Siege of Medina Fort

The Siege of Medina Fort took place in 1857 near Kayes modern-day Mali, when the Toucouleur forces of El Hadj Umar Tall unsuccessfully besieged French colonial troops under General Louis Faidherbe, governor of Senegal.

Origin

France at this time was struggling to create a West African empire to rival the holdings of its powerful neighbor England. The previous year, the French legislature had voted the first funds for what would become the Dakar-Niger railway line, a key transportation system to link France's colonies. As the railroad line expanded toward the east, the army established a series of forts, moving troops and cannon into them by steamship where possible and overland where not.

In 1848, Umar Tall launched his jihad against neighboring Malinké regions. By 1855, his rapid expansion had led to several skirmishes with the French army. With the authorization of his ally, Khasso king Hawa Demba Diallo, General Faidherbe ordered a fort built at the Khasso city of Medina, not far from Kayes.

The siege

In April 1857, Umar Tall declared war against the Khasso kingdom, and marched on Medina Fort, their nearest outpost, with an army of 20,000 to 25,000 riflemen. He laid siege to the fort and began a series of assaults that resulted in hundreds of casualties for the Toucouleur army. In the 97 days that followed, the defenders' food supplies soon ran low, and the fort was on the verge of surrendering when Faidherbe arrived by steamboat with supplies and 500 reinforcements, breaking the siege.

Consequences

Realizing the difficulties of attacking the well-equipped French, Umar Tall turned his attention to the neighboring Bambara Empire, soon conquering most of its territory including its capital of Segu. However, the French continued to expand their West African presence, conquering Segu and the Toucouleur empire less than thirty years after Umar Tall's death.

Reference

This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article from the French Wikipedia, retrieved on July 5, 2005