First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
comprises campaigns in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
instigated by the German and Ottoman empires, local rebellions against European colonial rule and
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
campaigns against the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
colonies of
Kamerun
Kamerun was an African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon. Kamerun also included northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern ...
,
Togoland
Togoland was a German Empire protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400 km2 (29,867 sq mi) in size. During the period kn ...
,
German South West Africa
German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
and German East Africa. The campaigns were fought by German , local resistance movements and forces of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
.
Background
Strategic context
German colonies in Africa had been acquired in the 1880s and were not well defended. They were also surrounded by territories controlled by
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. Colonial military forces in Africa were relatively small, poorly equipped and had been created to maintain internal order, rather than conduct military operations against other colonial forces. The
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergenc ...
of 1884 had provided for European colonies in Africa to be
neutral
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
if war broke out in Europe; in 1914 none of the European powers had plans to challenge their opponents for control of overseas colonies. When news of the outbreak of war reached European colonialists in Africa, it was met by little of the enthusiasm seen in the capital cities of the states which maintained colonies. An editorial in the ''
East African Standard
''The Standard'' is one of the largest newspapers in Kenya with a 48% market share. It is the oldest newspaper in the country and is owned by The Standard Group, which also runs the Kenya Television Network (KTN), Radio Maisha, ''The Nairobian ...
'' on 22 August argued that Europeans in Africa should not fight each other but instead collaborate to maintain the repression of the
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
population. War was against the interest of the white colonialists because they were small in number, many of the European conquests were recent, unstable and operated through existing local structures of power; the organisation of African economic potential for European profit had only recently begun.
In Britain, an Offensive sub-committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence was appointed on 5 August and established a principle that
command of the sea
Command of the sea (also called control of the sea or sea control) is a naval military concept regarding the strength of a particular navy to a specific naval area it controls. A navy has command of the sea when it is so strong that its rivals ...
s was to be ensured and that objectives were considered only if they could be attained with local forces and if the objective assisted the priority of maintaining British sea communications, as
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
garrisons abroad were returned to Europe in an "Imperial Concentration". Attacks on German coaling stations and wireless stations were considered to be important to clear the seas of Imperial German Navy
commerce raiders
Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than eng ...
Windhoek
Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...
Dar-es-Salaam
Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
in Africa and a German wireless station in Togoland, next to the British colony of Gold Coast in the
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in ...
, which were considered vulnerable to attack by local or allied forces and in the Far East, which led to the
Siege of Tsingtao
The siege of Tsingtao (or Tsingtau) was the attack on the German port of Tsingtao (now Qingdao) in China during World War I by Japan and the United Kingdom. The siege was waged against Imperial Germany between 27 August and 7 November 1914. ...
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
to influence conditions in the French colonies by intriguing with the potentates who had been ousted by the French. Spanish authorities in the region informally tolerated the distribution of propaganda and money but thwarted a German plot to smuggle 5,000 rifles and 500,000 bullets through Spain. The maintained several agents in North Africa but had only two in Morocco. The Zaian War was fought between France and the Zaian confederation of
Berber people
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg
, caption = The Berber flag, Berber ethnic flag
, population = 36 million
, region1 = Morocco
, pop1 = 14 million to 18 million
, region2 = Algeria
, p ...
in French Morocco between 1914 and 1921. Morocco had become a French protectorate in 1912 and the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
extended French influence eastwards through the
Middle Atlas
The Middle Atlas (Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵙ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'', Arabic: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous region ...
Mouha ou Hammou Zayani
Mouha Ou Hammou Zayani, by his full name: Mohammed ou Hammou ben Akka ben Ahmed, also known as Moha Ou Hamou al-Harkati Zayani (c.1863 – 27 March 1921) was a Moroccan Berber military figure and tribal leader who played an important role in ...
Khénifra
Khenifra ( Berber: ''Xnifṛa'', ⵅⵏⵉⴼⵕⴰ, ar, خنيفرة) is a city in northern central Morocco, surrounded by the Atlas Mountains and located on the Oum Er-Rbia River. National Highway 8 also goes through the town. The population, ...
but managed to inflict many casualties on the French, who responded by establishing ,
combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects (for example by using infantry and armour in an urban environment in which each supports the other) ...
formations of regular and irregular infantry, cavalry and artillery. By 1914 the French had in Morocco but two-thirds were withdrawn from 1914 to 1915 for service in France and at the
Battle of El Herri
The Battle of El Herri (also known as Elhri) was fought between France and the Berber Zaian Confederation on 13 November 1914. It took place at the small settlement of El Herri, near Khénifra in the French protectorate in Morocco. The batt ...
(13 November 1914) more than soldiers were killed.
Hubert Lyautey
Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in ...
, the governor, reorganised his forces and pursued a forward policy rather than passive defence. The French regained most of the lost territory, despite intelligence and financial support from the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
to the Zaian Confederation and raids which caused losses to the French when already short of manpower.
Senussi campaign, 1915–1917
Coastal campaign, 1915–1916
On 6 November, the German submarine ''U–35'' torpedoed and sank a steamer, , in the Bay of
Sollum
Sallum ( ar, السلوم, translit=as-Sallūm various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the Mediterra ...
. ''U-35'' surfaced, sank the coastguard gunboat ''Abbas'' and badly damaged ''Nur el Bahr'' with its deck gun. On 14 November the Senussi attacked an Egyptian position at Sollum and on the night of 17 November, a party of Senussi fired into Sollum as another party cut the coast telegraph line. Next night a monastery at
Sidi Barrani
Sidi Barrani ( ar, سيدي براني ) is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about
east of the Egypt–Libya border, and around from Tobruk, Libya.
Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of ...
, beyond Sollum, was occupied by 300 and on the night of 19 November, a coastguard was killed. An Egyptian post was attacked east of Sollum on 20 November. The British withdrew from Sollum to
Mersa Matruh
Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway ...
, further east, which had better facilities for a base and the
Western Frontier Force
The Western Frontier Force was raised from British Empire troops during the Senussi Campaign from November 1915 to February 1917, under the command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). Orders for the formation of the force were issued on ...
(Major-General A. Wallace) was created. On 11 December, a British column sent to Duwwar Hussein was attacked along the Matruh–Sollum track and in the Affair of Wadi Senba, drove the Senussi out of the wadi. The reconnaissance continued and on 13 December at Wadi Hasheifiat, the British were attacked again and held up until artillery came into action in the afternoon and forced the Senussi to retreat.
The British returned to Matruh until 25 December and then made a night advance to surprise the Senussi. At the Affair of Wadi Majid, the Senussi were defeated but were able to withdraw to the west. Air reconnaissance found more Senussi encampments in the vicinity of Matruh at Halazin, which was attacked on 23 January, in the Affair of Halazin. The Senussi fell back skilfully and then attempted to envelop the British flanks. The British were pushed back on the flanks as the centre advanced and defeated the main body of Senussi, who were again able to withdraw. In February 1916, the Western Frontier Force was reinforced and a British column was sent west along the coast to re-capture
Sollum
Sallum ( ar, السلوم, translit=as-Sallūm various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the Mediterra ...
. Air reconnaissance discovered a Senussi encampment at Agagia, which was attacked in the
action of Agagia
The Action of Agagia (also Agagiya, Aqqaqia or Aqaqia) took place east of Sidi Barrani in Egypt on 26 February 1916, during the Senussi Campaign between German and Ottoman-instigated Senussi forces and the British army in Egypt. On 11 December ...
on 26 February. The Senussi were defeated and then intercepted by the
Dorset Yeomanry
The Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army founded in 1794 as the Dorsetshire Regiment of Volunteer Yeomanry Cavalry in response to the growing threat of invasion during the Napoleonic wars. It gained its first ro ...
as they withdrew; the Yeomanry charged across open ground swept by machine-gun and rifle fire. The British lost half their horses and men but prevented the Senussi from slipping away. Jafar Pasha, the commander of the Senussi forces on the coast, was captured and Sollum was re-occupied by British forces on 14 March 1916, which concluded the coastal campaign.
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...
, occupied
Bahariya Oasis
El-Wahat el-Bahariya or el-Bahariya ( ar, الواحات البحرية "''El-Wāḥāt El-Baḥrīya''", "the Northern Oases"); is a depression and a naturally rich oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt. It is approximately 370 km away from ...
Farafra Oasis
The Farafra depression ( ar, واحة الفرافرة, ) is a geological depression, the second biggest by size in Western Egypt and the smallest by population, near latitude 27.06° north and longitude 27.97° east. It is in the large Wester ...
was occupied at the same time and then the Senussi moved on to
Dakhla Oasis
Dakhla Oasis (Egyptian Arabic: , , "''the inner oasis"''), is one of the seven oases of Egypt's Western Desert. Dakhla Oasis lies in the New Valley Governorate, 350 km (220 mi.) from the Nile and between the oases of Farafra and Khar ...
on 27 February. The British responded by forming the Southern Force at Beni Suef. Egyptian officials at
Kharga Oasis
The Kharga Oasis (Arabic: , ) ; Coptic: ( "Oasis of Hib", "Oasis of Psoi") is the southernmost of Egypt's five western oases. It is located in the Western Desert, about 200 km (125 miles) to the west of the Nile valley. "Kharga" or ...
were withdrawn and the oasis was occupied by the Senussi until they withdrew without being attacked. The British reoccupied the oasis on 15 April and began to extend the light railway terminus at Kharga to the Moghara Oasis. The mainly Australian
Imperial Camel Corps
The Imperial Camel Corps Brigade (ICCB) was a camel-mounted infantry brigade that the British Empire raised in December 1916 during the First World War for service in the Middle East.
From a small beginning the unit eventually grew to a brigad ...
patrolled on camels and in light
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
cars to cut off the Senussi from the Nile Valley. Preparations to attack Bahariya Oasis were detected by the Senussi garrison, which withdrew to Siwa in early October. The Southern Force attacked the Senussi in the Affairs in the Dakhla Oasis , after which the Senussi retreated to their base at Siwa.
In January 1917, a British column including the Light Armoured Car Brigade with Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars and three Light Car Patrols was dispatched to Siwa. On 3 February the armoured cars surprised and engaged the Senussi at
Girba
Djerba (; ar, جربة, Jirba, ; it, Meninge, Girba), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. It had a population of 139,544 a ...
, who retreated overnight. Siwa was entered on 4 February without opposition but a British ambush party at the Munassib Pass was foiled, when the escarpment was found to be too steep for the armoured cars. The light cars managed to descend the escarpment and captured a convoy on 4 February. Next day the Senussi from Girba were intercepted but managed to establish a post the cars were unable to reach and then warned the rest of the Senussi. The British force returned to Matruh on 8 February and Sayyid Ahmed withdrew to
Jaghbub
Jaghbub ( ar, الجغبوب) is a remote desert village in the Al Jaghbub Oasis in the eastern Libyan Desert. It is actually closer to the Egyptian town of Siwa than to any Libyan town of note. The oasis is located in Butnan District and was ...
. Negotiations between Sayed Idris and the Anglo-Italians which had begun in late January were galvanised by news of the Senussi defeat at Siwa. In the accords of Akramah, Idris accepted the British terms on 12 April and those of Italy on 14 April.
Volta-Bani War, 1915–1917
The Volta-Bani War was an anti-colonial rebellion that took place in parts of French West Africa (now
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
and
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
) between 1915 and 1917. It was a war between an indigenous African army, a heterogeneous coalition of peoples against the French Army. At its height in 1916, the indigenous forces mustered from 15,000–20,000 men and fought on several fronts. After about a year and several setbacks, the French army defeated the insurgents and jailed or executed their leaders but resistance continued until 1917.
Darfur Expedition, 1916
On 1 March 1916 hostilities began between the Sudanese government and the
Sultanate of Darfur
The Sultanate of Darfur was a pre-colonial state in present-day Sudan. It existed from 1603 to October 24, 1874, when it fell to the Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr and again from 1898 to 1916, when it was conquered by the British and integr ...
. The Anglo-Egyptian Darfur Expedition was conducted to forestall an imagined invasion of
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ar, السودان الإنجليزي المصري ') was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt in the Sudans region of northern Africa between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day ...
and the
Sultanate of Egypt
The Sultanate of Egypt () was the short-lived protectorate that the United Kingdom imposed over Egypt between 1914 and 1922.
History
Soon after the start of the First World War, Khedive Abbas II of Egypt was removed from power by the British ...
Ali Dinar
Ali Dinar ( ar, علي دينار; 1856 – November 6, 1916) was a Sultan of the Sultanate of Darfur and ruler from the Keira dynasty.
In 1898, with the decline of the Mahdists, he managed to regain Darfur's independence.
A rebellion ...
, which was believed to have been synchronised with a Senussi advance into Egypt from the west. The
Sirdar
The rank of Sirdar ( ar, سردار) – a variant of Sardar – was assigned to the British Commander-in-Chief of the British-controlled Egyptian Army in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Sirdar resided at the Sirdaria, a three-blo ...
(commander) of the Egyptian Army organised a force of men at
Rahad
Ar-Rahad ( ar, ٱلـرَّهَـد, "The Water-shrine") is a city located in the state of North Kordofan, Sudan, at an altitude of above sea level. It is about away from the capital, Khartoum. It is a major railway station linking East and Cent ...
, a railhead east of the Darfur frontier. On 16 March, the force crossed the frontier mounted in lorries from a forward base established at Nahud, from the border, with the support of four aircraft. By May the force was close to the Darfur capital of
El Fasher
Al Fashir, Al-Fashir or El Fasher ( ar, الفاشر) is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a large town in the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan, northeast of Nyala, Sudan.
"Al-Fashir" (description)
''Encyclopædia Brit ...
. At the Affair of Beringia on 22 May, the Fur Army was defeated and the Anglo-Egyptian force captured the capital the next day. Dinar and had left before their arrival and as they moved south, were bombed from the air.
French troops in Chad who had returned from the Kamerun Campaign prevented a Darfurian withdrawal westwards. Dinar withdrew into the Marra Mountains south of El Fasher and sent envoys to discuss terms but the British believed he was prevaricating and ended the talks on 1 August. Internal dissension reduced the force with Dinar to men; Anglo-Egyptian outposts were pushed out from El Fasher to the west and southwest after the August rains. A skirmish took place at Dibbis on 13 October and Dinar opened negotiations but was again suspected of bad faith. Dinar fled southwest to Gyuba and a small force was sent in pursuit. At dawn on 6 November, the Anglo-Egyptians attacked in the Affair of Gyuba and Dinar's remaining followers scattered. The body of the Sultan was found from the camp. After the expedition, Darfur was incorporated into Sudan.
Kaocen revolt, 1916–1917
Ag Mohammed Wau Teguidda Kaocen
Kaocen Ag Geda (1880–1919) (also known as Kaocen, Kaosen, Kawsen) was a Tuareg noble and clan leader. Born in 1880 near wadi Tamazlaght Aïr (modern Niger), Kaocen from tribe of Ikazkazan berber, a subset of the Kel Owey confederation. He ...
(1880–1919), the
Amenokal Amenukal ( Berber: ⵎⵏⴾⵍ, ⴰⵎⵏⵓⴽⴰⵍ) is a title for the highest Tuareg traditional chiefs; the paramount confederation leader.
History
Prior to the colonial period in the Maghreb and Sahel, the nomadic Tuareg federations chose a ...
(Chief) of the Ikazkazan
Tuareg
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Alg ...
confederation, had attacked
French colonial forces
The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...
from 1909. The Sanusiya leadership in the
Fezzan
Fezzan ( , ; ber, ⴼⵣⵣⴰⵏ, Fezzan; ar, فزان, Fizzān; la, Phazania) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ...
oasis town of
Kufra
Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of nineteenth century Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...
declared Jihad against the French colonialists in October 1914. The Sultan of Agadez convinced the French that the Tuareg confederations remained loyal and Kaocen's forces besieged the garrison on 17 December 1916. Kaocen, his brother Mokhtar Kodogo and Tuareg raiders, armed with rifles and a field gun captured from the Royal Italian Army in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
, defeated several French relief columns. The Tuareg seized the main towns of the Aïr, including Ingall, Assodé and
Aouderas
Aouderas (alt: ''Adharous'', ''Auderas'') is an oasis village in the Aïr Mountains of northeastern Niger, about north-northeast of the Regions of Niger, regional capital of Agadez. It is also the name of the valley in which the town is located ...
. Modern northern Niger came under rebel control for over three months. On 3 March 1917, a large French force from
Zinder
Zinder (locally, ''Damagaram''), formerly also spelled Sinder, is the third largest city in Niger, with a population of 170,574 (2001 census);
relieved the Agadez garrison and began to recapture the towns. Mass reprisals were taken against the town populations, especially against
marabout
A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Sah ...
s, though many were neither Tuareg or rebels. The French summarily killed in public in Agadez and Ingal. Kaocen fled north; in 1919 he was killed by local militia in Mourzouk. Kaocen's brother was killed by the French in 1920 after a revolt he led amongst the
Toubou
The Toubou or Tubu (from Old Tebu, meaning "rock people") are an ethnic group native to the Tibesti Mountains that inhabit the central Sahara in northern Chad, southern Libya and northeastern Niger. They live either as herders and nomads or as ...
and
Fula
Fula may refer to:
*Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe)
*Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani)
**The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language
**The Fula variety known as the Pular language
**The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde
*Al-Fula ...
in the
Sultanate of Damagaram
The Sultanate of Damagaram was a Muslim pre-colonial state in what is now southeastern Niger, centered on the city of Zinder.
History
Rise
The Sultanate of Damagaram was founded in 1731 (near Mirriah, modern Niger) by Muslim Kanouri ar ...
Diiriye Guure Diiriye may refer to:
* Diriye Osman, Somali-British writer
* Abdillahi Diiriye Guled, Somali scholar
* Diiriye Guure, king of the Darawiish sultanate
*Asha Gelle Dirie, activist for Puntite and Puntland women
*Waris Dirie Waris may refer to:
...
, sultan of the
Dervish state
The Dervish Movement ( so, Dhaqdhaqaaqa Daraawiish) was a popular movement between 1899 and 1920, which was led by the Salihiyya Sufi Muslim poet and militant leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, also known as Sayyid Mohamed, who called for independe ...
, continued his campaign against Ethiopian and European encroachment. In March 1914, forty Dervishes had ridden to attack
Berbera
Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...
, the capital of British Somaliland, which caused considerable panic; in November, troops of the
Somaliland Camel Corps
The Somaliland Camel Corps (SCC) was a Rayid unit of the British Army based in British Somaliland. It lasted from the early 20th century until 1944.
Beginnings and the Dervish rebellion
In 1888, after signing successive treaties with the then r ...
, with 600 Somali and 650 Indian Army troops, captured three forts at Shimber Berris and then had to return in February 1915 to take them again. The British adopted a policy of containment given their slender resources and tried to keep Sayyid and his 6,000 supporters penned in eastern Somaliland, to encourage desertion and ruthless killings of his own men by Sayyid, which succeeded. British prestige depended on the protection of friendly Somali areas and the deterrence of those Somali peoples inspired by Sayyid from crossing into the
East Africa Protectorate
East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Britai ...
(British East Africa, now Kenya).
When the Ottoman Empire entered the war in November 1914, the British colonial authorities in British East Africa became apprehensive of attacks from the Muslims of Ethiopia and Somaliland but none transpired until 1916, when trouble also broke out in some Muslim units of the Indian Army stationed in East Africa, including desertions and self-inflicted wounds. In February, about 500
Aulihan
The Aulihan () are a Somali clan, a division of the Ogaden clan, living on both sides of the Kenya - Somalia border. The majorities migrated in response to pressure from the expanding Ethiopian empire and had taken control of the hinterland of th ...
warriors from Somaliland captured a British fort at Serenli and killed 65 soldiers of the garrison and their British officer. The British retired from their main fort in the north-east at
Wajir
Wajir ( so, Wajeer) is the capital of the Wajir County of Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province.
History
A cluster of cairns near Wajir are generally ascribed by the local inhabitants to the Maadiinle, a semi-legendary pe ...
and it was not for two years that the Aulihan were defeated. The complications caused by the Ottoman call to Jihad had put the British to considerable trouble in East Africa and elsewhere, to avoid the growth of a pan-Muslim movement. Even when the Ottoman call had little effect, the British were fearful of an African Jihad. To impress the Somali people, some elders were taken to Egypt in 1916 to view the military might of the British empire. The warships, railways and prison camps full of German and Ottoman soldiers made a great impression, which was increased by the outbreak of the
Arab Revolt
The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On ...
in June.
West Africa
Togoland campaign, 1914
The Togoland Campaign (9–26 August 1914) was a French and British invasion of the German colony of Togoland in West Africa (which became
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
and the
Volta Region
Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi- ...
of
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
after independence) during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The colony was invaded on 6 August, by French forces from Dahomey to the east and on 9 August by British forces from Gold Coast to the west. German colonial forces withdrew from the capital
Lomé
Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437
and the coastal province and then fought delaying actions on the route north to
Kamina
Kamina is the capital city of Haut-Lomami Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Transport
Kamina is known as an important railway node; three lines of the DRC railways run from Kamina toward the north, west, and south-east. The m ...
, where a new wireless station linked Berlin to Togoland, the Atlantic and South America. The main British and French force from the neighbouring colonies of Gold Coast and Dahomey advanced from the coast up the road and railway, as smaller forces converged on Kamina from the north. The German defenders were able to delay the invaders for several days at the battles of
Bafilo
Bafilo is a city in Togo south of Kara and north of Sokode in Tchaoudjo Region.
It is known for its large mosque, wagassi cheese, its weaving industry and the nearby Bafilo Falls.
History
World War I
During World War I, a skirmish took plac ...
, Agbeluvhoe and Chra but surrendered the colony on 26 August 1914. In 1916, Togoland was partitioned by the victors and in July 1922,
British Togoland
British Togoland, officially the Mandate Territory of Togoland and later officially the Trust Territory of Togoland, was a territory in West Africa, under the administration of the United Kingdom, which subsequently entered into union with Ghan ...
and
French Togoland
French Togoland (French: '' Togo français'') was a French colonial empires, French colonial League of Nations mandate from 1916 to 1960 in French West Africa. In 1960 it became the independent Togolese Republic, and the present day nation of T ...
were created as League of Nations mandates. The French acquisition consisted of of the colony, including the coast. The British received the smaller, less populated and less developed portion of Togoland to the west. The surrender of Togoland was the beginning of the end for the German colonial empire in Africa.
Bussa uprising, 1915
In the
Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria
Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. British influence in the region began with the prohibition of slave trade to British subjects in 1807. Britain a ...
(now Nigeria), the British policy of indirect rule through local proxies was extended after the outbreak of the First World War, when British colonial officers and troops were withdrawn for war service. The British became more dependent on local emirs but in
Bussa
Bussa's rebellion (14–16 April 1816) was the largest slave revolt in Barbadian history. The rebellion takes its name from the African-born slave, Bussa, who led the rebellion. The rebellion, which was eventually defeated by the colonial mili ...
, the re-organisation of local government in 1912 overthrew the authority of the traditional ruler. The hereditary Emir of Bussa, Kitoro Gani was moved aside and the
Borgu Emirate
The Borgu Emirate is a Nigerian traditional state with its capital in New Bussa, Niger State, Nigeria. The Emirate was formed in 1954 when the Bussa and Kaiama emirates were merged. These emirates, with Illa, were formerly part of the Borgu state, ...
was divided, each area ruled by a (native administration). In June 1915, about 600 rebels, armed with
bows and arrows
The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles ( arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was com ...
occupied Bussa, captured and killed half of the new native administration; the survivors fled the district. The rebellion caused panic because the British authorities were so short of troops. A small force from the
West African Frontier Force
The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognitio ...
(WAFF) and the Nigeria police moved into Bussa and skirmished with the rebels. No soldiers were killed and only 150 shots were fired. Sabukki, one of the ringleaders fled to nearby
French Dahomey
French Dahomey was a French colony and part of French West Africa from 1894 to 1958. After World War II, by the establishment of the French Fourth Republic in 1947, Dahomey became part of the French Union with an increased autonomy. On 4 October ...
and the rebellion was suppressed.
The war in Nigeria played a role in British politics during the war. At the beginning of the war, the British government seized foreign expatriate firms in the lucrative palm oil trade owned by the Central Powers. Merchants based in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
wanted to establish a British monopoly over the trade, but the ruling
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
under Prime Minister
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
favoured allowing international competition. Although the issue was insignificant, it allowed
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
dissatisfied with their party's exclusion from key posts and decision-making in the
Asquith coalition ministry
The Asquith coalition ministry was the Government of the United Kingdom under the Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith from May 1915 to December 1916. It was formed as a multi-party war-time coalition nine months after the beginning of the Firs ...
to stage a parliamentary revolt. On November 8, 1916,
Edward Carson
Edward Henry Carson, 1st Baron Carson, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (Ire) (9 February 1854 – 22 October 1935), from 1900 to 1921 known as Sir Edward Carson, was an Unionism in Ireland, Irish u ...
attacked Conservative Party Leader Bonar Law for supporting the Liberal position and led a successful vote against the party leadership on the issue. This began the downfall of Asquith's government and its replacement by a new coalition government of Conservatives and Coalition Liberals led by
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...
, with Asquith and the majority of the Liberals going into opposition.
Kamerun campaign, 1914–1916
By 25 August 1914, British forces in Nigeria had moved into Kamerun towards Mara in the far north, towards Garua in the centre and towards Nsanakang in the south. British forces moving towards Garua under the command of Colonel MacLear were ordered to push to the German border post at Tepe near Garua. The first engagement between British and German troops in the campaign took place at the
Battle of Tepe
The Battle of Tepe (or Tebe) on 25 August 1914 was the first skirmish between German and British forces during the Kamerun campaign in of the First World War. The conflict took place on the border between British Nigeria and German Kamerun, endi ...
, eventually resulting in German withdrawal. In the far north British forces attempted to take the German fort at Mora but failed and began a siege which lasted until the end of the campaign. British forces in the south attacked Nsanakang and were defeated and almost completely destroyed by German counterattacks at the Battle of Nsanakong. MacLear then pushed his forces further inland towards the German stronghold of Garua but was repulsed in the
First Battle of Garua
The First Battle of Garua took place from 29 to 31 August 1914 during the Kamerun campaign of the First World War between German and invading British forces in northern Kamerun at Garua. It was the first significant action to take place in the c ...
on 31 August.
In 1915 the German forces, except for those at Mora and Garua, withdrew to the mountains near the new capital of Jaunde. In the spring the German forces delayed or repulsed Allied attacks and a force under Captain von Crailsheim from Garua conducted an offensive into Nigeria and fought the
Battle of Gurin
The Battle of Gurin took place on 29 April 1915 during the Kamerun campaign of World War I in Gurin, British Nigeria near the border with German Kamerun. The battle was one of the largest of the German forays into the British colony. It ended in ...
. General Frederick Hugh Cunliffe began the
Second Battle of Garua
The Second Battle of Garua took place from 31 May to 10 June 1915 during the Kamerun campaign of the First World War in Garua, German Kamerun. The battle was between a combined French and British force and defending German garrison and resulte ...
in June, which was a British victory. Allied units in northern Kamerun were freed to push into the interior, where the Germans were defeated at the Battle of Ngaundere on 29 June. Cunliffe advanced south to Jaunde but was held up by heavy rains and his force joined the Siege of Mora. When the weather improved, Cunliffe moved further south, captured a German fort at the
Battle of Banjo
During the Battle of Banjo or Battle of Banyo, British forces besieged German forces entrenched on the Banjo mountain from 4 to 6 November 1915 during the Kamerun campaign of the First World War. By 6 November much of the German force had deser ...
on 6 November and occupied several towns by the end of the year. In December, the forces of Cunliffe and Dobell made contact and made ready to conduct an assault on Jaunde. In this year most of had been fully occupied by Belgian and French troops, who also began to prepare for an attack on Jaunde.
German forces began to cross into the Spanish colony of Rio Muni on 23 December 1915 and with Allied forces pressing in on Jaunde from all sides, the German commander Carl Zimmermann ordered the remaining German units and civilians to escape into Rio Muni. By mid-February, and civilians had reached Spanish territory. On 18 February the Siege of Mora ended with the surrender of the garrison. Most Kamerunians remained in Muni but the Germans eventually moved to Fernando Po and some were allowed by Spain to travel to the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to go home. Some Kamerunians including the paramount chief of the
Beti people
Beti may refer to:
People
* Mongo Beti (1932–2001), Cameroonian writer
* Beti George (born 1939), Welsh television and radio broadcaster
* Beti Jones (1919–2006), Scottish social worker
* Beti Kamya-Turwomwe (born 1955), Ugandan businesswoma ...
moved to
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, where they lived as visiting nobility on German funds.
Adubi War, 1918
The Adubi War was an uprising that occurred in June and July 1918 in the British Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, because of taxation introduced by the colonial government.
Direct tax
Although the actual definitions vary between jurisdictions, in general, a direct tax or income tax is a tax imposed upon a person or property as distinct from a tax imposed upon a transaction, which is described as an indirect tax. There is a di ...
es were introduced by the colonial government along with existing forced labour obligations and various fees. On 7 June, the British arrested 70 Egba chiefs and issued an ultimatum that resisters should lay down their arms, pay the taxes and obey the local leaders. On 11 June, a party of soldiers returned from East Africa were brought in and on 13 July, Egba rebels pulled up railway lines at Agbesi and derailed a train. Other rebels demolished the station at Wasimi and killed the British agent and Oba Osile was attacked. Hostilities between the rebels and colonial troops continued for about three weeks at Otite, Tappona, Mokoloki and Lalako but by 10 July, the rebellion had been put down, the leaders killed or arrested. About 600 people died, including the British agent and the Oba Osile, the African leader of the north-eastern Egba district, although this may have been due to a dispute over land and unconnected to the uprising. The incident led to the abrogation of Abeokutan independence in 1918 and the introduction of
forced labor
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
in the region; imposition of the direct taxes was postponed until 1925.
South West Africa
German South West Africa campaign, 1914–1915
An invasion of
German South West Africa
German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
from the south failed at the
Battle of Sandfontein
The Battle of Sandfontein was fought between the Union of South Africa on behalf of the British Imperial Government and the German Empire (modern-day Namibia) on 26 September 1914 at Sandfontein, during the first stage of the South West Afric ...
(25 September 1914), close to the border with the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...
. German fusiliers inflicted a serious defeat on the British troops and the survivors returned to British territory. The Germans began an invasion of the
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...
to forestall another invasion attempt and the
Battle of Kakamas
The battle of Kakamas took place in Kakamas, Northern Cape Province of South Africa on 4 February 1915. It was a skirmish for control of two river fords over the Orange River between contingents of a German invasion force and South African armed ...
took place on 4 February 1915, between the South African Union Defence Force and German ''
Schutztruppe
(, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned ...
'', a skirmish for control of two river fords over the
Orange River
The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...
. The South Africans prevented the Germans from gaining control of the fords and crossing the river. By February 1915, the South Africans were ready to occupy German territory. South African Prime Minister
Louis Botha
Louis Botha (; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first prime minister of the Union of South Africa – the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war hero during the Second Boer War, ...
put
Jan Smuts
Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
in command of the southern forces while he commanded the northern forces. Botha arrived at
Swakopmund
Swakopmund (german: Mouth of the Swakop) is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and covers ...
on 11 February and continued to build up his invasion force at Walfish Bay (or Walvis Bay), a South African enclave about halfway along the coast of German South West Africa. In March Botha began an advance from Swakopmund along the Swakop valley with its railway line and captured
Otjimbingwe
Otjimbingwe (also: Otjimbingue) is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. It has approximately 8,000 inhabitants.
History
The area was already a temporary settlement of some Herero in the early 18th century. Their chief Tjiponda c ...
Okahandja
Okahandja is a city of 24,100 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the ''Garden Town of Namibia''. It is located 70 km north of Windhoek on the ...
and then entered
Windhuk
Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...
on 5 May 1915.
The Germans offered surrender terms, which were rejected by Botha and the war continued. On 12 May Botha declared martial law and divided his forces into four contingents, which cut off German forces in the interior from the coastal regions of Kunene and
Kaokoveld
The Kaokoveld Desert is a coastal desert of northern Namibia and southern Angola.
Setting
The Kaokoveld Desert occupies a coastal strip covering , from 13° to 21°S and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Namibian savanna woodl ...
and fanned out into the north-east. Lukin went along the railway line from Swakopmund to
. The other two columns rapidly advanced on the right flank, Myburgh to Otavi junction and Manie Botha to Tsumeb and the terminus of the railway. German forces in the north-west fought the
Battle of Otavi
The Battle of Otavi fought between the militaries of the Union of South Africa and German Southwest Africa on 1 July 1915 was the final battle of the South West Africa Campaign of World War I. The battle, fought between Otavi mountain and Otavifo ...
on 1 July but were defeated and surrendered at Khorab on 9 July 1915. In the south, Smuts landed at the South West African naval base at Luderitzbucht, then advanced inland and captured Keetmanshoop on 20 May. The South Africans linked with two columns which had advanced over the border from South Africa. Smuts advanced north along the railway line to
Berseba
Berseba ( Nama: ǃAutsawises) is a village in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia and the district capital of the Berseba electoral constituency. It is situated north-west of Keetmanshoop near the Brukkaros Mountain, a famous tourist des ...
and on 26 May, after two days' fighting captured Gibeon. The Germans in the south were forced to retreat northwards towards Windhuk and Botha's force. On 9 July the German forces in the south surrendered.
Maritz rebellion, 1914–1915
General
Koos de la Rey
Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey (22 October 1847 – 15 September 1914), better known as Koos de la Rey, was a South African military officer who served as a Boer general during the Second Boer War. also had a political career and was one of the l ...
, under the influence of
Siener van Rensburg
Nicolaas Pieter Johannes ("Niklaas" or "Siener") Janse van Rensburg (3 August 1864 – 11 March 1926) was a Boer from the South African Republic – also known as the Transvaal Republic – and later a citizen of South Africa who was cons ...
, a "crazed seer", believed that the outbreak of war foreshadowed the return of the republic but was persuaded by Botha and Smuts on 13 August not to rebel and on 15 August told his supporters to disperse. At a congress on 26 August, De la Rey claimed loyalty to South Africa, not Britain or Germany. The Commandant-General of the Union Defence Force, Brigadier-General Christian Frederick Beyers, opposed the war and with the other rebels, resigned his commission on 15 September. General Koos de la Rey joined Beyers and on 15 September they visited Major
Jan Kemp Jan Kemp may refer to:
*Jan Kemp (general)
Jan Christoffel Greyling Kemp (10 June 1872 – 31 December 1946) was a South African Boer officer, rebel general, and politician.
Early life
Jan Kemp was born in the present Amersfoort district, Tra ...
in Potchefstroom, who had a large armoury and a force of many of whom were thought to be sympathetic. The South African government believed it to be an attempt to instigate a rebellion. Beyers claimed that it was to discuss plans for a simultaneous resignation of leading army officers, similar to the
Curragh incident
The Curragh incident of 20 March 1914, sometimes known as the Curragh mutiny, occurred in the Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. The Curragh Camp was then the main base for the British Army in Ireland, which at the time still formed part of the ...
in Ireland.
During the afternoon De la Rey was mistakenly shot and killed by a policeman, at a roadblock set up to look for the Foster gang; many Afrikaners believed that De la Rey had been assassinated. After the funeral, the rebels condemned the war but when Botha asked them to volunteer for military service in South West Africa they accepted. Manie Maritz, at the head of a commando of Union forces on the border of German South West Africa, allied with the Germans on 7 October and issued a proclamation on behalf of a provisional government and declared war on the British on 9 October. Generals Beyers,
De Wet De Wet is the name of:
* Jacob Willemszoon de Wet (c. 1610 – between 1675 and 1691), Dutch painter
* Christiaan de Wet (1854–1922), Boer general, rebel leader and politician
** De Wet Decoration, South African military medal named after the ab ...
, Maritz, Kemp and Bezuidenhout were to be the first leaders of a new
South African Republic
The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...
. Maritz occupied
Keimoes
Keimoes is a town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It lies on the Orange River and is about halfway between Upington and Kakamas.
History
It attained municipal status in 1949. The name of the town translates in both the Khoekhoe and ...
in the Upington area. The
Lydenburg
Lydenburg, officially known as Mashishing, is a town in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, on the Mpumalanga highveld, South Africa. It is situated on the Sterkspruit/Dorps River tributary of the Lepelle River at the summit of the Long Tom Pass. ...
commando under General De Wet took possession of the town of
Heilbron
Heilbron is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa which services the cattle, dairy, sorghum, sunflower and maize industries. Raw stock beneficiation occurs in leisure foods, dairy products and stock feeds. It also se ...
, held up a train and captured government stores and ammunition.
By the end of the week, De Wet had a force of and Beyers had gathered more in the
Magaliesberg
The Magaliesberg (historically also known as ''Macalisberg'' or ''Cashan Mountains'') of northern South Africa, is a modest but well-defined mountain range composed mainly of quartzites. It rises at a point south of the Pilanesberg (and the Pi ...
. General Louis Botha had pro-government troops. The government declared martial law on 12 October and loyalists under General Louis Botha and Jan Smuts repressed the uprising. Maritz was defeated on 24 October and took refuge with the Germans; the Beyers commando force was dispersed at
Commissioners Drift
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a Regulatory agency, commission or an individual who has been given a Wiktionary: commission, commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, th ...
on 28 October, after which Beyers joined forces with Kemp and then was drowned in the
Vaal River
The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...
on 8 December. De Wet was captured in Bechuanaland on 2 December and Kemp, having crossed the
Kalahari desert
The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa.
It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal d ...
and lost and most of their horses on the journey, joined Maritz in German South West Africa and attacked across the Orange River on 22 December. Maritz advanced south again on 13 January 1915 and with German support attacked Upington on 24 January but was repulsed. Most of the rebels then surrendered on 30 January.
German invasion of Angola, 1914–1915
The campaign in southern
Portuguese West Africa
Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa).
I ...
) took place from Portuguese forces in southern Angola were reinforced by a military expedition led by Lieutenant-Colonel Alves Roçadas, which arrived at
Moçâmedes
Moçâmedes is a city in southwestern Angola, capital of Namibe Province. The city's current population is 255,000 (2014 census). Founded in 1840 by the Portuguese colonial administration, the city was named Namibe between 1985 and 2016. Moç ...
on 1 October 1914. After the loss of the wireless transmitter at Kamina in Togoland, German forces in South West Africa could not communicate easily and until July 1915 the Germans did not know if Germany and Portugal were at war (war was declared by Germany on 9 March 1916.). On 19 October 1914, an incident occurred in which fifteen Germans entered Angola without permission and were arrested at fort
Naulila
Naulila is a town and commune in the municipality of Ombadja, province of Cunene, Angola.
Located on the Cunene River which separates Angola and Namibia, Naulila was the scene of fighting between Portuguese Angola and German South West Afric ...
and in a mêlée three Germans were killed by Portuguese troops. On 31 October, German troops armed with machine guns launched a surprise attack, which became known as the ''Cuangar Massacre'', on the small Portuguese Army outpost at
Cuangar
Cuangar is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango Province in Angola
, national_anthem = "Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion = ...
and killed eight soldiers and a civilian.
On 18 December a German force of under the command of Major
Victor Franke
Erich Victor Carl August Franke (21 July 1865 – 7 August 1936) was a German military officer and last commander of the ''Schutztruppe'' in German South West Africa.
Franke was born in Zuckmantel, Austrian Silesia. He was ''Bezirksamtman ...
attacked Portuguese forces at Naulila. A German shell detonated the munitions magazine at Forte Roçadas and the Portuguese were forced to withdraw from the Ovambo region to Humbe, with and taken prisoner. The Germans lost killed and Local civilians collected Portuguese weapons and rose against the colonial regime. On 7 July 1915, Portuguese forces under the command of General Pereira d'Eça reoccupied the Humbe region and conducted a reign of terror against the population. The Germans retired to the south with the northern border secure during the
Ovambo Uprising
The Ovambo Uprising was an uprising against Portuguese Angola, Portuguese colonial rule in World War I. It lasted from about 18 December 1914 to 6 February 1917 with the death of its leader, King Mandume yaNdemufayo, by South African forces in Nam ...
, which distracted Portuguese forces from operations further south. Two days later German forces in South West Africa surrendered, ending the South West Africa Campaign.
East Africa
East African campaign, 1914–1915
Military operations, 1914–1915
On the outbreak of war there and in the
King's African Rifles
The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within ...
in East Africa. On 5 August 1914, British troops from the
Uganda Protectorate
The Protectorate of Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962. In 1893 the Imperial British East Africa Company transferred its administration rights of territory consisting mainly of the Kingdom of Buganda to the Bri ...
attacked German outposts near Lake Victoria and on 8 August and bombarded Dar es Salaam. On 15 August, German forces in the
Neu Moshi
Moshi is a municipality and the capital of Kilimanjaro region in the north eastern Tanzania. As of 2017, the municipality has an estimated population of 201,150 and a population density of 3,409 persons per km2 .Taveta on the British side of Mount Kilimanjaro. In September, the Germans raided deeper into
British East Africa
East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...
and
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
and operations were conducted on Lake Victoria by a German boat armed with a
QF 1 pounder pom-pom
The QF 1 pounder, universally known as the pom-pom due to the sound of its discharge, was a 37 mm British autocannon, the first of its type in the world. It was used by several countries initially as an infantry gun and later as a light a ...
gun. The British armed the
Uganda Railway
The Uganda Railway was a metre-gauge railway system and former British state-owned railway company. The line linked the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya. After a series of mergers and splits, the li ...
lake steamers , , and and regained command of Lake Victoria, when two of the British boats trapped the tug, which was then scuttled by the crew. The Germans later raised the tug, salvaged the gun and used the boat as a transport.
The British command planned an operation to suppress German raiding and to capture the northern region of the German colony.
Indian Expeditionary Force B
The Indian Army during World War I was involved World War I. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war.
In World War I the ...
of in two brigades would land at Tanga on 2 November 1914 to capture the city and take control the Indian Ocean terminus of the
Usambara Railway
The Usambara Railway (german: Usambarabahn) was the first railway to be built in German East Africa and what is today Tanzania.
History German East-Africa
A railway company was created in 1891 with the aim of connecting the port of Tanga at ...
. Near Kilimanjaro,
Indian Expeditionary Force C
The British Indian Army, Indian Army during World War I was involved World War I. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war. ...
of in one brigade, would advance from
British East Africa
East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...
on Neu-Moshi on 3 November, to the western terminus of the railway. After capturing Tanga, Force B would rapidly move north-west to join Force C and mop up the remaining Germans. Although outnumbered and
Longido
Longido is a small town and ward in Arusha Region in Tanzania. It is the administrative seat for Longido District. Most of the inhabitants are Maasai, but there are other East African tribes as well.
Longido is at the foot of Mount Longido, wh ...
, the under
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck
Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964), also called the Lion of Africa (german: Löwe von Afrika), was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four ye ...
defeated the British offensive. In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
's official ''
History of the Great War
The ''History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Committee of Imperial Defence'' (abbreviated to ''History of the Great War'' or ''British Official History'') is a series of concerning the war effort of the Britis ...
'', Charles Hordern wrote that the operation was "... one f the most notable failures in British military history".
Chilembwe uprising, 1915
The uprising was led by
John Chilembwe
John Chilembwe (June 1871 – 3 February 1915) was a Baptist pastor, educator and revolutionary who trained as a minister in the United States, returning to Nyasaland in 1901. He was an early figure in the resistance to colonialism in Nyasaland ...
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
) against colonial forced labour, racial discrimination and new demands on the population caused by the outbreak of World War I. Chilembwe rejected co-operation with Europeans in their war, when they withheld property and human rights from Africans. The revolt began in the evening of 23 January 1915, when rebels attacked a
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
and killed three colonists. In another attack early in the morning of 24 January in
Blantyre
Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...
, several weapons were captured. News of the insurrection was received by the colonial government on 24 January, which mobilised the settler militia and two companies of the King's African Rifles from
Karonga
Karonga is a township in the Karonga District in Northern Region of Malawi. Located on the western shore of Lake Nyasa, it was established as a slaving centre sometime before 1877. As of 2018 estimates, Karonga has a population of 61,609.
Hi ...
. The soldiers and militia attacked Mbombwe on 25 January and were repulsed. The rebels later attacked a nearby
Christian mission
A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...
and during the night fled from Mbombwe to
Portuguese East Africa
Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese colony. Portuguese Mozambique originally ...
. On 26 January government forces took Mbombwe unopposed and Chilembwe was later killed by a police patrol, near the border with Portuguese East African border. In the repression after the rebellion, more than were killed and were imprisoned.
Naval operations, 1914–1916
Battle of the Rufiji Delta, 1915
A
light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...
, of the
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaise ...
, was in the Indian Ocean when war was declared. ''Königsberg'' sank the cruiser HMS ''Pegasus'' in
Zanzibar City
Zanzibar City or Mjini District, often simply referred to as Zanzibar (''Wilaya ya Zanzibar Mjini'' or ''Jiji la Zanzibar'' in Swahili) is one of two administrative districts of Mjini Magharibi Region in Tanzania. The district covers an area of . ...
harbour and then retired into the
Rufiji River
The Rufiji River lies entirely within Tanzania. It is also the largest and longest river in the country. The river is formed by the confluence of the Kilombero and Luwegu rivers. It is approximately long, with its source in southwestern Tanzania ...
delta. After being cornered by warships of the British Cape Squadron, two
monitors
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
* Monitor, Alberta
* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
* Monitor, Washington
* Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...
, and , armed with guns, were towed to the Rufiji from
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
by the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
and arrived in June 1915. On 6 July, clad in extra armour and covered by a bombardment from the fleet, the monitors entered the river. The ships were engaged by shore-based weapons hidden among trees and undergrowth. Two aircraft based at
Mafia Island
Mafia Island (Kisiwa cha Mafia) is an island and district of Pwani Region, Tanzania. The island is the third largest in Tanzanian ocean territory, but is not administratively included within the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, which has been ...
observed the fall of shells, during an exchange of fire at a range of with ''Königsberg'', which had assistance from shore-based spotters.
''Mersey'' was hit twice, six crew killed and its gun disabled; ''Severn'' was straddled but hit ''Königsberg'' several times, before the spotter aircraft returned to base. An observation party was seen in a tree and killed and when a second aircraft arrived both monitors resumed fire. German return fire diminished in quantity and accuracy and later in the afternoon the British ships withdrew. The monitors returned on 11 June and hit ''Königsberg'' with the eighth salvo and within ten minutes the German ship could only reply with three guns. A large explosion was seen at At seven explosions occurred. By ''Königsberg'' was a mass of flames. The British salvaged six guns from the ''Pegasus'', which became known as the ''Peggy guns'', and the crew of ''Königsberg'' salvaged the main battery guns of their ship and joined the .
Lake Tanganyika expedition, 1915
The Germans had maintained control of the lake since the outbreak of the war, with three armed steamers and two unarmed motorboats. In 1915, two British motorboats, and (Commander
Geoffrey Spicer-Simson
Captain Geoffrey Basil Spicer-Simson DSO, RN (15 January 1876 – 29 January 1947) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the Mediterranean, Pacific and Home Fleets. He is most famous for his role as leader of a naval expedition to Lake Tanga ...
), each armed with a 3-pounder gun and a
Maxim gun
The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world.
The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian ...
, were transported by land to the British shore of Lake Tanganyika. The British captured the German ship ''Kingani'' on 26 December, renamed it and accompanied by two Belgian ships, attacked and sank the German ship ''Hedwig von Wissmann''. ''
MV Liemba
MV may refer to:
Businesses and organizations In transportation
* Motor vessel, a motorized ship; used as a prefix for ship names
* MV Agusta, a motorcycle manufacturer based in Cascina Costa, Italy
* Armenian International Airways (IATA code MV ...
'' and ''Wami'', an unarmed motorboat, were the only German ships left on the lake. In February 1916 the ''Wami'' was intercepted and run ashore by the crew and burned. Lettow-Vorbeck had the ''Königsberg'' gun removed and sent by rail to the main fighting front. ''Graf von Götzen'' was scuttled in mid-July after the
Belgian Armed Forces
The Belgian Defense Forces ( nl, Defensie; french: La Défense) is the national military of Belgium. The King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became independ ...
made bombing attacks by floatplanes, loaned by the British, before Belgian colonial troops advancing on Kigoma could capture it; ''Graf von Götzen'' was refloated and used by the British.
East African campaign, 1916–1918
Military operations, 1916
General
Horace Smith-Dorrien
General Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien, (26 May 1858 – 12 August 1930) was a British Army General. One of the few British survivors of the Battle of Isandlwana as a young officer, he also distinguished himself in the Second Boer War.
Smit ...
was sent from England to take command of the operations in East Africa but he contracted pneumonia during the voyage and was replaced by General Smuts. Reinforcements and local recruitment had increased the British force to Africans British and Rhodesians and and African troops, from a ration strength of which included the Carrier Corps of African civilians. Belgian troops and a larger but ineffective group of
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
military units based in
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
were also available. During the previous 1915, Lettow-Vorbeck had increased the German force to
The main attack was from the north from British East Africa, as troops from the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
advanced from the west in two columns, over Lake Victoria on the British
troop ship
A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
s and and into the Rift Valley. Another contingent advanced over Lake Nyasa (now
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
It is the fifth largest fr ...
) from the south-east. Lettow-Vorbeck evaded the British, whose troops suffered greatly from disease along the march. The 9th South African Infantry began the operation in February with and by October it was reduced to troops, mostly by disease. The Germans avoided battle and by September 1916, the German Central Railway from the coast at Dar es Salaam to
Ujiji
Ujiji is a historic town located in Kigoma-Ujiji District of Kigoma Region in Tanzania. The town is the oldest in western Tanzania. In 1900, the population was estimated at 10,000 and in 1967 about 41,000. The site is a registered National His ...
had been taken over by the British. As the German forces had been restricted to the southern part of German East Africa, Smuts began to replace South African, Rhodesian and Indian troops with the King's African Rifles and by 1917 more than half the British Army in East Africa was African. The King's African Rifles was enlarged and by November 1918 had Smuts left in January 1917 to join the
Imperial War Cabinet
The Imperial War Cabinet (IWC) was the British Empire's wartime coordinating body. It met over three sessions, the first from 20 March to 2 May 1917, the second from 11 June to late July 1918, and the third from 20 or 25 November 1918 to early Jan ...
at London.
Belgian-Congolese campaign, 1916
The Belgian of formed three groups, each with yet expected to live off the land. The 1915 harvest had been exhausted and the 1916 harvest had not matured; Belgian requisitions alienated the local civilians. On 5 April, the Belgians offered an armistice to the Germans and then on 12 April commenced hostilities. The advanced between Kigali and Nyanza under the command of General
Charles Tombeur
Lieutenant General Charles Tombeur, 1st Baron of Tabora (4 May 1867 – 2 December 1947) was a Belgian military officer and colonial civil servant. As well as holding several major administrative positions in the Belgian Congo, he is particularly ...
, Colonel Molitor and Colonel Olsen and captured Kigali on 6 May. The Germans in Burundi were forced back and by 17 June the Belgians had occupied Burundi and Rwanda. The and the British
Lake Force
Lake Force (or Lakeforce) was a unit of the British Army stationed in the Uganda Protectorate on the west coast of Lake Victoria under the command of Brigadier-General Sir Charles Crewe in 1916, during the East African campaign of the First Wor ...
then advanced towards
Tabora
Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226,999. ...
, an administrative centre of central German East Africa. The Allies moved in three columns and took
Biharamulo
Biharamulo is a town in northwestern Tanzania. It is the district headquarter of Biharamulo District. Biharamulo used to be a German administrative centre in colonial times. Biharamulo Game Reserve is located north of the town.
History
The town ...
,
Mwanza
Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,182,000 in 2021, it is Tanzania's second largest c ...
Kigoma
Kigoma is a city and lake port in Kigoma-Ujiji District in Tanzania, on the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma R ...
and Ujiji. Tabora was captured unopposed on 19 September. To forestall Belgian claims on the German colony, Smuts ordered Belgian forces back to Congo, leaving them as occupiers only in Rwanda and Burundi. The British were obliged to recall Belgian troops in 1917 and after this the Allies coordinated campaign plans.
Military operations, 1917–1918
Major-General Jacob van Deventer began an offensive in July 1917, which by early autumn had pushed the Germans to the south. From 1917, Lettow-Vorbeck and the British fought a mutually costly battle at Mahiwa, with casualties and casualties. After the news of the battle reached Germany, Lettow-Vorbeck was promoted to ''Generalmajor''. British units forced the further south and on 23 November, Lettow-Vorbeck crossed into
Portuguese Mozambique
Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese colony. Portuguese Mozambique originally ...
to plunder supplies from Portuguese garrisons. The Germans marched through Mozambique in caravans of troops, carriers, wives and children for nine months. Lettow-Vorbeck divided the force into three groups, one detachment of under Theodor Tafel, was forced to surrender after running out of food and ammunition when Lettow-Vorbeck and Tafel were unaware they were only one day’s march apart. The Germans returned to German East Africa and then crossed into Northern Rhodesia in August 1918. On 13 November two days after the
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
was signed in France, the German Army took Kasama unopposed. The next day at the Chambezi River, Lettow-Vorbeck was handed a telegram announcing the signing of the armistice and he agreed to a cease-fire. Lettow-Vorbeck marched his army to
Abercorn
Abercorn (Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a pop ...
and formally surrendered on 23 November 1918.
Makonbe uprising, 1917
In March 1917 the Makonbe people achieved a measure of social unity, rebelled against the Portuguese colonialists in
Zambezia province
Zambezia ( pt, Zambézia) is the second most-populous province of Mozambique, located in the central coastal region south-west of Nampula Province and north-east of Sofala Province. It has a population of 5.11 million, according to the 2017 cen ...
of Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique) and defeated the colonial regime. About 20,000 rebels besieged the Portuguese in Tete. The British refused to lend troops to the Portuguese but people were recruited on the promise of loot, women and children. Through terrorism and enslavement, the Portuguese quashed the rebellion by the end of the year. Repercussions of the rising continued as British administrators in Northern Rhodesia in 1918 struggled to compensate local civilians for war service, particularly during the famine of 1917–1918. The
Colonial Office
The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...
banned the coercion of local civilians into British service in the colony, which stranded British troops.
Barue uprising, 1917
The colonial authorities in Portuguese Mozambique increased the brutality of their occupation during the war. "Revolting practices" criticised by the British, such as forced labour, were increasingly applied despite the abolition of slavery. Press gangs (''cipais'') used the most brutal coercion to mobilise whole populations, young, old and infirm people not being exempted and women being raped. By the end of 1916, many young men had fled to
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kno ...
and
Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal.
* South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...
to escape the Portuguese and to earn living wages. The condition of the populations left behind worsened to the point that when the ''cipais'' tried to raise another 5,000 carriers from the Kingdom of Barue in March 1917, the population rebelled. Disgust at Portuguese depredations united many Peoples but the rivals for the title of Makombe of the Wabarue fought independent campaigns, attracting support from the bandits in the Zambesi valley. At the end of April, the rebels routed a Portuguese force sent to suppress the rising and reached the provincial capital of
Tete
Tete is the capital city of Tete Province in Mozambique. It is located on the Zambezi River, and is the site of two of the four bridges crossing the river in Mozambique. A Swahili trade center before the Portuguese colonial era, Tete continue ...
; by the end of May had overrun most of Zambezia Province. About 100,000 people crossed the border into British
Nyasaland
Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...
and the Rhodesian colonies to escape the violence but the disruption did little to alter British disdain for Portuguese methods and despite having received troops to help put down the Chilembwe rebellion, they refused to send troops, only allowing guns and ammunition over the border. In May the Portuguese began to suppress the rebels by butchering thousands of people, enslaving women and plundering territory. The rebels held out into November and the rivals for the title of Makombe fled to Southern Rhodesia. During June the Portuguese had to divide their forces and send thousands of Portuguese and local troops to attack the Makonde living on the Mvua plateau, who had also rebelled. Another rebellion broke out early in 1918.
Aftermath
Analysis
The war marked the end of the German colonial empire; during the war, the
Entente powers
The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...
, posed as crusaders for
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
and enlightenment but little evidence exists that they were seen as such by Africans. Many African soldiers fought on both sides, loyal to military professionalism, rather than nationalism and porters had mainly been attracted by pay or had been coerced. The war had been the final period of the Scramble for Africa; control and annexation of territory had been the principal war aim of the Europeans and the main achievement of Lettow-Vorbeck, had been to thwart some of the ambitions of the South African colonialists. Under the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
, Germany's colonies were divided between Britain, Belgium, Portugal and South Africa. The former German colonies had gained independence by the 1960s except for South West Africa (
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
) which gained independence from South Africa in 1990.
Casualties
The British official historian of the "History of the Great War" campaigns in "Togo and the Cameroons", F. J. Moberly, recorded casualties, casualties, the ''invaliding'' of Europeans and soldiers. Civilian porters were brought from Allied colonies and of killed or died of disease and ''invalided'' as they could be "more easily replaced than soldiers". Of recruited civilians, no records were kept. Franco-Belgian troops under the command of General Joseph Aymerich suffered and died of disease.
In 2001 Strachan recorded British losses in the East African campaign as in action, of disease and deaths among African porters. In South West Africa, Strachan recorded Africans killed in action and of disease or accidents. German casualties were whom killed and taken prisoner. In 2007 Paice recorded casualties in the East African campaign, of whom of the in the campaign. By 1917 the conscription of as carriers, had depopulated many districts and had died, among them of the British Carrier Corps in East Africa.
A Colonial Office bureaucrat wrote that the East African campaign had not become a scandal only "....because the people who suffered most were the carriers - and after all, who cares about native carriers?" In the German colonies, no records of the number of people conscripted or casualties were kept but in the German Official History, the writer referred to
Paice referred to a 1989 estimate of and a death rate Carriers impressed by the Germans were rarely paid and food and cattle were stolen from civilians; a famine caused by the consequent food shortage and poor rains in 1917, led to another deaths in Ruanda, Urundi and German East Africa. The conscription of farm labour in British East Africa, the failure of the rains at the end of 1917 and early 1918 led to famine and in September
Spanish flu
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...
reached sub-Saharan Africa. In British East Africa died, in South Africa there were and in German East Africa of the population died of famine and disease; in sub-Saharan Africa, 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 people died in the epidemic.
Books
*
*
* Africanus Historicus: Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15, Volume III, Kämpfe im Süden, Windhoek 2014, Glanz & Gloria Verlag, ISBN 978-99916-872-8-5
* Africanus Historicus: Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15, Volume IV, Der Süden ist verloren, Windhoek 2016, Glanz & Gloria Verlag, ISBN 978-99916-909-2-6
* Africanus Historicus: Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15, Volume V, Aufgabe der Küste, Windhoek 2016, Glanz & Gloria Verlag, ISBN 978-99916-909-4-0
* Africanus Historicus: Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15, Volume VI, Aufgabe der Zentralregionen, Windhoek 2017, Glanz & Gloria Verlag, ISBN 978-99916-909-5-7
* Africanus Historicus: Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15, Volume VII, Der Ring schließt sich, Windhoek 2018, Glanz & Gloria Verlag, ISBN 978-99916-909-7-1
* Africanus Historicus: Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15, Volume VIII, Das Ende bei Khorab, Windhoek 2018, Glanz & Gloria Verlag, ISBN 978-99916-909-9-5
* Krömer/Krömer: Fotografische Erinnerungen an Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Volume III, Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Windhoek 2018, Glanz & Gloria Verlag, ISBN 978-99916-909-8-8
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Journals
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Theses
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