Melilla’s forgotten hell: thus a handful of Spaniards resisted the onslaught of 40,000 Moroccans

The reasons that moved the Sultan were purely religious, despite the fact that sovereignty belonged to Spain since Pedro de Esopiñán waved the banner of the house of Medina Sidonia back in 1497. Five centuries of history in which Melilla never lived a moment more dramatic and overwhelming than the one we are going to tell them below

During almost the entire second half of the 18th century, the aforementioned Ben Abdalah, also known as Mohamed III, reigned in Morocco, which managed to open his country to trade with Europe. On May 28, 1767, he had even signed a peace and trade treaty with Spain in Marrakech, as he was interested in maintaining good relations with Carlos III for pure benefit. However, his Islamic Integralist feeling and his desire to expel Christians from the Maghreb predicted to political diplomacy. He put religion ahead of any other motivation and then won the Portuguese square of Mazagán in 1768.

English aid to Sultan in Armament and Military Advice was increasing, so Spain sensed that an attack on its possessions in northern Morocco was going to occur shortly. Assumed the possibility of the siege of Melilla, the King of Spain ordered the city to begin preparing for its defense. On June 7, 1773 he formed a commission composed of the Marshal of Campo Luis Urbina and the engineers Juan Cavallero and Ricardo Aylmen, who issued a report on the works to be executed, the weapons they needed and the possible defense plan that they had to establish .

Juan Sherlock, Melilla Commander

In June 1774, the Melilla Marshal Juan Sherlock, a military of Irish origin of great prestige, was appointed general commander of Melilla, to direct the operations in case of siege. It was then that the events rushed. In a letter dated September 19, 1774, the Sultan said he intended to evict Christians from his North African possessions as it was, from Ceuta to Oran. As contradictory, he also said that he had not broken, in spite of everything, the peace treaty, under the false argument that he referred only to the attacks by sea and not by land.

A few weeks later, Ceuta is attacked and before that, Carlos III declares war on Morocco on October 23. On December 9, the first Moroccan troops settled in the vicinity of Melilla, starting a fence that was collected day by day in four newspapers: one anonymous, another of a regiment captain, the third of the engineer Juan Cavallero and the fourth of the Doctor Miguel Fernández de Loaiza. They reflect in detail the defensive operations of the Spaniards, the attention of the injured and the works that were carried out to resist the besiegers.

Among the latter were the formation of several large pits in different neighborhoods, in addition to a breakwater on the coast; the conditioning of two of the galleries that led, underground, to the most important points of the city; the adaptation of an area at the main entrance of the dock, to be able to flood it if the invasion occurred; the reconstruction of the vault in the Torreón de las Cabras; The repair of parapets, garitas and other military buildings, and the excavation of other secondary branches in the tunnels to be able to fly some vulnerable areas of the city, if necessary, among other measures.

1,650 men

It was estimated that, for all this, 1,000 infantry soldiers would be necessary, as well as artillery officers, minators, engineers, ammunition porters and health personnel. Among this last group were a doctor, three surgeons and four hospital practitioners, where the available beds and utensils should also be increased. In any case, at that time there was already for Melilla’s defense with a total of 1,650 men and an armament that consisted of 109 cannons, 16 mortars and bronze pedreros and 300 quintals of gunpowder. Even so, those responsible requested 900 quintals, as well as bombs, cure, infantry rifles, cartridges and other supplies.

There is no doubt that the Sultan of Morocco had underestimated the Spaniards, given the reaction capacity demonstrated in the city’s defense organization. In fact, in the three months and ten days that the fence lasted, they received the support of several regiments and more engineers and gunner bodies, from outside Melilla, whose troops added another 3,251 men, according to the article ‘Doctors and surgeons present at the Melilla site: 1774-1775’by Ángel Manuel Hernández, of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Catalonia.

That did not stop the Moroccans, who were still determined to expel Christians from their territories. In the hundred days of site, some 8,200 bombs fell on its streets, which caused 105 dead and 584 injured. Other sources speak of 12,000 bombs. Seen the device deployed by the Sultan, with its nearly 40,000 men surrounding the city, that number of casualties can be considered a failure, but did not tell that during the siege, the population took refuge in some caves excavated in the rock, under the strengths of the square known as Cuevas del Convenico and Cuevas de la Florentina.

The error in the siege

And that had the information provided by several deserters, such as an anonymous officer of the doctor in his diary: «It is not known what reasons to take that resolution, when it has plenty of food and the wine is worth two Cuartillo rooms. In addition, they are well, ignoring their minor offenses ». Later, when there was a change in enemy bombings, the doctor added strange where there is usually many troop exposed ». But the traitor, according to the same story, did not go out with his: «Hearing the confidences, the Sultan replied: ‘Why are you coming here having everything left over? You have been a traitor to your king and the country where you were born, for the simple pleasure of doing wrong, so I can expect from you, I owe nothing. ‘ And he ordered his head to cut him ». Juan Sherlock did the same with other deserters captured before they came into contact with the enemy.

Meanwhile, Mohamed III also trusted his hosts too much and in his brand new batteries of English origin, directed by expert gunners arrived, mostly, from Europe, but failed to close the fence completely. That allowed the Spaniards to supply the Melillenses by sea. And, in fact, Commander Sherlock had to return some supplies, because the stores were full.

Finally, the fortifications that the Spaniards had been building over almost four centuries in that enclave were impregnable. Many, even bomb -proof. Hence the number of casualties was so relatively low. In addition, the Spanish weapons was as good as English and Spanish military commanders, superior in tactical knowledge than enemies, not to name the absolute maritime superiority of Spain. Two Spanish squads, commanded by Antonio Barceló and José Hidalgo de Cisneros, blocked the area of ​​the Strait, preventing England from supplying with armament and ammunition to the Moroccan troops.

When after a hundred days the Sultan was convinced that it was going to be impossible to expel the Spanish Christians from Melilla and much less take the city, the Hamed diplomat El Gazel asked to meet Juan Sherlock. At the meeting, the Moroccan informed the Marshal of the Irish origin field that Morocco wanted to recover friendship with Spain and resume trade in more advantageous conditions for us than in the previous treaty. In view of this, the site on March 19, 1775, San José Day, and, in 1980, the Friendship and Commerce Agreement in Aranjuez was signed. This established the freedom to trade in Moroccan ports by the Spanish subjects and vice versa.