Battle of Al Mahbes (1979)
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| Battle of Al Mahbes (1979) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Western Sahara War | |||||||
 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Morocco | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown |
At least 132 Killed 150 wounded 53 captured | ||||||
  Location within Western Sahara | |||||||
The Battle of Al Mahbes was fought on 14 October 1979 during the war in Western Sahara. The Polisario Front annihilated a battalion of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.
The town of Al Mahbes is defended by a battalion of the 14th motorized infantry regiment of the Moroccan army, about 780 men.[1]
The garrison included an artillery battery, BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles and an armoured squadron, including 8 AMX-13 tanks (4 of which were present on the day of the attack).[2]
After the attack on Smara, the Polisario forces who retreated to their bases in Algeria decided to attack the garrison of Al Mahbes.[3]
Around ten Polisario units took part in the attack, i.e. around 1,200 men.[1]
Battle
The attack is launched at 6:00 a.m. Around noon, all Moroccan defensive lines were taken by the Polisario, and the last Moroccan resistance was broken at around 4 pm. The Moroccan Air Force intervened.[4] During the day of the 15th, the Saharawis pursued the fleeing Moroccans[2] and blocked Moroccan reinforcements.[5] Part of the garrison, including its commander Captain Mohamed Sakka, managed to withdraw to the town of Zag. Both sides are said to have run out of ammunition.[6]