Siege of Medina Fort
| Siege of Medina Fort | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the French colonial wars | |||||||
Eugene Mage's view of the lifting of the siege of Fort Medina, from Voyage dans le Soudan occidental (1868) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
French Empire Khasso | Toucouleur Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Paul Holle Louis Faidherbe | Omar Saidou Tall | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
1,000 soldiers (64 with modern firearm knowledge) 4 cannons Relief force: 800 soldiers and 2 gunboats | 15,000 soldiers | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
31 killed 95 wounded |
2,000 killed many wounded | ||||||
The siege of Fort Medina took place in 1857 at Médine, on the left bank of the Senegal River in present-day Mali. The Toucouleur forces of Omar Saidou Tall unsuccessfully besieged native and French colonial troops commanded by Paul Holle. After 97 days of siege, a relief force under French Governor Louis Faidherbe lifted the siege and forced the Toucouleur army to retreat.