More than Mimi and Toutou: World War I in Africa
Overview
World War I in Africa
The campaigns fought in Africa during World War I were unlike any other; they were plagued by brutal and shifting weather, bees, parasites, and charging rhinoceroses. The war in Africa saw hundreds of thousands of black African troops fighting for each side of the war, and millions of lives and property disrupted by the conflict. Notably, the campaign in German East Africa was the longest conflict of World War I. It achieved the status also as being the only place in the world where the Germans were never militarily defeated by the Allies. German East Africa also holds the record for the highest number of different ethnicities fighting one another in all of World War I. Given these unique characteristics, it is surprising and ironic that the war in Africa is largely forgotten and ignored.
Learning Objectives
- Evaluate the importance of the World War in Africa.
- Analyze the roles of Africans in the World War.
Key Terms / Key Concepts
Askaris: African non-commissioned officers and enlisted men
“Battle of the Bees”: 1914 German victory at the port city of Tanga
Geoffrey Spicer-Simson: eccentric British commander at the Battle of Lake Tanganyika
German East Africa: present-day Tanzania, the longest campaign of World War I
Jan Smuts: commander of the British army in WWI from 1916 – 1918
King’s African Rifles: British army in the African colonies with British officers and African enlisted men
Mimi and Toutou: British, armed motor boats that were carried overland to Lake Tanganyika
Paul Lettow von Vorbeck: German commander who continually evaded, and defeated the Allies in German East Africa during World War I
Schutztruppe: German army in the African colonies with German officers and African enlisted men
The Battle of Lake Tanganyika: battle for control of the most important lake in German East Africa
The War in Africa
Background
In the 1880s, Germany established four colonies in Africa during the “Scramble for Africa”: Kamerun (Cameroon), Togoland (Togo), German Southwest Africa (Namibia), and German East Africa (Tanzania). Of the four, German East Africa proved the most important before, and during World War I. It had a large and thriving population, developed infrastructure, cash crops, and gold mining. As important as the products produced was the fact that German East Africa was geographically nestled in a coveted area among Africa’s three Great Lakes: Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi. These lakes provided easy and efficient transportation of goods, and later people and armaments. They also helped create a bio-rich region in which plants and animals thrived. Because of its network of sweeping lakes and rivers that connected to the sea, the region was highly coveted by Europeans.
Early Campaigns
When war broke out in Europe in August 1914, war quickly followed into Africa. The King's African Rifles (KAR) built the basis of the British forces in the war in Africa. A pre-war creation, the KAR consisted of white, British officers, and black African enlisted troops from throughout the British colonies called askaris. Similarly, the Germans doubled the size of their colonial force—the Schutztruppe—and widely recruited askari troops.
The world of the askaris was very fluid and complex on both sides of the war. Hundreds of ethnicities from the African colonies served as askari troops. From German East Africa alone, there were nearly one hundred distinct African clans that served as askaris in the colonial army. Reports indicate that the Germans used them more widely than the British, who also had a formal army. By the start of the war, the Germans had recruited over 14,000 askaris for service in the Schutztruppe. By the end of the war, the Germans and Allies combined would enlist over 100,000 askaris.
The askaris serving in the German colonial army were paid relatively well and were trained by German officers. In their effort to recruit troops, the Germans frequently connected combat and service to the ideas of African masculinity and provided them with food and wine. The askaris were also allowed to bring their family members with them as camp followers. On each side of the war, askaris were issued uniforms and armaments. Askari troops in the King’s African Rifles were dressed in tan uniforms with a red cummerbund and fez hat, usually red. The askaris in the German Schutztruppe were likewise dressed in tan uniforms and fezzes, often red or tan.
Combat took place in all four of the German colonies. Togoland was the first German colony to surrender to the British and French troops. With next to no military force in the colony, the Germans surrendered within three weeks, and Togoland was divided between the British and French. The German colonies of German Southwest Africa and Kamerun were likewise invaded and fell to the Allies by 1916. From afar, it looked as if the Allies had won World War I in Africa by 1916. But there was one colony that they could not defeat: German East Africa.
The German East Africa Campaign
German East Africa was located largely in Tanzania, an area rich with mountains, lakes and rivers, rainforests, and plains. Over the course of their colonial administration, the German forces and commanders had learned the terrain well, and their knowledge of the area proved essential in World War I.
The terrain played a significant role in the German’s success in German East Africa, but they had another significant advantage. General Paul von Lettow-Voerbeck was the archetype of what a German officer should be: educated, disciplined, gentlemanly, a tactician, and an excellent judge of character. As a personal hobby, Lettow-Vorbeck had also closely studied East Africa’s terrain. Through his command, the German army would evade, engage, and defeat the Allies time and again for over four years in German East Africa.
The Battle of Tanga
In November 1914, the Allies blockaded Tanga, a German port city perched high on a plateau on the East African coast. Confident of a swift victory, the British mistakenly announced their intentions to attack Tanga publicly. News of the impending attack was printed in the newspapers, giving the Germans time to fortify the area.
The British forces outnumbered the German forces 8:1. When the attack came, they felt sure of an easy victory. Troops descended on the beaches at Tanga, unaware that the Germans were reinforced and stationed in the high ground above the coast. What ensued was one of the worst defeats for the Allies during the war. The Battle of Tanga quickly dissolved into a turkey shoot for the Germans. Gunfire rained down on the advancing Allies from the German forces who were positioned high above them.
Then, an unexpected adversary joined the fight. In their charge up the heights, the British troops had unknowingly run straight into nests of bees. Enormous swarms of infuriated bees attacked the Allies and their horses. Men reported that as many as 300 stings could be on one man, and at least one horse was stung to death. For this reason, the Battle of Tanga is frequently called, “The Battle of the Bees”. Allied troops were forced to retreat, leaving their dead and much of their military equipment behind.
Once the dust and bees had settled, and the Allied troops retreated, Lettow-Vorbeck led his troops down to the water. They collected the abandoned weapons and ammunition. At the end of the day, the Battle of Tanga was a major German victory. Moreover, Lettow-Vorbeck seemed to be carrying-out his larger goal: keeping the Allies, especially the British, “tied up” so that the Germans could achieve victories in Europe.
The Battle of Lake Tanganyika
In 1915, the British set their sights on a major German target: Lake Tanganyika, which was famous for being the second deepest lake in the world. The Germans dominated the lake with the use of their converted gunboat: the Graf von Goetzen. By controlling the lake, the Germans were able to move troops and supplies easier and faster than the Allies, thus giving them a strong advantage in German East Africa.
In December 1915, the British ordered that the lake be taken, even though it seemed as impossible plan. The British decided to carry two of their small, armed boats overland to Lake Tanganyika. The plan seemed preposterous because it required British troops to carry the boats Mimi and Toutou (in English, “Meow” and “Woof woof”) all the way from South Africa to Tanzania through the African jungles.
To lead this effort, the British appointed lieutenant commander, Geoffrey Spicer-Simson. Spicer-Simson inspired awe and fierce loyalty in his troops, but he was described by colleagues as extremely eccentric. Covered in tattoos of snakes, plants, and other animals, he smoked monogramed cigarettes and wore a khaki drill skirt. With teams of oxen and hundreds of porters, the British floated and hauled the two gunboats overland between December 1915 – July 1916.
When the boats were launched in late July, the British quickly defeated two of the smaller German gunboats on Lake Tanganyika, but the Graf von Goetzen escaped. Later, it was scuttled by the Germans and sunk. For the first time in over two years, the Germans lost control of the lake. For the remainder of the war, the British and Belgians controlled East Africa’s most important lake.
The Hunt for Lettow-Vorbeck
After the German defeat on Lake Tanganyika, Lettow-Vorbeck realized he could not win the battle for German East Africa in conventional terms. Mainly because the British had a new, excellent commander in Jan Smuts. A South African native, Smuts was every bit Lettow-Vorbeck’s equal. Years later, Lettow-Vorbeck would write, “When Smuts arrived, we really began to fight.” Ironically, the two men became friends at the end of World War I and remained so for the rest of their lives.
For the final two years of the war, though, Lettow-Vorbeck adopted guerilla warfare. Rather than engage the British in direct battles, the Germans would fight strategically. Lettow-Vorbeck recognized that it was better to surrender specific positions, rather than be militarily defeated, and he never lost sight of the goal of “tying up the British army.” Battles erupted, and before the British could capture and defeat the German forces, they would retreat. Any armaments or supplies were burned by the retreating Germans. The last years of the war resulted in a cat and mouse game with the British chasing after Lettlow-Vorbeck in the dense jungles and rugged mountains. Ultimately, the British would never catch Lettow-Vorbeck and his troops; their leader had far superior knowledge of the terrain and consistently used it to his advantage.
Daily Life in the German East Africa Campaign
The war in Africa tried the European forces, especially the British. It was a war unlike any that they had ever encountered. Firstly, the terrain was fierce, and the British intelligence was extremely poor. The weather was violent—extremely hot and often soggy with torrential rains.
Pests of all shapes and sizes pursued the British and German troops. Telegraph wires had to be strung exceptionally high to avoid giraffe collisions. River crossings were feared because of the sharp-nosed crocodiles. Snakes and rats were everywhere. And the insects were relentless. Chiggers, fleas, and lice infested soldiers, bringing with them a multitude of diseases. Medics reported that the chiggers would eat away a soldier’s toes, leaving the rest of the foot as a “dirty mass of putrefying rags.” Mosquitoes swarmed the troops, which resulted in rampant malaria. Soldiers would contract the disease and erupt in a fever of 104 – 105 degrees, excreting dark, bloody urine. Even five doses of quinine a day was not enough for most soldiers to endure the disease. Most horrifying to the troops were the invisible parasites—notably the guinea worms. These parasites were found in the water. If not properly boiled, unknowing soldiers would drink water filled with the parasites. A few days later, their bodies would erupt in boils. When popped, a tiny maggot would start to emerge. To make matters worse, soldiers learned they could not immediately extract the worm because it would break, spilling eggs into their bloodstream. Instead, they had to slowly extract the parasite by winding it around a twig, a little at a time, each day until the worm was removed.
Outside of the challenges produced by the weather, pests, and terrain, soldiers were frequently malnourished and hungry. Supplies ran short, and when they could be procured, were often tinned meat and biscuits. This forced the troops to survive off the land. Hippopotamus meat was described as tasting like “sweet, stewed beef.” Mangoes, unknown fruits, and berries were eaten to supplement their diets. But it was also not uncommon for soldiers to boil leather and consume it and make “pies” out of bush rats. Famously, a British soldier reported that a donkey had died from disease. They buried the donkey; then, three days later, they dug it up and ate it.
End of the War
Despite their best efforts, the British and their allies from Belgium and France never captured Lettow-Vorbeck or defeated his army. The war in East Africa continued when the ceasefire in Europe was declared on November 11, 1918. It took nearly two weeks longer for a ceasefire to be established in Africa. Lettow-Vorbeck and his army relinquished their arms to the British. Later, he returned to Germany where he lived the rest of his life.
World War I in Africa was significant, and far more than just “Mimi and Toutou.” It involved hundreds of different ethnicities—more than any other front in the war. Well over 100,000 African troops were enlisted in the services of the Germans or Allies. It also was the one theater of war where a German army was never militarily defeated. Tragically for the Africans, their territory was frequently destroyed by combat and their soldiers treated as inferiors. Many of the African cultures were changed by the war, their livestock and infrastructure destroyed, but the Europeans refused to allow Africans to govern themselves until after World War II. Under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forced to give-up their colonies. The British, French, and Belgians would divide former German territory and rule it in their stead.
Attributions
Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Farwell, Bryon. The Great War in Africa: 1914-1918. W.W. Norton & Company, 1989.
Krech, Hans. Die Kampfhandlungen in den ehemaligen deutschen Kolonien in Africa während des 1. Weltkrieges (1914-1918). Berlin: Dr. Köster, 1999.