[1] In 1910, al-Aynayn crossed the High Atlas with his veiled, camel-riding Saharan troops (nicknamed the "Blue Men"), aiming to liberate Casablanca, but he was defeated by the French at Tadla on 23 June 1910, and forced to retreat to Tiznit (in the Anti-Atlas foothills of the Souss valley), where he died shortly after.

[5] Changing course, the sultan Abd al-Hafid himself entered into contact with the rebels, prompting Lyautey to force him to abdicate the throne on 11 August 1912 in favor of his more pliable brother, Yusuf.

[6] In the south, Moroccan resistance rallied around Ahmed al-Hiba, the son of the late Ma al-Aynayn, who declared a jihad to expel the French from Morocco.

[7] Quickly gaining control of the Souss valley, in July, 1912, Ahmed al-Hiba led his Saharan troops ("Blue Men") and his growing army of Moroccan followers over the High Atlas.

[9] Lyautey rushed French diplomatic and military officials to try to persuade the great lords (qaids) of the south to prevent Marrakesh from falling in the hands of the Hibists.

[10] The great qaids — notably the El Glaoui brothers, Madani and Thami, and their fellow-qaids al-Mtouggi and al-Gundafi of the High Atlas — had little love for al-Hiba, as he openly denounced the whole semi-feudal system they represented and threatened their power and authority.

[12] Nonetheless, some qaids, notably Thami El Glaoui (who secretly retained one of the French hostages with him), continued clandestine communication with Lyautey, and kept him up to date on the situation in Marrakesh.

They would be later joined by another column under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph, composed of a battalion of zouaves, two companies of Algerian tirailleurs, a squadron of spahis and mobile artillery.

[18] Hearing that a great Hibist army under al-Hiba's brother, Merebbi Rebbo, was assembling to the south of them at Ben Guerir, Mangin, without consulting Lyautey, ordered an offensive.

[20] The timidity and defeats of the Hibist armies in the skirmishes with Mangin now fostered doubts about al-Hiba's military judgment and leadership qualities, and began to disenchant his followers.

[22] Digesting all this information, on the evening of 3 September, Lyautey dispatched a message by wireless to Mangin, famously stating only: "Allez-y carrément" ("Go straight ahead").

The Hibist force, led by al-Hiba's brother, had around ten thousand men, with 1,000 muzzle-loading muskets, the rest poorly armed, many merely with sticks and stones, stretched out on a two-and-half mile front.

Mangin maintained his battle square, placing his guns in the center of the infantry formations, offering a mere half-mile front, and began his march against the Hibist line.

[29] The concentration of continuous French firepower, particularly the artillery and machine guns, on the approaching, tight human mass caused horrific casualties in the Hibist ranks.

[32] The Hibists employed much the same archaic tactics – tight regiments in a firing line, infantry charges, auxiliary cavalry and light cannon – as might be found in an early 19th-century Napoleonic battle.

Forces loyal to the qaids Madani and Thami El Glaoui, al-Gundafi, al-Mtouggi and Driss Menou overwhelmed the Hibist garrison posts inside the city.

[36] Mangin arrived with the rest of the army that afternoon, and set up his camp at Gueliz, northwest of the city, where he received the Marrakeshi qaids and their oaths of allegiance to the sultan Yusuf.

The region around Marrakesh was organized as a military district, initially under Mangin, but given the lack of French troops, Lyautey's policy was to rely on the grand qaids - al-Glawi, al-Mtouggi, al-Goundafi, al-Ayadi, Haida, etc.

While the French troops were reoriented northwards, towards conquering the Tadla plain and the Middle Atlas (see Zaian War), it was the qaids who were placed in charge of putting an end to the Hibists in the Souss.

The qaids proved their worth almost immediately, El Glaoui and al-Goundafi led an invasion of the Souss valley in early 1913, capturing Taroudannt in May and Agadir in June, driving the Hibists up into the mountains.

Although they were largely confined to the highland peaks and ravines, the Hibists still presented a constant threat to the thin French hold on the southern Moroccan valleys.