Draft:Siege of Sidi Ifni (1958)

The Siege of Sidi Ifni was a military operation between Morocco and Spain in which the initial Moroccan attacks were generally successful. Within two weeks, the Moroccans and their tribal allies had established control over most of Ifni, isolating the interior Spanish units from the capital. Simultaneous attacks were launched throughout the Spanish Sahara, interspersed with overruns of garrisons and ambushes of convoys and patrols.

The Battle
Consequently, Moroccan units, resupplied and greatly reinforced, tried to surround and besiege Sidi Ifni, hoping to incite a popular uprising. However, the Moroccans underestimated the strength of the Spanish defences. Supplied from the sea by the Spanish Navy and protected by kilometres of trenches and forward outposts, Sidi Ifni, boasting 7,500 defenders by 9 December, proved impregnable. The siege, lasting into June 1958, was uneventful and relatively bloodless, as Spain and Morocco both concentrated resources on Saharan theatres.