African theatre of World War I
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| African Theatre | |||||||
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| Part of World War I | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom Image:South Africa Red Ensign.pngSouth Africa Image:Flag of France.svg France Image:Flag of Belgium.svgBelgium Image:Flag of Portugal.svgPortugal | Image:Flag of the German Empire.svgGerman Empire | ||||||
| Theatres of World War I |
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| Western Front – Eastern Front – Italian Front – Middle East – Balkans – Atlantic – Africa - Asia and Pacific |
The African Theatre of World War I comprises geographically distinct campaigns around the German colonies scattered in Africa: the German colonies of Kamerun, Togo, South-West Africa, and German East Africa.
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[edit] Overview
Great Britain, at this time eager to collect new colonies for its empire, attacked and conquered three of the four German colonies soon after the Great War began. Only in German East Africa did the war last beyond February of 1916. In German East Africa, the German colonists lead by the remarkable Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, fought a guerilla war which lasted all the way to the end of the war in 1918.
When the war began in Europe, the German colonies had very different levels of defence and troop strength. None of the colonies were ready for war, lacking supplies, large amounts of ammunition, artillery and more than a hand-full of machine guns.
[edit] West Africa
Germany had two colonies in West Africa, Togo and Kamerun (modern-day Cameroon). Togo was captured shortly after the war began by British and French troops, with the surrender of German forces on 26 August 1914. Kamerun was conquered after a longer campaign, largely by Belgian military forces that came north from the Belgian Congo, aided by British and French warships. Fighting here lasted till February, 1915. Although a German force was captured by the allies at Duala on 27 September 1914, the Germans held out until 18 February 1916, when they made for the neutral Spanish territory of Rio Muni.
[edit] South-West Africa
German South-West Africa (modern-day Namibia) was a huge and arid territory. Bounded on the coast by the completely desolate Namib Desert, the only major German population was based around the colonial capital of Windhoek, some 200 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. The Germans had 3,000 soldiers and could count on the support of most of the 7,000 adult male German colonists. In addition, the Germans had very friendly relations with the Boers in South Africa, who had fought a rather bloody war with Great Britain just 12 years earlier.
The British began their attack by organizing and arming their former enemies, the Boers. This was dangerous the proposed attack on German South-West Africa turned into an active rebellion by some 12,000 angry Boers.
Boer leaders Jan Smuts and Louis Botha both took the British side against Christiaan Beyers and Christiaan De Wet. In two battles in October, the rebels were defeated and by the end of 1914, the rebellion was ended.
General Smuts then continued his military operations into South-West Africa starting around January 1915. The South African troops were battle-hardened and experienced in living in this type of terrain. They crossed the hundreds of miles of empty land on horseback in four columns. The Germans tried to delay the advance but without success. Windhoek was captured on May 12 1915. Two months later, all the German forces surrendered. South-Africa effectively ruled South-West Africa for the next 70 years.
[edit] German East Africa
In German East Africa (modern-day Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda) the British were unable to capture the German colony or subdue its defenders despite four years of effort and tens of thousands of casualties (99% due to endemic diseases). The German commander, Colonel (later General) Lettow-Vorbeck kept his army intact and fought a guerrilla campaign for the duration of the Great War. His achievement became the stuff of legend, though in military terms, his epic campaign had only the smallest impact on the course of the Great War.
German forces staged raids, hit-and-run attacks, and ambushes. Time and again the British army laid traps for Lettow-Vorbeck's troops but failed to catch him. The German army ranged over all of German East Africa, living off the land, and capturing military supplies from the British and Portuguese military.
In 1916 the British gave the task of defeating the Germans to the very capable Boer commander Jan Smuts along with a very large force. His conquest of German East Africa was methodical and moderately successful. By the fall of 1916, British troops had captured the German railway line and were solidly in control of the land north of the railroad. However, Lettow-Vorbeck's army was not defeated and remained active long after Jan Smuts had left to join the Imperial War Cabinet in London in 1917. The German army moved into Portuguese East Africa in November 1917, and later back into German East Africa, finally ending up in Northern Rhodesia when the war ended.
Lettow-Vorbeck's small army finally surrendered on November 23 1918, after he received proof that Germany had given up fighting on November 11. It is said that Lettow-Vorbeck's army was never defeated in battle, though it had retreated from many engagements.
[edit] After the War
The war marked the end of Germany's short-lived overseas empire. England, France, and Japan divided up the German colonies between them. But their colonial rule would be short-lived also. Most of the former German colonies gained their independence by 1960, Namibia (German South West Africa) was the last to be free, gaining political freedom from South Africa only in 1988.
