LCC index
CHAPTER XV.
British Troops in Africa.
German East Africa.
German East Africa, immediately to the south of the Equator, has a coast line of
about 450 miles to the Indian Ocean, extends inland for some 700 miles in the
north and 400 miles in the south, and in area is about six times the size of
England and Wales, with a population estimated at 8,000,000. The chief ports are
Tanga (pop. 6,000) in the north and Dar-es-Salaam (pop. 24,000) in the centre,
these being the termini of railways running north-westward to the Kilimanjaro
district and westwards to Kigoma, which adjoins Ujiji, on Lake Tanganyika.
Tabora (pop. 37,000), 250 miles east of Tanganyika, is the chief town in the
interior. A belt, twenty or thirty miles wide, along the coast is fiat and
low-lying, but the interior gradually rises to a series of barren plateaux at a
height of 4,000 or 5,000 feet. There are no roads, but only unmetalled tracks
through the bush, dusty in the dry, and almost impassable in the wet seasons.
Under the conditions of active service, malaria and dysentery are frequent, and
the prevalence of the tsetse fly throughout much of the country makes horses or
oxen almost useless for transport.
The enemy's force originally consisted of about 5,000 native troops and police,
with a reserve of 3,000, all officered by Germans and under the command of
General Von Lettow-Vorbeck. There were also some 1,500 European settlers. By
energetic recruiting the total strength was eventually raised during the war to
over 30,000 with 2,300 Europeans, the arms and ammunition for these increased
numbers being chiefly supplied by the Konigsberg and other vessels which ran the
weak blockade. Precise details as to our troops are lacking; they seem to have
been fewer than the enemy at first, but at the height of the campaign were more
numerous and better equipped.
They were, however, a heterogeneous assortment, consisting of British and South
African troops and settlers, native troops from many different parts of India
and native troops from East Africa, Uganda, the Gold Coast, Nigeria and even the
West Indies. The languages spoken included English, Dutch, Hindustani, Swahili
and several West Coast and East Coast dialects. Some had uniforms almost the
same as those worn by the enemy, and, to enable them to be recognised, they were
provided with the familiar blue and white bands worn by the Metropolitan Police
or with red armlets bearing the letters G.R.
At the outbreak of war the Germans, being the stronger, took the initiative,
seized Taveta in British East Africa and, until the end of 1915, frequently
raided the railway connecting Mombasa, the principal port of the colony, with
Nairobi, the capital. An enemy attack on Mombasa early in October, 1914, was
repulsed, and our attempts on Tanga early in November failed with nearly 1,000
casualties. The whole of the campaigning season of 1915 was taken up with raids
and counter raids across the various frontiers.
After several changes, Lt.-Gen. J. C. Smuts from South Africa, succeeding Sir
Horace Smith-Dorrien who, owing to ill-health, had resigned on his way out from
England, was appointed commander in February, 1916, and started a vigorous
offensive. In March the German position at Taveta was outflanked and seized, the
Latema — Reata ridge was forced and Kahe was captured. Kondoa Irangi was seized
by General Van Deventer on 19th April. While a large body of the enemy was
engaged in checking our further progress to the south of the latter place. Smuts
turned south-east from Kahe, cleared the Usambara district and occupied Tanga
and Pangani. Belgian and British troops by July drove the enemy from the
district between Lakes Victoria and Tanganyika, and at the same time Van
Deventer reached the central railway at Dodoma. The Germans, who had retreated
to a strong position in the Nguru Mountains, were out-flanked and driven south
in August, on 3rd September Dar-es-Salaam fell and by the end of the month the
coast as far south as the Portuguese frontier had been occupied. During the
autumn the Germans under General Wahle were driven out of Tabora and nearly
surrounded, but, with the loss of more than half their numbers, managed to break
through and join the main body on the Mahenge plateau.
Our losses from sickness were very heavy. In one week in September there were
9,000 in hospital, of whom 4,000 were whites, and between October and December
from 12,000 to 15,000 patients, mostly malaria cases, were evacuated from the
hospitals along the central railway alone. The wastage among animals for two
months from the middle of September was, horses 10,000, mules 10,000, oxen
11,000, donkeys 2,500.
In January, 1917, when Lettow-Vorbeck had been hemmed in in the south-eastern
part of the colony, Smuts was recalled to take part in the Imperial Conference,
and about this time all white infantry and mounted troops were withdrawn. He was
succeeded by General Hoskins who, in May, was succeeded by General Van Deventer.
At the end of the latter month a sortie to the north-west was met and driven
back by the Belgians who, during the summer, continued their advance and in
October drove a German force from Mahenge. Van Deventer, working from Lindi on
the coast, defeated the Germans in several engagements in November, captured
some 5,000 prisoners, and forced Lettow-Vorbeck with the remnants of his troops
across the Rovuma into Portuguese territory. In 1918 the British, with
assistance from the Portuguese, carried out active operations in Portuguese
territory against the Germans, who sometimes made daring raids but more often
fled further and further afield. One detachment under General Wahle returned
northward into German East Africa and was captured. The main body eventually got
into Northern Rhodesia and was there at the conclusion of hostilities when, in
accordance with the Armistice, Lettow-Vorbeck was ordered by his Government to
surrender.
G. A. Hogg (R.N., Tram.), gunlayer on board H.M.S. Severn, received the D.S.M.
for his devotion to duty during the destruction of the Konigsberg in July, 1915.
A. W. Henderson (R.N., L.F.B.) was killed by an explosion on H.M.S. Mersey which
was taking part in the attack.
Cameroon.
Cameroon was a German colony on the west coast of Africa just to the north of
the equator. It has a coast line to the Bight of Biafra of 200 miles, extends
inland for an average distance of about 400 miles and has an area of nearly
200,000 square miles, with a population of about 3 1 millions of whom only a few
thousand are Europeans. Along the coast is a belt, 150 miles wide, of almost
impenetrable forest, fringed by mangrove swamps; the interior is higher and more
open. Incessant tropical rains, the absence of roads, and the dense undergrowth
made active service very trying, and caused much of the fighting to be along the
railways. Of these there were two, both running from Duala, the capital, one
towards the east and the other towards the north. British Nigeria Hes to the
north-west, French Congo to the east and the latter and Spanish Guinea to the
south.
Duala was occupied on 27th September, 1914, and by the end of the year the
districts along the northern railway and towards Edea, which was attacked along
the partly navigable rivers Sanaga and Njong, were subdued by the British and
French respectively. Early in 1915 an attack on Yaunde, to which the Germans had
transferred their administration, failed, and a counter-attack upon our lines of
communication forced us back. Heavy rains put an end to further fighting until
August when a second attack on Yaunde was organised. Allied troops captured
Sende on 25th and Eseka on 30th October. French troops at Bertua and "Dume and
Belgian troops from the south-east co-operated, and on 1st January, 1916, Yaunde
fell. Many of the enemy made their way to Spanish territory, isolated districts
in the north were cleared, and by the middle of February all fighting had ended.