82-420: (Redirected from East African Campaign ) East African campaign may refer to: East African campaign (World War I) East African campaign (World War II) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title East African campaign . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
164-581: A 3-pounder and a Maxim gun , were transported 3,000 mi (4,800 km) by land to the British shore of Lake Tanganyika. They captured the German ship Kingani on 26 December, renaming it HMS Fifi and with two Belgian ships under the command of Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson , attacked and sank the German ship Hedwig von Wissmann . The Graf von Götzen and the Wami , an unarmed motor boat, became
246-718: A famine caused by the subsequent food shortage and poor rains in 1917 led to another 300,000 civilian deaths in German East Africa. The conscription of farm labour in British East Africa and the failure of the 1917–1918 rains, led to famine and in September the 1918 flu pandemic reached sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya and Uganda 160,000–200,000 people died, in South Africa there were 250,000–350,000 deaths and in German East Africa 10–20 percent of
328-480: A half million and was governed by 5,300 Europeans. Although the colonial regime was relatively secure, the colony had recently been shaken by the Maji Maji Rebellion of 1904–1905. The German colonial administration could call on a military Schutztruppe ("Protection force") of 260 Europeans and 2,470 Africans, in addition to 2,700 white settlers who were part of the reservist Landsturm , as well as
410-597: A hopeful symbol and as a proof that civilians, not the military, were responsible for the post-war crisis. German colonial and military literature as well as the Nazi Party pushed the view that Lettow-Vorbeck had been "undefeated in the field" ( Im Feld unbesiegt! ) as part of the larger stab-in-the-back myth . In Germany, Lettow-Vorbeck and the East African campaign became the subject of songs and glorification. Many Allied commanders also felt great respect for
492-548: A mandate was theoretically subject to international oversight through the League's Permanent Mandates Commission (PMC) in Geneva , Switzerland . Administratively, the mandate was divided into two pays , Ruanda and Urundi, each under the nominal leadership of a Mwami . The city of Usumbura and its adjoining townships were classified separately as centres extra‑coutumiers , while the pays were subdivided into territories. After
574-582: A period of inertia, the Belgian administration became actively involved in Ruanda-Urundi between 1926 and 1931 under the governorship of Charles Voisin . The reforms produced a dense road-network and improved agriculture, with the emergence of cash crop farming in cotton and coffee . However, four major famines did ravage parts of the mandate after crop failures in 1916–1918 , 1924–26 , 1928–30 and 1943–44 . The Belgians were far more involved in
656-614: A ration strength of 73,300 men. There was a Belgian force and a larger but ineffective group of Portuguese military units based in Mozambique . A large Carrier Corps composed of African porters under British command, carried supplies into the interior. Despite the Allied nature of the effort, it was a South African operation of the British Empire . During the previous year, Lettow-Vorbeck had also gained personnel and his army
738-605: A republic. The terms of the armistice were a great shock to the Germans but at 11:00 a.m. on 25 November 1918, Lettow-Vorbeck offered his surrender to the British at Abercorn , two weeks after the signing of the armistice in Europe. Brigadier-General William Edwards , Lettow-Vorbeck, Walter Spangenburg, and Captain Anderson, Edwards declining Lettow-Vorbeck's sword. The governor of German East Africa, Heinrich Schnee did not sign
820-637: A small paramilitary Gendarmerie . The outbreak of World War I in Europe led to the increased popularity of German colonial expansion and the creation of a Deutsch-Mittelafrika ("German Central Africa") which would parallel a resurgent German Empire in Europe. Mittelafrika involved the annexation of territory, mostly occupied by the Belgian Congo , to link the German colonies in East, South-west and West Africa. Such an annexation would allow Germany to dominate central Africa and would make Germany by far
902-494: A victory parade in their tropical uniforms through the Brandenburg Gate , which was decorated in their honour. He and his troops were celebrated by Germans during the parade and afterwards. Lettow-Vorbeck was granted a series of public honors, with many figures contrasting Lettow-Vorbeck's perceived undefeated status with Germany's defeat in the war. Many right-wing and conservative officials saw Lettow-Vorbeck's force as
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#1732764981357984-666: The Battle of Tabora on 19 September, the Germans were defeated and the village occupied. During the march, Carbel lost 1,191 carriers died or missing presumed dead, a rate of 1:7, which occurred despite the presence of two doctors and adequate medical supplies. To prevent Belgian claims on German territory in a post-war settlement, Smuts ordered their forces to return to the Congo, leaving them as occupiers only in Rwanda and Burundi. The British were obliged to recall Belgian troops in 1917 and
1066-583: The Battle of Tanga , when the IEF attempted to land there, the Royal Navy felt obliged to give warning that they were abrogating the agreement, forfeiting surprise. In August 1914, the military and para-military forces in both colonies were mobilised, despite restrictions imposed by the two governors. The German Schutztruppe in East Africa had 260 Germans of all ranks and 2,472 Askari , equivalent to
1148-622: The Belgian Congo around Lakes Kivu and Tanganyika . As part of the Allied East African campaign , Ruanda and Urundi were invaded by a Belgian force in 1916. German forces in the region were small and hugely outnumbered. Ruanda was occupied over April–May and Urundi in June 1916. By September, a large portion of German East Africa was under Belgian occupation reaching as far south as Kigoma and Karema and as far eastwards as Tabora all in modern-day Tanzania. In Ruanda and Urundi,
1230-608: The Cape Squadron to shadow Königsberg and be ready to sink her, but she narrowly evaded them. Britain declared war on 4 August; on 5 August, troops from the Uganda protectorate assaulted German river outposts near Lake Victoria. On the same day, the British War Cabinet decided to send an Indian Expeditionary Force (IEF) to occupy East Africa and thereby eliminate its ports as bases for raiders. On 8 August,
1312-775: The Imperial German Navy was in the Indian Ocean when war was declared. In the Battle of Zanzibar , Königsberg sank the old protected cruiser HMS Pegasus in Zanzibar harbour and then retired into the Rufiji River delta. After being cornered by warships of the British Cape Squadron, including an old pre-dreadnought battleship , two shallow-draught monitors with 6 inches (150 mm) guns were brought from England and demolished
1394-554: The Republic of Burundi . Ruanda-Urundi was initially administered by a Royal Commissioner ( commissaire royal ) until the administrative union with the Belgian Congo in 1926. After this, the mandate was administered by a Governor ( gouverneur ) located at Usumbura (modern-day Bujumbura) who also held the title of Vice-Governor-General ( vice-gouverneur général ) of the Belgian Congo. Ruanda and Urundi were each administered by
1476-474: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS Astraea shelled the wireless station at Dar es Salaam . Astraea' s captain then agreed to a ceasefire, on condition the town remained an open city. This agreement caused discord between Vorbeck and Governor Heinrich Schnee , his nominal superior, who opposed and later ignored the agreement; Astraea ' s captain was also reprimanded for exceeding his authority. Before
1558-500: The Schutztruppe under Vorbeck prevailed. In the East Africa volume of the British official history (1941), Charles Hordern described the events as one of "the most notable failures in British military history". Two regular army regiments fought in the East African campaign. The 2nd Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment arrived with Indian Expeditionary Force B the force that tried to capture Tanga and after this stayed on
1640-573: The Schutztruppe won a number of important victories which allowed it to remain active but also came close to destruction during the Battle of Lioma and Battle of Pere Hills . The Germans returned to German East Africa and crossed into Rhodesia in August 1918. from early October, news that could be gleaned went from bad to worse. It was rumoured that Hindenburg was dead and that the Allies were about to impose an armistice on Germany and morale amongst
1722-673: The Belgian Congo in the late 1950s and the Belgian Government became convinced they could no longer control the territory. Unrest also broke out in Ruanda where the monarchy was deposed in the Rwandan Revolution (1959–1961). Grégoire Kayibanda led the dominant and ethnically defined Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement ( Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation Hutu , PARMEHUTU) in Rwanda while
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#17327649813571804-511: The Belgians were welcomed by some civilians, who were opposed to the autocratic behaviour of the kings. In Urundi, much of the population fled or went into hiding, fearful of war. Much of the Swahili trader community which resided along the shores of Lake Tanganyika fled towards Kigoma, as they had long been commercial rivals with Belgian traders and feared retribution. The territory captured
1886-450: The British c. £12 billion at 2007 prices. Nearly 400,000 Allied soldiers, sailors, merchant marine crews, builders, bureaucrats and support personnel participated in the East Africa campaign. They were assisted in the field by 600,000 African bearers. The Allies employed nearly one million people in their pursuit of Lettow-Vorbeck and his small force. Lettow-Vorbeck was cut off and could entertain no hope of victory. His strategy
1968-514: The British and German East Africa wanted to avoid war and preferred a neutrality agreement based on the Congo Act of 1885 , against the wishes of the local military commanders and their metropolitan governments. The agreement caused confusion in the opening weeks of the conflict. On 31 July, implementing contingency plans, the cruiser SMS Königsberg sailed from Dar-es-Salaam for operations against British commerce. Britain sent cruisers from
2050-458: The British firing a token volley and retiring in good order. The Askari detachment on Lake Tanganyika raided Belgian facilities, seeking to destroy the steamer Commune and gain control of the lake. The Germans were unsure of the intentions of Portugal, which was not yet a British ally; on 24 August, German troops attacked Portuguese outposts across the Rovuma , causing a diplomatic incident which
2132-621: The British £70 million, close to the war budget set in 1914. A Colonial Office official wrote that the East African campaign had not become a scandal only "... because the people who suffered most were the carriers - and after all, who cares about native carriers?". The Belgian record of 5,000 casualties includes 2,620 soldiers killed in action or died of disease but excludes 15,650 porter deaths. Portuguese casualties in Africa were 5,533 soldiers killed, 5,640 troops missing or captured and an unknown but significant number wounded. In
2214-441: The British. General Horace Smith-Dorrien was assigned with orders to find and fight the Schutztruppe but he contracted pneumonia during the voyage to South Africa , which prevented him from taking command. In 1916, General Jan Smuts was given the task of defeating Lettow-Vorbeck. Smuts had a large army (for the area), some 13,000 South Africans including Boers , British, Rhodesians and 7,000 Indian and African troops,
2296-708: The East African Schutztruppe and Lettow-Vorbeck in particular, further enhancing their military reputation. Views about Lettow-Vorbeck's campaign vary. Many modern historians and other researchers have continued to describe the Germans in East Africa as undefeated at the end of the war. Since the 1990s, some German historians have criticised this view and other narratives about Lettow-Vorbeck as outdated, biased and based on post-war legends. The fighting in East Africa led to an export boom in British East Africa and an increase in
2378-489: The East African campaign, of whom 11,189 died, 9 percent of the 126,972 troops in the campaign. By 1917, the conscription of c. 1,000,000 Africans as carriers, depopulated many districts and c. 95,000 porters had died, among them 20 percent of the Carrier Corps in East Africa. Of the porters who died, 45,000 were Kenyan, amounting to 13 percent of the male population. The campaign cost
2460-547: The German colonies, no records of the number of people conscripted or casualties were kept but in Der Weltkrieg , the German official history, Ludwig Boell (1951) wrote "... of the loss of levies, carriers, and boys (sic) [we could] make no overall count due to the absence of detailed sickness records". Paice wrote of a 1989 estimate of 350,000 casualties and a death rate of 1-in-7 people. Carriers were rarely paid and food and cattle were requisitioned from civilians;
2542-537: The German policy of indirect rule , with the Ruandan king ( mwami ) Yuhi V Musinga using German support to consolidate his control over subordinate chiefs in exchange for labour and resources. World War I broke out in 1914. German colonies were originally meant to preserve their neutrality as mandated in the Berlin Convention , but fighting soon broke out on the frontier between German East Africa and
East African campaign - Misplaced Pages Continue
2624-629: The Germans formally surrendering on 25 November. GEA became two League of Nations Class B Mandates , Tanganyika Territory of the United Kingdom and Ruanda-Urundi of Belgium, while the Kionga Triangle was ceded to Portugal. German East Africa ( Deutsch-Ostafrika ) was colonized by the Germans in 1885. The territory spanned 384,180 sq mi (995,000 km ) and covered the areas of modern Rwanda , Burundi and Tanzania . The colony's indigenous population numbered seven and
2706-542: The Germans plunged and desertions by carriers increased. On 9 November the German force reached Kasama whose district officer, Hector Croad, had evacuated the town on hearing of the German approach and stripped it of ammunition. The Germans pursued Croad who had lodged the supplies in a rubber factory on the opposite side of the Chambezi River . The Germans began probing attacks on the factory on 12 November, as Lettow-Vorbeck and his column arrived. The Germans captured
2788-541: The Ruandans and Urundians during the war, this was limited since the German administration considered sustaining a local labour force logistically challenging. The Belgian occupation force expanded labor conscription; 20,000 men were drafted act as porters for the Mahenge offensive , and of these only one-third returned home. Many died due to malnourishment and disease. The new labour practices caused some locals to regret
2870-914: The Rwandan population in consequence. An elite secondary school, the Groupe Scolaire d'Astrida , was established in 1929 but as late as 1961, shortly before independence arrived, fewer than 100 Africans had been educated beyond the secondary level.The policy was one of low-cost paternalism, as explained by Belgium's special representative to the Trusteeship Council: "The real work is to change the African in his essence, to transform his soul, [and] to do that one must love him and enjoy having daily contact with him. He must be cured of his thoughtlessness, he must accustom himself to living in society, he must overcome his inertia." The League of Nations
2952-527: The Tutsi elite rather than the distant colonial power. Musinga was deposed by the administration as mwami of Ruanda in November 1931 after being accused of disloyalty. He was replaced by his son Mutara III Rudahigwa . Although promising the League it would promote education, Belgium left the task to subsidised Catholic missions and mostly unsubsidised Protestant missions. Catholicism expanded rapidly through
3034-538: The aftermath and 300 were imprisoned; Chilembwe was shot dead by a police patrol near the border on 3 February. Although the rebellion did not achieve lasting success, it is commonly cited as a watershed in Malawian history . In 2001, Hew Strachan estimated that British losses in the East African campaign were 3,443 killed in action, 6,558 died of disease and c. 90,000 African porters died. In 2007, Paice recorded c. 22,000 British casualties in
3116-687: The aftermath of World War II and the dissolution of the League. In 1962 Ruanda-Urundi became the two independent states of Rwanda and Burundi . Ruanda and Urundi were two separate kingdoms in the Great Lakes region before the Scramble for Africa . In 1897, the German Empire established a presence in Rwanda with the formation of an alliance with the king, beginning the colonial era. They were administered as two districts of German East Africa . The two monarchies were retained as part of
3198-643: The border between British and German East Africa. The 25th (Frontiersmen) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers was raised for service in East Africa in early 1915 and served throughout the war. Colonists were supplied by Rhodesia in 1914–1915 including the 2nd Rhodesia Regiment, the Nyasaland Field Force and South African troops including the South African Expeditionary Force which arrived in February 1916. Königsberg of
3280-672: The capture of Ruanda and Urundi could increase the bargaining power of the De Broqueville government to ensure the restoration of Belgium after the war. During the post-war negotiation of the Treaty of Versailles , the Colonial Minister, Jules Renkin , sought to trade Belgian territorial gains in German East Africa for the Portuguese allocation in northern Angola, to gain Belgian Congo a longer coast. The governors of
3362-583: The city and gain control the Indian Ocean terminus of the Usambara Railway . In the Kilimanjaro area, IEF "C" of 4,000 men in one brigade would advance from British East Africa on Neu-Moshi on 3 November 1914, to the western terminus of the railroad (see Battle of Kilimanjaro ). After capturing Tanga, IEF "B" would rapidly move north-west, join IEF "C" and mop up the remaining German forces. Although outnumbered 8:1 at Tanga and 4:1 at Longido,
East African campaign - Misplaced Pages Continue
3444-599: The coast at Dar es Salaam to Ujiji was fully under British control. With Lettow-Vorbeck confined to the southern part of German East Africa, Smuts began to withdraw the South African, Rhodesian and Indian troops and replace them with Askari of the King's African Rifles (KAR), which by November 1918 had 35,424 men. By the start of 1917, more than half the British Army in the theatre was composed of Africans and by
3526-720: The command of General Charles Tombeur , Colonel Philippe Molitor and Colonel Frederik-Valdemar Olsen and captured Kigali in Rwanda on 6 May. The German Askari in Burundi were forced to retreat by the numerical superiority of the Force Publique and by 17 June, Burundi and Rwanda were occupied. The Force Publique and the British Lake Force then started a thrust to capture Tabora , an administrative base in central German East Africa. Three columns took Biharamuro , Mwanza , Karema , Kigoma and Ujiji. At
3608-555: The cruiser on 11 July 1915. The British salvaged and used six 4 inches (100 mm) guns from Pegasus , which became known as the Peggy guns; the crew of Königsberg and the 4.1 inches (100 mm) main battery guns were taken over by the Schutztruppe and were used until the end of hostilities. The Germans had controlled the lake since the outbreak of the war, with three armed steamers and two unarmed motor boats. In 1915, two British motorboats, HMS Mimi and Toutou each armed with
3690-546: The departure of the Germans. The Treaty of Versailles in the aftermath of World War I divided the German colonial empire among the Allied nations. German East Africa was partitioned, with Tanganyika allocated to the British and a small area allocated to Portugal . Belgium was allocated Ruanda-Urundi even though this represented only a fraction of the territories already occupied by the Belgian forces in East Africa. Belgian diplomats had originally hoped that Belgian claims in
3772-686: The end of the war, it was nearly all-African. Smuts left the area in January 1917, to join the Imperial War Cabinet at London. The British conscripted 120,000 carriers to move Belgian supplies and equipment to Kivu (in the east of the Belgian Congo) between late 1915 and early 1916. The lines of communication in the Congo required c. 260,000 carriers, who were barred by the Belgian government from crossing into German East Africa; Belgian troops were expected to live off
3854-536: The equivalent Union for National Progress ( Union pour le Progrès national , UPRONA) in Burundi attempted to balance competing Hutu and Tutsi ethnic claims. The independence of the Belgian Congo in June 1960 and the accompanying period of political instability further drove nationalism in Ruanda-Urundi and the assassination of the UPRONA leader Louis Rwagasore , also Burundi's crown prince, in October 1961 did not halt
3936-422: The extensive cultivation of coffee in the region's rich volcanic soils. To implement their vision, the Belgians extended and consolidated a power structure based on indigenous institutions. In practice, they developed a Tutsi ruling class to formally control a mostly Hutu population, through the system of chiefs and sub-chiefs under the overall rule of the two Mwami . Belgian administrators were influenced by
4018-564: The factory after a four-hour engagement and the British melted away to the west. A British dispatch rider fell into German hands who told the Germans of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 . The information arrived in time to forestall another attack on the rubber factory and Croad met Lettow-Vorbeck, who found it difficult to believe that Germany had lost the war and impossible to accept that the Kaiser had fled to Holland and that Germany had become
4100-617: The land. To avoid the plundering of civilians, loss of food stocks and risk of famine, with many farmers already conscripted and moved away from their land, the British set up the Congo Carrier Section of the East India Transport Corps (Carbel) with 7,238 carriers, conscripted from Ugandan civilians and assembled at Mbarara in April 1916. The Force Publique , started its campaign on 18 April 1916 under
4182-1023: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=East_African_campaign&oldid=932805430 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages East African campaign (World War I) [REDACTED] United Kingdom [REDACTED] Belgium [REDACTED] Portugal [REDACTED] Germany [REDACTED] 22,000 11,189 soldiers killed 95,000 porters died [REDACTED] 5,000 2,620 soldiers killed 15,650 porters died [REDACTED] 12,000+ 5,533 soldiers killed 5,640 soldiers missing/POW Unknown number of porter deaths Total : 40,000+ military casualties [REDACTED] 16,000+ military casualties 365,000 civilians died in war-related famines. 1915 1916 1917 1918 The East African campaign in World War I
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#17327649813574264-468: The march; a detachment of 1,000 men under Hauptmann Theodor Tafel ran out of food and ammunition and was forced to surrender before reaching Mozambique. Lettow and Tafel were unaware they were only one day's march apart. The Germans fought the Battle of Ngomano in which the Portuguese garrison was routed, then marched through Mozambique in caravans of troops, carriers, wives and children for nine months but were unable to gain much strength. In Mozambique,
4346-428: The most powerful colonial power in Africa. The German colonial military in Africa was weak, poorly equipped and widely dispersed, with the largest military concentration in the German colonial empire being in East Africa. Although better trained and more experienced than their opponents, many of the German soldiers were reliant on obsolete weapons such as the Model 1871 rifle , which used black powder , giving away
4428-407: The movement. After hurried preparations which included the dissolution of the monarchy in the Kingdom of Rwanda in September 1961, Ruanda-Urundi became independent on 1 July 1962, broken up along traditional lines as the independent Republic of Rwanda and Kingdom of Burundi . It took two more years before the government of the two became wholly separate and two other years until the proclamation of
4510-495: The night. By the morning of 24 January the colonial authorities had mobilised the colonial militia and redeployed regular military units from the KAR. After a failed attack by government troops on Mbombwe on 25 January, the rebels attacked a Christian mission at Nguludi and burned it down. Mbombwe was retaken by government forces unopposed on 26 January. Many of the rebels, including Chilembwe, fled towards Portuguese Mozambique but most were captured. About forty rebels were executed in
4592-418: The only German ships left on the lake. In February 1916, the Wami was intercepted and run ashore by the crew and burned. Lettow-Vorbeck then had its Königsberg gun removed and sent by rail to the main fighting front. The ship was scuttled in mid-July after a seaplane bombing attack by the Belgians on Kigoma and before advancing Belgian colonial troops could capture it; Wami was later re-floated and used by
4674-496: The outbreak of the Chilembwe rebellion in January 1915, by John Chilembwe , an American-educated Baptist minister. Chilembwe was motivated by grievances against the colonial system including forced labour and racial discrimination. The revolt broke out in the evening of 23 January 1915 when rebels, incited by Chilembwe, attacked the headquarters of the A. L. Bruce Plantation at Magomero and killed three white colonists. An abortive attack on an armoury in Blantyre followed during
4756-471: The political influence of White Kenyans . In 1914, the Kenyan economy was in decline but because of emergency legislation giving white colonists control over black-owned land in 1915, exports rose from £3.35 million to £5.9 million by 1916. The increase in the value of exports was mostly due to products like raw cotton and tea . White control of the economy rose from 14 per cent to 70 per cent by 1919. The campaign and recruiting in Nyasaland contributed to
4838-533: The population died of famine and disease; in sub-Saharan Africa, 1,500,000–2,000,000 people died in the flu epidemic. Overall, the German conduct of war directly led to the death of at least 350,000 civilians in East Africa; most German colonial soldiers and officers, including Lettow-Vorbeck, never expressed remorse for these losses. Books Journals Websites Books Journals Theses Ruanda-Urundi Ruanda-Urundi ( French pronunciation: [ʁwɑ̃da uʁundi] ), later Rwanda-Burundi ,
4920-446: The position of the firer. The militaries of the Allied powers also had similar problems of poor equipment and small size. Most colonial militaries were intended to serve as local paramilitary police for the repression of unrest or rebellion. They were neither equipped nor organized to fight against military forces of foreign powers. The objective of the German forces in East Africa, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck ,
5002-451: The reality of defeat in the field". Lettow-Vorbeck supported the narrative that his force had remained undefeated. By the time of his surrender, he insisted on signing the surrender documents on several conditions, including that his force was recorded as having stayed in the field until the conflict's end. In reality, he agreed to an unconditional surrender, albeit under protest. In March 1919, Schutztruppe veterans led by Lettow-Vorbeck held
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#17327649813575084-424: The region could be traded for Portuguese territory in Angola to expand the Congo's access to the Atlantic Ocean but this proved impossible. The League of Nations officially awarded Ruanda-Urundi to Belgium as a B-Class Mandate on 20 July 1922. The mandatory regime was also controversial in Belgium and it was not approved by Belgium's parliament until 1924. Unlike colonies which belonged to its colonial power,
5166-411: The so-called Hamitic hypothesis which suggested that the Tutsi were partially descended from a Semitic people and were therefore inherently superior to the Hutu who were seen as purely African. In this context, the Belgian administration preferred to rule through purely Tutsi authorities therefore further stratifying the society on ethnic lines. Hutu anger at the Tutsi domination was largely focused on
5248-402: The south-east. All these forces failed to capture Lettow-Vorbeck and they all suffered from disease along the march. The 9th South African Infantry, started with 1,135 men in February, and by October its strength was reduced to 116 fit troops, with little fighting. The Germans nearly always retreated from the larger British troop concentrations and by September 1916, the German Central Railway from
5330-475: The south. From 15–19 October 1917, Lettow-Vorbeck fought a costly battle at Mahiwa , with 519 German casualties and 2,700 British losses in the Nigerian brigade. After the news of the battle reached Germany, Lettow-Vorbeck was promoted to Generalmajor . British units forced the Schutztruppe south and on 23 November, Lettow-Vorbeck crossed into Mozambique to plunder supplies from Portuguese garrisons. Lettow-Vorbeck divided his force into three groups on
5412-447: The surrender to signify that Germans renounced claims to the colony. Article XVII of the armistice required the evacuation of the German forces from East Africa but the War Office interpreted this as to need unconditional surrender and disarmament, which was carried off "by a judicious mixture of firmness and bluff". Lettow-Vorbeck smelt a rat but was unable to confirm his suspicions with Berlin and gave way under protest. The campaign cost
5494-416: The territory than the Germans, especially in Ruanda. Despite the mandate rules that the Belgians had to develop the territories and prepare them for independence, the economic policy practised in the Belgian Congo was exported eastwards: the Belgians demanded that the territories earn profits for their country and that any development must come out of funds gathered in the territory. These funds mostly came from
5576-429: The two allies coordinated campaign plans. Major-General Arthur Hoskins (KAR), formerly the commander of the 1st East Africa Division, took over command of the campaign. After four months spent reorganising the lines of communication, he was then replaced by South African Major-General Jacob van Deventer . Deventer began an offensive in July 1917, which by early autumn had pushed the Germans 100 mi (160 km) to
5658-437: The two battalions of the King's African Rifles (KAR) in the British East African colonies. On 7 August, German troops at Moshi were informed that the neutrality agreement was at an end and ordered to raid across the border. On 15 August, Askari in the Neu Moshi region engaged in their first offensive operation of the campaign. Two companies of Askari (300 men) seized Taveta , on the British side of Mount Kilimanjaro , with
5740-401: Was formally dissolved in April 1946, following its failure to prevent World War II. It was succeeded, for practical purposes, by the new United Nations (UN). In December 1946, the new body voted to end the mandate over Ruanda-Urundi and replace it with the new status of " Trust Territory ". To provide oversight, the PMC was superseded by the United Nations Trusteeship Council . The transition
5822-403: Was a geopolitical entity, once part of German East Africa , that was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under military occupation from 1916 to 1922. It was subsequently awarded to Belgium as a Class-B Mandate under the League of Nations in 1922 and became a Trust Territory of the United Nations in
5904-613: Was a series of battles and guerrilla actions, which started in German East Africa (GEA) and spread to portions of Mozambique , Rhodesia , British East Africa , the Uganda , and the Belgian Congo . The campaign all but ended in German East Africa in November 1917 when the Germans entered Mozambique and continued the campaign living off Portuguese supplies. The strategy of the German colonial forces, led by Lieutenant Colonel (later Major General ) Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck ,
5986-474: Was a threat to the neutral Belgian Congo but the Belgian government hoped to continue its neutrality in Africa. The Force Publique was constrained to adopt a defensive strategy until 15 August 1914, when German ships on Lake Tanganyika bombarded the port of Mokolobu and then the Lukuga post a week later. Some Belgian officials viewed hostilities in East Africa as an opportunity to expand Belgian holdings in Africa;
6068-433: Was accompanied by a promise that the Belgians would prepare the territory for independence, but the Belgians felt the area would take many decades to be ready for self-rule and wanted the process to take enough time before happening. In 1961 the Belgian administration officially renamed Ruanda-Urundi as Rwanda-Burundi. Independence came largely as a result of actions elsewhere. African anti-colonial nationalism emerged in
6150-473: Was administered by a Belgian military occupation authority ("Belgian Occupied East African Territories") pending an ultimate decision about its political future. An administration, headed by a Royal Commissioner, was established in February 1917 at the same time as Belgian forces were ordered to withdraw from the Tabora region by the British. While the Germans had begun the practice of conscripting labour from
6232-467: Was diverted to the African theatre, it was not enough to inflict significant difficulties on the Allied navies. Soon after the end of the First World War, the narrative about the East African campaign became the subject of mythologization and distortions. Upon returning home, the Schutztruppe veterans, most importantly Lettow-Vorbeck, were treated as "heroes" by Germans who "refused to accept
6314-469: Was now 13,800 strong. Smuts attacked from several directions, the main attack coming from British East Africa (Kenya) in the north, while substantial forces from the Belgian Congo advanced from the west in two columns, crossing Lake Victoria on the British troop ships SS Rusinga and SS Usoga and into the Rift Valley. Another contingent advanced over Lake Nyasa ( Lake Malawi ) from
6396-565: Was only smoothed over with difficulty. In September, the Germans began to raid deeper into British Kenya and Uganda . German naval power on Lake Victoria was limited to the gunboat Kingani , a tugboat armed with one pom-pom gun, which caused minor damage and made a great deal of noise. The British armed the Uganda Railway lake steamers SS William Mackinnon , SS Kavirondo , SS Winifred , and SS Sybil as improvised gunboats. They trapped Kingani , which
6478-501: Was scuttled by the Germans. The Germans later raised Kingani , dismounted her gun, and used her as a transport. With Kingani disarmed and her "teeth removed, British command of Lake Victoria was no longer in dispute." To solve the raiding nuisance and to capture the northern, colonised region of the German colony, the British devised a plan for a two-pronged invasion. IEF "B" of 8,000 troops in two brigades, would carry out an amphibious landing at Tanga on 2 November 1914, to capture
6560-515: Was to divert Allied forces from the Western Front to Africa. His strategy achieved only mixed results after 1916 when he was driven out of German East Africa. The campaign in Africa consumed considerable amounts of money and war material that could have gone to other fronts. The Germans in East Africa fought for the whole of the war, receiving word of the armistice on 14 November 1918 at 07:30 hours. Both sides waited for confirmation, with
6642-423: Was to divert Allied forces and supplies from Europe to Africa. By threatening the important British Uganda Railway , Lettow hoped to force British troops to invade East Africa, where he could fight a defensive campaign. In 1912, the German government had formed a defensive strategy for East Africa in which the military would withdraw to the hinterland and fight a guerilla campaign. The German colony in East Africa
6724-480: Was to keep as many British forces diverted to his pursuit for as long as possible and to make the British expend the largest amount of resources in men, shipping and supplies against him. Although diverting in excess of 200,000 Indian and South African troops against his forces and garrison German East Africa in his wake, he could divert no more Allied manpower from the European theatre after 1916. While some shipping
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