Bombardment of Chefchaouen

The Bombardment of Chefchaouen was an aerial bombardment of Chefchaouen, Morocco carried out in the middle of the Rif War by a rogue American squadron in the service of the French colonial empire, the Escadrille Cherifienne, on September 17, 1925.

[1] The motivation to bomb Chefchaouen specifically was to drive the Jebala people out of the war, as it was a city the tribe considered holy.

[2] Paul Ayres Rockwell later wrote: "The city looked lovely from the air, hugging its high mountain and surrounded with many gardens and green cultivations… I looked down upon the numerous sanctuaries, the six mosques, the medieval dungeon, the big square with its fountain playing and fervently hoped none of them had been damaged.

"[2]

Front page of the Paris edition of Le Petit Journal from August 6, 1925. Translation: "The American volunteer pilots left yesterday for Morocco / Before departure: General Dumesnil gives the American colonel Sweeny a bon voyage toast."
Photo of American members of the Escadrille Cherifienne , which carried out the bombardment of Chefchaouen, at a charity ball for the Association des Dames Françaises held at Majestic.