Foreign News: El Riff

A newspaper correspondent, writing from Wazzan behind the French lines, thus began his daily despatch on the Moroccan War (TIME, May 11, et seq.) : "One requires no map in order to follow operations in this important sector. One can install oneself comfortably—except for the flies, whose buzzing might be taken for Abd-el-Krim's air service —on a shady cafe terrace and drink cool beer while a friendly French officer explains the situation with a magnificent panorama of mountains stretched out before one for orientation."

The war last week was slack. The two armies pecked at each other, but did no serious damage.

Practically the whole valley of the Wergha is dominated by the surrounding mountains, which lie considerably to the north of the Great Atlas range and which rarely reach 5,000 feet. The territory of the Riff, which is now considerably overrun, lies in the central hinterland of the Spanish zone of Morocco at the extreme northwest of the African continent.

Master of the terrain is Abd-el-Krim, whom his followers have proclaimed "Sultan." He knows that he cannot beat the French, but he also knows that the French cannot beat him without risking far more than he, Abd-el-Krim, thinks they will. This attitude is accounted for by the comparative security which his steep mountains provide him. Troops cannot be moved across them except through winding passes which the Riffian tribesmen dominate. Artillery and bombs are almost useless; for they cannot remove mountains of rock. But against the attackers the tribesmen bring to bear all manner of weapons from cannon to big stones which they dynamite down on to the enemy.

To the northwest and northeast of the Riff, Abd-el-Krim fights the Spaniards, whom he despises. He has defeated them so often that he now loses no sleep on their account. To the south, principally along the Wergha Valley, which is in French Morocco, are the French. That is a different problem; for in French Morocco is the French Resident General, Marshal Louis Lyautey.

All Morocco (known also as the She-reefian Empire) is nominally under the technically autocratic sway of Sultan Mulai Yusef. In the Spanish zone, where the Riff is situate, Abd-el-Krim is the most potent figure. In the French zone—by far the greater part of Morocco—the greatest man is not the Sultan, who is a mere shadow, but Marshal Lyautey. This soldier, who has won fame solely by his invaluable work in Morocco, is the embodiment of

French power there. He is more. He actually governs Morocco for the Sultan, and as the Sultan is in theory an absolute monarch, Marshal Lyautey is par excellence a beneficent despot. His word is law. Yet, he always takes care to treat the Sultan's subjects with great tact. He has infinite patience, but, driven to act, he moves with merciless rapidity. The Arabs, who almost always admire a brave and wise man, admire Marshal Lyautey; for he never fails to punish the culpable, no matter how difficult it may be, and he never fails to pay the utmost respect to native traditions and beliefs. In that he is both brave and wise. All this does Abd-el-Krim know.