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Battle of Annuals

A Century Ago, a Showdown Changed but Didn’t End North Africa Colonialism

A Formidable but Forgotten Battle

The Battle of Annual was among the greatest defeats for a colonial army in Africa. It made Abd el-Krim an anti-imperial icon; his guerrilla tactics were cited by Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh. In 1925, he would be Time magazine’s person of the year.