Loyal North Lancashires in East Africa

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Looking north from Kifumbu (OH Sketch 27) towards Himo River & Mamba Mission.

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Moshi station

Official History: “Early on 14 March van Deventer’s force reached Moshi & New Moshi station, which were found deserted, with no rolling stock on the line. It was evident that the Germans had retired southwards down the railway.”

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Himo River looking south.

WITH ALL THESE IMAGES OF RIVERS PLEASE BE AWARE THAT IN 1916 THE VOLUMES OF WATER IN THEM WERE MASSIVE - AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION & POPULATION DEMANDS HAD NOT STARTED TAPPING THE WATER.

On 13 March 9 South African Infantry & 28 Mountain Battery moved south down the Himo from Mamba Mission, crossed to the west bank & then on 18 March occupied Kifumbu hill, as part of 3rd South African Brigade.
Tsetse fly ravaged the animals, causing heavy losses.

[bushfighter]

Kifumbu Hill from the north

The South African Lieutenant-General Jan C. Smuts, Commander-in Chief of the British forces in East Africa, decided to advance south following the Himo River.

Kifumbu Hill was taken by the 3rd South African Brigade commanded by Brigadier-General C. Berrange on 18 March 1916.
The Brigade, previously part of van Deventer's Flanking Force, contained 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th South African Infantry.

[bushfighter]

Soko Hill in between Kifumbu & Unterer Himo

This view is from the northwest & shows the typical tree & vegetation cover on these hills.
The Soko Nassai River (OH Sketch 27) starts just to the south of the hill.

[bushfighter]

Unterer Himo from the west (Latema-Reata in the left background)

Taken by the 2nd South African Brigade commanded by Brigadier-General P.S. Beves on 18 March 1916.
The brigade contained the 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th South African Infantry.

The next day Private Hylton Edward Gough, 8 South African Infantry, was killed near here.

[KONDOA]

Good stuff Harry.

Roop

[bushfighter]

Euphorbien Hill from the northeast

The 3rd South African Brigade also took Euphorbian Hill without difficulty on 18 March, but the following day in a clearing about a mile & a half south of the hill & northwest of Rasthaus the Brigade ran into Abteilung Otto (9 & 24 Feldkompagnien) where the South Africans were halted in a stiff fight.

The following soldiers of 12th South African Infantry were killed in action or died of wounds there:
Private G. Chevalier, Corporal F.P. Crofton, Private W.L. de Kock, Private D.S. de Villiers, Lieutenant W.A. Mackintosh, Private S.H.V. Palmer, Private P.J.J. Prins, Sergeant J.H.S. Richardson, Private H.S. Wagner & Private J. Hoffeldt.

They were initially buried at Euphorbien Hill & later moved to Moshi CWGC Cemetery.

[bushfighter]

The grave of Gunner Oswald Edward Vander Hoven, 5 South African Field Artillery, in Moshi Cemetery.

During the initial advance of the 2nd & 3rd South African Brigades southwards fire support was provided by:

28 Mountain Battery – six 10-pounder guns with pack mules (Indian Army)

5 South African Field Battery – four 13-pounder Quick Firing guns, horse & mule-drawn

9 Field Battery – four 12-pdr 18 cwt naval guns, ox-drawn (Royal Marine gunners).

(CWGC lists Oswald as being a member of 4th Bty South African Field Artillery. James Ambrose Brown’s “They Fought For King & Kaiser” lists Oswald’s family name as van der Hoven, which is probably the correct way to write it.)

[bushfighter]

Rantzier Hill from Rasthaus. (OH Sketch 27)

Abteilung Otto was dug-in facing Euphorbian Hill, to the right of this picture.

Abteilung Adler defended to the northeast.

A South African involved in the fight here (see Post #558) wrote:
“We went on & news came to us that the enemy had retired. This was jolly cheering for us, as the day had been a scorcher, & the heat had taken all the go out of us.
About 4 pm we trotted right into an ambush; the enemy had let us get within 100 yards before they opened fire – maxims & field guns well concealed & snipers up in trees.

We lay very, very low & my poor little platoon found itself right up against our machine-guns which were the centre of attraction for the Germans. Our casualties here were very heavy, our colonel & many of the officers having been bowled over at the commencement of the action.
We stuck it until the Germans worked right round us, & only then were we ordered to retire.

Our Mountain Battery, on a kopje to our rear, saved us, as they pumped shell all over the Germans. Darkness came on & by 10 pm we had fought our way back, &, incidentally, brought along one of their maxims.”

Graham’s “The History of the Indian Mountain Gunners” records:
“A sharp action occurred at Rasthaus on 19th March, during which 348 shrapnel rounds were fired, & Lieutenant Eden & three other ranks wounded. The fire of the battery (28th Mountain), directed by Lt Eden, saved the 12th South African Infantry from being surrounded & suffering very heavy casualties. Eden carried out his duties coolly & efficiently under heavy rifle & machine-gun fire.”

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Rasthaus Area today (Latema-Reata in background)

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North Pare Mountains from direction of Rasthaus

Abteilung Kraut held the lower slopes.

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Himo River near Rasthaus

From Official History:

“On either side of the Himo River progress was hampered by dense tangled thornbrush…..East of the Himo the 2nd South African Brigade & the two co-operating battalions moving south from Unterer Himo were brought to an early standstill by even thicker bush. As a result of these checks & of the evident difficulty of the country, Lt-Gen Smuts recalled both brigades to their starting points of the morning & re-cast his plans, abandoning the attempt to advance along the Himo & deciding to strike at Kahe.”

[Guest Bill Woerlee]

Harry

G'day mate

"Abteilung Kraut"

You gotta love that name - plenty of chuckles over it.

Cheers

Bill

[SteveE]

“A sharp action occurred at Rasthaus on 19th March, during which 348 shrapnel rounds were fired, & Lieutenant Eden & three other ranks wounded. The fire of the battery (28th Mountain), directed by Lt Eden, saved the 12th South African Infantry from being surrounded & suffering very heavy casualties. Eden carried out his duties coolly & efficiently under heavy rifle & machine-gun fire.â€

Harry

Lieutenant Edwin Arthur Eden was awarded an MC during the East African campaign (London Gazette #29639, dated 26th June 1916), coincidentally? it appears in the same Gazette as Capt. E. E. Froneman's (12th S.A. Infantry).

Lt. Edwin Arthur Eden, E.A. Vol. Arty.

(attd. 28th Ind. Mnt. By.).

Capt. Everil Edwin Froneman, 12th S.A. Infy.

I haven't managed to find a citation for his award and was wondering if, in your opinion, it was awarded for this action?

Steve

[bushfighter]

Steve

Thanks for that info - I hadn't seen it.

Both lads also get MiDs in LG #29648.

What interests me is that Lt Edwin Arthur Eden was from the East African Volunteer Artillery, & was not RA.

As Lt Eden is not mentioned again for gallant action in Graham's history I am pretty sure that both MCs were for the Rasthaus fight.

Please advise when you find the citations (& any other East African citations).

Harry

[bushfighter]

The District Commissioner's office in Moshi

On 14 March 1st Division had arrived from Longido (see OH Sketches 22 & 23), four days behind Smuts’ tight schedule, & reached Moshi, where 1 KAR took six casualties when the South African Horse opened fire on them. 1 KAR retaliated with maxim fire until the sight of a couple of Union Jacks, & some verbal persuasion, halted the South African fire.

1st Division had failed to cut-off the German forces south of Kilima Njaro, having had problems with its mounted troops as it traversed the western slopes of the mountain.

In Moshi the divisional commander, Brigadier-General James M. Stewart, observed:
“Every house in Moshi, whether enemy or neutral, was looted by the South Africans & much wanton destruction occurred. New typewriters were smashed, every locked drawer was forced & their contents scattered. A party of the Royal Fusiliers, finding the railway safe resisted their efforts were found trying to blow it up with dynamite.”

Lt-Gen Smuts dismissed Brig-Gen Stewart from his command without enquiring too deeply into the reasons for 1st Division’s delay in arriving at Moshi. This was hard on Stewart, who was sound but cautious. (Stewart commanded in Aden for the remainder of the war.)

Smuts was new & impatient & he & his South African senior officers had not yet learned the realities of bush warfare, particularly the problems encountered whilst trying to coordinate wide flanking movements with columns advancing more directly.

Smuts also very justifiably dismissed Brig-Gen Malleson (he could not prevent Malleson’s promotion to Major-General which Tighe had requested) for “defective leadership in the field”, after his performance in the early stages of the Latema-Reata Nek battle.
Major-General Tighe was not dismissed but was recalled to India.

The following month a number of “dud” Indian Army Colonels & Lt-Colonels were also sent back to India. They had progressed through their military careers without either seeing serious action as commanders or training & preparing for such an event. They had only been sent to East Africa because Indian Army HQ was scraping the bottom of the barrel, due to its long list of priority commitments elsewhere.

(Lt-Col Jourdain, CO 2nd Loyal North Lancashires, wrote in his War Diary: “A good riddance to bad rubbish.”)

PERSONAL COMMENT:
Not all Indian Army officers & units in East Africa were incapable, & some were very capable (eg: the Mountain Batteries, Railway Companies & some infantry battalions). I believe that the Indian Army deserves more credit & historical attention for what it did achieve & for the sacrifices it made during the campaign.

[bushfighter]

The area of Masai Kraal looking east

(In March 1916 the railway line on the image, coming from Taveta to Kahe, was not yet constructed.)

On 17 March 1916 the East African Mounted Rifles, part of 1st Division, moved south from Moshi – “…every house had been rifled & gutted, everything destroyed…†- towards Kahe, but on 19 March the unit was stopped in thick bush by the Schutztruppe at Masai Kraal.

Brigadier-General S.H. Sheppard, commanding 2nd East African Brigade, sent the 129th Baluchis forward.

The EAMR historian wrote:

“Thereafter we sat tight, our advance squadron extended along the edge of the bush, firing on the enemy across the clearing and being fired on in return.
The E.A.M.R. had been told to hold this position so as to cover the' flank of the 3rd South African Infantry Brigade, which was forcing its way towards Kahe somewhere in the bush on our left. So we lay all that day, face to face with the enemy, exchanging occasional shots; until, in the afternoon, down our road there came trailing a long line of Indian soldiers, the 129th Baluchis.

At their head walked a Brigadier. "They say you have reported that you are in touch with the enemy," said he, with a touch of scepticism in his voice. " That is so," replied our C.O. "And where might this enemy be?" said the Brigadier, still inclined to be supercilious. "Pass right on down the path," said the C.O., " and you will find out." With which the infantry passed on, and at the very moment that they emerged into the clearing the Germans opened up a heavy fire and advanced to the attack.

The leading Company of the Baluchis was just in time to extend at the double, and with a counter-blast of rifle fire drove the Germans back into the bush.

The infantry had arrived in the nick of time to save the situation; for our mounted men would have stood a very poor chance in that dense bush against the determined attack which the enemy was in the act of delivering.

We were very glad to ride back along the trail, leaving further proceedings to the safe care of the foot soldiers who were swarming onwards past us in an interminable stream like safari ants.â€

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The Defa River that runs past Store & Kahe.

From the Official History:

“…Sheppard’s patrols reconnoitered the banks of the Defu & Soko Nassai Rivers to find them so swampy & so thickly overgrown as to be almost impassable”

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The grave of Trooper Noel Martin Gibbs, East African Rifles.

The EAMR historian writes:
“During that day an unfortunate & tragic accident occurred. An enemy patrol sneaked up on the far side of the river, & surprised a watering party of our men. There was a sudden burst of firing, a general scatter of men & animals & then silence. The roll was called, & nobody found missing from any of the squadrons.

Late in the evening it was discovered that Trooper N.M. Gibbs, the Colonel’s orderly, had not been seen since the watering party had been surprised.

It was full moon that night, & when the moon had risen, a small party went across the river to search for the missing man, but without success. It was not till the next day that his body was found under the bank of the river, where he had been shot down while bathing.”

Noel Gibbs was initially buried at Store, where the 2nd East African Brigade was digging-in, & later moved to Moshi CWGC Cemetery.

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The area of Store looking northeast

THE SCHUTZTRUPPE'S NIGHT ASSAULT AT STORE, 20 March 1916

From the Official History:
“At Store the defences of the 2nd East African Brigade were strengthened, & a company of the 29th Punjabis was put out as outposts. In the evening the famous scout Pretorius brought warning that the enemy was massing for attack.

About 10 pm to the accompaniment of bugles & cheering, a violent German onslaught was launched on the outpost line, which Brig-Gen Sheppard at once reinforced with one & a half companies of 129 Baluch & details which brought the defences up to about the strength of a battalion, with three machine guns.

During the next two hours the Germans charged no less than five times across the cleared field of fire, 100 yards wide, one rush coming within ten yards of the line, in a manner which evoked admiration from the British troops; but each attempt was broken by the unshaken steadiness of the defence, & towards 1 am the enemy drew off.”

The British took 33 casualties & it is believed that the Schutztruppe lost over 70 men out of an attacking force of over 500. Both sides had underestimated the strength of their opponents.

This was a night of hard infantry fighting on both sides – junior leaders & machine gunners being immediately replaced as they were shot down, CSMs & CQMSs constantly supplying ammunition, water & supplies forward, & bearer parties risking their own safety as they evacuated casualties from the line.

The British artillery did not fire that night.

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The River Ruvu with the North Pare Mountains behind

Abteilung Kraut held this position. See OH Sketch 27 & map on Post #546

The track to Lake Jipe runs to the left at the foot of the hills.

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Rice growing on the Soko battlefield. North Pare Mountains in the background.
The treeline in the middle distance marks the Soko River running north. The Punjabis & Baluchis crossed it in the centre.

The farmers showed me some very interesting features of the battle, passed down from their ancestors who watched it.

 

 

 

THE BATTLE ON THE LINE OF THE SOKO NASSAI RIVER

A brief outline of the battle was posted in:

 

 

 

[SteveE]

The farmers showed me some very interesting features of the battle, passed down from their ancestors who watched it.

Harry

Would you care to expand?, sounds interesting.

Steve

[bushfighter]

Steve

Yes I will post some images.

I spent a couple of days on & around this battlefield & became very interested in it.

Normally you associate defence with the holding of dominating ground such as hills, but here the Schutztruppe effectively used low ground in front of a river.

This battle does not receive much attention from historians but, coming just after the set-piece encounter on Latema-Reata Nek, the Soko action established patterns for future actions by both sides.

It wasn't until the battle at Mahiwa - Nyangao in October 1917 (see Post:

that so many troops on both sides confronted each other in one area.

Lt Eden & Captain Froneham

I tried to find their MC citations on LG but couldn't (the OC Mounted Infantry Coy George Atkinson's citation probably appears in the same supplement).

However Lt Eden gained a Bar to his MC in 1918, & he was still a member of the EA Vol Arty.

Capt Froneham transferred into the RFC.

Harry