EAST AFRICA, CONQUEST OF

The outbreak of the Great War found the Germans in E. Africa ready not merely to offer resistance to invasion of their — territory, but to undertake offensive operations against the neighbouring Brit. po e ions. Their mil i tary and | police forces combined comprised 3,500 | whites and 16,000 natives. The Ger. plan of campaign provided for invasions of Nyas a land, N. E. Rhodesia, and the British shores of Victoria Nyanza, but aimed especially at an advance against Mombasa and the Uganda railway. The Brit. forces at first were not sufficient even for defence, but volunteer units were formed, and, later, reinforcements came from India. The Brit. light cruisers Astroea and Pegasus destroyed the Ger. wirele station shortly after war broke out, but Pegasus was disabled at Zanzibar by the Ger. cruiser Konigsberg Sept. 20, 1914, and the Brit. blockade of the coast was not established till Feb. 1915. After the failure of the Ger. attack along the coast towards Mombasa, a Brit. expeditionary force from India attempted a landing at Tanga Nov. 4, which proved so costly that it was given up. Meantime the Ger. force directed against the shores of Victoria Nyanza and Uganda had fared badly. It occupied Karungu, but was prevented from advancing to the terminus of the Uganda railway at Kisimu. and the Brit. steamer Winifred disabled the Ger. craft Muanza March 6, 1915. On Lake Nyasa the Brit. armed steamer Gwendolen attacked the Ger. post of Sphinx haven and made prisoners of the crew of the Hee ve el Hedwig von Wi mann Aug. 1915. Two powerful launches were sent out from Eng. Mimi and Touton, as they were called, accounted for the Ger. King an i and Hedwig von Wi mann July 1915. At the same time the Ger. cruiser Kongsberg, which had been bottled up in the Rufiji r. since October, was attacked by the monitors Severn and Mersey, and destroyed, although the Germans salved its guns July 11. At the beginning of 1916 the Ger. colony was still intact. In the autumn General Smuts undertook the task. The enemy held a strong position on the N. frontier in the gap between Mt. KiliManjaro and the Pare Hills, but by a flanking movement from the N. W. Smuts succeeded in forcing the Germans out of Taveta. Smuts now determined to drive the Germans from the Nguru hills. He tried to intercept them by sending Brits. on a detour to Mdondo by the N., so as to intercept the main Ger. force, but the tracks proved to be impa able, and the enemy escaped southwards. Meantime a Brit. column had moved out from Bagamoyo along the Ruwu r., while another, with the aid of the fleet, secured the surrender of Dar-es-Salaam Sept. 3, and subsequently the whole coastal region was cleared. After a period of reorganization, the offensive Was renewed on New Year’s Day, 1917. At this stage Smuts was summoned to London, and the command was a igned to Hoskins, At the end of May the command devolved on van Dev enter, and the general plan was to prevent union between von Lettow and the force under Tafel, which had formed the garrison of Tabora. The latter was caught N, of the Rovuma r., and surrendered unconditionally Nov. 28. Von Lettow was driven from the Matandu r. and hastened to the Rovuma, where small Port. forces were unable to hold him hack Nov. 25. In Oct. he made an incursion into Rhodesia, appeared before Abercorn, but was driven S. towards Kasama, which he was compelled to evacuate just before the Armistice in Europe Nov. 11, in compliance with which he laid down his arms Nov. 28, 1918, to General Edwards at Abercorn.