My Reminiscences of East Africa

by Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck

On the afternoon of the 8th March Headquarters observed strong hostile columns near Lake Dsalla, who advanced from there in a widely extended line of skirmishers for some distance towards East Kitovo. On this occasion, and on many others, our want of artillery obliged us to look on quietly while the enemy executed unskilful movements at no great distance from our front. But it was evident that this enveloping movement of the enemy rendered the Oldorobo position, to which we owed many successful engagements during the course of the war, untenable. I therefore decided to deploy the troops for a fresh stand on the mountains which close the gap between the North Pare Mountains and Kilima Njaro to the westward of Taveta. Kraut’s Detachment was ordered by telephone to take up a position on the Resta-Latema Mountains, on the road leading from Taveta to New Steglitz. North-west of Latema Mountain, on the road from Taveta to Himo, Schulz’s Detachment occupied the mountains of North Kitovo, and covered the move of Kraut’s Detachment. These movements were executed by night, without being interfered with by the enemy. On our extreme left wing, on the south-eastern slopes of Kilima Njaro, Captain Stemmermann’s Company blocked the road leading from Rombo Mission to Himo and New Moshi. Rombo Mission was occupied by the enemy. Some of the natives made no attempt to conceal the fact that they now adhered to the English. This lends colour to the supposition that English espionage and propaganda among the natives had for a long time been going on in this district, and that the light-signals which had often been seen on the eastern slopes of Kilima Njaro had some connection with it.

The mountain position taken up by us was very favourable as regards ground, but suffered from the great disadvantage that our few thousand Askari were far too few really to fill up the front, which was some 12 miles in extent. Only a few points in the front line could be occupied; the bulk of the force was kept at my disposal at Himo, to be brought into action according to how the situation might develop. It was a time of great tension. Before us was the greatly superior enemy; behind us, advancing to the south from Londigo, another superior opponent, while our communications, which also formed our line of retreat, were threatened by the enemy in the very unpleasant manner already described. But, in view of the ground, which we knew, and the apparently not too skilful tactical leading on the part of the enemy, I did not think it impossible to give at least one of his detachments a thorough beating. The positions on the line Reata-North Kitovo were therefore to be prepared for a stubborn defence. From Tanga, one of the Königsberg’s guns mounted there was brought up by rail. The reader will rightly ask why this had not been done long before. But the gun had no wheels, and fired from a fixed pivot, so that it was very immobile. It is therefore comprehensible that we delayed bringing it into action until there could be no doubt as to the precise spot where it would be wanted.

The situation now developed so rapidly that the gun could not be used against Taveta. It was therefore mounted near the railway at Kahe, on the south bank of the Pangani River, from which position it did excellent service later in the actions at Kahe.

On the 10th March the enemy reconnoitred along our whole front. Mounted detachments of about 50 men rode up, dismounted, and then advanced in a widely extended line, leading their horses, until they were fired on. This was their object. The fire disclosed our positions, although imperfectly. This method of reconnaissance gave us the opportunity for scoring local successes, which cost the enemy a certain number of men, and brought us in some score of horses. From North Kitovo Mountain we could plainly see how portions of our firing line, taking advantage of favourable situations, rapidly advanced and fired upon the enemy’s reconnoitring parties from several directions. To me the force employed by the enemy in these enterprises appeared too large to be explained by the mere intention of reconnaissance; they looked to me more like serious but somewhat abortive attacks. It was not yet possible to form a clear idea of the direction from which the enemy’s main attack would come. The tactical difficulties of enveloping our left (north) wing were far less, but this operation would prevent him from exerting effective pressure on our communications. The direction from Taveta through Reata towards Kahe would be the worst for us, but entailed for the enemy a difficult frontal attack on the fortified heights of Reata and Latema, which promised but little success even if made in greatly superior strength. I, therefore, thought it advisable to move Captain Koehl with two companies so close up in rear of Major Kraut’s Detachment, which was on the high ground between Reata and Latema, that we could intervene rapidly without waiting for orders. For the moment, telephonic communication with our detachments was secure. But it was to be anticipated that it would become at least very difficult, so soon as any detachment moved away from the existing lines. There was no material available for rapidly laying a cable that could follow moving troops. We were also deficient of light wireless apparatus, by means of which later on the English successfully controlled the movements of their columns in the bush.

On the 11th March another aeroplane appeared over New Moshi and dropped a few bombs. I was just talking to an old Boer about the fight on the 12th February, and saying that the English were incurring a grave responsibility in ruthlessly exposing so many young men, who were quite ignorant of the Tropics, to the dangers of our climate and of tropical warfare. Major Kraut reported from Reata that strong hostile forces were moving up towards his positions from the direction of Taveta. Soon after, a powerful attack was made by several thousand men on the three companies holding our position. Our three light guns could, of course, not engage in a duel with the heavy artillery, and, as at Oldorobo, had to restrict themselves to employing their few shells against the denser masses of the enemy at favourable moments. Knowing the difficulties of the ground, I thought the attack had little prospect of success, but the two companies of Captain Koehl held in readiness behind Major Kraut’s Detachment were, nevertheless, sent in to attack. Captain Koehl, who had originally intended to attack the enemy in flank, which would have suited the situation and proved decisive, was obliged to recognize that in the unknown and dense bush this was impossible. The time and place, and, therefore, the effectiveness of this attack, would have become matters of pure chance. He, therefore, quite rightly marched up to the immediate support of Major Kraut. From what I could observe for myself from North Kitovo, and according to the reports that came in, it appeared that the enemy wanted to keep us occupied in front from Reata to Kitovo, while his decisive movement was being made round our left wing. In the first instance large bodies of horsemen were moving in that direction who appeared and disappeared again among the heights and gullies of the south-east slopes of Kilima Njaro. The 11th Company, under Captain Stemmermann, which was on the slopes above these horsemen, prevented them from reaching the summit. During the course of the afternoon the leading horsemen had worked their way through the dense banana-plantations to near Marangu. They appeared to be very exhausted. Some of them were seen to be eating the unripe bananas.

During the afternoon it became evident that the enemy was making a strong frontal attack against Kraut’s Detachment on Reata and Latema Mountain. But the telephonic reports were favourable: the enemy was obviously suffering heavy casualties; hundreds of stretchers were being employed in getting away the wounded. By evening all the enemy’s attacks on our front had been repulsed with heavy losses. In the darkness Captain Koehl’s two companies had pursued with energy and opened machine-gun fire on the enemy when he tried to make a stand. In the evening I had gone to Himo, and about 11 p.m. I was engaged in issuing orders for an attack to be made early on the 12th on the enemy’s horsemen, whose presence had been established at Marangu. Just then Lieutenant Sternheim, commanding the guns with Kraut’s Detachment, telephoned that the enemy had attacked once more in the night and had penetrated into the Reata position in great force. This report made it appear probable that this strong hostile force would now press forward from Reata in the direction of Kahe, and cut us off from our communications. To accept this risk, and still carry out the attack on the enemy at Marangu, appeared to be too dangerous. I therefore ordered the troops at Kitovo and Himo to fall back during the night to the Reata-Kahe road. As a covering force Stemmermann’s Company was for the time being to remain at Himo. This march was bound to entail the unpleasant consequence that, at the very best, all communication between Headquarters and the various units would cease. Anyone who has experienced these night marches knows also how easily some parts of the force may become entirely detached and cannot be reached for ever and a day. Fortunately I had at least some knowledge of the ground, as we moved across country to the new road, while we heard continuous heavy firing going on on Reata and Latema Mountains. A few stragglers who had lost their way in the bush came towards us; when we said we were Germans they did not believe us, and disappeared again. On the new road we found the dressing station. Here, too, the reports of the numerous wounded were so contradictory and obscure that one could only gather the impression of very heavy fighting in the bush at close quarters, but failed to learn anything of its various phases or results. By and by we got through on the telephone to Major Kraut, who, with part of his detachment, was on the Kahe-Taveta road, on the south-west slope of Reata Mountain. On the heights the fire had gradually died down, and his patrols had found no more trace of the enemy on Reata Mountain. Early in the morning of the 12th Major Kraut found some of his detachment again in their old positions on the hills: the enemy had fallen back to Taveta.

When I arrived at Reata Mountain at six in the morning the great quantity of booty was being collected. Very great confusion had occurred in the close-quarter fighting by night. English dead, who were lying in the bush far in rear of the front of Kraut’s Detachment, proved that certain detachments of the enemy had got behind our line. Individual snipers, hidden away among the rocks, maintained a well-aimed fire, and could not be dislodged. It was, however, clear that the enemy had been repulsed with heavy casualties. Both our own wounded and those of the enemy were got away without a hitch, and so were the prisoners. With the detachments that were moving from the vicinity of Himo through the dense bush to the Kahe-Reata road we had no communication, and could expect to have none for several hours more.

In this situation it was regrettable that I had ordered the troops forming our left wing, who had been posted between Kitovo and Himo, to withdraw to the Kahe-Reata road. After giving up the high ground held by our left wing the Reata position would in time become untenable, the more so as it had no supply of water, which had to be brought up from a place an hour’s march further back. It was impossible to turn back the units of the left wing to reoccupy the Himo-Kitovo area, as we were at the moment completely out of touch with them, and, as has been mentioned, there was no expectation of regaining it for hours to come. I decided to evacuate the Reata position, and after the battlefield was cleared I returned with the line that was nearest to the enemy to the water south-west of Reata Mountain. In the course of the day the other detachments reached the Kahe-Reata road at different points further to the rear and encamped.

Headquarters moved to New Steglitz Plantation. The buildings are situated half-way between Kahe and Reata, on a slight elevation affording a distant view over the forest, which is particularly dense along the Kahe-Reata road. On the way I met Captain Schoenfeld, who reported that he had mounted his 4-inch gun out of the Königsberg near Kahe village on the south bank of the Pangani. After our withdrawal the enemy occupied Reata Mountain and for a while fired into the blue with light guns and rifles.

During the next few days we observed the advance of strong hostile forces from the direction of Taveta to Himo, and the pitching of large camps at that place. Against the Little Himo, a mountain in front of our line which we were not holding, the enemy developed a powerful attack from the east, across a perfectly open plain, which, after a long and heavy bombardment of the empty hill, ended in its capture. Unfortunately, we were unable to move our troops sufficiently rapidly to come down upon this attack out of the thick bush. From the Little Himo the enemy frequently bombarded the Plantation building of New Steglitz with light artillery. Some weeks before, after a successful buffalo-hunt, I had enjoyed a hospitable hour in the few rooms of this building. The native who had guided us on that occasion had deserted to the English. Now it provided decidedly cramped accommodation for Headquarters and the telephone exchange. I myself was lucky enough to find a fairly comfortable shake-down on the sofa, with the cloth off the dining-table. Telephone messages and reports came in day and night without ceasing; but they did not prevent us from making the material side of our existence tolerably comfortable. We had a roof over our heads, and the use of a kitchen equipped in European style, and carried on our combined mess as previously at New Moshi. The circumstances peculiar to East Africa make it necessary for the European to maintain a number of servants which to home ideas seems excessive. Even now, on active service, nearly everyone had two “Boys” who took charge of the cooking utensils and provisions we carried with us, cooked excellently, baked bread, washed, and generally provided us in the bush with a good proportion of the comforts which in Europe are only to be found in dwelling houses. Even in the heart of the bush I restricted these alleviations as little as possible, out of consideration for the strength, health and spirit of the Europeans. If, in spite of this, Headquarters often preferred to occupy buildings, this was done less for the sake of comfort than in order to facilitate the unavoidable work of writing and drawing.