| Conflict: | Battle of Macta |
| Partof: | the French conquest of Algeria |
| Date: | 28 June 1835 |
| Place: | near the Macta River, French Algeria |
| Result: | Algerian victory |
| Combatant2: | Emirate of Mascara |
| Commander1: |  Camille Alphonse Trézel |
| Commander2: | Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri |
| Strength1: | 2,500 men[1] (French claim)
|
| Strength2: | 15,000 cavalrymen[3] (French claim) |
| Casualties1: | 300[4] -2,000[5] |
| Casualties2: | 500[6] |
The Battle of Macta was fought on 28 June 1835 between French forces under General Camille Alphonse Trézel and a coalition of Algerian tribes of western Algeria under Emir Abd al-Qadir, who, at the age of 26, waged one of his most famous battles against a superior force.
The French column, which had fought an inconclusive but somewhat bloody battle with Abdul-Qadir a few days earlier, was retreating toward Arzew to resupply when Abdul-Qadir attacked in the marshes on the banks of the Macta River in what is now western Algeria.The French panicked and fled to Arzew in a disorganized rout. The Algerians piled the heads of their defeated French enemies in a pyramid, allegedly hundreds in total.[7]
The disaster led to the recall to France of Trézel and the comte d'Erlon, the first military governor-general of the French possessions in Africa, and helped Abdul-Qadir gain influence over tribes throughout Algeria.