Naval operations off Duala begin

The British chronology of the war records under the date 7 September 1914 the start of naval operations off the coast of German Kamerun, near Duala. Royal Navy ships were to open the way to the port for the land forces preparing to invade the colony.

Objective: Duala

Duala, lying deep inside the wide estuary of the river Wouri, was the main port and administrative centre of Kamerun. It also had an important wireless station. The Allies decided to attack the colony from the sea and appointed General Charles Dobell to command the land expedition. Before his soldiers could land, the navy had to survey and clear the approach to the port.

At the beginning of September the British armoured cruiser HMS Cumberland, under Captain Cyril Fuller, and the gunboat HMS Dwarf appeared at the mouth of the Wouri. Later other British and French ships joined them, including the cruiser HMS Challenger.

A closed port

The Germans had had time to prepare their defences. They laid naval mines in the estuary and, in the channel leading to Duala, scuttled 10 or 12 merchant ships and auxiliary vessels, according to various sources, to prevent ships from passing. The British therefore had to sound the shallows, mark a new channel and clear the mines. This work, carried out by the Royal Navy and the marine of the colony of Nigeria, was directed by Fuller.

The small gunboat Dwarf, able to navigate shallow waters, became the Germans’ main target. On 11 September, while trying to enter the river, she was damaged by artillery fire from the shore. In the following days the Germans tried several times to destroy her, among other things with boats carrying explosive charges. On 16 September she was rammed by the German customs vessel Nachtigal. Dwarf survived the collision, and Nachtigal sank.

The fall of Duala

By the end of September the channel had been cleared enough for the lightened cruiser Challenger to come within a few kilometres of the town. On 26 September the ships shelled Duala, and the next day, 27 September, the German commandant surrendered the town together with neighbouring Bonaberi. The Allies landed without a fight and seized about ten German merchant ships lying in the port. The loss of Duala deprived the Germans of their only large port in Kamerun, although the fighting in the interior of the colony went on for more than a year.