Hostilities begin in East Africa
- Category:
- Military operations
- Front:
- Africa
- Date:
- 8 August 1914
- Author:
- Łukasz Skowroń
On 8 August 1914 the British cruiser HMS Astraea shelled Dar es Salaam, the capital of German East Africa. Its target was the wireless station through which German warships in the Indian Ocean kept in contact with the shore. This was the beginning of hostilities in East Africa, the longest campaign of the First World War.
Bombardment and truce
Astraea’s shells destroyed the wireless mast. The British also immobilised two German merchant ships lying in the harbour. Fearing a landing, the Germans scuttled a floating dock in the harbour entrance. In doing so they also closed the port to their own cruiser SMS Königsberg, which was operating in the Indian Ocean.
After the bombardment Astraea’s captain agreed to a truce on condition that Dar es Salaam remained an open town and was not used for military purposes. The colony’s governor, Heinrich Schnee, readily agreed. He believed that war in Africa would bring the colonies nothing but destruction, and hoped that neutrality could be preserved.
Lettow-Vorbeck
The commander of the German colonial troops, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, took a different view. He believed his task was to tie down as many British forces as possible in Africa, so that they could not fight in Europe. Against the governor’s wishes he prepared for war, and in the following months he went over to offensive operations against British East Africa, today’s Kenya.
The longest campaign
The war in East Africa lasted throughout the First World War. Lettow-Vorbeck’s forces, made up mostly of African soldiers known as askaris, avoided destruction for four years by much larger British, Belgian and Portuguese forces. The campaign claimed enormous numbers of victims, especially among the civilian population and African porters. Lettow-Vorbeck laid down his arms only on 25 November 1918, two weeks after the armistice in Europe, when news of the end of the war reached him.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 8 August 1914 · Western FrontFrench troops take MulhouseOn 8 August 1914 French troops entered Mulhouse in Alsace. France celebrated, but within two days a German counter-attack forced the French to retreat.
- 8 August 1914 · Balkan FrontMontenegro breaks off relations with Germany and is at war with itOn 8 August 1914 Montenegro broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, and a state of war began between the two countries.
- 7 August 1914 · War at seaHMS Gloucester attacks Goeben and Breslau off GreeceOn 7 August 1914 the British cruiser Gloucester shadowed the German ships Goeben and Breslau and opened fire on Breslau off the coast of Greece.
- 7 August 1914 · Western FrontFrench cross the border into AlsaceOn 7 August 1914 the French VII Corps crossed the border into German Alsace. The troops took Altkirch and Thann and the next day entered Mulhouse.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 15 August 1914 · AfricaGermans occupy Taveta in British East AfricaOn 15 August 1914 a German detachment under Tom von Prince crossed the border of British East Africa and took Taveta at the foot of Kilimanjaro.
- 19 August 1914 · AfricaFirst Indian unit sets out for East AfricaOn 19 August 1914 the 29th Punjabis left India, the first unit of an Indian expeditionary force sent to the front. Its destination was East Africa.
- 1 September 1914 · AfricaFirst Indian contingent arrives at MombasaOn 1 September 1914 the first unit of Indian Expeditionary Force "C" reached Mombasa, sent to aid the weak forces of British East Africa.
- 19 January 1915 · AfricaGermans capture JasinOn the morning of 19 January 1915 the Jasin garrison, out of ammunition and water, surrendered to Lettow-Vorbeck. 276 Indian and African soldiers were captured.