The Battle of Jabassi or Battle of Yabassi was a pair of assaults on German positions at
Jabassi on the
Wuri river during the
Kamerun campaign of
World War I
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 ...
between
German
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* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
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**Ge ...
and
British
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Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
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* British English, ...
forces on 7 and 14 October 1914. The action resulted in British victory and their occupation of the station.
Background
Allied landings at
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...
and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
on 27 September, under the command of Major General
C. M. Dobell, met little resistance.
[Reynolds et al. 1916.] German forces who had been occupying the coast had withdrawn along the northern railway to Dschang, along the
Wuri River to Jabassi, and along the midland railway to Edea. From these positions, the Allied commander feared the Germans could easily attack Douala.
[Strachan 2001, p. 523.] Due to heavy rains, roads to Dachang, Jabassi, and Edea were washed out and impassable; however, Dobell felt that high water in the Wuri River made a boat-borne assault on Jabassi feasible. Six companies of the West Africa Regiment, two from the 1st Nigerians, one from the Gold Coast Regiment, and about 100 Royal Navy sailors and marines were assigned to the task.
Battle
First assault
On 7 October, British forces under the command of Brigadier General Edmund Howard Gorges
[Farwell, 1986, p.52] sailed up the Wuri river in barges with four field guns
including a 6-pounder gun placed on a dredger.
They landed five kilometers away from Jabassi and marched their way through the jungle to the German entrenchments. Once in the thick bush, British forces lost unity and coordination. In open ground in front of German entrenchments, they came under intense machine gun fire which forced them to retreat back into the bush. After regrouping they attempted to flank the German forces but failed, forcing them to once again retreat. The order was given to withdraw back on the river to Duala. The Germans lost four of the 26 Europeans at Jabassi.
Second assault
The following week, on 14 October, the Wuri river was again high enough for another attempt to take Jabassi. With two six-inch artillery pieces and reinforcements, British forces landed on both banks of the Wuri and advanced towards the German entrenchments, while General Gorges coordinated the assault from a boat.
This engagement was victorious for the British, capturing ten Europeans and the station.
["Der Raubzug Gegen Unsere Kolonien".]
Aftermath
This battle resulted in further German withdrawal into the mountainous interior 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 ...
. It also gave more protection to the Allied landing forces at
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...
and Victoria from a feared German counter-attack.
Notes
References
* Farwell, Byron. ''The Great War in Africa (1914-1918)''; W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 1986.
*"Der Raubzug Gegen Unsere Kolonien - Besetzung von Jabassi." Der Täglichen Rundschau
erlin Erlin may refer to:
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*Erlin, Changhua, a township in Taiwan
*Erlin, Ohio, an unincorporated community in the United States
People
*Robbie Erlin
Robert Joseph Erlin (born October 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher wh ...
1915: n. pag. Web.
.
*Reynolds, Francis J., Churchill, Allen L., and Miller, Francis T. "Chapter 77 - The Cameroons." "The Story of the Great War". Vol. III (of VIII). 1916.
*Strachan, Hew. ''The First World War''. Vol. I: To Arms. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jabassi, Battle of 1914
Battles of World War I involving Germany
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
1914 in Africa
Battles of the African Theatre (World War I)
Battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom
Military history of Cameroon
Kamerun
Battles of the Kamerun campaign
Conflicts in 1914
October 1914 events
1910s in Kamerun