MY REMINISCENCES OF EAST AFRICA

by General von Lettow-Vorbeck

General Paul von Letow-Vorbeck

PREFACE

In all the German colonies, though but a few decades old, a life lull of promise was discernible ere beginning to understand the national value of our colonial possessions; settlers and capital were venturing in ; industries and factories were beginning to flourish. Compared with that of other nations, the colonizing process of Germany had progressed peacefully and steadily, and the inhabitants had confidence in the justice of German administration. This development had barely commenced when it was destroyed by the world war. In spite of all tangible proofs to the contrary, an unjustifiable campaign of falsehood s being conducted in order to make the world believe that the Germans lacked colonizing talent and were cruel to the natives.

A small force, mainly composed of these very natives, opposed this development. Almost without any external means of coercion, even without immediate payment, this force, with its numerous native followers, faithfully followed its German leaders throughout the whole of the prolonged war against a more than hundredfold superiority. When the armistice came it was still fit to fight, and imbued with the best soldierly spirit. That is a fact which cannot be controverted, and is in itself a sufficient answer to the hostile misstatements.

It has not been possible for me to give an exhaustive account of the operations of the German East African Protective Force. The existing material is insufficient, much has been lost, and even now I am unacquainted with various events, the actors in which have not yet returned home. My own records have for the most part been lost, and I had not the leisure to prepare a detailed description of the campaign in East Africa in addition to my other duties. My account is therefore necessarily incomplete. In the main I must rely upon my memory and on my personal experiences. Errors in detail are unavoidable.

But in spite of this, the following account may not be without value, nor perhaps without interest, since it shows how what is up to the present the greatest drama in our colonial history was enacted in the head of him who was destined to conduct the military side of it. I have endeavored to set down my recollections of East Africa as they actually are, and thus at least to present what is subjectively correct.

PART I. EVENTS PREVIOUS TO THE ARRIVAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICANS

CHAPTER I. BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF WAR

When I landed at Dar-es-Salaam in January, 1914, I hardly suspected the nature of the task that was to confront me in a few months' time. But during the past ten years the universal war had more than once seemed so imminent. that I was obliged seriously to consider whether the force under my command would be called upon to take any part in that conflict, and, it so, what its task might be. Owing to the position of the Colony and the weakness of the existing forces—the peace establishment was but little more than two thousand—we could only play a subsidiary part. I knew that the fate of the colonies, as of all other German possessions, would only be decided on the battlefields of Europe. To this decision every German, regardless of where he might be at the moment, mast contribute his share. In the Colony also it was our duty, in case of universal war, to do all in our power for our country. The question was whether it was possible for us in our subsidiary theatre of war to exercise any influence on the great decision at home. Could we, with our small forces, prevent considerable numbers of the enemy from intervening in Europe, or in other more important theatres, or inflict on our enemies any loss of personnel or war material worth mentioning? At that time I answered this question in the affirmative. It is true, however, that I did not succeed in interesting all authorities in this idea to such an extent as to cause all preparations which a war of this kind rendered desirable to be carried out.

It was to be considered that hostile troops would allow themselves to be held only f we attacked, or at least threatened, the enemy at some really sensitive point. It was further to be remembered that, with the means available, protection of the Colony could not be ensured even by purely defensive tactics, since the total length of land frontier and coast-line was about equal to that of Germany. From these considerations it followed that it was necessary, not to split up our small available forces in local defense, but, on the contrary, to keep them together, to grip the enemy by the throat and force him to employ his forces for self-defense. If this idea could be successfully carried out, we should at the same time protect our coast and our infinitely long land frontier in the most effective manner.

In examining the question where to find a point so vital to the enemy as to afford us the prospect of a successful attack, or, at any rate, of a threat of such an attack, one thought at once of the frontier between German and British East Africa Parallel with it, at a distance of a few marches, runs the main artery of the British territory, the Uganda Railway, an object which, with a length of quite 440 miles, was extremely difficult for the enemy to protect, and would, therefore, it effectively threatened, require a large part of his troops for the purpose.

On my first journey of reconnaissance and inspection, commenced in January, 1914, I went by sea from Dar-es-Salaam to Tanga, thence to Usambara, and then on into the country round Riihna Njaro and Meru Mountain. At Usambara I met an old friend whom I bad known well since our military college days (Kriegschule), Captain von Prince (retired). He was an enthusiastic supporter of the idea that, in case of a war with England, we East Africans should not remain idie spectators, but should take a hand if there should be even a trace of a prospect of relieving the pressure in Europe. At the same time, he was in a position to inform me that in the Usambara country, round Kilima Njaro, and near Meru Mountain, Volunteer Rifle Corps were being formed, which in a short time would probably include all the Germans capable of bearing arms in these northern territories. In view of the density of the settlements in those parts, this was a fact of great importance. The main contingent of the three thousand Europeans whom we were able to enroll in the Protective Force during the course of the war was furnished from these very territories lying along the Usambara Railway. It was, indeed, difficult to introduce a workable military organization among these voluntary associations, and to make effective use of their abundant good will. Still, it was, on the whole, successfully arranged that all, oven those not legally obliged to do so, should be ready ill case of war to act under the orders of the Protective Force. The District Commissioners also manifested the greatest sympathy; but they also expressed the, unfortunately well-founded, doubt whether, in a universal war which could certainly cut us off completely from the home country and leave us to our own resources, such voluntary organizations would possess the requisite cohesion. The armament was also n a bad way; although almost every European possessed a useful sporting rifle, the variety of patterns and the consequent difficulty of ammunition supply had not yet been remedied. The proposals for arming these rifle clubs with a uniform military weapon were still pending, and remained undecided until the outbreak of war.

Fig. I and III. Kilima Njaro. Fig. II. German East Africa. The Central Railway

At Wilhelmstal I found a detachment of native police under an efficient sergeant-major, who came from Ditmarschen. Whereas the Protective Force proper was under the Commandant, the various police detachments were under the civil authorities, and so each District Commissioner had under his orders a detachment of one hundred to two hundred men, for the purpose of collecting taxes and supporting his authority. There prevailed a constant tendency to increase this police force more and more, to the detriment of the Protective Force. In this manner, alongside of the latter, a second force of the same strength had come into being which was in its very nature a travesty of a military organization, and could hardly be anything better. The District Commissioner, a civil official, often understood little of military matters, and handed over the training and command of his Police-Askari to a sergeant-major of police. The latter often worked zealously, with the old non-commissioned officer's usual devotion to duty; but he seldom received any guidance from a military superior, since the police inspector, an officer, could only visit each district from time to time. 3o the Police-Askari often became slack, and lacked the strict discipline necessary to keep them fit for their duties, which demanded reliability. To this was added a further defect which ought to have been avoided. The police were partly recruited from the native N.C.O.'s of the Protective Force. The latter was thereby deprived of its best elements, who, after joining the police, lost their good military qualities. This, of course, did not obtain in all cases. But, generally speaking, it was the case that, in order to obtain a police force of inferior military value which in the circumstances could never be of any real use, the quality of the Protective Force was steadily impaired.

From New Moshi, the terminus of the Usambara Railway, I proceeded via Marangu, here an English planter lived and where I met the English Consul King, of Dar-es-Salaam, to the Kilima Njaro country, and thence to Arusha. Several German planters, some of them former officers, whom I visited at their estates during the march, assured me that the German settlers in those parts formed a valuable source of military power.

At that time I made the acquaintance of the charming estate of Commander Niemeyer (retired), whose wife entertained us with excellent home-grown coffee. Later on she rather hindered us on one occasion: when, during the war, her husband was in Engara-Nairobi Camp, north-west of Kilima Njaro, we had temporarily lent her a telephone, so that she could call up her husband. Immediately afterwards the whole telephone service stopped, and after a long, long search, we at last discovered that our kind former hostess had not switched off her instrument and displayed no intention of doing so.

Close by was the plantation of Leutenant-Commander Schoenfeld (retired), who hospitably offered us a glass of very fine Moselle wine, and did so with a military tone like a word of command which even then characterized him as the energetic leader who was later to defend the mouth of the Rufiji River against a superior enemy with such stubbornness. Just short of Arusha we came to the coffee-plantation of my old brother-cadet Freiherr von Ledebur, where at table I met the charming old retired Lieutenant-Colonel Freiherr von Bock. We talked about the Volunteer Rifle Corps which were being formed near Meru Mountain, and I did not dream that a few months later this old gentleman of over sixty would be one of our toughest patrol leaders on the east side of Kilima Njaro, and would often with his few men, who were mostly recruits, successfully engage several companies of the enemy His true chivalry and fatherly care soon won him the hearts of his black comrades, to such a degree that he was m their eyes the bravest of all Germans, and they clung to him with touching loyalty.

At Arusha the first inspection of a company of Askari was held, The spirit and discipline of the black unit revealed the admirable education they had received at the hands of my predecessor, Colonel Freiherr von Schleuntz; but, m accordance with the hitherto accepted principles of thieir employment, their training for lighting against an enemy with modern armament had been developed to a lesser degree. Like the majority of the Askari companies, this company was still armed with the old 1871 pattern rifle, using smoky powder. The opinion was widely held that for black troops this was more suitable than a modern rifle with smokeless powder, for they had hitherto never been employed against an opponent with modern armament, but only in native warfare, where the larger caliber is an advantage, while the disadvantage of smoke is of no consequence. After the outbreak of war, indeed, the enthusiastic supporters of the 1871 rifle changed their minds. Against an enemy provided with modern smokeless equipment the smoky rifle was, not only at the long ranges obtaining in the open plain, but also in bush-fighting, where the combatants are often but. a few paces apart, decidedly inferior. The man using smokeless powder remains invisible, while the cloud of smoke betrays the enemy with rapidity and certainty, not only to the sharp eye of the native Askari, but even to the European accustomed to office work. Thus, at the beginnig of the war, the greatest reward which could be earned by an Askari was to give him a modern captured rifle in place of his old smoky one.

In distributing the force by companies throughout the country it had been necessary to accept the disadvantage that m many cases it was impossible to employ them in large formations, or to train the senior officers in this respect. It was evident that in war the movement and leading in battle of forces greater than a company would be attended with great difficulty and friction. According to my view, the force had the double duty of preparing to meet an enemy from outside with modern armament, as well as a native enemy within our borders; their training for battle had therefore to take account of two distinct sets of conditions. The exercises in native warfare presented a spectacle which differed widely from our European inspections. At Arusha, on this occasion, the company marched through thick bush, the "Pori" and was in native fashion surprised on the march. The enemy was represented by Meru warriors, who, arrayed in full war-dress, with spears and head-dress of ostrich leathers, remained concealed, and then at only a few paces distance fell upon the Safari, the column of route, with loud war cries. A fight at such close quarters, like the one in which Zelewski s expedition had been overwhelmed in 1891 at Iringa, is decided at short range and in a very few minutes. The troops quickly rally round their leaders and rush the enemy. In accordance with this whole character of native warfare, careful and thorough musketry training in the modern sense had hitherto been unnecessary. It was, indeed, at a pretty low level, and to may interest the soldier to hear that in some companies the average at two hundred yards standing without rest barely attained Ring 3, and that only a few companies got beyond Ring 5. Neither did the nature of native warfare provide a sufficient inducement for thorough training with the machine gun. Fortunately, however, I soon discovered among all Europeans of the force a complete understanding of the importance of this arm, in particular in modern battle. In spite of this not particularly high standard of training, the results of field-firing, even at long ranges, were not unsatisfactory, and in this the Askari profited in a high degree by his sharp eyesight, which enabled him to observe his fire and correct his aim accordingly.

The journey was continued via Ufiome Mission, where the excellent Father Durr was settled, to Kondoa-Irangi, Kilimatinde and back to Dar-es-Salaam. The impression left by this first inspection was that from a military point of view there was still a great deal to be done if we wished to be properly prepared in case the English should make war on us. Unfortunately I did not succeed in arousing sufficient interest in the matter on the part of the authorities. The ruling opinion was that we were oil exceptionally good terms with the English, and that a war, if it came at all, was still ill the distant future. Thus it happened that when war actually did break out but a few months later we were unprepared.

For me, a newcomer in East Africa, the journey had not only been of military interest. At Boma la Ngombe, a place between Moshi and Arusha, a number of old Askari had been settled by the late Lieutenant-Colonel Johannes; they were mainly engaged in cattle-dealing, and had become well-to-do. The news of my coming had preceded me, and the people appeared in full strength to greet me on my arrival. I had the impression that this was not a mere show of loyalty; the people not only told me enthusiasticalfy of Germans under whom they had previously served, but after the outbreak of war, unasked and without the slightest pressure, they placed a large sum of money at our disposal to help the force. In that district I also saw the first Masai, who, in contrast to the majority of the East African tribes, are pure Hamites, and live in a special reservation. It may be mentioned that Merker, the best authority on the Masai,[*] considers them to be the original Jews. They possess to a marked degree the characteristics of the pure inhabitant of the prairie. Occasionally, one of these tall, slim, and very swift men acted as my guide on hunting expeditions; their vision and skill as trackers are astonishing. In addition, the Masai is intelligent, and, at any rate towards strangers, an extraordinary liar. He lives in closed villages of mud huts, and, like all nomads, wanders with his herds over the prairie. He seldom enlists in the force. In agriculture the Masai engages hardly at all, whereas among the other tribes this forms the chief occupation and is a necessary condition for close settlement. Thus the banana districts on the eastern slopes of Kiluma Njaro support a native Wajagga population of some twenty-live thousand souls, and this number could easily be increased. The great wealth of cattle in the neighbourhood of Arusha. on the Masai prairie, and near Kondoa-Irangi, showed me that the tse-tse fly, the principal enemy of African cattle, is comparatively rare in those parts. As a comparison, I may state that the cattle in the single district of Arusha are estimated to be more numerous than in the whole of South West Africa. At Kondoa-Irangi and Singida the people had come from a great distance, and had 'med the road to greet me. No traveller who visits these countries can fail to observe that in the fertile, elevated interior there is room for the settlement of hundreds of thousands of Europeans. Here I would like to record an Impression which I only obtained later, during the war. At times we passed through fertile districts which were completely forsaken by the inhabitants, but which were known not to have been occupied even in the previous year. They had simply moved away, had settled somewhere else m the abundantly available, empty and fertile country, and had there begun to cultivate fresh fields. If the country capable of cultivation were fully utilized, it would probably be possible to support in German East Africa, which has hitherto been inhabited by about eight millions only, a population barely less than that of Germany. An Englishman captured during the war at Mahenge remarked that it would be possible to make East Africa into a second India, and I think he was right. My experience in the war has confirmed my opinion that there exist many possibilities of economic development, of which we had hardly an inkling before the war.

* M. Merker, " Die Masai," Berlin, 1904 (2nd Edition, 1910).

At Singida I saw one of the stud-farms of the country. For breeding purposes there were two horse stallions, no mares, a few Muscat donkey stallions, and mainly country-bred donkey mares. Of the objects it was sought to attain 1 could get no clear idea; in any case, the crossing of horse stallions and donkey mares had produced no results. But the district is extraordinarily suitable for horse-breeding, and the Government Veterinary Officer Hiffmeister, who was stationed there, was very inclined to settle in the country as a private farmer and horse-breeder. Similar stud-farms existed at Kilimatinde, Iringa and Ubena. From Singida to Kilimatinde I followed the Mpond River; the sportsman will be interested to know that this is the district in which the best buffaloes in East Africa are said to be found. A few days before I had successfully hunted buffalo, but I had not succeeded in getting a shot at a powerful bull, and so, as far as tune permitted, I was out for buffalo. Besides a native boy, I had as trackers two excellent Askari of the Konda Company. As soon as I arrived in camp at the end of a march and dismounted from my mule, 1 would ask Kadunda, one of these Askari, who had done the march on foot, whether he was ready to hunt. He always agreed with the greatest enthusiasm, and away we went through the bush, which was sometimes so dense that one had to crawl under the branches in order to get through at all. For the European not yet accustomed to the African climate it is extraordinary fatiguing to follow a trail through dense bush and high grass reaching over one's head for hours on end in the blazing sun. The wounded buffalo is considered to be the most dangerous game in East Africa; he often charges at once with great determination. At Mpondi, a short time before, a wounded buffalo had attacked a hunter so suddenly that the latter did indeed find himself seated 011 us neck, but would hardly have escaped with his life unless at the critical moment his sun-helmet had fallen off. The animal then proceeded to attack the helmet, and the man managed to get a shot at its heart. From this and similar tales it will be understood that as the trail gets warmer and warmer, one's excitement becomes intense and one's senses more acute. But although I often heard the buffalo breathing only a few paces from me, the bush was so thick that I could not get a shot. I had already abandoned all hope of success and had marched off with my caravan for good and all, when at seven in the morning we crossed a perfectly fresh buffalo trail. At this point the forest was clearer, and the guides seemed keen to follow the tracks. So we let the caravan go on, and after four hours of exhausting tracking got a sight of the buffalo. In a clearing, at one hundred yards, I raised my rifle, but Kadunda would not allow it, and insisted on our stalking the quarry, which was passing us in quite open wood without undergrowth, up to within thirty yards. Luckily the bullet cut the main artery; the buffalo fell at once, and so any further possible developments of the episode were cut short. As often happens, we discovered in the animal s body a bullet from a native gun. Besides this buffalo I had got a large number of antelope and gazelle of various kinds; lions we often heard, but never caught sight of.

On this march through the " Pori" I learned, to my astonishment, that even in the interior of Africa it is no easy matter to disappear without a trace. I had marched off without leaving word what road I intended to take. Suddenly, m the heart of the bush, a native met us on the march, and handed me the oversea mail. The fact s that in their interchange of information the inhabitants tell each other everything that happens in their vicinity. Calls, fire signals, and the signal drums serve to exchange and quickly spread all news. The incredible way in which the innumerable rumors spread abroad, with which I became acquainted later on, is mainly due to this communicativeness.

After returning to Dar-es-Salaam from the first journey of inspection, I immediately made arrangements for re-arming three more companies; up to date only three companies had been equipped with modern rifles. It subsequently became a factor of the greatest importance that, at any rate, these arms, with the necessary ammunition, reached the Colony just in time for the outbreak of war.

During a tour of inspection in April to Lindi, where I saw the Third Field Company, I fell into a rocky hole and got water on the knee so that I could not start my next long journey till the end of May. Although the Central Railway was open for public traffic only as far as Tabora, the construction had proceeded so far that I could reach Kigoma (on Lake Tanganyika) by rail, and was thus already enabled to acquire a superficial knowledge of this important means of communication which connected our coast directly with the Lake and the rich countries bordering on it, and indirectly with the Congo basin. At Kigoma the steamer Coetzen was still building, and to reach Bismarckburg I made use of the small steamer Hedwig von Wissman, At Baudouinville, in the Congo Territory, I paid a short visit to the Bishop of the White Fathers, without suspecting how soon we would be at war with that country. The wonderful church would be an ornament to any of our towns. It had been built by the Fathers themselves and the interior was decorated with rich carvings. Extensive, splendid orchards surround the station. The plague of lions must, however, be very great ; the Fathers told me that a short time before a lion had one night jumped the wall into the court and killed an ox.

Our reception was very friendly, and we were made welcome with a glass of fine Algerian wine. We were also well received at Mwasyl Mission Station in German territory, where there were also White Fathers mostly Belgians. During the war, however, we captured correspondence which proved that the French missionaries, who also lived at stations in the Tanganyika country, by no means confined themselves to spreading Christianity but intentionally carried on a national propaganda as well. One missionary's letter defines the difference between a missionnaire catholique and a missionnaire francais, remarking that the latter is bound, IN addition to spreading the Christian faith, to carry on French national propaganda. It is well known that this national propaganda is a work from which the German missionaries generally refrained.

These missions, which are naturally to be found in the densely populated and well-cultivated countries, exercise a remarkable influence on the education of the natives. The missionary is mostly the only permanently settled white man; he becomes well acquainted with the country and people, and wins their confidence. The missions have deserved extremely well by introducing European handicrafts; everywhere one finds carpenters' shops, shoemakers' shops and brickworks.

My later tours disclosed that the extremely fertile country around Langenburg and Ssonga, where there are many wheat-fields (the density of population is indicated even on the map by the numerous mission stations), was protected by only one company, which was not even connected by a direct wire. A telegram could only reach Langenburg from Dar-es-Salaam by the English line through South Africa. The communication by heliograph from Iringa to Langenburg was too unreliable to be considered an efficient substitute. It may be mentioned that in that country the natives have not only been educated up to agriculture b}' the Missions and by the German Administration, but that considerable native industries have been indigenous there for a long lime past. Where iron occurs one finds numerous forges, the bellows being made in the primitive manner out of hides and perforated branches. Very beautiful are the native weavers products; basket-work is also done here as almost everywhere else m the Colony, and the work not only shows good taste, but is so close that the natives use wickerwork cups for drinking. The large herds owned by a few European farmers suffered, owing to the poorly developed communications, from the difficulty of reaching a market; this is especially the case with Mbeya Farm, between Lake Nyassa and Tanganyika.

I camped at Mbosi Mission, and the local missionary, Bachmann. who had known the country and the people intimately for many years past, told me that a striking change was taking place in the views of the natives. Foreign Arabs and Swahili were appearing in the country, and were telling the people that the Germans would soon be going, and that the English would take possession of the land; that was in June, 1914.

The continuation of my journev to Iringa brought me to the places where the great chief Kwawa had defied the Germans in the early days, and at Rugeno some of the many assembled natives were able to relate to me what they had witnessed of the annihilation of Zelewski's expedition on the spot.

In the short period of peace-work that was vouchsafed to me, my endeavors to obtain a thorough grip of all my duties in East Africa could not produce results sufficient to secure me great personal authority among Africans of long standing, I was still considered a raw hand. All the same, my career in the service had prepared me to some extent for the work that Fate had in store for me.

It was probably about the time when, as a cadet who had been transplanted at an early age from my home in Pomerania, I was studying Caesar's Gallic War, that the German Fatherland was presented by Bismarck with its first colonies. In the year 1899-1900, when employed on the General Staff, I studied our own colonies as well as many foreign ones. During the troubles in China (1900-1901) I made the acquaintance, both officially and socially, of all the contingents engaged with us m East Asia, particularly the English. The Herero and Hottentot Rebellion in South-West Africa (1004-1906) introduced me to the pecularities of bush warfare. At that time I gained abundant personal experience, not only of natives, but also of Boers, both on the Staff of General von Botha and as an independent Company and Detachment Commander. The excellent qualities of this Low German race, that had for generations made its home on the African veld, commanded my respect. That the Boers would later take a decisive—and in a sense tragic—part in anglicizing the German part of Africa I never dreamt.

In 1906, in South-West Africa, I was wounded. This brought me to Cape Town, so that I also acquired a superficial knowledge of Cape Colony. On my return journey I also touched at the future scene of my work, German East Africa, for the first time.

Later, my position as Commander of the Marine Battalion at Wilhelmshaven afforded me an insight into the inner life of our thriving and growing navy, which was so closely connected with German work overseas. I took part in exercises and cruises on large and small ships, in naval maneuvers, and in a visit by the Fleet to Norway, during which new views of general and military life continually presented themselves.

Even after my return to the Army the alternation between regimental and staff employment afforded me much inducement and opportunity for comparison. In this manner my development had rendered me capable of rapidly accommodating myself to new conditions. Grateful as I was for every expansion of my horizon, I owe the best of all to the Army at home in which I had the privilege, under the guidance of admirable commanders, of learning to knew the spirit of military life and true f discipline, a spirit which was then properly understood.

CHAPTER II. THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR

Early in August, 1914, when on my way via the heliograph station of Kidodi towards Kilossa, a special messenger brought me a telegram from the Governor, to say 1 was to return immediately to Dar-es-Salaam ; and on the following day I received the news that His Majesty had ordered mobilization, but that the state of war did not extend to the overseas possessions. A telegram from the Secretary of State of the Imperial Colonial Office called upon us to reassure the settlers.

In contrast to this a wireless message from the Admiralty Staff mentioned England also among our probable enemies.

At Kilossa I managed to catch a goods train, and so arrived at Dar-es-Salaam on the 3rd August. Here everyone was busy: the declaration of war had arrived in the middle of the preparations for a big exhibition, in the program of which was included the ceremonial opening of the Tanganyika Railway; numerous Germans had come on a visit to Dar-es-Salaam and were now unable to get away. In order to assist in the preparations for the exhibition, Captain von Hammerstein, commanding the 6th Field Company in Ujiru, had also arrived there, and it was very fortunate that I was able at once to employ this energetic officer, who not only shared my views, but to whom I was also cordially attached, for the work of mobilization.

The question which immediately forced itself upon us was whether, in the now obviously imminent universal war m which England would almost certainly join, the Colony would remain neutral or not. As I have already explained, I considered it to be our military object to detain enemy, that is English forces if it could by any means be accomplished. This, however, was impossible if we remained neutral. In that case the situation would be that we, who did not command the sea, would have to remain inactive, with a force which, though small at the moment, had behind' it a loyal, very efficient population of eight millions suitable for military service. England, on the other hand, would have no need to employ a single man in East Africa on our account; it would be able to take away the very last fit Askari, alter providing for internal security, for employment in other theatres more important than East Africa. It would, therefore, obviously have been an advantage for England if any agreement had existed which condemned us to neutrality. But this was not the case : the Congo Act, which deals with the Equatorial territories, only says that in case of conflict between two of the Powers concerned, a third Power may offer its good services as a mediator. But as far as I know this step was not taken by any Power. We were therefore not obliged to restrict our operations out of regard for any agreement. From a military point of view it was a disadvantage, not for us, but for England, if war occurred in East Africa. The fact that we were not obliged to remain neutral enabled us to make use of our favorable coast as a base and refuge for the German cruiser operations in the Indian Ocean. But, above all, we were able, with our few thousand men, to contain throughout the whole duration of the war an enormously superior force of the enemy.

At the outbreak of war the Protective Force consisted of 216 Europeans (from whom a part must be deducted as on leave) and 2,540 Askari; there were, further, in the Police Force, 45 Europeans and 2,154 Askari; these were later increased by the ships company of the Konigsberg (which had put to sea), 322 men, and of the Move, 102 men. The total numbers enrolled in the Force during the war were about 3,000 Europeans and 11,000 Askari.

These figures include all non-combatants, such as those employed on police duty, medical personnel, supply and maintenance services, etc. How many milliards it cost to try and crush our diminutive force the English themselves will presumably some day tell us. We, on the other hand, could probably have continued the war for years to come.

For the hostile strengths no authentic figures are at my disposal ; I quote from the statements of English officers and Press reports, and they must bear the responsibility for them. According to them over 130 Generals took the field against us, the total strength of the hostile troops was about 300,000, the losses in European and Indian dead amounted to 20,000 horses and mules, 140,000. These numbers, especially those of the General Officers, seem even to me rather exaggerated; I can therefore only repeat that they are taken from English sources. In any event, however, their losses were very considerable; and considering that the number of black soldiers who were killed or died is not given, the total number of enemy dead can hardly be under 60,000.

We should have been compelled, if a cruiser had sought shelter in our harbors, to refuse to admit her, by reason of our neutrality, whereas the favorable position and castal development of East Africa made it the natural hiding-place in cruiser warfare n the Indian Ocean. As regards the agreements laid down in the Congo Act, t should be borne in mind what it would have meant for our Navy if our colonies had been declared neutral.

At Dar-es-Salaam it was very interesting during those days of tension to watch the proceedings of the English Consul King. He was to be seen everywhere, either in the Officers' Club at a game of bridge, or at the Post Office where our telegrams were handed in. The standing orders of the English Expeditionary Force, which were subsequently captured at Tanga, and which were mainly based on King's reports, showed how active this man had been in the time before the war, and how excellently he was informed as to the internal conditions in our Colony. His judgment on relevant matters extended so far that he even compared the relative fighting value of the Europeans in different districts, and credited those of Dar-es-Salaam with little "stomach for fighting". To be honest, it must be admitted that in the case of a large number of the Germans in that place (and even of the local Government authorities) it actually did take some time before they were imbued with that warlike spirit without which the fulfillment of our task was simply impossible.

Very difficult was the position of the coast towns, which were inhabited by numerous Europeans (among them many women and children), and which were of course exposed to bombardment by English men-of-war at any minute. The Governor maintained that such a bombardment must be avoided under all circumstances. According to an ordinance, which certainly did not contemplate the case of foreign war, the supreme military power in the Colony was n the hands of the Governor, and communication with home having ceased, t was anyhow physically impossible to get this altered. So I was obliged to make the best of this, from a military point of view, very serious difficulty and to reckon with the possibility that, if the Governor's instructions were faithfully executed, Dar-es-Salaam and Tanga for instance, the termini of our railways and the obvious bases for hostile operations from the coast towards the interior, would fall into the enemy's hands without a struggle.

My view was that we would best protect our colony by threatening the enemy in his own territory. We could very effectively tackle him at a sensitive point, the Uganda Railway, and one might almost say that the numerous German settlers in the country traversed by our Northern Railway (Tanga-Moshi) were already deployed for this object. The Governor, however, did not agree with the proposal I had already previously put forward in case of war, namely, to concentrate our forces in the North near Kilima Njaro. But, in order to act at all, it w as obviously necessary to collect our troops, who were scattered all over the country. As this could not be effected in the Kilima Njaro country, as I wished, the concentration took place on the heights of Pugu, a day's march west of Dar-es-Salaam At this place the Dar-es-Salaam Company met those from Kilimatinde, Tabora, Ujiji, Usambara and Kissendji, which came partly by march routes and partly by rail. The Police, who, in accordance with the scanty preparations already made, were to join the Protective Force immediately, were in part, at any rate, placed at my disposal, a number of old Askari were called up, and to this way four new companies (No.'s 15 to 18) were at once formed. The German Reservists were mobilized as required, and each company was brought up to an establishment of about 16 Europeans, 160 Askari and 2 machine guns.

In some cases difficulties occurred in calling the Europeans to the colors. By mistake, the crews of a few ships of the East African Line, lying in the harbor of Dar-es-Salaam, were informed, in response to their application, by the Officer in Command at the Railway Stat-on, that there was no room for them in the Protective Force. Then, at the suggestion of the Governor's representative, a declaration was submitted to them, according to which they were to engage in writing to remain neutral during the war, Later on the men saw that this constituted an offence against the law relating to liability for service, and their own sound feeling was opposed to it. They appealed to me, setting forth the circumstances; I had had no inkling of these proceedings, and fortunately, as the declaration had not yet fallen into the hands of the enemy, the intended decision could be reserved.

The number of earners allotted to each company varied, and may have averaged about 250. The stores of arms, ammunition and other war-material, which were lying unprotected in the harbor of Dar-es-Salaam, were distributed among various places in the interior along the railway, where depots were established. The training of the troops was at once vigorously proceeded with, and even then we realized the value of rendering our head-dress unrecognizable by means of grass and leaves, a measure proposed by a practical Company Commander, Captain Tafel. The question of course was whether we, with our Askari, would be able to fight modern troops; it was denied by many an experienced hand. But from what I had seen during the revolt in South-West Africa, from 1904 to 1906, 1 believed that courage and military efficiency could be awakened in the East African native also, who belongs to that same great family the Bantu, as the Herero. That certainly was a proof; but the matter was greatly simplified by the fact that there was no possible alternative.

All questions of organization, which are usually carefully prepared and considered in time of peace, had now to be dealt with and decided on the spur of the moment. One of them was the extraordinarily important one of establishing a service of subsistence and a complete system of supply from the rear. The main point was to consider, in the first place, the main roads, which were also important in a military sense. Which roads might these be? It was immediately found how disadvantageous was the absence of railway communication between the Central and Usambara Railways. In time of peace, communication had been effected by sea between Dar-es-Salaam and Tanga; this was now impossible. Obviously the importance of a military use oi the lines had not been thought of. As a substitute, we had to develop a road between Morogoro and Korogwe, on the Northern Railway. The second road ran past the western side of the Masai Reservation, from Dodoma via Kondoa-Irangi and Ufiome to Arusha, and the third from the rich district of Tabora, the capital of the Wanyamwesi country, to Muansa, on Lake Victoria, into the country of the Wassukume, who were recognized even by Consul King as the most Important of our tribes. This road was also valuable because by it w* could draw on the rice crops of Lake Victoria as well as on the abundant stocks of cattle. Other roads connected Kilossa with the rich territory of Mahenge, Iringa, and even Langenburg, which last provided us with a large part of our requirements in wheat flour.

The provisional organization of the supply system having been fixed in broad and general outline, it was not possible for the details of its development to be worked out at Headquarters. Someone had to be found whose past military career rendered him capable of working the system, not only from the administrative point of view, but also in accordance with the sometimes very urgent military requirements, and of adapting t to them. Major-General Wahle, a retired officer, who happened to have arrived on the 2nd August, on a visit to Ills son, and to see the Dai-es-Salaam Exhibition, at once placed himself at the disposal of the Force, and at my request took charge of the Lines of Communication. His task was particularly difficult, because where there were no railways, the bulk of the work had to be performed by native carriers. I have at my disposal 110 figures showing the total number of carriers employed for the service of the troops, and it is very difficult to arrive at it at all definitely. It included men who only carried the loads from one place to another before the permanent carriers took them over, but I am sure I do not exaggerate in saying that, on the whole, hundreds of thousands of carriers worked for the troops; and all of them had to be fed and medically looked after.

Of our many other difficulties one of a special nature may here be mentioned. The peace-time existence of the Europeans 111 tropical colonies had, even for reasons of health, accustomed them to a certain degree of comfort. When on safari (a journey) in East Africa, it is generally impossible to buy European food; but few Europeans had learnt to live on the vegetable products supplied by the natives or by Nature. Shelter is rarely to be had. Against mosquitoes it is, however, imperative to protect oneself. So the white official or soldier seldom traveled with less than eleven carriers, who, besides his tent, camp-bed and clothing, also carried a considerable quantity of food. Such largo numbers of earners were, however, impossible for a force which was to be mobile. Another difficulty was that nearly every Askari had a boy. With these simple people, whose predilection for their ancient traditions and customs is further confirmed by Islam, and who are besides very proud and vain, it is particularly difficult to interfere with such Dusturis (customs). In individual cases it was not always easy for a Company Commander to find the happy mean.

In the tropical warfare which was before us medical care is one of the most important factors. Generally speaking, the native is in a great measure immune against malaria, and it does not often happen that an Askari gets really ill with it; some tribes, however, like the Wajagga, olft Kilima Njaro, who inhabit elevated, non-malarial districts, and are therefore not immune from early youth, suffer severely from malaria as soon as they come down to the plains. From the evening untill well into the morning mechanical protection against the malaria mosquito (anopheles), by means of a mosquito net, was strictly enforced for every European. For many months 1 slept on the ground, and even then the mosquito-net afforded me a high degree of protection ; even so I had malaria ten times, for in the field .t is not always possible to employ preventive measures to the extent that is desirable from a hygienic point of view. In our endeavor to attach a medical officer to every company we received most welcome assistance from the fact that there was a considerable number of them on Lake Tanganyika, and in the Southern territories on the Rovuma, who had come out to study and combat sleeping-sickness.

The work entailed by all this business of mobilization not only kept us going day and night, but also the native telephonist at Pugu, and it was extraordinary to see the skill with which the black man worked his instrument, both there and elsewhere. His great technical talent proved of the greatest value to us. Of difficulties there was, of course, an infinity. During the early days it happened that cattle coming from the country north of Tabora for the civilian population at Dar-es-Salaam met other cattle going in the opposite direction to feed the troops. To this day I feel something of a physical shock when I think of a collision at Pugu, between a train laden with the finest show cattle going at full speed, and another one, which nearly produced a serious reduction in the personnel required for working out our mobilization scheme.

Our place of concentration at Pugu is some twelve miles inland from Dar-es-Salaam. Our camp was situated on the slopes of the Pugu Mountains. The forest is extremely thick, and the country densely covered by plantations of natives and Europeans. In spite of its somewhat elevated position, Pugu is quite in the hot coastal area, and although in August we were still m the cold season, the temperature was still what we describe as “tropical”; it is that oppressive, somewhat damp heat, which makes long marches so exhausting for the European.

At that time we had tents for the Europeans and a camp-bed with the inevitable mosquito net for everyone, so that in this respect there were no difficulties. In case of sickness we had established a provisional field hospital in the neighboring Wichmann Plantations. Our horses did not suffer unduly. But one after another all our animals went down with tse-tse. In camp it was not possible to provide them, as we could at Dar-es-Salaam, with tse-tse proof stables, fitted with wire gauze similar to fly-proof windows.

CHAPTER III. THE FIRST ACTIONS

In this manner we were fully employed m the camp at Pugu, when, on the morning of the 8th August, we heard heavy artillery fire from the direction of Dar-es-Salaam. According to reports which soon reached us, it emanated from two English light cruisers, Astrea and Pegasus, who were aiming at the wireless tower. This tower had been erected m this exposed position because on the coast it could reach further out to sea; it was of importance to us because the high-power station at Tabora was not yet finished, and the two smaller ones at Muansa and Bukoba were of only local use. The tower was not hit by the English, but blown up by us, from a rather excessive fear of its falling into the enemy's hands. A short time later an observation officer reported that the enemy was apparently preparing to land at Konduchi, a day's march north of Dar-es-Salaam The formation of the coast rendered it not unlikely. I therefore immediately ordered the seven companies of Askari [*] available to march off, so as to seize the favorable opportunity of surprising the enemy n the act of landing.

* Askari are "soldiers", not a distinct tribe.

Before they marched off I had a conversation at Pugu Station with the Governor, Dr. Schnee, who was passing through by train to Morogoro He seemed quite surprised by the English hostilities, and entirely agreed with my proposal to attack them at Konduchi. On the way there I met two gentlemen belonging to the Government at Dar-es-Salaarn who showed me a document dealing with negotiations for surrendering Dar-es-Salaam to the English. As the Governor had said nothing to me about it, and I was also rather in a hurry. I only glanced superficially at it. It did not occur to me that this might be any kind of agreement drawn up with the consent of the Governor. But whim, during the night, the force had reached a mountain ten miles north of Dar-es-Salaam, and on the next morning we obtained a view of the harbor and the English cruisers lying off it, it became clear that the report of an attempted landing at Konduchi was a mistake. We were able to establish the fact that the English ships had communicated with the shore, and now it did appear to me probable that negotiations with the enemy had taken place. I now advanced on the town, and, as I could not but fear that in the confusion of the moment a disadvantageous agreement might be concluded at Dar-es- Salaam, I sent Captain Tafel on ahead. He was to announce that I was taking over the executive power, and that negotiations with the enemy must be conducted through me alone. It was only from Captain Tafel that I learned that by order of the Governor negotiations for surrender had actually taken place. My intervention was not approved by the Governor, in whose hands, according to a Protective Force Ordinance intended to meet quite different conditions, supreme military power was actually placed. For the moment this had no practical consequences. Only a few English Marines had landed, and had already gone on board again. But for a soldier it was not inspiring to find that here, under the very eyes of a thousand good troops, an agreement had been concluded which forbade us to undertake any hostile act in Dar-es-Salaam, while the enemy was not so bound, and that we had received no information of a step of such great military importance.

The Konigsberg had already put to sea from Dar-es-Salaam several days before, and the surveying vessel Move, which was in harbor, had been blown up by us on the 9th August. This brought the land forces a valuable military increase, as the captain of the Move, Lieut.-Commander Zimmer, now came under my orders. Lieutenant Horn at once proceeded with a few seamen to Kigoma, where he manned and armed the small steamer Hedwig von Wissmann. On Lake Tanganyika he chased the Belgian steamer Delcommune, which he surprised and shot to pieces alter a few days, thereby securing to us the extremely important command of the lake. The ability rapidly to transfer troops from the Central Railway towards Bismarckburg or Usambara depended entirely upon unimpeded transport on Tanganyika, and played a part in the later course of the operations.

In the north if the Colony, the Ist Company at Arusha had been reinforced by the 13th Company, coming by rapid marches from Kondoa, and by another company formed at Moshi from Police Askari. Further, a large part of the Europeans of the northern districts had combined to form a detachment under Captain von Prince. Most of those troops were in the neighborhood of Moshi. Taveta, which lies to the eastward, in English territory, was held by the enemy, who thereby secured a valuable sally-port against our European settlements in the north; it was, therefore, an urgent matter for us to capture this important point without delay. It took considerable time before we were able to set the force in motion for this purpose. Many people believed that on the strength of the Congo Act we were bound to remain neutral, and naturally had little confidence in the instructions they received from the new Commandant. It was not until1 the 15th August that the weakly- held place was taken. The course of the fight proved that the force still required much further training to render it fit to carry out combined operations m unison in the dense bush. In this area the command was assumed by Major Kraut, who happened to be in the north-eastern frontier district for the purpose of frontier delimitations. During the next few days the holder of the supreme military power was successfully persuaded to agree to moving the bulk of our forces to the Northern Railway. Simple as was this movement in itself, under the conditions then existing, it required considerable preparations. There were few Germans to be found who were so well acquainted with the whole country between Dar-es-Salaam and Morogoro on one side and Tanga and Mombo on the other, that they could give reliable information about roads and conditions of subsistence It was necessary to send out reconnaissance officers in order to determine the roads on which a suitable quantity of supplies could be found. But we could not afford to await the results of all these reconnaissance’s; the marches had to be begun. According to European ideas the country was sparsely populated; and on the existing maps the only notes as to water and food showed whether the supplies available would suffice for bodies of a strength, equal to a company at most. Without preparation one could therefore hardly put more than one company on each road without distribution in depth; the training and skill in the collection of supplies which the force had acquired by the end of the war were at that time non-existent. Taking it all round, it came to this, that the march and supply of a single company in the conditions there prevailing required about the same consideration as would a division in Germany. It was also necessary in this move to take into account the risk arising from the fact that companies would for a prolonged period be out of reach of orders. The only telegraphic communication between the Central Railway and the north ran close along the coast, and could therefore be interrupted whenever the enemy intended to do so.

However, the Director of the Postal Service, Rothe, and Secretary Kruger displayed such adaptability in meeting the wishes of the troops, and such energy ;n starting work on the new line Morogoro-Handeni-Korogwe, and, under the pressure of circumstances, temporarily overcame the normal torpor of the Tropics with such success, that the line was completed in only a few weeks. Owing to the destructiveness of the termites (white ants) it is the rule in time of peace to employ iron telegraph poles, which, owing to the prevalence of giraffe in this particular district, have to be very tall and carry very heavy conductors. In the first instance, however, the construction in this case had to be of a provisional nature, and this, and the use of cable, caused continual breakdowns and repairs.

In the meantime I received reports of the advance of small hostile detachments at Jassini, two marches north of Tanga, and this confirmed me in the belief that the enemy intended to land in that district, and would then rapidly advance into the interior along the Northern Railway. Consequently, the various companies had marched off from different points on the line Dar-es- Salaam-Mpapua, and were for the most part converging on Handen, while some were directed on other points on the line Tanga-Korogwe, when I was called up on the telephone at Pugu on the afternoon of August 23rd, by Lieutenant von Chappuis, who was encamped at Bagamoyo with the 17th Field Company. He reported that an English light cruiser was lying off Bagamoyo, and had called upon the local Civil Administrator to destroy the telegraph station, threatening to bombard the place in ca»e of refusal 1 ordered him to assume control of the executive and to prevent a hostile landing by force of arms. A boat from the man-of-war that attempted to land under the white flag was therefore sent back, and the place was bombarded m consequence, to the great amusement of the company and the native inhabitants, since the enemy scored practically no hits.

At the end of August, Headquarters moved by rail to Kirnamba, near Morogoro. On the way. General von Wahle, who was directing the service on the Lines of Communication from Morogoro, wished me the best of luck in the decisive action which we expected in the neighborhood of Handeni, and to which his son was also proceeding. From there Headquarters traveled on towards Handeni in two requisitioned motors. After about twenty miles we had to leave them as the improvement of this road had not been completed beyond that point. Captain von Hammerstein and I went on 011 bicycles, and gradually caught up the companies on the march. The anticipated landing ol the enemy did not take place, and early in September we reached Korogwe. In the meantime an English cruiser had appeared at Tanga and towed away some lighters lying there.

Our next duty was to organize the supply and transport services in the north. Captain Schmid, who had until then directed them as Field Intendant, had become sick, and it was difficult to nnd a suitable successor. Fortunately we discovered one .n Captain Feilke, of the Landwehr, who had for many years directed the Prince Albrecht Plantations in Usambara, a man of great experience. He was at the time in the vicinity of Tanga, and had placed himself at the disposal of the force. He had formerly been Adjutant of the 8th Jager Battalion, was fifty-two years of age, a man of much knowledge of the world and a skilful officer ; he thus combined in the happiest manner the military knowledge and business talent necessary for the difficult post of Intendant. He came immediately, and we drove to New Moshi together. There I met Captain Kraut. On Kilima Njaro preparations had been made for guerilla warfare by establishing supply depots, our patrols were pushing beyond Taveta towards the British Uganda Railway, and numerous minor encounters had already taken place. At that time, however, the force lacked the experience necessary for carrying out distant patrols like those which at a later stage led so successfully to interruptions of the line. The first patrols had arrived at the Uganda Railway in a half-starved condition and had been captured. From New Moshi I went to Himo Camp, where Captain von Prince was holding a fortified position. He accompanied me to Taveta, which was held by an advanced post under an officer. Now we could discuss on the spot the problem of transferring the main body of the Northern Force to Taveta. The local native population was very numerous and placed entire confidence in the European administrators appointed by the force: they continued to sell their products in the market, and our mutual relationship was completely satisfactory.

Directly war broke out the fear of a native rising had been expressed in many quarters. Along the Central Railway there were wild rumors about a revolt of the Wahehe—the warlike tribe who had so long defied German authority in the Iringa country—and around Kilima Njaro a rising of the Wajagga was feared. The authorities also thought that the large number of black laborers on the European settlements in the north were unreliable on account of difficulties of subsistence. But none of these fears turned out to be justified. Later, a very intelligent captured Belgian Askar told me outright: You know quite well that the natives always side with the stronger party," and an English Masai admitted frankly: " It is all the same to us whether the English or the Germans are our masters."

General Map of the Campaign in East Africa. Solid black line: Track of the German Main Force, 1916-1918.

It was not till later, after the enemy had penetrated the country, that the native became a real danger to us : and then it was. mdeed, very great. The native has a fine sense of the transfer of real power from one hand to the other.

The Fallen (From a drawing by General von Lettow-Forbeck’s Adjutant).

After returning for a short time to Korogwe, Headquarters moved to New Moshi, and shortly afterwards to Taveta. Three companies who had reached the Northern Railway from the Central Railway were concentrated at Tanga, the remaining five were moved into the Kilima Njaro country. At Dar-es-Salaam there remained for the moment only Captain von Kornatzki with the newly-formed 18th Field Company.

During the following period several enterprises were carried out by flying columns, of the strength of one company each, the intention being to drive away the hostile detachments who were reported to be guarding the watering-places n the adjoining English territory, to inflict losses upon them. and so to open the way for our patrols to operate against the Uganda and Magad Railway. Thus, at the end of September, Captain Schulz had marched with his company from Kilima Njaro down the Tsavo River to the' Uganda Railway, where he had met an enemy detachment of several companies, who had probably been concentrated by means of the railway. North of K'.lima Njaro Captain Tafel had with his company and a detachment of fifty Europeans pursued a column of English Horse, but had then been attacked by the latter in his camp in the dense bush on Engito Mountain, This is was the first serious engagement fought by our Askari in the north. Although the enemy consisted of English and Boer farmers, who were therefore good horsemen and good shots, our Askari attacked them with the bayonet with such dash, that out of a strength of eighty Europeans some twenty dead were left behind, and their total casualties may therefore be estimated at half their number.

In the same way the expeditions undertaken by Captain Baumstark, who commanded the three companies at Tanga, led to fighting in the frontier districts between Jassini and Mombasa. An equally important object of all these enterprises was to secure the most indispensable information about this theatre of operations, as it had not been reconnoitred in time of peace, and the conditions as to water-supply and cultivation were unknown to us. In this manner we gradually obtained a clear idea of the country and its inhabitants. Along the coast the English frontier district was well settled and highly cultivated, Further inland it is a dry desert covered with thorn scrub and partly with thick bush. Out of the desert rise a number of mountain ranges, which often attain the character of steep masses of rock. The troops were quartered in several fortified camps east of Kilima Njaro, but, owing to the difficulty of communication from Taveta, Headquarters were moved back to Moshi. Later, when the Director of the Field Postal Service arrived, and I asked him what he thought of the line between Moshi and Taveta, he could only describe it as "pretty". The insulators were made from knocked off bottle-necks, fastened to poles or branches of trees, the wire had been taken from the fences of the plantations. But the breakdowns really were so frequent that the great volume of reports and information m connection with the working of Headquarters could not have been carried on this line for a prolonged period.

Since the outbreak of war our communication with the outside world had been to all intents and purposes cut off; at first, indeed, we did pick up wireless messages from Kamina (in Togo), and then occasionally, under favorable weather conditions, from Nauen (Germany); but otherwise we had to depend for fresh news on picking up enemy wireless messages, or on obtaining possession of enemy mails or other papers.

CHAPTER IV. THE NOVEMBER ACTIONS AT TANGA

Captured English newspapers stated that it would be particularly painful to Germany to lose her beloved colonies, its " little chicks," and that German East Africa was the most valuable mouthtul. Captured mails spoke of an impending attack by an Indian expeditionary force of 10,000 men, and, as I had from general considerations always expected a hostile attack on a large scale in the neighborhood of Tanga. I went there at the end of October, drove all over the country in a car I had brought with me, and discussed the matter on the spot with Captain Adler, commanding the 17th Company, and with District Commissioner Auracher. I was pleased to find that the latter was of my opinion that, in the event of Tanga being seriously threatened, the prime necessity would be unity of action, and I assured him that I would, of course, undertake the responsibility for any consequences that might ensue. This was particularly important for the reason that, according to the Governor's instructions, a bombardment of Tanga was to be avoided under all circumstances. Opinions as to what should be done or left undone in any given case might therefore differ very widely.

On the 2nd November, a few days after my return to New Moshi, a wire from Tanga informed me that fourteen hostile transports and two cruisers had appeared off the place. They demanded unconditional surrender of the town; the negotiations were protracted, as District Commissioner Auracher, who had gone on board, pointed out that he must obtain special instructions. and prevented the threatened bombardment by remarking that Tanga was an open and undefended place. Cap tarn Baumstark, who was with two companies in the frontier district north of Tanga, was at once moved oft towards Tanga. Similarly the two companies of Europeans and the Askari companies were moved by forced marches from near Taveta and Kilima Njaro to New Moshi. Two lorries which were employed on supply work between New Moshi and Taveta rendered valuable service in this move. My intention to collect all available troops as rapidly as possible, to meet the obviously impending landing at Tanga, could only be executed, in spite of the long marches expected of the troops, if the Northern Railway exerted its capacity to the utmost limit, and this, with only eight locomotives, was asking a great deal. The railway is a narrow gauge line of 190 miles, on which, in a fully-loaded tram of 24 to 32 axles, only one company could be carried with complete baggage, or two companies without either baggage or carriers. That the transport of the troops could be carried out at all is entirely due to the willingness of all those connected with it—I specially mention Railway Commissary Krober, who had been called up to the Force as a 2nd Lieutenant, and the traffic director Kuhlwein —who at Tanga conducted the trains up on to the actual battlefield under fire. As early as the 2nd November the troops actually at New Moshi, one and a half companies, were pushed off by train, followed on the morning of the 3rd by Headquarters and another company. Three other companies followed later. Similarly, all the smaller detachments employed on railway protection duty were moved to Tanga. The spirit of the departing troops was magnificent, but this may have been due, not so much to the fact that the Askari clearly understood the gravity of the situation, as that for him a trip in a railway train is at all times a great delight.

Fig IV. Battle of Tanga. Fig V. The Northern Railway.

Headquarters reached Korogwe in the evening of the 3rd November. I went to the hospital that had been established there and talked to the wounded who had come in from the action at Tanga on the 3rd. One of them, Lieutenant Merensky, of the Landwehr, reported to me that on the 2nd November, outpost and patrol encounters had taken place near Ras-Kasone, and that on the 3rd the enemy, apparently several thousand strong, who had landed at Ras-Kasone, had attacked the 17th Company east of Tanga. The latter, reinforced by the Europeans and Police Askari from Tanga under Lieutenant Auracher, had withstood the attack until the first one and a half companies coming from New Moshi joined in, rushing at once to attack the left flank of the enemy and driving him back. Lieutenant Merensky had the impression that the enemy was completely defeated, and that the attack was unlikely to be repeated. The telegrams coming in piecemeal during the railway journey had not afforded me a clear idea of the situation, when at 3 a.m. on the 4th November, Headquarters left the railway four miles west of Tanga, where we met Captain Baumstark. He had formed a different estimate of the situation, and believed that, owing to the great superiority of the enemy, Tanga could not be held against another attack. He had, therefore, on the evening of the 3rd November, collected his own two companies coming from the north, and the troops who had that day been in action at Tanga, at a point four miles west of the town, leaving patrols only in the place itself.

Whether Tanga was held by the enemy or not was not certain. Strong officers' patrols were at once pushed forward beyond Tanga towards Ras-Kasone. Luckily Headquarters had brought a few bicycles, and so, in order to satisfy myself quickly by personal observation, I was able to go oft at once with Captain von Hammerstein and Volunteer Dr. Dessel to the railway station at Tanga, where I found an advanced post of the 6th Field Company. They, however, could give no accurate information about the enemy, and so I rode on through the empty streets of the town. It was completely deserted, and the white houses of the Europeans reflected the brilliant rays of the moon into the streets which we traversed. So we reached the harbor at the further edge of the town. Tanga was therefore clear of the enemy. A quarter of a mile out lay the transports, a blaze of nights, and full of noise: there was no doubt that the landing was about to commence at once. I much regretted that our artillery—we had two guns of 1873 pattern—was not yet up. Here, in the brilliant moonlight, at such close range, their effect would have been annihilating, the hostile cruisers notwithstanding.

We then rode on towards Ras-Kasone, left our bicycles m the German Government Hospital, and went on foot to the beach, close to which, right in front of us, lay an English cruiser. On the way back, at the hospital, we were challenged, apparently by an Indian sentry—we did not understand the language— but saw nothing. We got on our cycles again and rode back. Day began to break, and on our left we heard the first shots. This was the officers' patrol under 2nd Lieutenant Bergmann, of the 6th Field Company, who had met hostile patrols west of Ras-Kasone. One of my cyclists now brought Captain Baumstark the order to advance at once with all the troops to Tanga Station. For the manner in which I proposed to fight the action, which was now to be expected with certainty, the nature of the country was one of the decisive factors. In the north, the houses of the European town at the harbor provided cover from view, and therefore also from the fire of the cruisers close by. The town was surrounded by continuous cocoanut and rubber plantations, which extended almost to Ras-Kasone, and in which, besides the native town, a few native patches of cultivation were scattered about. Undergrowth occurred along a few points and the ground was absolutely flat. It was probable that the enemy, whether he landed at Ras-Kasone only, or simultaneously at several points, such as Mwambani, for instance, would press upon our south, or right, wing. Here, to the south of Tanga, the ground afforded us also the prospect of greater power of maneuver. I decided to meet the attack, which I expected with certainty, on the eastern edge of Tanga, and to echelon strong reserves behind our right wing for a counterattack against the enemy's flank

In allotting the various duties it was necessary to consider the peculiarities of the different units. At that time each company had different characteristics, according to its composition and its state of training. The good 6th Field Company, which had in time of peace received a careful training at Ujiji with both rifle and machine-gun. was ordered to hold the eastern edge of Tanga on a broad front. On its right rear, outside Tanga, was echeloned Baumstark's battalion, consisting of the 16th and 17th Companies, formed from the Police, and several small units amalgamated into one company. To the right rear again, on the telegraph-road Tanga-Pangani, I kept three good companies at my own disposal, the 7th and 8th Rifle Companies, with three machine-guns, composed of Europeans, and the 13th Field Company with its four machine-guns. Headquarters remained for the present on the Tanga-Pangani road and connected up to the telegraph line there The 4th and 9th Field Companies and the two held guns (Captain Hering's Battery) were still on the way, and the time of their arrival was uncertain. So the situation remained essentially until the afternoon. In the hot sun of the Coast area we suffered not a little from thirst, but quenched it with the milk of the young cocoanuts. There were other drinks as well in Tanga at that time; we still had wine and soda-water. Master-butcher Grabow even brought the troops hot sausages.

The proceedings on board the hostile ships were kept under constant close observation. We saw every boat that left them, and its load. I estimated the total troops landed up to mid-day at 6,ooo. But even on this too low estimate I had to ask myself whether I dared risk a decisive engagement with my thousand rifles. For various reasons I decided that I would do so. It was too important to prevent the enemy from gaining a firm footing in Tanga. Otherwise we should abandon to him the best base for operations against the Northern territories; in his advance the Northern Railway would afford him an admirable line of communication, and he would be enabled continually to surprise us by bringing up and pushing forward fresh troops and stores. Then it was certain that we would be unable to hold the Northern Railway any longer and that we would be obliged to abandon our hitherto so successful method of warfare. Against these all- important practical reasons, limited considerations such as the Governor's order to avoid a bombardment of Tanga under all circumstances could not prevail.

A few circumstances there were that favored us. For one thing, from personal .experience in East Asia, I knew the clumsiness with which English troops were moved and led in battle, and it was certain that in the very close and completely unknown country in which the enemy would find himself directly he landed, these difficulties would grow to infinity. The slightest disorder was bound to have far-reach nig consequences. With my troops, of whom the Europeans were well acquainted with the country round Tanga, while the Askari were at home in the bush, 1 had a reasonable prospect of taking advantage of the enemy's weak points by skilful and rapid maneuver.

On the other hand, if the affair miscarried, it would be a bad business. Already my method of waging active war had met with disapproval. If on top of that we were to suffer a severe defeat the confidence of the troops would probably be gone, and was certain that my superiors would place insuperable difficulties in the way of my exercising command. My decision was not easy, and as if the military situation alone did not render it difficult enough, it was made unnecessarily harder by the fact that the regulations d*d not allow sufficient freedom to the responsible commander. But there was nothing for it: to gain all we must risk all.

The same morning I personally ordered Captain von Prince to move into Tanga with his two companies of Europeans, so that, in ease of an attack on the Askari Company holding the eastern edge of the place, he could intervene rapidly without orders. I had already begun to doubt whether the enemy would attack at all on the 4th November, when at 3 p.m. an Askari reported to me in his simple, smart way: "Adui tayari" (The enemy is ready). Those two short words I shall never forget. The next moment the rifle fire opened along the whole front, and one could only judge of the rapid development and the ebb and flow of the action from the direction of the firing. One heard the fire draw in from the eastern edge of the town to the middle; so the 6th Company had been driven back at this point. The enemy, with odds twenty to one in his favor, had penetrated close up to the station and into the town. Captain von Prince had immediately rushed up his two companies of Europeans and at once prevailed upon the brave Askari to stand and then to advance once more. The British North Lancashire Regiment, consisting only of long-service Europeans, 800 strong, was driven back with heavy losses, and the houses captured by the Indian Brigade (Kashmir Rifles), who were advancing between that regiment and the beach, were re-taken in stubborn street-fighting.

But on the south side of Tanga Captain Baumstark had also brought his companies into action on the front, and after about one hour's fighting I observed the Askari at this point retiring through the palm-trees to the Tanga-Pangam road. The European members of Headquarters at once ran there and stopped them. To this day I can see the fiery and determined Captain von Hammers rein, full of fury, throwing an empty bottle at the head of a retreating Askari. After all, they were for the most part young companies, only just formed, who were fighting at this point, and they had been staggered by the intensity of the enemy's fire. But when we Europeans got in front of them and laughed at them they quickly recovered themselves and saw that every bullet did not hit. But on the whole the pressure on our front was so strong that 1 thought I could not delay the decision any longer and must start my counter-stroke. For this I had now but one company available, but it was the good 13th Field Company. The 4th Company, whose arrival I was most anxiously awaiting every minute, had not yet arrived.

The course of the action up till now had shown that the enemy's front, of which the flank was unprotected, did not reach farther south than the right wing of our own. Here, therefore, the counter-stroke must prove annihilating, and no witness will forget the moment when the machine-guns of the 13th Company opened a continuous fire at this point and completely reversed the situation. The whole front jumped up and dashed forward with enthusiastic cheers. In the meantime the 4th Company had arrived; although, in consequence of a misunderstanding, it did not prolong the outer flank of the 13th, but pushed in between the latter and our front; still it did take an effective part ki the battle before dark. In wild disorder the enemy fled m dense masses, and our machine-guns, converging on them from front and flanks, mowed down whole companies to the last man. Several Askari came in beaming with delight with several captured English rifles on their backs and an Indian prisoner in each hand. The handcuffs, however, which we found in their possession for use with German prisoners, were not used on them by any of us.

At this time, in the dense forest, all units, and in many in stances friend and foe, were mixed up together, everybody was shouting at once in all sorts of languages, darkness was rapidly setting in; it is only necessary to conjure up this scene in imagination in order to understand how it was that the pursuit which I set in motion failed completely. I had been stationed on the right wing, and had quickly dispatched such units as were within reach at the moment to push with energy towards Ras-Kasone. Then I had gone to the left wing. There I found hardly any of our people at all; it was not till some time afterwards, in the night, that I heard the sound of the nailed boots of a party of Askari. I was glad at last to have a force in hand, but was somewhat disappointed to find it was a detachment of the right wing under 2nd Lieutenant Langen, who had missed the way to Ras-Kasone and had thus got on to our left wing. But even these difficulties were not all. In some inexplicable way the troops imagined a Headquarter order had been issued that they were to return to their old camp west of Tanga. Only during the course of the night, at Tanga Railway Station, did it become clear to me that nearly all the companies had marched off for that destination. Of course they were ordered to return at once. But unfortunately this caused so much delay that it was impossible to bring Hering's Battery, which had arrived later, into action by moonlight against the ships.

The troops, whose great exhaustion was quite comprehensible, did not get back to Tanga until the morning of the 5th November, and occupied essentially the same position as the day before. It was not now advisable to advance with all our forces against the enemy, who was re-embarking at Ras-Kasone, as the country there was entirely open, and commanded by the cruisers lying in its immediate vicinity. All the same, the strong patrols and individual companies, who advanced towards Ras-Kasone. In order to harass the enemy, succeeded in surprising him by machine-gun fire directed on various detachments, a few boats, and even the decks of the cruiser lying close to the hospital. During the day, the impression that the enemy had suffered a tremendous defeat grew stronger and stronger. It is true, the full extent of his losses did not become known to us all at once; but the many places where hundreds and hundreds of dead were piled up in heaps, and the smell of putrefaction which the tropical sun brought out all over the district, gave us some indication. Very cautiously we estimated the killed at about 800, but 1 believe this number to be far too low. A senior English officer, who had accurate knowledge of the details, told me later, on the occasion of an action in which he stated the English casualties to have been 1,500, that the losses at Tanga had been considerably greater. I now think that even 2,000 is too low an estimate. Even greater was the enemy's loss a moral. He almost began to believe in spirits and spooks; years afterwards I was asked by English officers whether we had used framed bees at Tanga but I may now perhaps betray the fact that at the decisive moment all the machine-guns of one of our companies were put out of action by these same " trained bees," so that we suffered from this new " training " quite as much as the English.

The enemy felt himself completely defeated, and he was. His troops had fled in wild confusion and thrown themselves head over heels into the lighters. The possibility of renewing the attack was not even considered. From prisoners statements and captured official English documents it was ascertained that the whole Anglo-Indian Expeditionary Force of 8,000 men had been thus decisively beaten by our force of little more than 1,000 men. Not till the evening did we realize the magnitude of this victory, when an English officer, Captain Meinertshagen, came under a flag of truce to negotiate with Captain von Hammerstein, my representative, for the handing over of the wounded. Captain von Hammerstein proceeded to the hospital, which was full of severely wounded English officers, and in my name agreed to their being removed by the English on giving their word of honor not to fight against us again in this war.

The booty in arms enabled us to re-arm more than three companies with modern weapons, for which the sixteen machine-guns were particularly welcome. The moral of the force and its confidence in its leaders had enormously increased, and at one blow I was delivered from a great part of the difficulties which so greatly impeded the conduct of operations. The continuous fire of the ships' guns, which the closeness of the country had rendered ineffective, had lost its terrors for our brave blacks. The quantity of stores captured was also considerable; besides 600,000 rounds of small-arm ammunition the enemy had left behind the whole of his telephone gear and such quantities of clothing and equipment that we were able to meet all our requirements, especially in warm coats and blankets, for at least a year. Our own losses, painful though they were, were numerically insignificant. About fifteen (?) Europeans, among them the splendid Captain von Prince, and fifty-four (?) Askari and machine-gun carriers, had fallen. The Europeans were buried m a worthy warriors' grave in the shade of a fine Buyu tree, where a simple memorial tablet is inscribed with their names. The work of clearing up the battle-field and burying the dead meant several days of most strenuous work for the whole force, as the streets were literally strewn with dead and badly wounded. In unknown tongues they begged for help which, with the best will in the world, could not always be accorded at once.

At our main dressing station, in Tanga itself, our male and female nursing personnel had conscientiously cared for friend and foe even under the fire of the heavy guns of the ships. As recently as the evening of the 4th November I had been to see the wounded. I little thought that Lieutenant Schottstaedt, who was sitting there on a chair with a severe wound in the chest, had but a few minutes to live. The English Lieutenant Cook, of the 101st Indian Grenadiers, lay there with a bad gun-shot wound in the leg. This bright young officer, who had fallen into our hands in the hottest part of the fight on the Indian left wing, maintained his cheerfulness n spite of his wound. With the bulk of the other wounded, he was treated for nine months in the Field Hospital at Korogwe by our best surgeon, Stabsarzt Dr. Muller. He was already walking about once more, when an unfortunate fall on the stairs caused his death.

The fighting at Tanga was the first occasion on which heavy demands were made on our arrangements for the care of the wounded. For this purpose, hospitals had been established at Korogwe and at various other points on the Northern Railway, to which the sick could be taken by rail without being transferred from one method of transport to another. No special hospital arrangements of a permanent nature had been made for transport, but we never had any difficulty in improvising what was necessary.

In spite of their undoubted defeat at Tanga it was probable that British determination would not accept this decision as final. Even after his defeat the enemy was still several times as strong as we were, and would not improbably attempt another landing elsewhere. But a cycle ride on the 6th November to Mansa Bay, in the North, convinced me that the hostile ships had run in there only for the purpose of attending to their wounded and burying their dead and had no intention of landing, And the ships actually did steam off towards Zanzibar soon alter. At that time it was interesting to me to visit our Government Hospital near Ras-Kasone, which had in the meantime been evacuated by the English wounded released on parole. Among others I saw here two German officers who had been wounded at Tanga on the 3rd November, and others who had been wounded in an earlier action; from the hospital they had been able to observe events behind the English front on the 4th November, the day when the principal fighting took place. With the greatest excitement they had watched the landing at Ras-Kasone and the advance on Tanga; in the afternoon they had heard the opening of our decisive machine-gun fire and the bombardment by the ships' guns, and had then witnessed the wild flight of the enemy close by the hospital. The numerous shells that had fallen near the hospital had fortunately done no damage. Quite early on the 5th November they had suddenly heard guns firing again, this time from the direction of Tanga; they realized that they must be German guns. They were in fact our two 1873 pattern field-guns, which, though too late to deal with the English transports by moonlight, had at least managed to secure a few hits after daybreak. A prolonged fire for effect was now unfortunately impossible, as the smoke disclosed the positions of the guns at once and drew the fire of the ships.

In the meantime it had become evident that the attack at Tanga was not an isolated enterprise, but had been intended to form part of a simultaneous operation on a large scale. Suddenly in the morning mist, on the 3rd November, English troops appeared north-west of Kilima Njaro, at Longido Mountain, which was held by Captain Kraut with three Companies of Askari and a Mounted Company of Europeans Just as orders reached Longido Mountain by heliograph directing Captain Kraut to move off to Moshi the first shell arrived. The enemy, about 1,000 strong, had ascended the great mountain, which lies by itself in the open plain, at several points, being guided by Masai, who called out to the outposts: " We belong to Captain Kraut s men." But our three Field Companies deployed rapidly and succeeded in working round the enemy detachment in the rocky ground and quickly repelled them. A hostile detachment of mounted Europeans who became visible in the plain at the foot of the mountain, and apparently intended to ascend it from the south, or to act against our communications, was fired upon with effect and quickly driven off.

Probably in connection with these events on the Northern Railway, hostile enterprises took place on Lake Victoria. At the end of October numerous Waganda warriors had penetrated from the North into the Bukoba district. To meet this menace, a force of 570 rifles, 4 machine-guns. and 2 guns left Muanza on the 31st October on board the small steamer Muanza, with 2 tugs and 10 dhows boats). Soon after the landing these transports were attacked by English steamers, but got back to Muanza without damage. An English attempt to land at Kayense, north of Muanza broke down under the fire of our detachment posted there.

Thus, at the beginning of November we were confronted with a concentric attack on our Colony, planned on a large scale. Its failure made everyone expect that we would be able to hold our own as long as the home country could do so. But such scanty information as we could get from there gave us confidence. At the time of the action at Tanga we had, indeed, not heard the name of Hindenburg; but on the other hand we knew nothing of our reverse on the Marne, and were still buoyed up by the impression created by our victorious invasion of France.

CHAPTER V. AWAITING FURTHER EVENTS

The danger threatening the Kilima Njaro country appeared to me to be by itself a sufficient reason for rapidly moving the troops back to the vicinity of New Moshi after the decisive success of Tanga, which in any event could not be further exploited. The joy of the Northern settlers, who, it should be noted, had furnished the bulk of the Europeans who fought at Tanga, was indescribable. The first tram, which earned the European Company, returned to New Moshi bedecked with flowers, I myself had still enough to do at Tanga. and did not follow the troops to New Moshi for several days, where Headquarters was reopened. Shortage of personnel prevented us from having separate people for each duty. Officers of Headquarters had sometimes in an emergency to act as riflemen or cyclists, the Intendant occasionally did duty as an orderly, the clerk went into action with a rifle and acted as orderly in battle. The work was greatly facilitated by the fact that the railway station f constructed on European lines, afforded us accommodation which, in spite of being rather small, enabled us to settle most matters affecting the Staff only by word of mouth. We had good telephone and telegraph installations, and were situated centrally as the telephone and road systems, which we had either made or perfected, and which led out in both directions towards Tanga, Taveta, East Kilima Njaro, West Kilima Njaro and Longido, as well as to Arusha. Sometimes the work would go on for a week at a time almost as in peace, although the volume of work to be dealt with was greater. But although hardly anybody at Headquarters was either trained or prepared for his functions, harmonious and successful co-operation was secured. It was based upon the best spirit, devotion to the cause, and the support of good comradeship.

I myself went by car—for we had made a motor-road right up to Longido Mountain—to the Engare-Nairobi (cold river), a small stream rising on the northern slopes of KiJ'ma Njaro, and flowing between it and Longido through the prairie in a north-westerly direction. In this country a number of Boer families were settled on farms. Kraut's detachment had moved their camp there, as their supplies, if they had remained on Longido Mountain, would have had to make a two-days’ march across the prairie, where they could not be protected, and were, therefore, too uncertain. I satisfied myself that there was at this time no opportunity for any enterprises north of Kilima Njaro, and returned to New Moshi The distance from New Moshi, where we collected a large proportion of the supplies coming from Usambara and the country further south by ran to Taveta, is thirty miles. Although we had available only a few motors, namely, three cars and three lorries all told, they were in the circumstances a considerable help. The road being well made, the three-ton lorries could do the trip out and back in one day in dry weather. As carriers took at least four days for the same journey a calculation showed that one lorry could do the work of six hundred carriers, who required subsistence in addition. The principle, later maintained by the English, of replacing carriers and pack-animals by mechanical transport, is further supported by the fact that men and animals suffered severely from tropical diseases, whereas mosquitos are powerless against automobiles. We, however, could not derive full benefit from this advantage, since we had so few motors. Even in this period, which, as far as transport was concerned, was one of quiet and regularity, we had constantly to fall back upon carriers. To this day I remember the joy of the Intendant when a column of six hundred Wassukurna carriers arrived at New Moshi from about Muanza; they brought rice, which was urgently needed, from Lake Victoria, via Kondoa-Irangi to Kilima Njaro. If one remembers that this march required at least thirty days, that the carrier needs one kg. (two lbs.) of food a day, and that his maximum load is twenty-five Kg. (fifty-five lbs.), it is clear that these marches have to be arranged with great care and directed through well populated and fertile districts if this method of transport is to be of any value. If, in spite of these disadvantages, carrier transport had to be resorted to on a large scale, it only shows up the supply- difficulties we had to contend with. The Intendant, Captain Feilke, was, however, a past master in handling the men and looking after them. The carriers felt that they were well cared for, and the word "Kommando," which some of them took as a personal name, became quite common. I myself was able, by means of the motors, to carry out many reconnaissance and inspections of the troops. I could reach Taveta, to which place some of the troops from Tanga returned, m two hours from New Moshi; this would otherwise have taken four days; later on I drove in one day from New Moshi to the Engare-Nairobi, round the west side of the whole of Meru Mountain, and back to New Moshi, a journey which could hardly have been accomplished with carriers in less than ten days.

The success at Tanga called forth and revived the determination to resist ail over the Colony.

At Morogoro, on the 26th November, the Inspector of Lines of Communication, Major-General Wahle, succeeded in obtaining the Governor s consent to the defence of Dar-es-Salaam in case of attack. As luck would have it, this consent was given just in time. On the 28th, two men-of-war, a transport and a tug, appeared off Dar-es-Salaam, and demanded to inspect our ships lying in the harbour. Among others, there was the Tabora, of the German East African Line, which had been converted into a hospitai-ship. As the English had on a previous occasion declared that they did not consider themselves bound by any agreement about Dar-es-Salaam, fresh negotiations would have been necessary every time we wanted to escape a threatened bombardment. Thus an endless screw was created. I now wired that the entry into the harbor of a pinnacle, demanded by the English, was to be resisted by force of arms. Unfortunately, however, it had been conceded by the German civil authority, against my opinion, and the Senior Officer present at Dar-es-Salaam felt himself bound. The English, however, came in, not with the one pinnacle which had been agreed to, but with several small vessels, and then proceeded to carry out demolitions on board the Tabor a, and even took some of her crew prisoners. Tins made it only too evident, even to those who had hitherto been doubtful, how misplaced our previous compliance had been. Captain von Kornatzky was just in time to open effective machine-gun fire on the small English vessels as they passed out by the narrow English harbor entrance. Unfortunately, on this occasion, one of the German prisoners was also hit. The necessary defensive measures had simply not been adopted in time. This is a small example of the dangers and disadvantages that arise when, in time of war, the military commander is constantly interfered with in his decisions, and in the execution of operations which are in the nature of things inevitable. And, after all, the subsequent bombardment of Dar-es-Salaam did no harm worth mentioning, for the damage done to a few houses can hardly be considered as serious.

During the time of comparatively sedentary war