Wapshare replaces Aitken

A British chronology of the war records under 4 December 1914 that General Richard Wapshare replaced Major-General Arthur Aitken as commander of the British forces in East Africa, and that Aitken was recalled home. The change followed the defeat at Tanga, where at the beginning of November Indian Expeditionary Force “B” had been beaten by the many times smaller forces of Lieutenant-Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck.

The dates of the change differ in the sources, because the handover of command took several weeks. Some lists state that Wapshare was already in command from 22 November, when direction of the campaign was taken over by the War Office in London. According to other accounts the order recalling Aitken arrived a few days later. When Wapshare learned of his appointment and promotion to major-general, Aitken was lying in hospital with malaria. He sailed for England only on 17 December.

Aitken, who at the end of October had taken over the supreme command in East Africa, paid for Tanga with his whole career. He had underrated the enemy, failed to carry out reconnaissance and warned the Germans that a local truce was being ended. On his return home years of disgrace awaited him. In 1915 he was reduced to the rank of colonel. Only after the war was it acknowledged that he had been made a scapegoat, and he was restored to the honorary rank of brigadier-general.

His successor, born in India in 1860, was a cavalry officer of the Indian Army. At Tanga he had commanded the 27th (Bangalore) Brigade, whose poorly trained Indian battalions had broken on the decisive day of the fighting. Wapshare was well liked, but was regarded as a good administrator rather than a field commander. Captain Richard Meinertzhagen, the corps’ intelligence officer, wrote of him that he lacked military instinct and was afraid of any responsibility.

In any case the new commander was not meant to conduct an offensive. London agreed that the forces in East Africa should go over to the defensive. The two Indian expeditionary forces were merged. Headquarters was moved from the coast to Nairobi, the capital of British East Africa, and the colony was divided into two areas: Nairobi under Brigadier-General James Stewart and Mombasa under Brigadier-General Michael Tighe. The troops’ main task was to guard the railway from Mombasa inland against German raids. Wapshare commanded in East Africa until April 1915, when he was replaced by Tighe.