The Battle of Tabora (french: Bataille de Tabora; 8–19 September 1916) was a military action which occurred around the town of

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. ...

in the north-west of German East Africa (modern-day

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

) during

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 ...

. The engagement was part of the East Africa Campaign and was the culmination of the Tabora Offensive in which a Belgian force 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 ...

crossed the border and captured the settlement of

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 Tabora (the largest town in the interior of the German colony), pushing the German colonial army back. The victory not only left much of the Ruanda-Urundi territory under Belgian military occupation but gave the Allies control of the important '' Tanganjikabahn'' railway.

Prelude

FP in East African Campaign (World War I)

Within the framework of the neutral

, the

Force Publique The ''Force Publique'' (, "Public Force"; nl, Openbare Weermacht) was a gendarmerie and military force in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885 (when the territory was known as the Congo Free State), through the period of ...

could only adopt a defensive position. This changed on 15 August 1914 when German ships, stationed on Lake Tanganyika, bombed the port of Mokolobu (south of

Uvira Uvira is a city in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Uvira is a Roman Catholic diocese, a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bukavu. Geography It is located at the extreme north end of Lake Tanganyika. Kalundu is a lake p ...

) and the Lukuga post a week later. On 24 September the Germans occupied Kwijwi Island, in this way taking control of

Lake Kivu Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, whic ...

. After the conquest of

Ruanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equato ...

in May 1916 and of

Urundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gre ...

in June by the Belgo-Congolese forces, two columns were formed to take Tabora. In the north, the first column (''Brigade Nord'') reached Lake Victoria near Mwanza on 30 July, after heavy fighting in the Ussewi region. Early July the second column (''Brigade Sud'') advanced southwards from Kitega along the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. On 28 July this column captured the port of

, terminus of the strategic railway line from Dar Es Salaam passing through

. In early August both columns started their converging marches to Tabora. The smaller British force, commanded by the South-African Brigadier General Charles Crewe, was in a race with the Belgian forces to reach Tabora. The British force failed and blamed heavy German resistance and severe supply problems.

Battle of Tabora

The southern brigade commanded by

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Frederik Valdemar Olsen Frederik-Valdemar Olsen (24 May 1877 – 19 November 1962) was a Danish soldier who became a general and commander in chief of the Belgian Congo ''Force Publique''. He was born into a poor family, joined the Danish army, then in 1898 volunteered t ...

advanced to Tabora following the Tanganyika Railway (''Tanganjikabahn''), which the Germans destroyed as they withdrew to the east. Tabora was an open plain surrounded by hills, which German

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Wahle Wahle: * Ernst Wahle (1889, Magdeburg – 1981), a German archaeologist * (1854, – 1934), German lawyer * Jakob Wahle (from Prague) ∞ Barbara Schenk ** (1861, Vienna – 1940), Jewish Austrian literary scholar * Alfred Wahle ∞ Evelyne Str ...

had used to build his defences. The southern brigade took control of the German railway station at Usoke on 30 August, in response Wahle sent reinforcements from Tabora to Usoke by train. The German Schutztruppen launched the counterattack on Usoke from 2 to 3 September, which was repelled by the Force Publique. On the 7th, General Wahle launched another counterattack on the train station of Usoke, this time a

naval gun Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and excludes ...

was mounted on one of the railway wagons. Both sides suffered heavy losses, the train station was bombarded, the Force publique launched an attack, and the Germans were pushed back. When the last resistance in Usoke (west of Tabora) was broken, the Belgians advanced to reach the German defences of Tabora at Lulanguru on 8 September. The southern brigade led the offensive actions for the next 4 days, closing in on Tabora from the west. Wahle established his main positions at Itaga, north of Tabora. From 10-12 September the northern brigade encountered heavy German resistance in the hills of Itaga, where they suffered considerable casualties. By this time Wahle's forces were reduced to 1.100 rifles and the desertion of his askari soldiers multiplied. On 16 September the Germans intercepted a letter from Crewe for colonel Molitor (Brigade Nord), which stated that the main offensive from the north was planned for the 19th. After heavy fighting, the German army retreated to the southeast, in three columns. The civilian authorities of Tabora surrendered to the troops of the ''Force Publique'' on 19 September.WWI in Africa
, be14-18.be

Aftermath

The Belgians liberated around 200 Allied prisoners of war (mainly Belgians and British) and 228 German soldiers were captured. The Force Publique lost 1,300 soldiers. On 3 October, after the Allies had established control of the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in th ...

region, Lake Force was disbanded. Wahle, in anticipation of an Allied pursuit, was retreating at a rapid pace to Mahenge and found himself in unexplored and uninhabited terrain, with no water and food at his disposal.

Notes

References

Bibliography