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SAGHRO
PortraitGeneral Antoine HuréPublié en 1952 (Huré, La pacification du Maroc, Berger-Levrault) ; notice Commons : 1944Wikimedia Commons (reproduction d'ouvrage)Probable attribution— Identification based on a published or institutional source, without independent confirmation.

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Antoine Huré

أنطوان هوري

General, commander-in-chief of the troops in Morocco (1931-1934); commander-in-chief of the Saghro operations.

Born
11 February 1873, Corbie Confirmed by a verified source
Died
December 1949, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme Confirmed by a verified source
French forces
Spellings
général Huré · Hure

Biography

A graduate of the École polytechnique and an engineer officer, he served in Morocco from 1912, then from 1916 to 1920, before becoming commander-in-chief of the troops in Morocco from 1931 to 1934, the period when the “pacification” was completed.

Gérardin presents him as a commander-in-chief “irritated” by the “in no way studied” assaults of 25 February, then as the general before whom the fighting ended on 25 March 1933.

Assisted translation, not validated

Sources — 2 sources cited · 2 independent documentary line(s)

  1. Wikipédia (français) — « Antoine Huré »Excerpts consulted · Encyclopedic synthesis
  2. Gérardin, 1987 — p. 43, 45Full text consulted · Colonial military

In the encyclopedia

Related events

  1. 15 July 1931 – 18 July 1931Confirmed by a verified source

    Tounfit: three days of fighting, then occupation

    Zayd ou-Skounti's harka (about 600 Ait Merghad and Ayt Hemmou) holds for three days under air and artillery fire, then withdraws; Tounfit is occupied. Peyron sees it as a turning point in the Atlas war.

    ⌖ Tounfit

    Reported figures

    Zayd ou-Skounti's harka≈ 600Peyron, 2013Confirmed by a verified source

    Figures are attributed to their source, never merged or averaged.

    Sources — 2 sources cited · 2 independent documentary line(s)

    1. Peyron, 2013Full text consulted · Academic research
    2. — « Merghad, Ayt (Ayt Merγad) » — § 7Full text consulted · Academic research
  2. 22 August 1932 – 13 September 1932Contested information

    Siege of Tazizaout

    About a thousand fighters (Ait Sokhman, Ait Yahya, Ait Hdiddou, refugees from the Middle Atlas) hold the Tazizaout for nearly a month; hunger and thirst overcome them. Dates vary by source.

    Peyron (2013) dates the start to 22 August 1932 and the official capitulation to 13 September, some defenders holding out a week longer; Yabiladi gives “20 August to 10 September 1932”. Survivors join the Ait Hdiddou, then the Baddou. The French Wikipedia article associates Mouha ou Hammou Zayani, who died in 1921, with this siege: an anachronism.

    Reported figures

    Entrenched fighters≈ 1 000Peyron, 2013Confirmed by a verified source

    Figures are attributed to their source, never merged or averaged.

    Sources — 3 sources cited · 2 independent documentary line(s)

    1. Peyron, 2013Full text consulted · Academic research
    2. Benargane, 2025Full text consulted · Moroccan press
    3. Wikipédia (français) — « Bataille de Tazizaoute »Full text consulted · Encyclopedic synthesis
  3. February 1933Confirmed by a verified source

    Order to “reduce” the Saghro

    “In February 1933, the order arrived to proceed with the reduction of this dissident patch” (Gérardin). Two mobile groups converged: General Catroux's, from Marrakesh, to the west; General Giraud's, from the Confins, to the east.

    ⌖ Jbel Saghro

    Sources — 1 sources cited · 1 independent documentary line(s)

    1. Gérardin, 1987 — p. 42Full text consulted · Colonial military
  4. 16 February 1933 – 17 February 1933Unverified information

    Huré takes command in the field; Giraud's plane accident

    According to Wikipedia, faced with the cliffs of the “Needles plateau”, Huré took command on the spot and divided the deployment into two sub-sectors (Catroux, Giraud); after a conference, Giraud's plane overturned during a forced landing and the general was injured. Not cross-checked.

    ⌖ Bou Gafer massif (combat area)

    Sources — 1 sources cited · 1 independent documentary line(s)

    1. Wikipédia (français) — « Bataille de Bougafer » — section DéroulementFull text consulted · Encyclopedic synthesis
  5. 24 February 1933 – 25 February 1933Confirmed by a verified source

    Failure of the western assaults; the 34th goum loses half its strength

    In the west, the Catroux group launched three assaults on needles dominated by peaks 43 and 47. At dawn on the 25th, after a night climb “in the cold and the rain”, Second Lieutenant Sieurac's 34th goum was thrown back near the summits; Sieurac was killed and the goum lost half its strength. Huré judged these attacks “in no way studied” (Gérardin).

    ⌖ Bou Gafer massif (combat area)

    Reported figures

    Losses of the 34th goum« la moitié de son effectif »Gérardin, 1987Confirmed by a verified source

    Figures are attributed to their source, never merged or averaged.

    Sources — 1 sources cited · 1 independent documentary line(s)

    1. Gérardin, 1987 — p. 43Full text consulted · Colonial military
  6. 27 February 1933Unverified information

    The Resident General orders the assault resumed

    According to Wikipedia, on 27 February Resident General Lucien Saint sent Lieutenant-Colonel Alphonse Juin to order Huré to resume the assault. Not cross-checked.

    Sources — 1 sources cited · 1 independent documentary line(s)

    1. Wikipédia (français) — « Bataille de Bougafer » — section DéroulementFull text consulted · Encyclopedic synthesis
  7. 28 February 1933Confirmed by a verified source

    Assaults halted, blockade ordered

    “At 12.20, the order was given to stop all further attacks. The blockade of the massif was prescribed” (Gérardin). Saulay dates to 1 March General Huré's decision to “suspend any major attack” and tighten the blockade. Wikipedia adds that Huré now considered the Bou Gafer “impregnable”.

    ⌖ Bou Gafer massif (combat area)

    Sources — 3 sources cited · 3 independent documentary line(s)

    1. Gérardin, 1987 — p. 45Full text consulted · Colonial military
    2. Wikipédia (français) — « Bataille de Bougafer »Full text consulted · Encyclopedic synthesis
    3. Saulay, 1983 — p. 59-60Full text consulted · Colonial military
  8. 24 March 1933Confirmed by a verified source

    Negotiations between the jemaa and the officers

    Duclos writes that the last defenders of the Saghro, “led by El Haj Assou Baslam”, “negotiated their submission”. 24 March is the date given by Bounfour as the end of the armed resistance and by Wikipedia as the start of negotiations. The terms obtained are reported in divergent ways.

    ⌖ Bou Gafer massif (combat area)

    What do the archives say? →

    Sources — 5 sources cited · 5 independent documentary line(s)

    1. Duclos, 1967 — p. 23Excerpts consulted · Academic research
    2. Bounfour, 1989 — p. 92Full text consulted · Academic research
    3. Wikipédia (français) — « Bataille de Bougafer »Full text consulted · Encyclopedic synthesis
    4. Wikipédia (français) — « Assou Oubasslam »Full text consulted · Encyclopedic synthesis
    5. Saulay, 1983 — p. 61-62Full text consulted · Colonial military
  9. 25 March 1933Confirmed by a verified source

    25 March: end of the fighting and aman agreement

    “On 25 March, exhausted but magnificent, they surrendered to General Huré” (Gérardin). Saulay places the scene at the small marabout of Khouia Brahim, before Generals Huré, Giraud and Catroux, and reproduces Huré's official telegram (no. 43/PC, 25 March, 11 a.m.). 25 March is also the date given by Wanaim (2024), Wikidata and English Wikipedia.

    ⌖ Bou Gafer massif (combat area)

    What do the archives say? →

    Sources — 7 sources cited · 5 independent documentary line(s)

    1. Gérardin, 1987 — p. 45Full text consulted · Colonial military
    2. Wanaim, 2024 — titreBibliographic record only · Academic research
    3. Wikipedia (English) — « Ait Atta »Full text consulted · Encyclopedic synthesis
    4. Saulay, 1983 — p. 62-63Full text consulted · Colonial military
    5. — « Anti-Atlas » — § 41Full text consulted · Academic research
    6. Hart, 1984 — p. 182-183Excerpts consulted · Academic research
  10. July 1933 – August 1933Confirmed by a verified source

    Mobile groups converge on the eastern High Atlas

    From late July 1933, military groups are ordered to advance on Aghbalou n-Kerdous; Peyron names the mobile groups of Marrakech, the Confins, Tadla and Meknès.

    ⌖ Aghbalou n-Kerdous

    The 2021 commemorative dispatch speaks of “three military groups”; Yabiladi of five generals (Tadla, Meknès, Marrakech, Tinghir, Confins). No consulted source gives the exact number of units or men.

    Sources — 3 sources cited · 2 independent documentary line(s)

    1. Peyron, 2013Full text consulted · Academic research
    2. Benargane, 2025Full text consulted · Moroccan press

Source pages

  1. DocumentsShort quotationHart, 1984, p. 183

    General Huré, translated by Hart, estimates the Saghro refugees at 7,000 and infers over 2,000 dead among the defenders, including 500 armed men; 90% of the livestock reportedly died or was raided.

    « The number of resistants who had taken refuge in the Saghru was about 7,000 and of these nearly 1,000 were warriors. Nearly 3,000 persons submitted with 'Assu u-Ba Slam, and of these some 500 were armed men. This brought the number of submissions since the beginning of operations up to 4,700. The losses of the defenders of Bu Gafr had thus been over 2,000 killed, of whom 500 were armed men. »

    Calculation by subtraction (estimated refugees minus people who came over at the end of the fighting) by a commander of the besieging army, read through an English translation: it is not a count of the dead. It contradicts the “327 martyrs” reported by Benadada.

    Source :
    Hart, 1984
    printed page
    printed page 183 · PDF page 237 (printed page number not verified)
    Status
    Quotation checked on the page image · 2026-11-07
    SHA-256 fingerprint of the private capture :
    31035ad8a540ffe77f85b1bc35c1c8c0b89003bb265d6bb2ba9fb85d980c510f

    Reproduction of the page not authorised: reference and short quotation only. The capture stays in the project's private archive.

  2. NuancesShort quotationSaulay, 1983, p. 59

    Saulay dates Huré's decision to suspend major attacks to 1 March; Gérardin places the halt order on 28 February at 12.20.

    « Le 1er mars, le général Huré décide de suspendre toute attaque importante et n'autorise que des opérations de détail pour rendre le blocus plus étroit. »

    The two dates may refer to two successive decisions (halt of the day's assault, then abandonment of attacks): SAGHRO does not decide.

    Document :
    La Koumia. Bulletin de liaison, n° 88 · Periodical issue
    Source :
    Saulay, 1983
    printed page
    printed page 59 · PDF page 63
    Status
    Quotation checked on the page image · 2026-11-07
    SHA-256 fingerprint of the private capture :
    e190275225c64b2c9481f9da657635a2175e07cf7b6121a9525a5d74b481bee2

    Reproduction of the page not authorised: reference and short quotation only. The capture stays in the project's private archive.

  3. ConfirmsShort quotationSaulay, 1983, p. 62

    On 25 March, before Huré, Giraud and Catroux, the last fighters of Bou Gafer led by Assou lay down their arms; Saulay lists five conditions of aman, including keeping weapons after registration.

    « — soumission complète au Maghzen ; — recensement des armes possédées par les insoumis qui les gardent en leur possession ; — amnistie complète pour tous les faits antérieurs à la soumission ; — pas de confiscation des biens possédés en tribu par les dissidents ; — pas de corvées en dehors des impôts légaux. »

    One of the two consulted sources listing these conditions, with Hart (1984, p. 182), whose list differs; the text of the agreement itself has not been found. The presence of Catroux and Giraud, previously given from Wikipedia, is attested by Saulay and the telegram he reproduces.

    Document :
    La Koumia. Bulletin de liaison, n° 88 · Periodical issue
    Source :
    Saulay, 1983
    printed page
    printed page 62 · PDF page 66
    Status
    Quotation checked on the page image · 2026-11-07
    SHA-256 fingerprint of the private capture :
    3447a2e0efcfdca39041af138e9ce2b90a837159f533ae689fdc6ee54cf30c97

    Reproduction of the page not authorised: reference and short quotation only. The capture stays in the project's private archive.

  4. ConfirmsShort quotationSaulay, 1983, p. 63

    Official telegram no. 43/PC from General Huré, dated from Giraud's command post on 25 March 1933 (11 a.m.), reproduced by Saulay.

    « Toutes fractions Aït Atta restées dans le Bou Gafer présentées par leurs chefs et notamment par Asso ou Baselham ont fait soumission à la zaouïa Khouïa Brahim, à onze heures. »

    French official document quoted by a third party: the original telegram has not been consulted in the archives.

    Document :
    La Koumia. Bulletin de liaison, n° 88 · Periodical issue
    Source :
    Saulay, 1983
    printed page
    printed page 63 · PDF page 67
    Status
    Quotation checked on the page image · 2026-11-07
    SHA-256 fingerprint of the private capture :
    970c44ba81a3aee3cc18b0d78236bae3291d87170ca4530726fdecee4f118d5c

    Reproduction of the page not authorised: reference and short quotation only. The capture stays in the project's private archive.