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3 November, the invasion force was ashore with the exception of the 27th
Mountain Battery and the Faridkot Sappers. At noon on 4 November, Aitken ordered his troops to march on the city. Well concealed defenders quickly broke up their advance. The fighting then turned to skirmishing amidst the coconut and
858:
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck initially estimated the number of
British killed at 800 but later said that he believed the number was more likely over 2,000. The Germans subsequently released the British officers who had been wounded or captured after they gave their word not to fight again during the war.
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Furious and frustrated, Aitken ordered a general withdrawal. In their retreat and evacuation back to the transports that lasted well into the night, the attacking troops left behind nearly all their equipment. "Lettow-Vorbeck was able to re-arm three Askari companies with modern rifles, for which he
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Captain
Caulfeild ordered the harbor swept for mines during 2 November and well into the next day. During the sweeping, the Force "B" commander, Aitken, began the unopposed landing of troops and supplies in two groups at the harbor and three miles east of the city on a mine-free beach. By evening on
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Still outnumbered eight to one, caution overtook some of the German officers. Through a series of errors by the buglers and misunderstandings by an officer to disengage and consolidate, the Askari withdrew to a camp several miles west of Tanga. As soon as Lettow-Vorbeck learned of this, he
793:
were attacked by swarms of angry bees and broke up. The bees attacked the
Germans as well, hence the battle's nickname. British propaganda transformed the bee interlude into a fiendish German plot, conjuring up hidden trip wires to agitate the hives. The
724:, went ashore giving Tanga one hour to surrender and take down the imperial flag. Before departing, he demanded to know if the harbor was mined; it was not, but he was assured that it was. After three hours, the flag was still flying and
641:
in Africa. The
British retreat enabled the Schutztruppe to salvage modern equipment, medical supplies, tents, blankets, food and a number of Maxim machine guns which allowed them to successfully resist the allies for the rest of the war.
849:
The successful defence of Tanga was the first of many achievements of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck during his long campaign in East Africa. For the
British, however, the battle was nothing short of a disaster, and was recorded in the British
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of the harbour contingent made good progress; they entered the town, captured the customs house and Hotel
Deutscher Kaiser and ran up the Union Jack. But then the advance was stopped. Less-well trained and equipped Indian battalions of
712:
Instead, the
British resolve to capture German East Africa was to be implemented with an amphibious attack on Tanga. Unlike the plan on paper, however, the attack turned into a debacle. On 2 November 1914, the British protected cruiser
825:(field companies) – the 4th had just reached Tanga by train), to envelop the British flank and rear by launching bayonet attacks along the entire front to "bugle calls and piercing tribal war cries." At least three battalions of the
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now had 600,000 rounds of ammunition. He also had sixteen more machine guns, valuable field telephones" and enough clothing to last the
Schutztruppe for a year. On the morning of 5 November, Force B's intelligence officer—Captain
854:
as "one of the most notable failures in
British military history." Casualties included 360 killed and 487 wounded on the British side; the Schutztruppe lost 16 Germans and 55 Askaris killed, and 76 total wounded.
833:
countermanded the move and ordered a redeployment that was not completed until early morning. "For nearly all of the night , Tanga was Aitken's for the taking. It was the most stupendous irony of the battle."
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Aitken's orders: "The object of the expedition under your command is to bring the whole of German East Africa under British authority." See Farwell 1989, p. 163.
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would have been wiped out to a man, if they had not taken to their heels. All semblance of order vanished as Force B's retirement "degenerated into total rout."
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of Askaris) with troops brought in by rail from Neu Moshi, eventually numbering about 1,000 in six companies. His second-in-command was former
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had left their horses at Neu Moshi. By late afternoon on 4 November, Lettow-Vorbeck ordered his last reserves, the 13th and 4th Askari
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failed to play a significant role in the battle as their morale had been shaken when witnessing the retreat of the
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and Tanga, but now the accord was modified and it seemed "only fair to warn the Germans that the deal was off."
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departed to bring in the Force "B" convoy of fourteen troop transports. This gave time for both the
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1104:. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. 1981; and London: Collier Macmillan Publishers. 1981.
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1119:. London: Macdonald & Jane's, 1974; and New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. 1974.
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plantations by the southern contingent and bitter street-fighting by the harbor force. The
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arrived by rail to stiffen the pressed Askari lines. The normally mounted 8th
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1914 battle of the German East African campaign at the African theatre of WW I
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Page, Melvin E. (Melvin Eugene). 2003. "The Battle of Tanga 1914 (Review)".
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at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. Tanga was initially to be bombarded by
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and saw the British defeated by a significantly smaller force of German
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Guerilla: Colonel von Lettow-Vorbeck and Germany's East African Empire
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49:"Battle of Tanga, 3rd–5th November, 1914" by Martin Frost (1875–1927)
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Anderson, Ross. 2001. "The Battle of Tanga, 2–5 November 1914".
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Battle for the Bundu: The First World War in German East Africa
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Dead Indian soldiers of the British force on the beach at Tanga
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681:, situated only 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the border of
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Schutztruppe acquire modern equipment after British retreat
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Tip and Run: The Untold Tragedy of the Great War in Africa
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637:, and is considered one of the greatest victories of the
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and the citizens of Tanga to prepare for an attack. The
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Battles of World War I involving Indian Princely States
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Battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom
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1321:Battles of World War I involving British India
1089:. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1989.
925:The Battle of Tanga, German East Africa, 1914
590:, was the unsuccessful attack by the British
332:
1226:The Battle of Tanga, German East Africa 1914
902:
789:scattered and ran away from the battle. The
613:in concert with the invasion Force "C" near
1134:. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2007.
813:The colonial volunteers of the 7th and 8th
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1207:. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus, 2002.
674:Tom and Magdalene von Prince, before 1908
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1326:Battles of World War I involving Germany
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693:and the ocean terminal of the important
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720:arrived. The ship's commander, Captain
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90:Invasion of German East Africa repulsed
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621:. It was the first major event of the
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764:Askari skirmish, 1914, possibly Tanga
605:(the mainland portion of present-day
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1311:Battles of the East African Campaign
633:. It was the beginning of the East
869:East African campaign (World War I)
13:
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1087:The Great War in Africa, 1914–1918
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635:African Campaign of World War I
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738:Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
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1240:Journal of Military History
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852:Official History of the War
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1306:1914 in German East Africa
1255:at The Dreadnought Project
1228:. : Storming Media, 2003.
1145:von Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul.
746:German East Africa Company
697:, which ran from Tanga to
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592:Indian Expeditionary Force
1182:Resources in your library
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1205:The Battle of Tanga 1914
1058:von Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul
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827:Imperial Service Brigade
787:27th (Bangalore) Brigade
1242:. 67, no. 4: 1307–1308.
631:Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck
185:Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck
1149:. London: Hurst, 1920
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722:Francis Wade Caulfeild
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172:Commanders and leaders
1047:Farwell 1989, p. 178.
999:Farwell 1989, p. 171.
990:Farwell 1989, p. 170.
981:Farwell 1989, p. 168.
954:Farwell 1989, p. 167.
936:Farwell 1989, p. 166.
874:Battle of Kilimanjaro
844:Richard Meinertzhagen
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350:East African campaign
295:Casualties and losses
33:East African campaign
1346:November 1914 events
1253:Francis W. Caulfeild
1200:. 8, no. 3: 294–322.
1066:. Hase & Köhler.
1273: /
1224:Harvey, Kenneth J.
1026:Miller 1974, p. 69.
1017:Miller 1974, p. 68.
972:Miller 1974, p. 59.
963:Miller 1974, p. 58.
915:Miller 1974, p. 70.
899:Miller 1974, p. 71,
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588:Battle of the Bees
559:Chilembwe uprising
302:55 Askaris killed
300:16 Germans killed
132:German East Africa
75:German East Africa
1301:Conflicts in 1914
1213:978-0-7524-2349-4
1168:Library resources
1115:Miller, Charles.
1035:Hoyt 1981, p. 52.
1008:Hoyt 1981, p. 50.
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37:World War I
1295:Categories
1076:References
1068:, p. 39/40
784:Wapshare's
594:"B" under
551:Pere Hills
514:Narungombe
435:Latema Nek
371:Lake Nyasa
307:360 killed
1234:634605075
837:Aftermath
715:HMS
699:Neu Moshi
541:Namacurra
462:Matamondo
1220:52490038
1155:7107291M
1060:(1920).
863:See also
771:palm oil
748:Captain
607:Tanzania
504:Nambanje
499:Behobeho
381:Zanzibar
244:Strength
66:Location
1268:39°06′E
742:company
666:(right)
646:Prelude
627:Askaris
615:Longido
529:Ngomano
524:Mahenge
430:Salaita
376:Karonga
280:Astraea
202:†
1265:5°04′S
1232:
1218:
1211:
1170:about
1153:
1138:
1123:
1108:
1093:
756:Battle
734:German
519:Mahiwa
487:Kibata
482:Kisaki
477:Dutumi
467:Kilosa
445:Tabora
413:Bukoba
408:Jassin
366:Maziua
272:5,000
267:4,000
198:
160:
145:
116:
82:Result
880:Notes
687:Kenya
679:Tanga
546:Lioma
509:Rumbo
472:Mlali
396:Tanga
290:9,000
286:Total
264:1,000
260:Total
163:India
71:Tanga
1230:OCLC
1216:OCLC
1209:ISBN
1136:ISBN
1121:ISBN
1106:ISBN
1091:ISBN
691:port
662:HMS
582:The
535:1918
493:1917
452:Kahe
424:1916
402:1915
361:1914
254:750
249:250
58:Date
726:Fox
717:Fox
664:Fox
35:of
1297::
1151:OL
1085:.
1040:^
904:^
888:^
802:.
752:.
277:1
73:,
1142:.
1127:.
1112:.
1097:.
340:e
333:t
326:v
288::
262::
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