We review «One hundred years of Annual» by Daniel Macías (ed.) – Archives of History | Your disclosure page

Last May, Desperta Ferro Ediciones brought to the publishing market a renovating study on the War of Morocco, «A hundred years of Annual». An investigation that has the participation of more than ten expert authors on the subject. A work that masterfully synthesizes nearly two decades of war in the Rif.

Data sheet

What we think of “A hundred years of Annual” in Archivos de la Historia

In this 2021 it will be one hundred years since the well-known disaster of Annual where more than 10,000 Spanish soldiers lost their lives at the hands of the hosts of the Rif leader Abd el-Krim. Due to this commemoration, not a few publishers have published titles that study the Moroccan War in more or less breadth. One of these publishers has been Desperta Ferro Ediciones, which has surprised its readers with the title «A hundred years of Annual. The War of Morocco». Volume directed by Dr. Daniel Macías Fernández together with more than ten authors specialized in this interesting topic.

The volume presented to us by Desperta Ferro and Daniel Macías is very special because it not only deals with the aforementioned disaster, but also the entire Moroccan War in its breadth. From the start of the campaign in 1909 to its end in 1927 with the pacification of the territory by the Spanish authorities. Divided into a total of eleven chapters, One Hundred Years of Annual deals with war from the most innovative points of the New Military History. The book begins, how could it be otherwise, at the beginning, by talking about what the Rif and North Africa were like. After this introduction to know the context in which Spain moves, we go deeper into all the topics: Spanish colonial policy, her army, the Rif army and the beginning of the different campaigns.

We are shown both the Spanish and the Rif armed forces in constant evolution. Especially in the first case, which goes from being an army with hardly any offensive power to being on a par with other European armies, at least in miniature. The first campaigns in Morocco are characterized by rapid progress due to the payment of large sums to the Kabyles. From 1921, and with the appearance of Abd el-Krim, everything went wrong for Spain which begins to lose the territory conquered over twelve years (1909-1921) and innumerable casualties. After the Annual disaster, Spanish policy towards Morocco entered into a serious crisis.

Between that year and 1925 is a time of strategic withdrawals and slow recovery of the territory with the use of new elements such as: shock troops (regulars and legionnaires), aviation and artillery equipped with toxic gases, automatic weapons, etc. The culmination of all this will be seen in the spectacular landing of Alhucemas in times of the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera. By 1927 the conflict has come to an end with the new impetus given to the war by the military authorities. The last four chapters are a perfect closure for the book, since they deal with hitherto uninvestigated topics: soldiers’ experience, direct consequences of the conflict, perception of war and photography. Four fantastic and surprising chapters in equal parts for what is told in them.

On a technical level, the editing work is masterful, as characterizes Desperta Ferro Ediciones. The work is beautifully illustrated with more than 150 black and white photographs, and abundant cartographic material so as not to get lost in the complicated North African geography. The reading is really enjoyable and interesting. Despite having the participation of more than a dozen authors, work has been done to unify the style. This is especially appreciated for not having ups and downs. Finally, the layout is of great quality as well as the typography.

So do we recommend it?

For the Archivos de la Historia team, it would be very difficult not to recommend this fantastic title brought to us by Desperta Ferro Ediciones. One hundred years of Annual is a great research and synthesis work that condenses the entire war in Morocco in a single volume for the reader in Spanish. The book demolishes myths and breaks the barrier of oblivion that has been imposed on this conflict due to the subsequent civil war that was just as tragic for Spanish society.. The authors, each in their own field, have managed to revive events more than a hundred years from now that marked an era so much.

We are not only going to read about machine guns, but also about the thirst, hunger, desperation and camaraderie of men who fought so close to home yet so far away due to the poor means available. For all these reasons, from Archivos de la Historia we recommend A hundred years of Annual. a book that We are sure that it will not leave the reader indifferent, and that it will make them discover some of the most forgotten and bloody pages in the history of Spain..

: Legionnaires and regulars defend a position during a fight in the Rif.

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