Loyal North Lancashires in East Africa

[bushfighter1]

www.africahousesafaris.com

An old house in Tanga town.

General Aitken had now lost whatever initiative he might have thought he had.

He authorised HMS "Fox" to open fire on the town with her 6-inch & 4.7-inch guns.

Apart from hitting the German Hospital one of Fox's blindly-fired shots hit a house in town being defended by the Kashmiris.

The German troops in town pulled back to the west & avoided this random gunfire but returned into action as soon as Fox ceased firing.

The Loyal North Lancashires could hear the sound of new German Machine Guns coming into the fight behind them as Lettow deployed his reinforcements to the southeast.

Loyal North Lancashire troops were now intermingled with Kasmiris & Rajputs, & many unrecorded acts of gallantry occurred as wounded men were recovered.

The Company Commanders were in a dilemma as Bn HQ was on the east of the railway cutting & could provide no direction or new orders. Signal cable does not appear to have been laid into town, understandably considering the vulnerability of that task.

Runners attempting to cross the cutting attracted heavy fire.

The Company Commanders had a quick conference & decided to withdraw across the railway cutting whilst they could.

A stand was made at the edge of the town whilst all the British troops were organised & briefed, then a rapid withdrawal was made across the belt of open ground towards the railway cutting.

Now, because of the lack of any kind of directed naval gunfire or artillery support, the Loyal North Lancashires suffered their heaviest casualties of the day.

[bushfighter1]

www.africahousesafaris.com

Tanga railway cutting looking south.

The cutting is steep-sided & deep.

German Machine Gunners had ranged upon the footbridges & the water steps down the sides.

As officers tried to organise a fighting withdrawal they were shot down.

Major Francis Braithwaite, OC No 4 Coy (see Post #41) was killed & Captain Eric Halton, OC No 3 Company was wounded. Lt G.G.R. Williams was shot in the head & left for dead (he slowly recovered in a German PW Camp).

Many Loyal North Lancashires were killed in this stretch of the cutting & on the open ground either side of it.

The wounded had little chance of getting across this obstacle.

[bushfighter1]

www.africahousesafaris.com

Footbridge across the railway cutting at the scene of the Loyal North Lancashires' withdrawal, looking east.

As the Kasmiris withdrew into the cutting, which they then defended at the northern end, Major Ames, their senior British officer, was wounded & rendered unconscious.

However bees then attacked the Kashmiris & Major Ames was stung back to consciousness.

(The Kashmiris had been attacked by bees so many times that they had become adept at using their head-dress to mask their face & neck.)

A boat from the SS "Bharata" picked up Major Ames, & it was the return of this boat that gave the Artillery & the "Fox" their first news about events in town.

One of the two Loyal North Lancashires' Machine Guns was out of action with broken locks, but the remaining gun gave what cover it could to its Companies crossing the cutting to the south, whilst the two Rajputs' Machine Guns held a road bridge across the cutting in the defensive line to the north.

Private M. Lawlor, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, was later awarded a DCM for gallantry displayed whilst repairing Machine Gun locks whilst under heavy fire from various directions.

[ShirlD]

Thanks Harry,

This continues to be enthralling, I am deliberately not looking ahead in any books, and can't wait for each saga to unfold.

Cheers

Shirley

[bushfighter1]

The wall panel in the British & Indian Memorial Cemetery, Tanga for the 2nd Kashmir Rifles (Bodyguard Regiment) & the 3rd Kashmir Rifles (Raghunath Regiment).

These units, being Imperial Service troops provided by the Ruler of Kashmir, had no Machine Guns.

Despite being in the thick of the fighting in Tanga town, & being shelled by HMS "Fox", the fighting skills of these mainly Gurkha & Dogra troops ensured that they suffered limited casualties.

[bushfighter1]

The second wall panel commemorating the dead of the 13th Rajputs (The Shekhawati Regiment).

(The first panel was shown in post #248.)

This Bn was one of only two in the British Force that fought on 03 November as well as on 04 November.

Unfortunately on 03 November the CO & Adjutant were brought down by enemy Machine Gun fire, unsettling the troops.

The Bn had mixed fortunes but some companies fought well in Tanga town on 04 November, showing that with good leadership & sound, simple direction Indian Army soldiers could hold their own against Feldkompagnies.

[bushfighter1]

www.africahousesafaris.com

The drainage ditch towards its northern end.

The 61st King George's Own Pioneers were the Force Reserve.

About half of the unit had been involved in the fighting on 03 November, losing four officers & 57 Pioneers killed in action.

As the Assault Line advanced on 04 November 1914 the 61st Pioneers also advanced on the right rear of the British Force, where they had been placed.

(The bulk of this unit, as far as I can tell, did not "disperse or crowd back to the beaches" as some historians have inferred, but stood its ground in good order as directed.)

By now the 61st Pioneers was on the line of the drainage ditch at the northern end, shown in the above image.

Interestingly the Loyal North Lancashires' War Diary comments that during the initial advance enemy Maxims had been passed over by the assault line. The enemy then came out of cover & engaged the British assault from the rear.

Meinertzhagen ridicules this with his trademark arrogance, but as the 61st Pioneers advanced in the rear of the Force, one of their double-companies had to clear a German Maxim from the European Cemetery, which is well east of the drainage ditch.

In the advance through plantation & bush, with gaps appearing in the line, it is quite possible that well-concealed & courageous German soldiers could have been passed over.

[bushfighter1]

The first wall panel commemorating the dead of the 61st King George's Own Pioneers.

(The second panel was shown in Post #247.)

On mobilisation in India this unit had been brought up to strength by the recall of 91 Reservists & by a draft of 50 men from the 81st Pioneers.

Post #248 shows the panel commemorating the dead of the 81st Pioneers.

The Indian Army Pioneer Regiments were regarded as Infantry but with a Pioneer specialisation, & they were trained for road making & repairing, & trench construction.

The 61st Pioneers had arrived off Tanga with two Machine Guns & 38 Mules, but the mules were not disembarked.

[bushfighter1]

www.africahousesafaris.com

Another view towards the north end of the Tanga drainage ditch.

The German hospital is to the left rear & the road bridge over the cutting is to the right rear.

Orders fom the British Command now seem to have dried up, as senior officers from the Loyal North Lancashires took over the positioning of a defence line. The Bn 2IC Major W.D. Sanderson organised this, the whole operation taking about two hours.

The right of the line was on the railway cutting & was manned by Kashmiris, 61st Pioneers, Rajputs & some Loyal North Lancashires.

The left of the line ran back southeastwards to near the Cemetery, where it was echeloned with one company in the rear, to give protection from the south. This critical part of the defence was manned by the bulk of the Loyal North Lancashires

The line was strengthened where it left the cutting by the two Machine Guns of the 61st Pioneers & one from the Rajputs. Also a gun left by the Palamcottahs went into action here, manned by two Loyal North Lancashires.

(Privates Boyle & Arnull of A Company were both to receive DCMs for this work.)

These guns fired very effectively & provided the fire support that the Loyal North Lancashires main body now needed.

Another new Feldkompagnie had arrived & Lettow was planning his next attack.

[Guest Bill Woerlee]

Mates

Thanks for posting all this excellent material. Harry, your pix brings alive the story you are telling.

Cheers

Bill

[bushfighter1]

The grave of Private John George Towers, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment.

John Towers is one of two LNL burials in the European Cemetery Tanga.

It is in this small wooded cemetery that the 61st Pioneers cleared an enemy Maxim operating in the British rear.

[bushfighter1]

Grave of Private Robert Wass, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (formerly Border Regiment).

Robert Wass' is the second LNL grave here in the European Cemetery Tanga.

Perhaps these two remains were discovered after the mass burial in the British & Indian Memorial Cemetery in late 1916.

The southeastern end of the new British defence line was outside this cemetery to the west.

[bushfighter1]

www.africahousesafaris.com

Location of the final German counter attack at Tanga on 04 November 1914. The railway cutting is to our left & the European Cemetery to our right.

The Loyal North Lancashires, now assisted by some of the 98th Infantry, were digging-in on the far side of the sports field, facing this way.

This image is looking in the direction of the German attack.

Whilst the British troops prepared their new defensive line they were not left undisturbed. The Loyal North Lancashires' War Diary comments:

"The enemy made several counter-attacks about this time, sounding bugles to rally & to charge & opening rifle fire & Maxim fire at decisive range."

The British were intrigued by the German use of the bugle. It gave away positions in the bush but it was the fastest way of passing orders.

On the north of the line L/Cpl Wylde, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, was winning a DCM:

"as having of his own accord, near the bridge about 4.00 pm, under heavy fire, collected numbers of soldiers, Indian & others, in a very cool manner. On several occasions rallying them & putting them in position on the right (north) of the road & checking the German counter attack on that side."

The resolve of the British Command may have been crumbling but the professionalism of the British Regular Army troops was not.

4 Feldkompagnie had arrived from Moshi & at about 5.30 pm Lettow launched it into another counter-attack on the British south flank.

4 FK should have attacked east of the route taken by 13 FK when that unit hit the 101st Grenadiers, but in the confusion of the battlefield 4 FK cut inside & ran straight across the fire of the bulk of the Loyal North Lancashires' positions.

The British Machine Guns had a good shoot across the battlefield & 4 FK's attack was decisively broken.

In this sharp fighting Lt Cyril Dickson, now commanding No 4 Company, was killed in action.

The Loyal North Lancashires expected to remain in this position for the night & improved the defences.

[bushfighter1]

The wall panel commemorating the dead of the 98th Infantry, 99th Deccan Infantry & of the 3rd Gwalior Rifles.

It's possible that a draft from the 99th Deccan Infantry had brought the 98th Infantry up to strength before embarkation.

Although the 98th declined to be involved in much of the fighting on 04 November 1914, only one company left the battlefield. The companies who remained took casualties.

The 3rd Gwalior Rifles were an Imperial Service unit maintained by the Maharajah of Gwalior. Gwalior is located in central India.

A half-Bn landed at Tanga. Three Companies guarded the beaches & the fourth was part of the Composite Bn along with the half-Bn of 3rd Kashmir Rifles. The Gwaliors were unlikely to have been as effective as the more martial Kashmiris who were recruited from the Himalayan foothills.

[bushfighter1]

www.africahousesafaris.com

An old villa on the cliff on the east of Ras Kasone.

Although a few hundred metres north of "A" Beach, this villa is probably similar to the Red House which was located above "A" Beach.

The British Field Ambulance established itself here, & a British officer who landed on "A" Beach commented:

"The medical arrangements were most primitive since no lighter or boat was allotted to the equipment of the Field Ambulance; 3 or 4 Medical Officers with only such equipment as they could carry set up a dressing station of sorts in the Red House where operations without anaesthetic were carried out on the kitchen table."

British casualties treated in the German Hospital enjoyed better facilities.

Throughout the landings some lighters were cast off too far from shore by the Royal Navy launches. If the water was too deep for the men to wade ashore they just had to wait until another launch would take them in further. This led to slowness & confusion, & the drinking of water intended for battlefield consumption.

The three small beaches were overcrowded with civilian African porters & Indian labourers, terrified by the sound of constant Machine Gun fire & the sights of casualties returning & of some men running in fear.

The British rear echelon officers, probably unused to dealing with the stresses & shocks of the battlefield, appear to have let this confusion & babble affect their judgements, & some began to believe that all the Indian troops had broken & that the British Force was doomed.

[bushfighter1]

www.africahousesafaris.com

Down in the railway cutting.

In the line the British troops were not considering defeat.

Amongst their own ranks the men had been sorted from the boys, & the breaking of 4 Feldkompagnie's counter attack had been satisfying.

Loyal North Lancashire soldiers now scoured the battlefield for abandoned Machine Guns & brought them into use in the line.

Privates J. Cunningham, R. Woodward & T. Smith, all of E Company, were later awarded DCMs for this work.

The German troops, exhausted by being flung into battle immediately after the four-mile forced march from Kange Station (up the Usambara line from Tanga), were unsettled by the failure of 4 FK's attack & the losses suffered. They believed that the British had superiority on the battlefield.

The German commander on the south flank ordered his bugler to sound the call to retire. The bugler sounded "Return to Camp" & this was taken up by buglers all down the line.

All German units now thankfully marched back to Kange Station - much to Lettow's dismay when he saw it happening.

Tanga town was empty, as it had been the night before, but once again the GSO 3 (Int) didn't implement a Force Patrol Programme (although he claims to have been out patrolling himself).

At this stage it apears that on the British side the 63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry, the 98th Infantry, half the 13th Rajputs & the Gwalior half-Bn were non-effective.

The 101st Grenadiers were severely reduced in capability, & honourably so, but could have been employed on rear area security duties.

However the Loyal North Lancashires, 2nd Kashmiris, the half-Bn of 3rd Kashmiris, half the 13th Rajputs & the bulk of the 61st Pioneers were ready for another fight.

If the guns of the Mountain Battery had been landed & if the naval guns of HMS "Fox" had fired on the German approaches & concentration areas, success would not have been far away.

But Fortune Favours the Bold.

Lettow displayed bold leadership & strength of character by turning round his troops at Kange & marching them straight back into Tanga.

In the White House shocked British senior officers, unused to witnessing both the realities & the ebb & flow of battle, argued against another British attack.

Defeatism crept into the British Command.

[bushfighter1]

www.africahousesafaris.com

The German Hospital, Tanga.

All the troops in the line needed water, but none was immediately available near the line.

This was a simple echelon replenishment task but replenishment was not performed.

This tells us something about the confused situation in the Echelon areas at the beaches, & of course about the difficulties of fresh water replenishment when landing on a hostile coastline.

Men with vigour & ruthless energy were now needed to restore confidence on the beaches & to the resupply situation, but such men were uncommon in Indian Expeditionary Force "B".

The best of the Indian Army had competed for places amongst the 44,000 men sent to France on 25th August 1914.

Prior to that the first elements of Indian Expeditionary Force "C" had sailed for BEA on 19 August to defend the Uganda Railway.

(IEF "C" was:

29th Punjabis; two Imperial Service Bns made up from four half-Bns from the princely states of: Bhurtpore, Jind, Kapurthala, & Rampur; 27th Mountain Battery; a field battery of Calcutta Volunteer Artillery; & a Machine Gun Battery of the Railway Volunteers.)

The Government of India had also started sending the 6th Division to Basra, & six Infantry Brigades & one Cavalry Brigade to Egypt.

Hong Kong & Aden also wanted Indian troops.

Indian Expeditionary Force "B" had been allocated troops & staff officers, but not as a high priority. Many of the best had gone elsewhere.

In the end the easiest answer was adopted by the staff - the fighting troops were ordered to move to the nearest water supply which was at the German Hospital.

The north of the line pulled back from the railway cutting & at around 6.00 pm the Loyal North Lancashires moved back in Company groups to the Hospital.

The Germans did not interfere - they were doubtless receiving a severe pep-talk from Lettow in the vicinity of Kange.

After digging-in at the German Hospital, at 10.00 pm all troops were ordered back to the beach areas.

The British Command had thrown the towel in & decided to withdraw by sea.

The Loyal North Lancashires worked on improving their original first trench line until about 2.30 am.

The 4th November 1914 had been a long & eventful day, & the troops were now back where they had started the assault from - but with gaps in the ranks of all units.

[bushfighter1]

www.africahousesafaris.com

The northeast tip of Ras Kasone, with monsoon clouds above.

This was the season of the Short Rains. The Loyal North Lancashires had been drenched whilst landing & now another monsoon deluge descended, filling the trenches at stand-to on 05 November 1914.

Because it could not be observed from Tanga town, "A" Beach was selected for the withdrawal.

The 61st Pioneers constructed ramps down the cliffs.

The British Force had to wait until after noon for suitable tides to float lighters over the reefs.

Around 130 of the most seriously wounded men, along with five Medical Officers, were concentrated at the Red House for surrendering once the Force had withdrawn.

The staff now ordered that equipment heavier than a rifle be abandoned in order to protect the boats from damage (despite the fact that the same boats had landed these items).

Machine Guns, all small arms ammunition, signals, pioneer & cooking equipment were to be left behind. Orders for the destruction of these items were not issued.

The fighting troops were dismayed, & confidence in the British Command fell further.

Not all units obeyed this order. The Adjutant of the Loyal North Lancashires took a party out sea-dumping ammunition.

Fortunately Lettow & his troops were busy preparing Tanga for the expected next British assault, & they left Ras Kasone alone.

However two old German C73 field guns had arrived down the Usambara Railway, & they were brought into town to shell British ships. One British troopship was hit & caught fire & left the harbour.

HMS "Fox" was then sniped at, & the ship's crew returned the rifle fire.

(This was perhaps one of the most useful things the "Fox" achieved during the entire battle, as she absorbed the attention of the Schutztruppe at a critical moment.)

HMS "Fox" then used her guns to silence the German artillery.

[bushfighter1]

www.africahousesafaris.com

Shipping in Tanga Harbour

The Loyal North Lancashires & the 2nd Kashmiris held the line whilst the Force withdrew.

The Kashmiris were timetabled to leave just before the Loyal North Lancashires.

The Loyal North Lancashires, who had landed with two Machine Guns, now had nine guns in the line.

Around 1.30 pm a contact with an enemy patrol led to firing occurring right along the line.

The Bn War Diary comments:

"Our Maxims opened fire. The enemy had fired & it is probable that some shots fell on the beach near where the troops were embarking.

A loud uproar was heard on the beach which might have been heard a long way off."

As the Kashmiris left the line, the staff ordered them to double-march, despite the protestations of the 2LNL CO who knew what the likely result would be.

Two Companies of the Loyal North Lancashires were unsettled by the rapid movement of the Kashmiris, but Regular Army discipline was satisfactorily applied.

(RSM Owen Almond was commissioned into the Bn immediately after the battle.)

Seven Machine Guns were now disabled, the locks & spare barrels being taken onboard.

The two other guns were removed complete minus their tripods & carried onboard (where a senior Indian Army officer used the privilege of his rank to take one of them off the Bn Adjutant).

The Bn had made a clean break from the line & was off-shore by 4.00 pm.

Indian Expeditionary Force "B" had withdrawn from German East Africa.

[bushfighter1]

The Cairn in the British & Indian Memorial Cemetery Tanga.

All ranks of the 2nd Bn The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment later subscribed to the cost of this Memorial Cemetery.

The British vessels stayed off Tanga on 06 November 1914 whilst talks were held with the Germans that led to the removal of less-seriously wounded British personnel from the German Hospital & onto ships.

These men were paroled - they gave their word not to fight against Germany again.

It was only then that Lettow realised that he had won & that the British were leaving.

But now the worst aspect of the Battle started - the denigration of others by some British officers.

The senior British officers present were from the Indian & British Regular Armies & they had careers & future pensions to enlarge, & some of them had their own reputations to save.

Unfounded comment & rumour became gossip & common knowledge. Distortions & untruths entered the after-action reports, sometimes deliberately. The GSO 3 (Int)'s later "Army Diaries", now being exposed as sometimes massively distorted, fueled the fire of unfair criticism & even influenced the writer of the Official History.

The GOC paid a personal price for his failure, but sadly the other big loser was the reputation of the Indian Army, & whilst several severe criticisms were certainly due, it became easy to blame everything onto the Indian troops as a whole.

All of this went too far, & the Tanga defeat overshadowed the importance of the role played by many more fine Indian units during the remainder of the East African Campaign.

Thankfully the dead soldiers commemorated in the Cemetery shown above knew nothing of this.

[bushfighter1]

The 2nd Bn The Loyal North Lancashire wall panel in the British & Indian Memorial Cemetery Tanga

50 Loyal North Lancashires & their medical officer remain in Tanga, killed in action or died from wounds.

(The graves of Privates JG Tower & R Wass were displayed on posts #261 & #262. RAMC Captain CAT Conyngham's commemoration was displayed on posts #231 & #258.)

Most of these men fought their way into Tanga town & gained a tactical advantage that the British Command did not know what to do with & so threw away.

It is believed that just over 20 men were taken prisoner, 17 of them being wounded.

Around 40 men with non-life threatening wounds were shipped to British East Africa.

Captain ED Carr-Harris, Royal Engineers, (top name on the panel) was killed in action during the first attack on 03 November 1914.

REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE

I only have the names of three Loyal North Lancashire prisoners:

2/Lt GGR Williams (head wound)

Private Tinsley (lost a leg)

Private Torrence (leg wound)

Does anyone know of any documents that might list British PW in GEA?

Has anyone any accounts of life as a PW in GEA?

(From the IWM I do have the account of Missionary F. Johnson who was interned in GEA & sometimes in contact with soldier PWs, but this is a civilian account.)

[bushfighter]

Ladies

After initial dismay at losing all my posted images I decided to lighten up. It was the Madeira Flower Festival last Sunday, so here are some images for you.

Harry

[bushfighter]

Gentlemen

Before the monocle hits the soup & the gout starts throbbing, these shots are related to the theme.

Many a young British serviceman on his way to East Africa got his first glimpse of African fruits & flowers when his troopship called in here at Funchal Harbour, Madeira.

(I failed totally to get back onto the Forum so re-invented myself.)

Harry

[KONDOA]

Had me going there Harry!!!!

[bushfighter]

Kilindini Harbour Mombasa

Early on 07 November 1914 the SS "Karmala" sailed away from Tanga with 2nd Bn the Loyal North Lancashires, less the Bn's dead & captive wounded.

The ship arrived at Kilindini, Mombasa around noon. As the Bn's baggage was put onto the quay (it had been looted whilst the men were ashore fighting at Tanga) the British East Africa Customs authorities raised an import tax. A party of men with fixed bayonets, under an officer, dissuaded the officials from persisting with this claim.

After sleeping the night in Goods & Customs sheds the Bn, less the MG detachment, boarded a train for Nairobi, leaving wounded men in Mombasa.

This was a mistake as on 13 November a party of 11 wounded men arrived in Nairobi from Mombasa, saying that their wounds had not been dressed for three or four days.