My Reminiscences of East Africa

by Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck

In carrying out these drastic measures new difficulties were encountered. A crowd of Askari women had followed the force, and had attached themselves to various camps on the Rufiji, where they were very comfortable. I was most anxious to send them south, where the question of supplies was less difficult. The necessary transport was arranged for, and the women were given rations for the march. After one short day’s march, however, the women simply lay down, and declared that they could go no further. Their rations, which were intended to last a considerable time, were all eaten by the third day, and they were crying out for more. Some even went so far as to attack and beat the European who was in charge of the transport. Even under a dark skin the gentler sex did not always scruple to make full use of their prerogatives, which are usually justified.

Finally we got over this difficulty, and a tolerable solution was found to the ration problem. The Askari, to whom the position was explained, saw the difficulty and were very reasonable. Skilled hunters were sent to the different hunting-grounds, and the empty stomachs from time to time more generously filled. I remember that with us on Lake Utungi our two hundred blacks in one day completely devoured a big buffalo and an elephant. It was often found possible to give a piece of antelope to the passing caravans of bearers.

In the course of February the stores in our supply dumps, of which I took stock every day, ran out. I began to fear that for reasons of supply we would not be able to wait for the ripening of the corn on the Rufiji. In that case, not only would the harvest be lost, but the crops growing further south could not be used to the best advantage. There we should have to use the grain that was actually ripe and pass on, leaving the unripe portion standing. A lucky chance came to my aid in this dilemma. I went one day from Lake Utungi to Mpanganya to see Captain Tafel, who was handling the tactical and commissariat problems there with admirable efficiency. I spent the night in his camp, and he set before me an excellent dish of young maize prepared like asparagus. This led us to speak of the maize fields of Mpanganya and the neighbourhood. These were full of women and other natives who had swarmed over them like a flock of birds, and were living on the young, unripe corn. This was as bad economy as well could be, but it gave me the idea that in case of need the maize crops could be largely used before they were ripe. This need very soon occurred, and an experiment with the ears which had ripened most showed that these could be artificially dried and a very good meal made from them. After this, the ripest ears were gathered daily, and as the whole crop ripened the food situation improved from day to day. By 1st March it was found possible to increase the ration to seven hundred grammes, or nearly the normal allowance.

The increasing severity of the whole campaign called for a more intensive and energetic exploitation of our food resources; the slow, deliberate supply methods of the civil authorities, which had sufficed for the first phase of the campaign, were no longer adequate. Twice, at Kissaki and on the Rufiji I had been put in a most difficult position with regard to supplies, which had almost made it impossible to carry on the operations. A more efficient supply service which would know the military needs, look ahead and work more quickly and energetically was a vital necessity for the further carrying on of the campaign. Fortunately I was able to convince the Governor on this point, and, as a result, a new supply detachment was raised from the force, and sent ahead to Massassi, via Livale. They established several subsidiary detachments, which were attached to the administrative stations in the Lindi area, and in this way worked side by side with the civil authorities in organizing, and, later, in carrying out, the cultivation and storing of food. In this way the desired impregnation of the supplies and transport service with the necessary military spirit was completely attained.

At this time there was no appreciable shortage of kit, and there was also an adequate supply of arms and ammunition.

With a view to the envelopment of the enemy at Mkalinzo, where he was reported to be in strong force, Captain Otto had marched his detachment south from Kungulio. North of Mawa he covered the fertile area of Madaba, and the line of transport and telephone communication running from Lake Utungi, via Mawa to Madaba. On 24th January, 1917, Captain Otto was attacked north of Mawa by several battalions of the Nigerian brigade. The enemy was beaten off with heavy losses and pursued several miles through the bush to an entrenched position, where he took refuge. The troops under Captain Schulz, who had been left behind after our departure from Kibeta, were gradually withdrawn to Ungwara. They had been reinforced and relieved from time to time after the fighting in the region of the Kibeta-Utete-Kissi mountains. Strong enemy forces—identified as an infantry brigade—had followed them. In spite of his numerical superiority, the single engagements were very costly, and for the most part unfavourable for the enemy. Captains von Lieberman, Goering and Koehl, and numerous patrol leaders on many occasions completely routed more than twice their number of Indian or negro troops, and captured rifles, machine guns and ammunition. The long war had produced a large number of capable leaders, and their example, as in the case of Lieutenant Kroeger, who was afterwards killed, roused unbounded enterprise and daring. Over and over again, and without stopping to ask the strength of the opposing force, this officer, followed by a handful of men with fixed bayonets and cheering loudly, had charged the enemy in the thick of the bush. He had even trained the Askari. Several of these distinguished themselves as patrol leaders, and when later the brave Effendi, of the 4th Field Company, with his patrol, routed an entire Indian company, we owed the success to this training at Ungwara.

Our line of communication to the south, passing through Madeba and Livale, was in danger from a strong enemy force west of Kibata, and it was necessary that we should afford it adequate protection. This meant a gradual move south of our forces from the Rufiji, especially as our supplies on this part of the river were coming to an end and the rainy season was at hand.

It was particularly important that we should not evacuate this part of the Rufiji until the rains had set in. This would mean a considerable gain in time for us, as, during the actual rainy season and immediately after, the operations would, of necessity, come to a standstill, and the corn, particularly the mtema (millet), would have time to ripen.

When the migrations of the ants warned us that the rains were at hand, orders were given, as a precautionary measure, that the women, children and non-combatants should as far as possible be transferred to the north bank of the Rufiji, and thence transported to Dar-es-Salaam. This step, which the approaching rains and the state of the supplies made necessary, aroused much discontent, which I was obliged to treat with the same indifference as the previous outbursts of indignation. I am, however, still of the opinion that the timely removal of these people was much better for them than spending part of the rainy season on the drenched ground or in flooded dwellings with insufficient food.

The rains, which set in at the end of March, were particularly heavy in 1917. The site of our camp, which was slightly elevated, became an island, from which access to the outer world was only possible by boat through the Rufiji wood. A number of people were drowned in the wood during the rains; others had to take refuge for days in the trees. The water rose so high that in Mpanganya it reached the high-lying dwellings of the Europeans, and invaded the hospitals and disturbed every kind of filth. It was impossible for women and children, sick and wounded to remain, and after the withdrawal of the troops they had to give themselves up to the English, who took pity on their need, and provided them with food and transport.