bushfighter Posted 11 October , 2007 Share Posted 11 October , 2007 Storm clouds threaten the sunset over Lake Victoria. View from Kisumu. Rod Many thanks for contributing your images. Four Indian Army Mountain Batteries served in East Africa: 27th & 28th Mountain Batteries which arrived in 1914, plus 22nd (Derajat) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) & 24th (Hazara) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) which arrived when the campaign moved to GEA, along with the Imperial Service No 1 Kashmir Mountain Battery supplied by the Maharajah of Kashmir. I believe that your image shows a gun of 28th Mountain Battery operating in the Lake Victoria region. Guns from that battery provided the artillery support for British amphibious operations at Shirati & Bukoba in GEA. Shields were fabricated & fitted in the Uganda Railway workshop at Nairobi in 1914. These were later improved & lightened using special steel. Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 12 October , 2007 Share Posted 12 October , 2007 IMAGES FROM ALONG THE SOUTH-EASTERN SHORE OF LAKE VICTORIA The ground west of Suna on the border between BEA & GEA. (OH Sketch 13) The KAR maintained a post in this area to defend the border. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 12 October , 2007 Share Posted 12 October , 2007 Utegi road junction - Shirati is to the right. (OH Sketch 13) No 1 Company 2LNL marched through here in driving rain on 17 February 1915 (see Post #393). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 12 October , 2007 Share Posted 12 October , 2007 View from Shirati Pier looking inland. (OH Sketch 13) The German colonial buildings were on the ridge on the skyline. Shirati was an important trading centre in GEA. (Major Charles Ross DSO of Ross's Scouts used to sell his ivory here to an Asian trader. See Posts #355 & #356.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 12 October , 2007 Share Posted 12 October , 2007 The Lake shore north of Shirati Pier. No 2 Company 2LNL made the amphibious assault about a mile up the shore in this direction. (See Post #370.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 12 October , 2007 Share Posted 12 October , 2007 View from the probable location of the German fort at Shirati. The light coloured pier can be seen between two trees planted either side of the access road by the German colonial authorities. The SS Nyanza & the armed tug Kavirondo fired from the bay at the German fort & defenders on the shoreline whilst the Loyal North Lancashires landed & attacked from the right flank. Two 10-pounder guns of 28 Mountain Battery fired effectively at the fort from the deck of SS Nyanza. (See Post #370.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 12 October , 2007 Share Posted 12 October , 2007 Fishing boat & crew off Shirati Pier. Nothing much has changed since 1915. Fish remains the primary food of the inhabitants of the region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 12 October , 2007 Share Posted 12 October , 2007 The SS Nyanza operating on Lake Victoria. She supported the amphibious landing at Shirati & 28 Mountain Battery fired off her deck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 12 October , 2007 Share Posted 12 October , 2007 The armed tug Kavirondo that also supported the Shirati landing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 13 October , 2007 Share Posted 13 October , 2007 A "kopje" or rocky outcrop near Lake Victoria. Skirmishes between the Schutztruppe & British forces in the area would usually involve these kopjes, as the holder of the high ground could use his machine guns effectively, firing from strong emplacements amongst the granite boulders. One such fight involved Nos 3 & 4 Companies of 2LNL during the recovery of the Sybil from Majita Bay (see Post #436). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 13 October , 2007 Share Posted 13 October , 2007 Looking south into the valley of the River Mara near Musoma. (OH Sketch 13) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 13 October , 2007 Share Posted 13 October , 2007 The River Mara near where "Ferry" is marked on OH Sketch 13. When Schutztruppe raiding parties withdrew from the BEA border area they could quickly cross the Mara to the south & feel safe from British pursuit. This was because each Feld-kompagnie employed dedicated porters carrying sections of collapsible boats. The British had to improvise at river crossings See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 13 October , 2007 Share Posted 13 October , 2007 Traditionally constructed dwellings near the Mara River. Neat & tidy craftsmanship, & exactly as the Loyal North Lancashires saw them in 1915. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 14 October , 2007 Share Posted 14 October , 2007 Approaching Musoma from the east. Musoma was the third most important German town on Lake Victoria, after Mwanza & Bukoba. (See OH Sketch 3.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 14 October , 2007 Share Posted 14 October , 2007 Mara Bay where the Mara River runs into Lake Victoria The white structures to the right of centre in the treeline are Musoma Port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 14 October , 2007 Share Posted 14 October , 2007 Looking towards Musoma Point. The Schutztruppe mounted a naval 12-pounder gun on the Point & used it to engage vessels of the Royal Navy Lake Flotilla that came within range. The Royal Navy was not always aware that it was being engaged (choppy water could hide the impact splashes & wind could take the sound of the gun inland) & then the RN would learn of being under fire later, when British intercepts of German messages between Musoma & Mwanza were read. (This gives some weight to the argument that the British should not have destroyed the German wireless station at Bukoba, as German messages were being intercepted & used effectively by British Intelligence.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 14 October , 2007 Share Posted 14 October , 2007 Blossoms by a dwelling near Musoma. Despite the intense heat, torrential rain & dangerous insect & animal life of East Africa there were also sights & scenes to enjoy, which doubtless lifted the spirits of exhausted, hungry, fever-ridden British troops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bill Woerlee Posted 14 October , 2007 Share Posted 14 October , 2007 Harry These pix of yours are stunning - simply breathtaking. It was well worth the wait mate. Cheers Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 15 October , 2007 Share Posted 15 October , 2007 THE DEATH OF SS "USOGA" AT KISUMU "Usoga" with the water-hyacinth removed. "Usoga" with the breaker's gang in action. SS "Usoga" looking forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 15 October , 2007 Share Posted 15 October , 2007 SS "Usoga"'s hold. On the return from the amphibious raid on Bukoba a mule kicked a man down into this hold. He himself was injured but he landed on a porter in the hold & sadly broke the porter's neck. "It was terrible for a time, everybody rushing about, mules kicking & screaming. The poor old African went mad." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 15 October , 2007 Share Posted 15 October , 2007 The clean lines of a dhow in Kisumu Port. Using sail-power alone this dhow is transporting cargo around Lake Victoria. The Loyal North Lancashires & the Royal Fusiliers would have seen many identical craft in 1915. Some things cannot be improved by technology, & I for one am thankful for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 16 October , 2007 Share Posted 16 October , 2007 A torrent of rain sweeps across the Lake Victoria sunset. This was bad news at this time of day. The troops would be wet in the night & mosquitoes would be swarming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 16 October , 2007 Share Posted 16 October , 2007 Ikoma Fort (see OH Sketch 3). If you drive southeast from Musoma for 4 or 5 hours, over rough dirt roads, you enter the Serengeti Plains & find Ikoma Fort on a hill near the National Park HQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 16 October , 2007 Share Posted 16 October , 2007 Ikoma Fort entrance. This sturdy fort is a fine example of German military engineering, being constructed in the middle of Africa 100 years ago. It was designed to be an outpost defending the Mwanza region from attacks by the Masai. 14 Feldkompagnie garrisoned the fort. Perhaps this explains why Lord Delamere in August 1914 concentrated his Masai Scouts on the BEA side of the Serengeti Plains - he may have feared aggressive action coming from Ikoma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 16 October , 2007 Share Posted 16 October , 2007 View from the fort over the Serengeti. A machine-gunner's dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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