Franco-Tunisian War

The Tunisian expedition of the French troops of 1881–1883 , as well as the Franco-Tunisian war of 1881 — the capture of Tunis by the French and their suppression of the anticolonial uprising that broke out there. A French protectorate was established over Tunisia.

The reason for the invasion of French troops in Tunisia was the raids of idol tribes living in the north of the country in the border regions of Algeria , the French colony. On March 12, 1881, a squadron of the French fleet began military operations, and French colonial troops entered the country from Algeria. After the French occupation of Bizerte, the Tunisian Bay Muhammad III es-Sadyk entered into negotiations with the enemy, the result of which was the conclusion of the Bardo Treaty on the establishment of a French protectorate over Tunisia.

This step caused a storm of indignation in the country. At the call of the Muslim clergy in May 1881, the population rebelled against the French under the banner of “ holy war, ” and soon many officers and soldiers of the Baye army joined them.

The uprising in Tunisia led the 79-year-old Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa of the Neffet tribe, but all his attempts to establish order and create a unified leadership of the rebel groups did not produce results. This immediately took advantage of the commander of the French troops, General Sossier , launched in August 1881 a full-scale attack on the central and southern regions of Tunisia.

The most bloody battles took place at Sfax (July 1881) and over Kairouan - a holy city for North African Muslims . However, more and more reinforcements from Algeria and the metropolis came to the aid of the French. Until February 1882, they defeated the main forces of the rebels, forcing the rest to retreat to the Sahara .

On June 8, 1883, a convention was signed in the Tunisian suburb of La Mars , which completed the creation of a French protectorate regime in the country.