Aware of the potential threat, French leaders in Tlemcen, Ain Temouchent, Sidi Bel Abbas, and Oran closely monitored their movements, fearing further attacks on neighboring cities.

They frequently set up ambushes along routes connecting Mascara to major cities like Hussein Dey, aiming to thwart any potential assaults and prevent economic disruptions.

However, Redouan's battalion took an alternative route, pausing to replenish water and bread before continuing towards Si Abdel Latif's command center on Thursday, September 5, 1957.

The French eventually began to lose hope, and faced with the determined Algerian resistance, they initiated multiple retreats using warplanes to withdraw to Oran.

In their desperation, they resorted to using internationally banned napalm bombs, which wounded Si Redouan and led to the loss of one of his limbs after he managed to shoot down a Sikorsky helicopter.