Rif War Volume 1 Book Review
By David L. Veres
| Date of Review | December 2023 | Title | Rif War Volume 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Javier Garcia de Gabiola | Publisher | Helion |
| Published | 2023 | ISBN | 9781914377013 |
| Format | 82 pages, softbound | MSRP (USD) | $29.95 |
Review
The title tells it all. The first of a two-volume study, The Rif War covers the conflict between Spanish colonial forces and Rifian insurgents “From Taxdirt to the Disaster of Annual 1909-1921”.
Author Javier Garcia de Gabiola’s admirably annotated chronicle charts the conflict in 82 pages across five informative chapters:
- The Spanish and Rifian Armies
- 1909 – The Gourougou Wasp Nest
- 1911-1912: The Kert River Campaign
- 1911-1921: Ceuta, the War in the West
- 1920-1921: The Disaster of Annual
Coverage recaps the conflict’s historical contexts. It also deftly details combatants’ battle dress and weapons, and Spanish warplanes and naval assets. And it succinctly summarizes key incidents, actions, battles, and campaigns through 1921.
Garcia de Gabiola’s picture-packed account includes over 150 period photos, maps, color aircraft profiles, and uniform artwork. And contents conclude with references and endnotes.
But his book desperately needs explanatory glossaries of terms and participants.
What exactly, for instance, is a “kabyle”? Is it a geographic, administrative, or political unit? Or does it mirror, say, an Ottoman “vilayet” – embracing demographic and ethnic factors, as well? Or neither?
Ditto for “Tabor, “Harka”, “Miá”, “Mahala”, “Kaid”, and several other terms. Each, as far as I can tell, is defined only once, usually buried in text. So read very carefully.
Moreover, are some or all of these terms transliterations of Berber or Arab words? And if so, did the author employ Spanish or English transliteration standards? Or both?
For instance, the author mentions “zoco”. Is that Spanish for the Arab “souk” [“sUq”]? “Zoco” also appears on book maps. So is it instead a geographic term? Garcia de Gabiola does not say.
Those maps help chart actions. But all except the color example opposite page 35 lack compass graphics, befogging orientation. Most lack scale distance bars, too. And all would benefit from insets pinpointing each map’s position within larger geographic context.
None of these critiques fatally detracts from the sheer number of revelations Volume 1 of The Rif War offers. But one thing remains certain: glossaries would have made Garcia de Gabiola’s nuanced narrative faster, easier, and more efficient to read!
Still: recommended!
With thanks to Casemate Publishing for the review copy!