Atlas of Battles

battle, major, Cold War

Green March

Green March was a battle fought in 1975 at Spanish Sahara, in what is now Morocco. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at Spanish Sahara. It was part of Spanish–Moroccan conflicts.

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Der Grüne Marsch im November 1975. Marokko kämpft um den Anschluss von Spanisch-Sahara (dem späteren Westsahara).
Der Grüne Marsch im November 1975. Marokko kämpft um den Anschluss von Spanisch-Sahara (dem späteren Westsahara).. Lencer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1975
WhereSpanish Sahara, Morocco25.000N, 13.000W, placed at the location, approximate
OutcomeMoroccan victory; Civilian withdrawal ordered after a 10 km penetration; diplomatic breakthrough leading to the Madrid Accords (14 November 1975)
BelligerentsFrancoist SpainagainstMorocco; • (logistical and diplomatic support)
Part ofSpanish–Moroccan conflicts

Where it sits in Spanish–Moroccan conflicts

Conquest of the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (1508), 1508Siege of Asilah, 1508Capture of the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, 1522Capture of Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña, 1524Capture of La Mámora, 1614Siege of La Mamora, 1621Battle of Larache, 1631Battle of La Mamora, 1631Siege of La Mamora, 1647Siege of Ceuta, 1732Siege of Melilla, 1774Siege of Ceuta, 1790Bombardment of Tangier, 1791First Melillan campaign, 1893Battle of Wolf Ravine, 1900Battle of Sidi Moumen, 1907Battle of Sidi El Mekki, 1908Battle of Sidi Abdelkrim, 1908Battle of Fakhakha, 1908Relief of the workers who were building the railway to San Juan de las Minas, 1909Green March, 197515081975Green March, 1975
21 placed engagements of Spanish–Moroccan conflicts in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1975 (year precision)
to 1975
PlaceSpanish Sahara, Morocco
25.000N, 13.000W
KindBattle, Cold War
Territorial changeSpain leaves the territory; Morocco and Mauritania partially occupy and partition it
Strengthc. 5,000 legionaries and army troopsc. 350,000 civilian volunteers (including c. 50,000 women); c. 30,000 military and gendarmerie personnel escorting the march; c. 8,000–12,000 regular troops deployed along the northeastern border
Commanders
  • Juan Carlos I of Spain
  • Carlos Arias Navarro
  • Federico Gómez de Salazar
  • Hassan II of Morocco
  • Ahmed Osman (politician)
Green MarchGreen MarchBattle of Guelta ZemmurBattle of Oum DreygaBattle of Cape BoujdourBattle of Bir AnzaraneBattle of Guelta ZemmurBattle of Oum DreygaBattle of Cape BoujdourBir Mogrein100 km25.000N, 13.000W
Placed at Spanish Sahara; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Green March
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Green March today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-10-25. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 0 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 255 m, 255 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 100% bare ground.

bare ground: 100%bare ground 100%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 1 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 232 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1975

Green March is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 159 in present-day Morocco.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q870684, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Green March, revision 1383937728, read 2026-11-15, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.