According to the testimonies of the mujahideen, this battle, also called the Battle of Djebel Ras Guedellane, was unplanned. The fighters of the National Liberation Army (NLA), who were near this mountain pass, were surprised by the French army, which had surrounded the sharp and hard-to-reach area.

Caught off guard, the NLA fighters had no choice but to face the enemy and fight with remarkable courage. The same testimonies say that two days before the battle, the 3rd battalion of the first region of Historical Wilaya I, led by martyr Ahmed Imerzouken, met near Hidoussa a patrol of mujahideen, led by Tayeb Bertela, coming from Tunisia, where they had collected weapons for the Revolution’s maquis.

Imerzouken had been ordered to protect and escort the patrol to Djebel Ouestili, where the weapons were to be handed over to the Regional commander, the mujahid Mohamed-Tahar Abidi, also known as Hadj Lakhdar, but the patrol was surprised by enemy forces.

When they reached the douar (village) of Foughala (whose huts served as a resting place for the mujahideen), the group of 170 fighters, according to the same sources, spotted reconnaissance aircraft circling overhead while other planes dropped bombs to the north of Oued Beni Foudhala, as the entire area came under heavy artillery fire.

The commanders of the battalion and patrol decided to spend the night in this area, which seemed somewhat far from the routes used by the colonial forces.

However, in the early morning of February 23, the fighters were alerted by their guards, who realized that the enemy’s soldiers were moving toward their position and that the battalion and patrol were completely surrounded.

APS sources stressed that thanks to the experience and tactical acumen of Ahmed Imerzouken, the highest-ranking mujahideen commander, and his lieutenants, including the martyr Mostefa Aïssaoui, trenches were dug to allow the fighters to lie in wait and hold their fire until the French forces came within range, maximizing casualties on the enemy side.

Confused by this tactic, the colonial soldiers soon realized they were facing fighters who were both determined and clever.

According to all testimonies, the battle was extremely fierce. The mujahideen, including snipers like the martyr Tayeb Bertela, surprised the French soldiers with a barrage of fire, killing many and forcing the rest to retreat.

The Battle of Foughala, which lasted a full day, also included hand-to-hand combat with knives and bayonets. By nightfall, the mujahideen broke the siege and retreated to the Larbaa region, on the outskirts of Bouzina.

During this bloody and merciless fight, 27 martyrs, including Imerzouken, also known as Ahmed El Djadarmi, fell in the line of duty, weapons in hand, having shown the colonial forces a lesson in bravery.

The French were even forced to abandon a machine gun. Tayeb Bertela, who had killed many French soldiers with his sharpshooting, was later captured and executed in September 1958.

Foughala battle in Batna: Day when mujahideen's courage broke French army's siege