Thexfirst German African colony to be overthrown was Togoland in West Africa. This small territory, sandwiched between the Gold Coast (British) and Dahomey (French) on the Bight of Benin, was taken over by the Allies in two to three weeks in August 1914 (see map here), and, after the war, was divided between the two Allies. The surrender of Togoland was hailed as the first Allied victory of the war!
The overthrow of Kamerun was to take a little longer. It was in 1884, during the “Scramble for Africa”, that Germany gained control over “the protectorate of Kamerun” in West Africa. This colony was substantially increased by the addition of New Kamerun (Neukamerun), situated to the east of Kamerun, in 1911. It was given as part of the Treaty of Fez, the settlement that arose out of a dispute between Germany and France in what came to be known as the Agadir Crisis.
When war broke out, the German colony was surrounded on all sides by Allied territory – British Nigeria to the northwest, the Belgian Congo to the southeast, and French Equatorial Africa to the south and east. And in addition, the German military force stationed in the colony at that time only numbered around 1,800, and local recuits were no more than 6,000. In contrast, French Equatorial Africa alone could muster 20,000 soldiers, and British Nigeria had a force close to 7,500. However, this imbalance in favour of the Allies (at least two to one) was somewhat mitigated by the territory over which the battle had to be fought. Kamerun was a vast, sparsely inhabited area made up of rugged terrain and dense jungle, the thick ground cover associated with tropical rain forests. This not only made the going slow and arduous, but also provided ample opportunity for small guerrilla bands to return to areas thought to have been “taken”. In January 1915, for example, they mounted an attack at Edéa, “conquered” three months earlier, and, likewise, they made a sudden return to Bertoua in July. There were no clear, determined battle lines in such terrain. Indeed, at one time the Germans made a sudden raid into northern Nigeria, and for most of the conflict they held on to the mountainous region in northern Kamerun. And lastly, but by no means least, were the tropical diseases to be endured – and often not endured – in this equatorial region. Malaria and Yellow Fever in particular, took the lives of many men, often more than those lost in battle. This was a dangerous and demanding battle zone.
ThexFrench (see map) were the first to attack Kamerun. Three days after the declaration of war they quickly overran the territories of Bonga and Tsinga in the south east, and, meeting little resistance at this stage, reached and captured Yokadouma by the end of January 1915. From then on, however, they met stronger opposition, particularly at Mbirou, and, come the summer, the battles of Lomié, Bertoua and Abong-
Meanwhile in the Gulf of Guinea – after mines and scuttled vessels had been cleared away – French and British warships bombarded towns along the coast of the German colony in support of an amphibious landing. By the 27th September 1914 a British and French force had captured the port and industrial centre of Duala, siezed the capital city of Buea, and gained control of the whole coastline. And,xsome weeks later, more territory further south was captured by the French gunboat Surprise after a daring and successful amphibious operation at the Battle of Ukoko. And this area saw two violent exchanges, the first at Edéa, taken on the 5th January 1915, and the second later in the year at Eséka, not captured until the end of October.
In thexnorth, British troops invaded Kamerun towards the end of August. They crossed the border at three points but, initially failed to make ground. In the north, they were driven out of Garoua, a territiory containing a number of German forts, and they proved unable to take the mountain stronghold of Mara (which, in fact, held out until the end of the campaign). In the centre, they failed to overcome the German forces at the First Battle of Garua at the end of August. In the south they were soundly defeated at the Battle of Nsanakong, losing many of their men and much equipment. Only at the Battle of Tepe, near Garua, were the German forces eventually repelled. Encouragedxby this promising start, the Germans then went on the offensive, crossing the border into Nigeria and making a daring raid towards the settlement at Yola.
They were defeated at the Battle of Gurin, however, and the British, resuming their attack under new command, then won the Second Battle of Garua in June 1915. This success opened up the interior to the south. ThexAllied force then won the Battle of Ngaundéré (fought at the end of June in what was described as a “tornado”), and then went on to win the Battles of Tibati and Bagnio. By then German resistance was on the wane. The Northern front joined up with French and Belgian forces advancing from the east, and the Allies entered Yaoundé, the capital, on the 24th November. In early 1916 the German commander Carl Zimmermann, accepting defeat, ordered all German forces and civilians to make for the neutral Spanish colony of Rio Muni (Spanish Guinea). From here they were able to return home.
Even before the campaign had ended, the British and French had agreed to divide Kamerun between them, along the lines of the Sykes-
Incidentally, at the outbreak of the war, the German administration in Kamerun offered neutrality with Britain and France, based on Articles contained in the Berlin Act of 1885. This offer was promptly rejected by the Allies. The French were eager to regain the territory they had been obliged to cede to Germany following the Agadir Crisis of July 1911.
As we shall see, the invasion and capture of German South-
Acknowledgements
Togoland: omniatlas.com Colonial Africa: (detail): engagewithease.com Map-
WW1-
THE AFRICAN FRONT
THE OVERTHROW OF GERMAN WEST AFRICA: TOGOLAND and KAMERUN
AUGUST 1914 – MARCH 1916
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