My Reminiscences of East Africa — Context and Discussion

its falling into the enemy’s hands. A short time later an observation officer reported that the enemy was apparently preparing to land at Konduchi, a day’s march north of Dar-es-Salaam. The formation of the coast rendered it not unlikely. I therefore immediately ordered the seven companies of Askari[2] available to march off, so as to seize the favourable opportunity of surprising the enemy in the act of landing.

Before they marched off I had a conversation at Pugu Station with the Governor, Dr. Schnee, who was passing through by train to Morogoro. He seemed quite surprised by the English hostilities, and entirely agreed with my proposal to attack them at Konduchi. On the way there I met two gentlemen belonging to the Government at Dar-es-Salaam, who showed me a document dealing with negotiations for surrendering Dar-es-Salaam to the English. As the Governor had said nothing to me about it, and I was also rather in a hurry, I only glanced superficially at it. It did not occur to me that this might be any kind of agreement drawn up with the consent of the Governor. But when, during the night, the force had reached a mountain ten miles north of Dar-es-Salaam, and on the next morning we obtained a view of the harbour and the English cruisers lying off it, it became clear that the report of an attempted landing at Konduchi was a mistake. We were able to establish the fact that the English ships had communicated with the shore, and now it did appear to me probable that negotiations with the enemy had taken place. I now advanced on the town, and, as I could not but fear that in the confusion of the moment a disadvantageous agreement might be concluded at Dar-es-Salaam, I sent Captain Tafel on ahead. He was to announce that I was taking over the executive power, and that negotiations with the enemy must be conducted through me alone. It was only from Captain Tafel that I learned that by order of the Governor negotiations for surrender had actually taken place. My intervention was not approved by the Governor, in whose hands, according to a Protective Force Ordinance intended to meet quite different conditions, supreme military power was actually placed. For the moment this had no practical consequences. Only a few English Marines had landed, and had already gone on board again. But for a soldier it was not inspiring to find that here, under the very eyes of a thousand good troops, an agreement had been concluded which forbade us to undertake any hostile act in Dar-es-Salaam, while the enemy was not so bound, and that we had received no information of a step of such great military importance.

The _Königsberg_ had already put to sea from Dar-es-Salaam several days before, and the surveying vessel _Möve_, which was in harbour, had been blown up by us on the 9th August. This brought the land forces a valuable military increase, as the captain of the _Möve_, Lieut.-Commander Zimmer, now came under my orders. Lieutenant Horn at once proceeded with a few seamen to Kigoma, where he manned and armed the small steamer _Hedwig von Wissmann_. On Lake Tanganyika he chased the Belgian steamer _Delcommune_, which he surprised and shot to pieces after a few days, thereby securing to us the extremely important command of the lake. The ability rapidly to transfer troops from the Central Railway towards Bismarckburg or Usambara depended entirely upon unimpeded transport on Tanganyika, and played a part in the later course of the operations.

In the north of the Colony, the 1st Company at Arusha had been reinforced by the 13th Company, coming by rapid marches from Kondoa, and by another company formed at Moshi from Police Askari. Further, a large part of the Europeans of the northern districts had combined to form a detachment under Captain von Prince. Most of those troops were in the neighbourhood of Moshi. Taveta, which lies to the eastward, in English territory, was held by the enemy, who thereby secured a valuable sally-port against our European settlements in the north; it was, therefore, an urgent matter for us to capture this important point without delay. It took considerable time before we were able to set the force in motion for this purpose. Many people believed that on the strength of the Congo Act we were bound to remain neutral, and naturally had little confidence in the instructions they received from the new Commandant. It was not until the 15th August that the weakly-held place was taken. The course of the fight proved that the force still required much further training to render it fit to carry out combined operations in unison in the dense bush. In this area the command was assumed by Major Kraut, who happened to be in the north-eastern frontier district for the purpose of frontier delimitations. During the next few days the holder of the supreme military power was successfully persuaded to agree to moving the bulk of our forces to the Northern Railway. Simple as was this movement in itself, under the conditions then existing, it required considerable preparations. There were few Germans to be found who were so well acquainted with the whole country between Dar-es-Salaam and Morogoro on one side, and Tanga and Mombo on the other, that they could give reliable information about roads and conditions of subsistence. It was necessary to send out reconnaissance officers in order to determine the roads on which a suitable quantity of supplies could be found. But we could not afford to await the results of all these reconnaissances; the marches had to be begun. According to European ideas the country was sparsely populated; and on the existing maps the only notes as to water and food showed whether the supplies available would suffice for bodies of a strength equal to a company at most. Without preparation one could therefore hardly put more than one company on each road without distribution in depth; the training and skill in the collection of supplies which the force had acquired by the end of the war were at that time non-existent. Taking it all round, it came to this, that the march and supply of a single company in the conditions there prevailing required about the same consideration as would a division in Germany. It was also necessary in this move to take into account the risk arising from the fact that companies would for a prolonged period be out of reach of orders. The only telegraphic communication between the Central Railway and the north ran close along the coast, and could therefore be interrupted whenever the enemy intended to do so.

However, the Director of the Postal Service, Rothe, and Secretary Krüger displayed such adaptability in meeting the wishes of the troops, and such energy in starting work on the new line Morogoro-Handeni-Korogwe, and, under the pressure of circumstances, temporarily overcame the normal torpor of the Tropics with such success, that the line was completed in only a few weeks. Owing to the destructiveness of the termites (white ants) it is the rule in time of peace to employ iron telegraph poles, which, owing to the prevalence of giraffe in this particular district, have to be very tall and carry very heavy conductors. In the first instance, however, the construction in this case had to be of a provisional nature, and this, and the use of cable, caused continual breakdowns and repairs.

In the meantime I received reports of the advance of small hostile detachments at Jassini, two marches north of Tanga, and this confirmed me in the belief that the enemy intended to land in that district, and would then rapidly advance into the interior along the Northern Railway. Consequently, the various companies had marched off from different points on the line Dar-es-Salaam-Mpapua, and were for the most part converging on Handeni, while some were directed on other points on the line Tanga-Korogwe, when I was called up on the telephone at Pugu on the afternoon of August 23rd, by Lieutenant von Chappuis, who was encamped at Bagamoyo with the 17th Field Company. He reported that an English light cruiser was lying off Bagamoyo, and had called upon the local Civil Administrator to destroy the telegraph station, threatening to bombard the place in case of refusal. I ordered him to assume control of the executive and to prevent a hostile landing by force of arms. A boat from the man-of-war that attempted to land under the white flag was therefore sent back, and the place was bombarded in consequence, to the great amusement of the company and the native inhabitants, since the enemy scored practically no hits.

At the end of August, Headquarters moved by rail to Kirnamba, near Morogoro. On the way, General von Wahle, who was directing the service on the Lines of Communication from Morogoro, wished me the best of luck in the decisive action which we expected in the neighbourhood of Handeni, and to which his son was also proceeding. From there Headquarters travelled on towards Handeni in two requisitioned motors. After about twenty miles we had to leave them, as the improvement of this road had not been completed beyond that point. Captain von Hammerstein and I went on on bicycles, and gradually caught up the companies on the march. The anticipated landing of the enemy did not take place, and early in September we reached Korogwe. In the meantime an English cruiser had appeared at Tanga and towed away some lighters lying there.

Our next duty was to organize the supply and transport services in the north. Captain Schmid, who had until then directed them as Field Intendant, had become sick, and it was difficult to find a suitable successor. Fortunately we discovered one in Captain Feilke, of the Landwehr, who had for many years directed the Prince Albrecht Plantations in Usambara, a man of great experience. He was at the time in the vicinity of Tanga, and had placed himself at the disposal of the force. He had formerly been Adjutant of the 8th Jäger Battalion, was fifty-two years of age, a man of much knowledge of the world and a skilful officer; he thus combined in the happiest manner the military knowledge and business talent necessary for the difficult post of Intendant. He came immediately, and we drove to New Moshi together. There I met Captain Kraut. On Kilima Njaro preparations had been made for guerilla warfare by establishing supply depots, our patrols were pushing beyond Taveta towards the British Uganda Railway, and numerous minor encounters had already taken place. At that time, however, the force lacked the experience necessary for carrying out distant patrols like those which at a later stage led so successfully to interruptions of the line. The first patrols had arrived at the Uganda Railway in a half-starved condition and had been captured. From New Moshi I went to Himo Camp, where Captain von Prince was holding a fortified position. He accompanied me to Taveta, which was held by an advanced post under an officer. Now we could discuss on the spot the problem of transferring the main body of the Northern Force to Taveta. The local native population was very numerous and placed entire confidence in the European administrators appointed by the force: they continued to sell their products in the market, and our mutual relationship was completely satisfactory.

Directly war broke out the fear of a native rising had been expressed in many quarters. Along the Central Railway there were wild rumours about a revolt of the Wahehe—the warlike tribe who had so long defied German authority in the Iringa country—and around Kilima Njaro a rising of the Wajagga was feared. The authorities also thought that the large number of black labourers on the European settlements in the north were unreliable on account of difficulties of subsistence. But none of these fears turned out to be justified. Later, a very intelligent captured Belgian Askari told me outright: “You know quite well that the natives always side with the stronger party,” and an English Masai admitted frankly: “It is all the same to us whether the English or the Germans are our masters.”

It was not till later, after the enemy had penetrated the country, that the native became a real danger to us: and then it was, indeed, very great. The native has a fine sense of the transfer of real power from one hand to the other.

After returning for a short time to Korogwe, Headquarters moved to New Moshi, and shortly afterwards to Taveta. Three companies who had reached the Northern Railway from the Central Railway were concentrated at Tanga, the remaining five were moved into the Kilima Njaro country. At Dar-es-Salaam there remained for the moment only Captain von Kornatzki with the newly-formed 18th Field Company.

During the following period several enterprises were carried out by flying columns, of the strength of one company each, the intention being to drive away the hostile detachments who were reported to be guarding the watering-places in the adjoining English territory, to inflict losses upon them, and so to open the way for our patrols to operate against the Uganda and Magad Railway. Thus, at the end of September, Captain Schulz had marched with his company from Kilima Njaro down the Tsavo River to the Uganda Railway, where he had met an enemy detachment of several companies, who had probably been concentrated by means of the railway. North of Kilima Njaro Captain Tafel had with his company and a detachment of fifty Europeans pursued a column of English Horse, but had then been attacked by the latter in his camp in the dense bush on Engito Mountain. This was the first serious engagement fought by our Askari in the north. Although the enemy consisted of English and Boer farmers, who were therefore good horsemen and good shots, our Askari attacked them with the bayonet with such dash, that out of a strength of eighty Europeans some twenty dead were left behind, and their total casualties may therefore be estimated at half their number.

In the same way the expeditions undertaken by Captain Baumstark, who commanded the three companies at Tanga, led to fighting in the frontier districts between Jassini and Mombasa. An equally important object of all these enterprises was to secure the most indispensable information about this theatre of operations, as it had not been reconnoitred in time of peace, and the conditions as to water-supply and cultivation were unknown to us. In this manner we gradually obtained a clear idea of the country and its inhabitants. Along the coast the English frontier district was well settled and highly cultivated. Further inland it is a dry desert covered with thorn scrub and partly with thick bush. Out of the desert rise a number of mountain ranges, which often attain the character of steep masses of rock. The troops were quartered in several fortified camps east of Kilima Njaro, but, owing to the difficulty of communication from Taveta, Headquarters were moved back to Moshi. Later, when the Director of the Field Postal Service arrived, and I asked him what he thought of the line between Moshi and Taveta, he could only describe it as “pretty.” The insulators were made from knocked off bottle-necks, fastened to poles or branches of trees, the wire had been taken from the fences of the plantations. But the breakdowns really were so frequent that the great volume of reports and information in connection with the working of Headquarters could not have been carried on this line for a prolonged period.

Since the outbreak of war our communication with the outside world had been to all intents and purposes cut off; at first, indeed, we did pick up wireless messages from Kamina (in Togo), and then occasionally, under favourable weather conditions, from Nauen (Germany); but otherwise we had to depend for fresh news on picking up enemy wireless messages, or on obtaining possession of enemy mails or other papers.

THE NOVEMBER ACTIONS AT TANGA

CAPTURED English newspapers stated that it would be particularly painful to Germany to lose her beloved colonies, its “little chicks,” and that German East Africa was the most valuable mouthful. Captured mails spoke of an impending attack by an Indian expeditionary force of 10,000 men, and, as I had from general considerations always expected a hostile attack on a large scale in the neighbourhood of Tanga, I went there at the end of October, drove all over the country in a car I had brought with me, and discussed the matter on the spot with Captain Adler, commanding the 17th Company, and with District Commissioner Auracher. I was pleased to find that the latter was of my opinion that, in the event of Tanga being seriously threatened, the prime necessity would be unity of action, and I assured him that I would, of course, undertake the responsibility for any consequences that might ensue. This was particularly important for the reason that, according to the Governor’s instructions, a bombardment of Tanga was to be avoided under all circumstances. Opinions as to what should be done or left undone in any given case might therefore differ very widely.

On the 2nd November, a few days after my return to New Moshi, a wire from Tanga informed me that fourteen hostile transports and two cruisers had appeared off the place. They demanded unconditional surrender of the town; the negotiations were protracted, as District Commissioner Auracher, who had gone on board, pointed out that he must obtain special instructions, and prevented the threatened bombardment by remarking that Tanga was an open and undefended place. Captain Baumstark, who was with two companies in the frontier district north of Tanga, was at once moved off towards Tanga. Similarly the two companies of Europeans and the Askari companies were moved by forced marches from near Taveta and Kilima Njaro to New Moshi. Two lorries which were employed on supply work between New Moshi and Taveta rendered valuable service in this move. My intention to collect all available troops as rapidly as possible, to meet the obviously impending landing at Tanga, could only be executed, in spite of the long marches expected of the troops, if the Northern Railway exerted its capacity to the utmost limit, and this, with only eight locomotives, was asking a great deal. The railway is a narrow gauge line of 190 miles, on which, in a fully-loaded train of 24 to 32 axles, only one company could be carried with complete baggage, or two companies without either baggage or carriers. That the transport of the troops could be carried out at all is entirely due to the willingness of all those connected with it—I specially mention Railway Commissary Kröber, who had been called up to the Force as a 2nd Lieutenant, and the traffic director Kühlwein—who at Tanga conducted the trains up on to the actual battlefield under fire. As early as the 2nd November the troops actually at New Moshi, one and a half companies, were pushed off by train, followed on the morning of the 3rd by Headquarters and another company. Three other companies followed later. Similarly, all the smaller detachments employed on railway protection duty were moved to Tanga. The spirit of the departing troops was magnificent, but this may have been due, not so much to the fact that the Askari clearly understood the gravity of the situation, as that for him a trip in a railway train is at all times a great delight.