Battle of Lake Tanganyika
Although the battles of World War I were fought primarily in the European and Asian theaters, other corners of the globe were not spared from these turbulent events. One of these was German East Africa—a vast territory three times larger than the metropolis and currently comprising Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.
I think that many readers are not familiar with this episode of the Great War, so I will briefly dwell on it storiesBy the start of military operations in this territory with a population of 7 million, Germany had more than modest armed forces. They consisted of a Schütztruppe of 216 German officers and petty officers and 2540 African soldiers. Most of the soldiers were armed with antediluvian rifles (still using black powder), and artillery consisted of several field guns of the 1873 model. The local police consisted of 45 Germans and 2154 Africans.
General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
However, the Schütztruppe had a significant advantage: its commander. Forty-four-year-old Colonel Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (1870-1964) had 25 years of military experience and embodied the best traits of a true Prussian officer. His service took place in various corners of the globe—Germany, China, and German Southwest Africa. He succeeded in creating well-trained professional units of local residents ("askari") in German East Africa, whose fighters treated their commander with immense respect and loyalty. Their maximum strength reached 11,000 men.
Interestingly, when von Lettow-Vorbeck visited East Africa again in 1953, he was greeted enthusiastically by African veterans of the German army. After the war began, German settlers were mobilized, and they were later joined by 450 sailors from the cruiser Königsberg, sunk in the Rufiji River delta, as well as crew members of the hydrographic survey ship Möwe. Thus, the number of German servicemen reached 3000.
Askari, 1914
Although Colonel (later General) von Lettow-Vorbeck considered this ersatz army "a parody of a military organization," for more than four years it managed to resist the might of the British Empire, which had deployed up to 300,000 British, South African, and Indian soldiers to this theater. The total losses of these troops amounted to approximately 60,000 men. The Germans were forced to fight not only in German East Africa, but also in neighboring British, Belgian, and Portuguese colonies, thousands of kilometers from their supply bases. During this campaign, only two blockade runners were able to deliver a small amount of supplies from Germany. weapons and ammunition, and attempts to supply them via airships were unsuccessful. German troops had to make do primarily with captured supplies, although they were able to establish limited domestic production of some weapons and ammunition. They also managed to dismantle guns from the sunken Königsberg and Möwe and use them on land and on ships in Lake Tanganyika.
The sunken cruiser "Königsberg"
Von Lettow-Vorbeck eludes the British lion. 1918 cartoon.
The Schütztruppe fought its last battle on November 12, 1918, in Rhodesia, and only on November 25 (two weeks after the end of the war in Europe) did it honorably lay down its arms. In March 1919, the only undefeated unit of the German Imperial Army marched ceremoniously through the streets of Berlin.
Von Lettow-Vorbeck's ceremonial welcome in Berlin, 1919
Military operations in East Africa also took place on the vast expanses of Lake Tanganyika, located in the heart of the continent, hundreds of kilometers from the nearest ocean, separating the German colony from the Belgian Congo. The southern shore was part of British Northern Rhodesia. It is the longest freshwater lake in the world (680 km), although its width does not exceed 72 km. At 1430 m, Lake Tanganyika is second only to Lake Baikal in depth, covering an area of 32,890 km².
Lake Tanganyika (modern map)
Due to the lake's favorable geographical location and the poorly developed communication network in this region of Africa, Tanganyika was crucial for transporting troops, military equipment, and amphibious operations. It should not be forgotten that the lake adjoined the mining-rich Katanga province of the Belgian Congo, a vital source of supplies for the Entente military machine.
The Lake Tanganyika war zone
However, by the outbreak of World War I, the future enemies had only two steamships in the area: the Belgian Alexandre Delcommune (90 tons) and the German Hedwig von Wissmann (57 tons). The latter was built in 1897 at the Hamburg shipyard of Janssen & Schmilinsky and delivered in disassembled form to the port of Dar es Salaam. Since construction of the railway connecting this city with the port of Kigoma on the coast of Tanganyika (Mittellandbahn) only began in 1904, the delivery of the steamship's parts fell to 5000 African porters. The Hedwig von Wissmann was assembled in Kigoma and entered service in September 1900. The vessel was 36,6 meters long, 6,1 meters wide, and its 60-horsepower steam engine enabled it to reach a speed of 6-7 knots.
Steamship "Alexandre Delcommune"
Steamship "Hedwig von Wissmann"
By mid-August 1914, the German garrison in the Lake Tanganyika region numbered only 176 men, while the Belgian force numbered 1300. Therefore, von Lettow-Vorbeck decided to achieve complete control of the lake by sending additional forces and destroying a Belgian steamship. A group of sailors from the hydrographic survey ship "Möwe," which had been blown up by its crew in Dar es Salaam on August 8, was sent to Kigoma. The unit, designated Marine-Expeditionskorps (later Abteilung "Möwe"), was armed with two 88-mm SKL30 guns (400 rounds of ammunition) and four 37-mm revolver cannons removed from their ship. It was commanded by the commander of the "Möwe", Captain 1st Rank Gustav Zimmer (Kapitän zur See Gustav Zimmer).
On August 12, the first group of approximately 30 sailors from Abteilung Möwe, under the command of Senior Lieutenant Horn (Oberleutnant zur See Horn), arrived in Kigoma and began repairing and arming the steamship Hedwig von Wissmann. It was armed with four (or, according to other sources, three) 37mm guns. Since the 88mm guns were too large for the vessel, an ingenious solution was adopted for their placement. In September, a raft made of three layers of thick wooden beams was constructed, on which both guns were mounted. The raft demonstrated excellent seaworthiness and ease of gun maintenance, but when towed, the steamship's speed dropped to 1,8 knots. Measures were also taken to strengthen the port's coastal defenses to repel a possible Belgian landing.
Already on the night of August 14-15, the Kaiser’s new “combat” ship fleet The ship entered combat. A landing party from it destroyed a telegraph line near Uvira in the Congo, and several small vessels were sunk. However, the Germans' primary objective was to destroy the Alexandre Delcommune. After a lengthy search, the Belgian was spotted near Mpala on August 22 (or 23 or 25, according to other sources), but, taking advantage of its superior speed, it attempted to evade combat and sought the cover of a coastal battery with 75mm and 47mm guns located at the mouth of the Lukuga River—the only outlet of Lake Tanganyika. The British supplied these guns to the Belgians for arming the 1200-ton steamship Baron Dhanis, which had been delivered to the shores of the lake in disassembled form. Since the Hedwig von Wissmann's 37mm guns had a range of only 2400 meters, the Germans were forced to fight within range of the shore batteries. The battle lasted two hours. The Alexandre Delcommune, hit in the boiler and funnel, ran aground. Thanks to skillful maneuvering, the German steamship suffered only minor damage—a hole in her stern ensign.
On August 30, the remaining crew members of the "Möwe" arrived in Kigoma, led by Zimmer, who had been appointed commander of all German forces in the area of Lakes Tanganyika and Kivu. Two steam survey boats from the sunken hydrograph, the motor launch "Peter," belonging to the Gesellschaft für Schlaftkrankheitsbekämpfung (Society for the Fight Against Sleeping Sickness), and the "Benz," belonging to the German East African Railway Company, were also transported to Tanganyika by rail.
The most valuable addition to the lake fleet was the government-owned steamship Kingani, which arrived in mid-October. Built in 1894 by the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg, the vessel served various purposes in the port of Dar es Salaam. The Kingani was 17,1 meters long, 4,6 meters wide, and had a displacement of 20 tons (according to other sources, 45 tons). Its 60-horsepower engine provided a speed of up to 8 knots. The navy had to literally fight to wrest this vessel from the civil administration; a detachment of askaris occupied the vice-governor's residence. On November 10, the steamship entered service, armed with a single 37-mm revolver cannon, taken from the Hedwig von Wissmann.
Steamship Kingani
At the same time, the "Graf von Götzen," a colossus (by Tanganyika standards) with a displacement of 1200 tons, was being assembled in Kigoma. This cargo-passenger steamship was ordered for the East African Railway Company at the suggestion of Kaiser Wilhelm II himself in January 1913. A contract worth 406,000 German marks was signed with the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg. Construction progressed quickly and was completed by the end of November 1913, including testing of the steam engines and boilers.
The Graf von Götzen's main dimensions were 67,1 x 9,1 x 2,3 meters, with a deadweight of 480 tons. A twin-shaft steam engine with a total output of 500 horsepower was designed to provide a speed of up to 10 knots. The vessel was assigned the Germanischer Lloyd classification class 100 A4 Tanganjikasee. Since the vessel was intended to be transported to the coast of Tanganyika in disassembled form, its hull was held together with bolts rather than rivets. After completing its trials, the steamship was dismantled and its parts packed into 5,000 crates, which were delivered to the port of Hamburg by rail. There, the crates were loaded onto four ships bound for the distant shores of East Africa. Construction of two more identical steamships was begun, but the outbreak of war prevented the implementation of this ambitious plan.
Ironically, despite clear signs of war looming, the new vessel was insured by twelve companies from across the British Empire. The policies included a clause insuring against "all consequences of hostile or military action, both before and after the declaration of war."
In Dar es Salaam, the ship's components began their 700-mile journey to Kigoma, first by rail and then the final 20 miles (the road construction was not yet complete) on the backs of several thousand porters, a journey that took three long months. Not without incident: a fire broke out in the railway cars, damaging several components of the new steamship, including the propeller shaft. In Kigoma, under the supervision of three Meyerwerft specialists, assembly of the ship began and was completed on June 1, 1915. The actual cost of the "Graf von Götzen" was 750,000 marks.
At the outbreak of war, the ship was handed over to military authorities. Its crew consisted of 40 men, with the capacity to carry an additional 1000. Initially, its armament consisted of an 88mm gun removed from a raft and two 37mm guns from the Hedwig von Wissmann, which in exchange received a captured British 47mm gun. In August, the Graf von Götzen was rearmed: a 105mm gun from the sunken Königsberg was installed in the bow, an 88mm gun in the stern, and a 37mm revolver gun amidships.
Steamship "Graf von Götzen"
105mm gun of the Graf von Götzen
Meanwhile, military operations in Tanganyika continued as usual. Receiving information that the Belgians had re-floated the damaged Alexandre Delcommune and towed it for repairs, the Germans made another attempt to locate and destroy the enemy vessel. On October 4, 1914, the Hedwig von Wissmann, towed by a gun raft, the motor launch Peter, and two steam launches set out from Kigoma to search for it. Near Baraka, one of the launches came under fire from the Belgians. The Hedwig, arriving just in time, fired thirty 88mm shells at the enemy positions, scoring several hits.
One of the reconnaissance boats spotted the Alexandre Delcommune in Albertville. The decision was made to capture the Belgian steamship and tow it to the German coast or destroy it. On the night of October 8-9, 30 German troops from a steam launch and a boat landed near the suspected location of the enemy vessel. It turned out that the Alexandre Delcommune had been beached for repairs and protected from the waves by an earthen rampart, guarded by a company of Belgian askaris. The Germans managed to board undetected and managed to plant two boxes of dynamite in the engine room and ignite their fuses. They were unable to plant the remaining charges; the troops were discovered and had to fight their way back to their vessels. Thanks to the darkness and confusion among the Belgian askaris, the Germans escaped without losses.
The following night, eight German sailors under the command of First Lieutenant Odebrecht (Oberleutnant zur See Odebrecht) swam ashore, despite the abundance of crocodiles in the local waters, to assess the damage to the Alexandre Delcommune. To their disappointment, only a few hull plates had been torn off. However, the Belgians had become much more vigilant, and the scouts barely managed to escape their pursuers and swim to the Hedwig von Wissmann. Soon, the Germans intercepted a Belgian radiogram about an attack on their positions by a hundred (!) Germans.
On October 19, Zimmer decided to launch a combined attack on Belgian forces near Uvira on the northern shore of the lake. Ground troops advanced along the coast, while the Hedwig von Wissmann, with a gun raft and escorted by two steam launches, bombarded enemy positions, destroying an ammunition depot. The well-fortified positions were unable to be taken, and the ground operation was abandoned.
On October 23, the Hedwig von Wissmann and its raft approached Albertville in an attempt to destroy the Alexandre Delcommune once again, but came under fire from a 76mm coastal battery. The Belgians opened fire from a range of 4 meters, but the Germans responded only after closing to 2300 meters, both to conserve their 88mm shells, which were extremely limited, and to allow for the use of their 47mm guns. The Belgian guns soon fell silent, and fire was transferred to the Alexandre Delcommune, anchored offshore.
At the same time, Zimmer dispatched a steam launch to capture and tow the enemy steamer. This attempt failed: the launch ran aground and came under intense rifle fire from Belgian askaris. However, the Germans managed to patch the holes, float off the sandbar, and escape the shelling. A German engineer was wounded—the first loss for Abteilung Möwe in this campaign. The Belgian steamer was hit 46 times by 88mm shells and was permanently disabled. Thus, the Germans established complete control of the lake, which temporarily prevented the Belgian advance deeper into German East Africa.
In the second half of November, the Hedwig von Wissmann and the Kingani, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Kendrick, conducted a raid on the southern coast of Tanganyika, then part of British Northern Rhodesia. Their mission was to capture or destroy two British steamships located there, which had been rusting on the beach for years without use. The area was virtually deserted due to the threat of sleeping sickness caused by the tsetse fly.
On November 18, the Good News, the first steamship on the lake (built in 1886 and owned by the London Missionary Society), was discovered off Kituna. Due to severe corrosion, the vessel was rendered unusable and was blown up, along with two steel lifeboats nearby. The following day, sailors found the Cecil Rhodes off Kasalakava. The steamship was in good condition, and work began immediately to tow it into clear water. That night, the Germans were attacked by the enemy (one Belgian and one British company with two machine guns), and although the attack was repelled, the Cecil Rhodes had to be blown up. However, the sailors recovered valuable trophies—230 kilometers of telegraph wire and a large number of steel telegraph poles, which were used to lay a telegraph line across German territory.
In late 1914 and early 1915, the Germans conducted a series of raids on the western coast of Tanganyika, disrupting Belgian telegraph lines and land communications and shelling their coastal positions. Fierce clashes erupted repeatedly. Once, the Hedwig von Wissmann was on the brink of destruction: 40 shells from Belgian 76mm guns exploded just a few meters away—so close that the deck awning caught fire.
Meanwhile, Anglo-Belgian military cooperation in this region of East Africa was growing increasingly close, with the goal of defeating von Lettow-Vorbeck's forces. However, the absolute dominance of the German fleet in Tanganyika greatly complicated the successful completion of this task. This attracted the attention of a local hunter of large African game, British citizen John Lee, who conceived a plan to destroy the German vessels. On April 21, 1915, he managed to secure an audience with First Sea Lord Sir Henry Jackson.
D. Lee's somewhat daring plan involved transporting two small, armed motorboats to a remote African lake. The boats' small size allowed them to be transported without disassembly and put into service immediately upon arrival. Their final destination was Lukuga, located a short distance from the German naval base in Kigoma. The proposed route for the boats, covering a total distance of 9310 miles, was as follows:
London to Cape Town (by sea) – 6100 nautical miles
Cape Town - Fungurume in the Belgian Congo (by rail) - 2700
Fungurume - Sankisia (through bush and jungle) - 120
Sankisia - Bukama (by rail) - 15
Bukama - Kabalo (along the river) - 200
Kabalo - Lukuga (by rail) - 175.
Route of the 1915 African Maritime Expedition
The final section of the route
The First Sea Lord approved the plan surprisingly quickly, based on the principle: "It is the duty and tradition of the Royal Navy to engage the enemy wherever there is water to float a ship." The task, dubbed the Naval Africa Expedition, was entrusted to 39-year-old Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Basil Spicer-Simson, a modest employee of one of the naval intelligence departments. His selection fell not on any outstanding qualities, but simply due to a shortage of officers.
Geoffrey Basil Spicer-Simson
Spicer-Simson was a highly original and colorful figure, likely the oldest active lieutenant commander in the British Navy. He loved to show off his body, completely covered in intricate tattoos, and boast of fantastic exploits and adventures. One day, despite lacking even the most basic technical understanding, he became a cruiser's chief engineer; another, he hunted hippos in Gambia, where they were never found; and he even attempted to teach the Royal Astronomer of Cape Town the basics of... astronomy. One of his "great exploits" was the mythical sinking of a German cruiser off the British coast. Alas, in reality, Spicer-Simson's career was decidedly unsuccessful.
He became a Royal Navy cadet at the age of 14 and continued his service in domestic waters, including Gambia and China, where he conducted the first hydrographic survey of the Yangtze River. However, a series of disastrous mistakes ended his career. In 1905, during maneuvers in the English Channel, he proposed an ingenious idea to search for a submarine by towing a cable between two destroyers, which nearly resulted in the submarine's sinking. During other maneuvers, a ship under Spicer-Simson's command ran aground, resulting in a court-martial. The hapless commander was soon court-martialed again after sinking a pleasure boat. There were casualties.
In August 1914, Spicer-Simson was given command of a flotilla of coastal patrol vessels, consisting of two gunboats and six tugs. He enjoyed his command, observing the vessels entrusted to him from the window of a coastal hotel, where he stayed with his wife and female acquaintances. This carefree life quickly ended: a German submarine torpedoed one of his ships literally under the hotel window, and Spicer-Simson continued his service in a small office in the Admiralty building.
Now fate offered him the opportunity to prove himself in a new field. On top of everything else, the eternal Lieutenant Commander received a promotion to the temporary rank of Commander. John Lee was appointed his deputy, and he and the advance party traveled to Africa to prepare the land route for the boats to Tanganyika.
To be continued ...
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