class=notpageimage| Location within Western Sahara

The Battle of Smara occurred between October 5 and 8, 1979, during the Western Sahara War at Smara, between the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and the Polisario Front. Both sides asserted divergent narratives of the battle.^[3]

The Polisario Front, a political movement demanding the independence of Western Sahara, initiated armed conflict with Mauritanian and Moroccan neighbors as early as 1975. This conflict arose from the Green March and the Madrid Accords, which divided the territory between the two countries. The independence fighters concentrated their efforts on the weak link of the alliance, Mauritania, until its neutralization in the conflict in 1978. In 1979, they launched a deadly offensive against Morocco, forcing it to abandon several localities in the eastern part of the territory.

Smara, a holy city and the second-largest town in Western Sahara, was of paramount importance politically and strategically. Losing this city would be a catastrophe for Morocco. Throughout the year, the city was subjected to repeated harassment, and before the battle, it was encircled with significant defenses.

The Polisario columns commenced an intensive bombardment of Moroccan positions from the night of the 5th, followed by an assault on Smara the next day. This assault penetrated the city from the southeast. The fighting was intense, at times involving hand-to-hand combat. The intervention of the Moroccan air force, utilizing the newly acquired Mirage F1s from France, significantly altered the battle's outcome, compelling the Polisario forces to retreat.

All sources concur that this was the most violent battle since the inception of the conflict, with both parties claiming to have killed over 1,000 adversaries. In their retreat, Polisario fighters rescued over 716 Sahrawi civilians and captured 42 Moroccan prisoners.

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