Königsberg found in the Rufiji delta
- Category:
- Military operations
- Front:
- Africa
- Date:
- 31 October 1914
- Author:
- Natalia
At the end of October 1914 British cruisers found the German light cruiser Königsberg, hidden in the backwaters of the delta of the Rufiji river on the coast of German East Africa. A British chronology records the event under 31 October, but most accounts state that the ship was spotted as early as 30 October. From then on Königsberg was blockaded and could not return to the ocean.
A hideout in the jungle
After sinking the cruiser Pegasus off Zanzibar on 20 September, Commander Max Looff needed a safe place to overhaul his worn-out engines. He chose the shallow, mangrove-covered Rufiji delta, where the British did not expect a large warship. Parts needing repair were taken overland to the workshops in Dar es Salaam. The cruiser was carefully camouflaged, and soldiers, field guns and observation posts linked by a telegraph line were deployed along the riverbanks. Coal was brought to her by the steamer Somali.
A clue in the papers
In the Indian Ocean the German cruiser was being hunted by the British cruisers Chatham, Dartmouth and Weymouth under Captain Sidney Drury-Lowe. On 19 October Chatham’s crew seized the German ship Präsident, lying a few kilometres upriver from the port of Lindi. Documents found on board showed that the ship had been supplying Königsberg with coal in the Rufiji delta.
The British directed their search to that area. On 30 October Königsberg and Somali were spotted in one of the arms of the delta. Sources differ as to which of the cruisers sighted her first. Some name Chatham, others Dartmouth. The shallow waters, however, did not allow the large ships to get within effective range.
A long blockade
The three cruisers blockaded the mouths of the river. At the beginning of November the British shelled Somali and destroyed her. On 10 November they scuttled the old collier Newbridge in the main channel of the delta to block the Germans’ way to the sea, although other arms of the river still remained open. Königsberg did not try to break out. A siege of the ship hidden in the jungle began that lasted many months, in which the British even used aircraft. The decision came only in July 1915, with two shallow-draught monitors, Severn and Mersey.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
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- 31 October 1914 · MilitaryAdmiralty orders hostilities against TurkeyOn 31 October 1914 the British Admiralty ordered its ships to begin hostilities against Turkey at once, although war had not yet been declared.
- 31 October 1914 · War at seaSinking of HMS HermesOn 31 October 1914 U-27 torpedoed the British seaplane carrier Hermes in the Strait of Dover. More than 20 sailors were killed.
- 30 October 1914 · MilitaryFisher returns to the AdmiraltyOn 30 October 1914 the 73-year-old Admiral John Fisher became First Sea Lord again. He replaced Prince Louis of Battenberg.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 20 September 1914 · War at seaSinking of HMS Pegasus at ZanzibarOn 20 September 1914 the German cruiser Königsberg surprised the British cruiser Pegasus in Zanzibar harbour and sank her. Several dozen sailors were killed.
- 12 January 1915 · AfricaBritish occupy Mafia IslandIn January 1915 the British took the German island of Mafia off the Rufiji delta. It became a base against the cruiser Königsberg hidden in the delta.
- 1 March 1915 · AfricaBlockade of German East AfricaOn 1 March 1915 Britain declared a blockade of the whole coast of German East Africa, to cut the colony off from supplies and hem in the Königsberg.
- 1 November 1914 · War at seaBattle of CoronelOn 1 November 1914 off Chile Admiral von Spee's squadron sank two British armoured cruisers. Admiral Cradock and about 1,600 sailors were killed.