Battle of Tanga

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Battle of Tanga

"Battle of Tanga, 3rd-5th November, 1914" by Martin Frost (1875-1927)

Date	November 3 - 5, 1914
Location	Tanga, German East Africa
Result	German victory

Combatants

German Empire

United Kingdom

Commanders

Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck

Arthur Aitken

Strength

about 1100 Askari

8000 Indian reservists

Casualties

81 wounded, 61 killed

487 wounded, 360 killed

East African Campaign
Tanga - Jassin - Bukoba - Salaita - Latema Nek - Kahe - Kilimanjaro - Kondoa Irangi - Dodoma - Mkalamo - Lukigura - Matamondo - Wami - Kilosa - Mlali - Morogoro - Kidodi - Dutumi - Kisaki - Njinjo - Kimbaramba - Kibata (1916) - Behobeho - Kibata (1917) - Mpotona - Utete - Nambanje - Kiawe Bridge - Rumbo - Narungombe - Mahiwa - Nyangao

The Battle of Tanga (sometimes nicknamed the "Battle of the Bees") was the blundered attempt by the British Indian Army to capture German East Africa (present-day Tanzania) during World War I. It was the first major event in the war in Africa.

Tanga, situated on a high plateau only 80km from the border of British East Africa (today Kenya), was a busy seaport and the site of the crucial Usambara Railway, which ran from the city to the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. It was initially to be bombarded by British warships, but this plan was scrapped after an agreement to refrain from initiating local aggression was extracted from Tanga's population by way of gunboat diplomacy.

However, the British broke the agreement and launched an amphibious attack on the city. From the beginning, the attack was a disaster. A few days before the amphibious attack, the British cruiser HMS Fox arrived, announcing the termination of the earlier agreement. This gave time for both the German Army and the citizens of Tanga to prepare for an attack. The German commander, Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, reinforced Tanga's defenses (initially a single company of troops) with soldiers brought in from all around German East Africa, eventually numbering about 1,000.

Hearing of this, General Arthur Aitken wrongly assumed that von Lettow-Vorbeck had mined Tanga's harbour, and cautiously landed three miles south of the city, on November 3, 1914. Aitken failed to scout out the area beforehand, and it was only by chance that the 8,000 poorly trained Indian reserves Aitken landed were not immediately wiped out.

The next morning, Aitken ordered his troops to march on the city, again, failing to scout out the route beforehand. This time, he was not so lucky, and Tanga's garrison ambushed them and quickly broke their advance. By afternoon, the fighting had turned to jungle skirmishing, with fighting frequently interrupted by swarms of angry bees, hence the battle's nickname.

Tanga in 1914

Although outnumbered eight to one, von Lettow-Vorbeck launched a counterattack on November 4. His troops rapidly overran the poorly defended Indian positions, and the Indian troops were forced to return to their boats.

In their hasty retreat, the Indians left behind rifles, machine guns and more than 600,000 rounds of ammunition, all of which von Lettow-Vorbeck captured. However, von Lettow-Vorbeck, a gentleman, met with Aitken under a white flag and compared notes and opinions with him over a bottle of brandy. He also told German medics to care for the Indian wounded.

The Battle of Tanga was one of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's finest achievements, and he was promoted to General for his actions. After the war, he returned to Germany a hero.