The centenary of the Alhucemas landings and the strategy of weakness towards Morocco

On September 8, 1925, the Spanish Army and Navy carried out one of their most successful military operations of the 20th century.

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The operation was carried out with the support of French forces as part of the Rif War (1911-1927), which was sparked by the rebellion of Riffian tribes against the Spanish and French protectorates in that area of ​​North Africa. General Miguel Primo de Rivera, head of the military directory that then governed Spain, organized a successful landing, the first in the world with tanks and air support, coordinating naval, air and land forces under a single command.

The figures for the Alhucemas Landing were spectacular: Spain and France mobilized 13,000 soldiers, 104 ships (including the seaplane carrier "Dédalo", the first aircraft carrier of the Spanish Navy), 144 aircraft, 18 seaplanes and 17 tanks.

The landing was a resounding success that demonstrated the validity of these combined operations, which had been severely questioned after the colossal disaster of the Franco-British landing at Gallipoli in 1915, during the First World War. The Al Hoceima Landing marked a turning point in the Rif War, with the Riffians going on the defensive until the surrender of the Riffian leader Abd-el-Krim in 1927.

Incomprehensibly, Pedro Sánchez's government has decided not to hold any commemorative events for this centenary, which deserves to be celebrated as one of the greatest Spanish military achievements of all time. There may be several reasons. On the one hand, the fact that this landing was organized by a military dictatorship. This should not be an impediment to celebrating a Spanish military victory. The battles of Las Navas de Tolosa and Lepanto also took place in pre-democratic Spain and that does not mean that they are not commemorated today. In fact, the Sánchez government is prioritizing its relations with dictatorships, something that undermines its authority to not want to celebrate this centenary citing that reason.

However, the clearest motivation for this lack of celebrations is not to upset Morocco, which seems to be one of the priorities of this government's foreign policy, a policy reciprocated by Morocco with constant snubs to Spain, with examples as clear as the closures of commercial customs between Morocco and the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla since 2018 or the use of immigration as a form of hybrid warfare by Morocco against Spain, a strategy already used by Russia and Belarus against Poland and Lithuania in recent years.

This hybrid war strategy exposes the North African country's open hostility towards Spain, which, together with Morocco's constant claims on Spanish territories (Ceuta, Melilla, the Canary Islands and several North African territories that have been Spanish since long before Morocco existed), paints a scenario in which Morocco is one of the greatest strategic threats to Spain. Faced with this threat, there are two possible reactions. One is firmness, making it clear that Spain will never give in to Morocco's claims on Spanish territories. Sánchez has chosen the most damaging strategy for Spain: showing weakness towards Morocco and even acting servilely in the face of its blackmail.

It must be remembered that this policy of weakness has already led to events as serious as the migratory assault on Ceuta in 2021, which required the mobilization of military units to face a situation of serious danger for the Spaniards of that city, a situation caused by Morocco to blackmail Spain and obtain more money, money that Morocco uses to arm itself and increase its threat to Spain. A hostile policy that is encouraged by the Spanish government's policy of weakness. This strategy leads Spain to a bleak future regarding its African territories, a future that does not seem to worry a government entrenched in short-termism and that has no qualms about creating the worst possible scenario to complicate life for the government that comes after the current one leaves office.

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Main image: Museo del Prado. Painting "Landing at Alhucemas" by José Moreno Carbonero (1860–1942).