The Tanganyika Rifles was the sole

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

in the

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

n army, from 1961 to 1964.

History

With the independence of

in December 1961, the two battalions of 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 ...

which had been raised in the colony were transferred to the newly independent nation. These were the 6th (Tanganyika Territory) Battalion (becoming the 1st Tanganyika Rifles) and the 26th (Tanganyika Territory) Battalion (becoming the 2nd Tanganyika Rifles).

Mutiny

Despite having become part of the Tanganyikan military, the bulk of the officers of the regiment were still British, as had been the case in the

. In January 1964, following the

Zanzibar Revolution The Zanzibar Revolution () occurred in January 1964 and led to the overthrow of the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government by local Africans. Zanzibar was an ethnically diverse state consisting of a number of islands off the east co ...

, the regiment mutinied. The 1st Battalion seized key points in

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 ...

on the 19th, deposing their officers and sending them to neighbouring Kenya; on the 20th, the 2nd Battalion, in Tabora, joined the mutiny. The entire country's military had now rebelled, with the British High Commissioner briefly detained and most of the strategic points in the capital held by the mutineers. After appeals from the President,

Julius Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, politician, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as president from 1962 to 1964, aft ...

, 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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

dispatched an aircraft carrier, HMS ''Centaur'' from

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

, with a force from the garrison there, to stand off Dar es Salaam. On the British government receiving the request in writing from Nyerere, a company of

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

from No. 45 Commando were landed by helicopter in Dar es Salaam on the 25th, assaulting and quickly capturing the barracks holding the 1st Battalion; many of the mutineers quickly surrendered after a guardroom was destroyed by an

anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a Missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy Armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...

. After landings later that day, including a small number of armoured cars of the 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers, most of the remaining mutineers had likewise surrendered; the 2nd Battalion had not been engaged, but had offered to surrender after hearing of the events in Dar es Salaam; a party of Marines travelled there and secured the barracks the next day. Within twenty-four hours of the initial landings, and a week of the mutiny, the men of the 1st battalion were dismissed and the regiment effectively ceased to exist. The regiment was never reformed; after the union of Tanganyika with

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

later that year, the previously existing army was formally disbanded, and the

Tanzania People's Defence Force The Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) ( sw, Jeshi la Ulinzi la Wananchi wa Tanzania) is the military force of the United Republic of Tanzania. It was established in September 1964, following a mutiny by the former colonial military force ...

was formed in September 1964, firmly under local civilian control. Many of the African officers of the 1st Battalion, and the officers and men of the 2nd, were incorporated into the new force.

External links

East African Mutinies 1964 - Britain's Small Wars

History

Mutiny

External links

Further reading