My Reminiscences of East Africa

by Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck

The surrender of Captain Tafel, which I learned from General van Deventer’s message, came as a severe and unexpected blow.

Captain Tafel had taken over the command at Mahenge from General Wahle, when the latter left to take over the forces on the Lindi front. He secured the fertile region of Mahenge to the north, with Commander Schoenfeldt’s detachment of a few companies. The latter succeeded in holding his ground with his weak force by skilful use of his 10·5 gun from the Königsberg, and put his force in a very favourable position materially by the cultivation of gardens and fields.

On the middle Ruhudje was a weak detachment under Captain Aumann, and north-east of Ssongea Captain Lincke’s detachment near Likuju. The latter engaged the enemy repeatedly, and in the barren district suffered from lack of supplies. They therefore gradually retired north to Mponda. There they were reinforced by two companies and one gun from the main force. Captain Otto took over the command. In August, 1917, strong English and Belgian forces converged on Mahenge; Captain Tafel had foreseen this, and withdrawn his supplies out of the Mahenge district to Mgangira. On September 11th, Mahenge was evacuated. Even though the individual engagements were often successful, the superiority of the enemy made itself seriously felt, and the shortage of ammunition handicapped more and more the Askari companies, mostly armed with the smoky ’71 rifle.

I learned later through Captain Otto, who had fought his way through to me with one of Captain Tafel’s patrols and joined me at——, that Captain Tafel, from west of Livale, had marched south in three columns, and on the upper Mbemkuru had fought several partially successful actions, capturing large quantities of ammunition. He had then marched further south to the Bangala river, and turned east when he thought he was near Massassi. South of this place he heard from the natives that the Germans had not been fighting north of Rovuma for several days. Captain Tafel turned towards the Rovuma and crossed near the Nangala confluence, hoping to find supplies on the south bank. His own were literally exhausted. He found nothing and had no idea that about a day’s march from him Goering’s detachment of my force had captured the Portuguese camp and found enough food on the prosperous farms to enable them to live well for fourteen days. Captain Tafel therefore returned to the north bank of the Rovuma and surrendered to the enemy.

The news of Captain Tafel’s surrender strengthened my reluctance to detach another part of my force, though, in view of my proximity, the junction at which we were both aiming had as nearly as possible been effected. I was straightway put upon the rack by the cessation of news from Goering’s detachment with which, while it was at Ngomano, we had kept touch by means of patrols. During the march up the Ludjenda, when we had to keep the different detachments and companies further apart, in order to facilitate the search for food, it was necessary to impress upon subordinate leaders the importance of keeping the whole force in touch. It was, however, not to be expected that these officers, who later performed such excellent work as leaders of detachments, and worked so successfully in co-operation with the rest, should possess the necessary training from the beginning. The Governor had remained with the force even after leaving the Protectorate, in accordance with the regulation (certainly not intended to provide for war with a European power) that he was the military head of the Protectorate. He had interpreted this authority in such a way as to interfere most seriously with that of the Commander-in-Chief, and had often encroached upon my sphere of activity. I had been powerless to prevent this, and now that we were outside the Protectorate I attached the greatest importance to the fact that now, at any rate, I had a free hand. Even if I did not yield to the Governor’s claims, it must be understood that in the unprecedented military situation there were enough differences of opinion to overburden the Commander-in-Chief, who, whatever happens, is held actually, if not morally, responsible.

It was perhaps natural that at this time I was not always very gentle and considerate to those around me. So it happened that those very officers of my Staff who were working with the greatest devotion to the cause and deserved the most recognition, were the objects of much unjustified reproach. For not taking offence or allowing this to prejudice the cheerful continuation of their work, they deserve particular gratitude. It is largely to the work of these officers, often carried out under adverse circumstances, that are due the successes which the public is so generously inclined to place wholly to my credit. For me, who have always delighted in the good comradeship characteristic of our officer corps, this general atmosphere of snarling and fault-finding was naturally not ideal. Fortunately, however, it was only a passing phase.

Our position was now such that in case of an encounter with the enemy we could not investigate his strength. We had no time for prolonged reconnaissance. Perhaps this conviction, together with the determination with which we attacked the Portuguese forces whenever we met them, accounts for the fact that, during December, three more Portuguese fortified positions were taken in quick succession. Of decisive importance in these enterprises was the personality of the officer in command who first engaged the enemy. He must lose no time, and so could not wait for orders. On the 2nd November, Lieutenant Kempner, commanding the 11th Company, which was acting as advance-guard in the march up the Ludjenda, came upon a fortified Portuguese camp at Nangwale. Like most Portuguese camps, it lay on a bare hill, with a wide range of fire. The brave 11th Company at once deployed along the edge of the bush, and advanced to the attack across three hundred metres of open ground exposed to the enemy’s fire. The Askari, who were carrying full marching kit, could not keep up with the company commander and his Effendi (black officer). Lieutenant Kempner and the Effendi leapt upon the enemy’s breastwork, and from there into the enemy’s entrenchments, and so for a time found themselves alone among the enemy garrison, consisting of a platoon. The latter were so dumbfounded that, hearing the cheers of the oncoming Askari, they at once obeyed the order to lay down their arms. In addition, a considerable ammunition dump fell into our hands, as well as enough rations to feed our whole force for several days. When the Portuguese officer invited Lieutenant Kempner to a glass of special brandy and found the bottle empty, its owner had further reason for being taken aback, but with the difference this time that his enemy was taken aback equally. An Ombascha (black lance-corporal) had the best of the joke.

I was filled with grave anxiety about the fate of Captain Goering, of whom I had received no news. From General Wahle’s force, which had marched up the Chiulezi river, we heard subsequently that they had attacked and annihilated a force of several Portuguese companies in a strongly entrenched position in the Mkula mountains. The repeated attempts to establish communication with Wahle’s force by means of the heliograph did not succeed, although the Portuguese in the Mkula mountains had clearly observed our signals from Nangwale. The Portuguese Europeans captured by our detachment had refused to give their word not to fight against us again in this war. They had been sent north to the Rovuma by General Wahle owing to the difficulty of feeding them.

Captain Stemmermann succeeded, after several days’ siege, in capturing another very strongly held and vigorously defended fortified position. As the storming of this offered no prospects of success, the enemy’s water supply was cut off, which made his position in the trenches untenable, and forced him to surrender. Among our casualties, unfortunately, were a number of very good native non-commissioned officers. I was not present at the fighting at Nangwale, as I was occupied in dealing with delays in the rear companies and arranging that the march should be kept up to the intended standard. By a double day’s march I easily made up for the delay this had caused me, and arrived in Nangwale in time to superintend the division of the captured stores. In the most favourable circumstances we were only living from hand to mouth. At Nangwale, where six months before our troops had found such a rich neighbourhood, the position was now quite different. Apart from the captured stores there was absolutely nothing; even the game in a considerable area round Nangwale had been shot or frightened away. This was a disappointment, for I had hoped at this place to be freed from the more ordinary difficulties of supplies. The force had, therefore, to be split up. From the information of the prisoners and captured documents it appeared that the garrison in Nangwale had been fed by columns of bearers from the distant neighbourhood of Mwalis. There must, then, be something to be found there.

On 5th December Captain Koehl, with five companies, a gun and an ammunition column, left Nangwale to march to the Mwalia—Medo district. I myself continued the march up the Ludjenda. Fortunately the assurance of Lieutenant von Scherbening and other Europeans, who had already patrolled this district, that we should soon come into a region rich in supplies was confirmed. These supplies, however, were not excessive, and we were very glad that they could be largely supplemented by hunting. The enormous numbers of hippopotami which lived in the river above Nangwale, often in large herds of from fifteen to twenty, had become quite a staple dish. I myself could not resist having a shot at a huge bull; the animal sank at once, the water above it swirling as over a sinking ship. After a time it came to the surface again, feet uppermost, and made little further movement. The animal was then drawn to the bank with a rope. The numerous crocodiles made us cautious, and many a good prize had to be left from fear of these. The flesh of the hippopotamus tastes like coarse beef; the tongue, however, is particularly delicate. The most valuable product, however, is the excellent lard which the men had very quickly learnt to prepare. Its snow-white, appetizing appearance now was quite different from the dirty yellow of the first attempts on the Rufiji. On my many reconnoitring and hunting expeditions into the bush the Askari, who came with me and the bearers to carry the spoils of the chase, gradually revealed some of the secrets of the bush. We had long ago learned to make excellent spinach from different foliage plants (called Mlenda); now they showed me many different kinds of excellent wild fruit. We also learnt that the kernel of the Mbinji-fruit, the pulp of which I already knew contains prussic acid, is quite free from acid, and when roasted makes an exceptionally delicate dish, tasting like our hazel-nut.