The Bizerte crisis (French: Crise de Bizerte; Arabic: أحداث بنزرت, romanized: ʾAḥdāth Bīzart) occurred in July 1961 when Tunisia imposed a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte, Tunisia, hoping to force its evacuation. The crisis culminated in a three-day battle between French and Tunisian forces that left some 630 Tunisians and 24 French dead and eventually led to France ceding the city and naval base to Tunisia in 1963.
After Tunisia gained independence from France in 1956, France remained in control of the city and its naval base, a strategic port on the Mediterranean, which played an important part in French operations during the Algerian War. France had promised to negotiate the future of the base, but had so far refused to remove it. Tunisia was further infuriated upon learning that France planned to expand the airbase.
In 1961, Tunisian forces surrounded and blockaded the naval base in hopes of forcing France to abandon its last holdings in the country. After Tunisia warned France against any violations of Tunisian airspace, the French defiantly sent a helicopter. Tunisian troops responded by firing warning shots. In response to the blockade, 800 French paratroopers were sent in by the French as a show of force.
However, when the transport planes with the paratroopers landed on the airfield, Tunisian troops engaged them with targeted machine gun fire. In response, French jets supported by troops armed with 105 mm howitzers attacked the Tunisian roadblocks, destroying them completely. French tanks and armoured cars then rolled into Tunisian territory, and fired into the town of Ferryville, killing 27 soldiers and civilians. The following day, the French launched a full-scale invasion of the town of Bizerte. The Tunisians' few artillery posts were destroyed by rockets fired by French planes. Tanks and paratroopers penetrated into the city from the south, while marines stormed the harbour from landing craft. Three French cruisers were positioned offshore. Tunisian soldiers, paramilitaries,[3] and hastily organised civilian volunteers engaged the French in heavy street fighting, but were forced back by vastly superior French forces. The French overran the town on 23 July 1961.
Aftermath
Bizerte Martyrs monument
Initially the United Nations was unable to carry out any sort of substantial action against the French, which angered the Tunisian authorities.[4] The French finally handed Bizerte on 15 October 1963, after the conclusion of the Algerian War.
^"Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers.com. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
^Brady, Thomas F. (31 July 1961). "Tunisians Bitter Over U.N. Failure On Bizerte Crisis; Say Council Is 'Incapable' of Concrete Decisions - Assembly Call Expected". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
bizerte, crisis, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, september, 2019, learn, when, remove, this, template, message. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Bizerte crisis French Crise de Bizerte Arabic أحداث بنزرت romanized ʾAḥdath Bizart occurred in July 1961 when Tunisia imposed a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte Tunisia hoping to force its evacuation The crisis culminated in a three day battle between French and Tunisian forces that left some 630 Tunisians and 24 French dead and eventually led to France ceding the city and naval base to Tunisia in 1963 Bizerte crisisPart of Decolonisation of AfricaBizerte in 1961Date19 23 July 1961LocationBizerte TunisiaResultFrench victoryTerritorialchangesEvacuation of the Bizerte base on 15 October 1963Belligerents FranceTunisiaCommanders and leadersCharles de Gaulle Maurice AmmanHabib Bourguiba Noureddine Boujellabia Abdelhamid Ben Cheikh Mohamed Ben Hamida El Bejaoui Strength7 0003 cruisers10 000 1 Casualties and losses24 27 killed100 wounded 2 630 killed1 555 woundedmultiple civilians killed Military zone of Bizerte Ferryville Military zone in southern Tunisia Contents 1 Background 2 Aftermath 3 See also 4 References 4 1 External linksBackground EditAfter Tunisia gained independence from France in 1956 France remained in control of the city and its naval base a strategic port on the Mediterranean which played an important part in French operations during the Algerian War France had promised to negotiate the future of the base but had so far refused to remove it Tunisia was further infuriated upon learning that France planned to expand the airbase In 1961 Tunisian forces surrounded and blockaded the naval base in hopes of forcing France to abandon its last holdings in the country After Tunisia warned France against any violations of Tunisian airspace the French defiantly sent a helicopter Tunisian troops responded by firing warning shots In response to the blockade 800 French paratroopers were sent in by the French as a show of force However when the transport planes with the paratroopers landed on the airfield Tunisian troops engaged them with targeted machine gun fire In response French jets supported by troops armed with 105 mm howitzers attacked the Tunisian roadblocks destroying them completely French tanks and armoured cars then rolled into Tunisian territory and fired into the town of Ferryville killing 27 soldiers and civilians The following day the French launched a full scale invasion of the town of Bizerte The Tunisians few artillery posts were destroyed by rockets fired by French planes Tanks and paratroopers penetrated into the city from the south while marines stormed the harbour from landing craft Three French cruisers were positioned offshore Tunisian soldiers paramilitaries 3 and hastily organised civilian volunteers engaged the French in heavy street fighting but were forced back by vastly superior French forces The French overran the town on 23 July 1961 Aftermath Edit Bizerte Martyrs monument Initially the United Nations was unable to carry out any sort of substantial action against the French which angered the Tunisian authorities 4 The French finally handed Bizerte on 15 October 1963 after the conclusion of the Algerian War See also EditTunisian independence Sakiet Sidi Youssef List of Commandants Superior of the Strategic Base of BizerteReferences Edit بنزرت في ذكرى معركة الجلاء معركة من أجل الحرية والكرامة وقع توظيفها سياسيا the official Tunisian balance sheet Answers The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life s Questions Answers com Retrieved 26 April 2019 Brady Thomas F 31 July 1961 Tunisians Bitter Over U N Failure On Bizerte Crisis Say Council Is Incapable of Concrete Decisions Assembly Call Expected The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 26 April 2019 External links Edit Tunisia The Wages of Moderation Time 28 July 1961 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bizerte crisis amp oldid 1107154185, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
