The Rif War Volume 1

The Rif War in rugged northern Morocco is remembered for romantic films and novels about the French Foreign Legion, such as Beau Geste. In reality, the French intervention, although very important, was late and secondary in importance to that of the Spanish. 

Spain, had been fighting in North Africa since 1909 in order to carve out new colonial possessions, in part at least to compensate for the recent loss of Cuba and the Philippines to the U.S. It was not an easy road however and Spain suffered disasters such as Barranco del Lobo and victories such as the cavalry charge in Taxdirt in 1913, and had had to face enemies such as Mizzian, El Roghi, or the famous El Raisuni. Abd-el Krim's revolt caused 8,000 Spanish deaths at Annual in 1921 in which much of the new colony was lost, at least temporarily.

The war also saw the Spanish army completely reformed, reaching new levels of effectiveness with the founding of the Spanish Legion and the recruitment of Moroccan soldiers of the Regulares. These troops, together with a plethora of commanders who made their combat debuts here, such as Franco, Mola, Queipo de Llano and Kindelán, would later fight in the Spanish Civil War. These commanders would be called the "Africanistas" and would constitute the hard core of the military that rose up against the government in 1936.

Volume 1 of Rif War examines the operations of both sides in North Africa between 1909 and 1921, up to the Disaster of Annual. Within are details of the Spanish army, its organisation, tactics and reforms to meet the needs of the theatre, the fledgling Spanish military aviation which claimed a number of world firsts in this campaign, and their North African auxiliaries and opponents. Rif War is illustrated with a selection of colour artworks and specially commissioned maps.

"This book can serve as the springboard to a tidy campaign, either over the entirety of Spanish Morocco or just parts of it with operations around Melilla or Ceuta." The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society

"Javier Garcia de Gabiola has jammed a lot of information into this volume, but I still enjoyed the read and was able to finish it over three evenings. The period black and white photographs are all quite interesting and are well captioned. The color illustrations from Tom Cooper and Anderson Subtil are great....If you own any of the previous releases in the Helion @ War series, you know what you are getting. If this is your initial entry into this series, you will be pleased." IPMS/USA

"The black and white photos include ones of troops of all the combatants, officers, cavalry, aircraft and pilots." AMPS Indianapolis

"J.G. de Gabiola sheds light on the origins of a conflict that we are often accustomed to considering solely through the "French" prism." Vae Victus Magazine, No 165, 2022 (Translated from French)