The Battle of Namacurra was fought during World War I in Portuguese Mozambique between the First Portuguese Republic and their British allies against the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. It took place on July 1–3, 1918, at the Namacurra River near Namacurra. It was the deadliest engagement of German general Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's campaign into Mozambique, and 209 of the British and Portuguese died.

Background

On 25 November 1917, during World War I's African theatre, German general Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck crossed the Rovuma River from

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...

into Portuguese Mozambique. They started going south. By the end of March 1918, British general Jacob van Deventer, whose troops were following von Lettow's troops in an attempt to encircle them, expected von Lettow to turn back into German East Africa. Von Lettow kept going south. British and Portuguese troops could not stand their ground to the German forces. The British Gold Coast Regiment withdrew their forces. At Ile, the defending Portuguese troops ran off after they spotted the Germans. They left behind a large amount of supplies, more than von Lettow could carry. Much of it was burned to prevent future use by the British or Portuguese.Smith, Turner 2022, pp. 86-89. Namacurra, also spelled Nhamacurra, was a town that had a newly established supply depot for British and Portuguese armies, which contained "vast warehouses stuffed full of arms and ammunition, food, wine, and whiskey". It was connected by railroad to the nearby port town of Quelimane, where the British feared the Germans would seize vessels and escape from Africa.Gaudi 2017, pp. 398-399.Riegel 2015, p. 37.

Battle

The battle started on July 1, 1918. It was the southernmost strike of Vorbeck's campaign.Manela, Gerwarth 2014, p. 191. The Portuguese offered stiffer resistance than they had at Ile. Three Portuguese battalions, aided by two British King's African Rifle companies commanded by Colonel

Eric Gore-Browne Eric Antony Rollo Gore-Browne (13 June 1890 – 3 July 1918) was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer who was killed in action in the First World War. Early life and education Gore-Browne was the son of the Rev. Robert M ...

, fought against three German companies commanded by Captain Müller. By July 3, von Lettow had brought out his main force. The Portuguese units were steadily pushed back, until they were forced to retreat across the Namacurra River. One hundred European and African men drowned, including Gore-Browne. The fighting ended on the afternoon of July 3.Burg, Purcell 2010, p. 215.

Aftermath

On Vorbeck's campaign, there were about 100 engagements, and Namacurra was the most deadly of them. 209 of the British and Portuguese lost their lives, and 540 were taken as prisoner. The Germans received the enemy spoils. Days later, the bodies of the men who drowned in the river were found downstream. Instead of going to Quelimane, the Germans looped back across the Namiurre River to Numarroe, and went north. For a few days, while the Germans were going north, van Deventer's forces kept going south to Quelimane. Van Deventer's forces, still chasing von Lettow, admitted defeat in September 1918. Von Lettow started losing his men for various reasons, and eventually turned back into German East Africa. Namacurra and a native revolt against Portuguese misrule in

Angoche Angoche is a district, city and municipality located in Nampula Province in north-eastern Mozambique. The district has limits in the North with Mogincual District, in the South with Larde District, to the east with the Indian Ocean and to the wes ...

effectively ended Portugal's involvement in World War I's East African theater.Woodward 2009, p. 345.

References

Sources

*David Smith, Graham Turner (2022). ''The East Africa Campaign 1914–18: Von Lettow-Vorbeck’s Masterpiece'', Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472848925 * Gaudi, Robert (2017). ''African Kaiser: General Paul Von Lettow-Vorbeck and the Great War in Africa'', Hurst. ISBN 9781849048675 * Erez Manela, Robert Gerwarth (2014). Empires at War: 1911–1923, OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191006944 * Stapleton, Timothy J. (2013). ''A Military History of Africa: Volume 1'', ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313395697 * Abbott, Peter (2002). Armies in East Africa 1914–18, Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 9781841764894 * Reigel, Corey W. (2015). ''The Last Great Safari: East Africa in World War I'', Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9781442235939 * David F. Burg, L. Edward Purcell (2010). ''Almanac of World War I'', University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813127453 * Woodward, David R. (2009). ''World War I Almanac'', Facts on File Inc. ISBN 9781438118963 {{coord missing Battles in 1918 Battles of World War I involving Germany Battles of World War I involving Portugal 1918 in Portugal 1918 in Africa Battles of the East African Campaign