Moroccan War*

The war between Abd-el-Krim, "Sultan" of the Riffs, and the French (TIME, May 11, et seq.) continued.

In Morocco, the week was relatively quiet. A number of Riff attacks at isolated points were repulsed by the French, with losses on both sides.

The French, who were on the defensive throughout the week, completed their withdrawal behind the River Wergha, where they were entrenching. Preparations were being made, however, for attack.

The withdrawal of the French does not, as often reported, in any way indicate defeat. It was a purely strategic retreat, marking the beginning of a new type of warfare. Hitherto, the French have held the lines from a chain of blockhouses. Again and again, the tribes under Abd-el-Krim surrounded these small forts, with the result that the French had to undertake a series of expensive attacks in order to relieve them. As soon as the blockhouses had been provisioned and the relieving troops had withdrawn, the Riffs again surrounded them and relief fighting had to begin over again.

By retiring behind the Wergha, the French have largely abandoned blockhouse fighting and have formed a continuous line along the entire front.

* For further news, see SPAIN.