Much more difficult and prolonged was the Allied campaign for the subjection of German East Africa. No other German dependency was so thoroughly prepared for the struggle. There were only three white German regiments, but they had as auxiliaries a well-trained and armed force of 50,000 Arab and negro soldiers, They were possessed of several hundred machine guns and over 100 Krupp 77-millimeter field pieces. The earlier phases of the war were marked by minor German successes, an Anglo-Indian attack on Tanga from the sea being repulsed and considerable British territory in the Kilimanjaro region being occupied. It was not until 18 months after the beginning of the war that the Entente forces were really prepared to begin a vigorous offensive. By that time the local forces in British East Africa, consisting chiefly of native troops, had been augmented by volunteers and by British and Indian regiments from India. The conquest of Southwest Africa, which by that time had been completed, released the forces that had been there employed, and many of these were transferred to the East African Army, which ultimately reached a strength of 20,000. It had been planned that General Smith-Dorrien should be in command, but ill health prevented, and Gen. Jan C. Smuts was placed at the head of the Expedi tionary Force. The first object sought was the conquest of Kilimanjaro, and in pursuance of this plan Smuts reached Mombasa Feb. 9, 1916. On March 9, Taveta was occupied by one of his columns, and on the 11th there was a fiercely contested fight in the moun tainous forests of Latema Nek that re sulted in a German retreat. In the Kahe hills on March 21, determined resistance was offered, but again the Germans were forced to retire to Usambara, leaving the road to the heart of the country without defense. Smuts decided to strike inland with the Central railway as his objective. General Van Deventer with the 2d Division was sent in a southwest direction to cut the line of communication between the main forces of the Germans and their troops in the lake regions. He reached Kondoa-Irangi on April 9, but here was held up for nearly two months by torrential rains. This was taken ad vantage of by Von Lettow-Vorbeck, the commander-in-chief of the German forces to concentrate a force of 4,000 men, with whom he attacked Van Deventer, but met with defeat. On Jan 24, the rains having ceased, Van . Deventer attained the object of his mission and seized the middle section of the railway.
While he was thus operating, the main army was completing the occupation of Usnmbara, capturing Wilhelmstal, its capital, June 13, and Tanga, July 7. An attempt was made to combine with Van Deventer., in the design of surrounding and capturing the army of Von Lettow Vorbeek, but this was frustrated by the escape of the latter into the Uluguru hills by a road that had been previously unknown to the British. The junction of the two British forces was, however, effected, after the capture of Mrogoro on Sept. 26. The situation was rendered much more favorable for the British, when Dar-es-Salaam, the chief port and capital of the colony, was taken by a naval force Sept. 4. This shortened the
British lines of communications by more than 1,000 miles. This success practi cally ended the campaign for that year, as the troops were exhausted by the frightful conditions under which they had been marching and fighting, and were suffering from dysentery and other diseases. The army was thoroughly rested and reconstituted, 12,000 white troops be ing sent back to recuperate while their places were taken by newly raised de tachments.
While these operations had been pro gressing, other important and successful campaigns were being carried on in other sections of the vast territory. A Belgian force under General Tombeur had struck at the northwest district and by the end of June had overrun the region between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria Nyanza. The town of Tabora on the Central railway, after ten days of hard fighting, fell into Belgian hands on Sept. 19.
On May 25, 1915, a force of Union troops, King's African Rifles and Rho desians, under the command of Brigadier General Northey, attacked the colony from the southwest. The main body followed the road from Lake Nyassa to Iringa which was occupied on July 29. The Rhodesian column was successful in taking Bismarckburg on Lake Tan ganyika, from which place it worked northward until it effected a junction with the Belgian troops. The campaign had now lasted for about seven months, and in that time the combined opera tions of the Entente forces had conquered two-thirds of the colony.
For a year following little was ac complished besides confining the Germans to the southeast part of the territory and the south central Mahenge plateau. Von Lettow-Vorbeck. whose skill and courage were freely recognized by his enemies, succeeded in avoiding capture and in many actions turned at bay and inflicted severe casualties upon his pur suers. But the odds were too heavy, the toils kept tightening, and in June, 1917, a final offensive was begun by the Allies that was pushed steadily to a conclusion. Mahenge was captured in October by a combined force of British and Belgians, and one of the main German divisions was forced to surrender on Nov. 27. From that time on, the campaign re solved itself into a chase, which, how ever, the resourceful German commander was able to prolong for nearly a year. With a small force he got over the border into Portuguese East Africa, made his way south nearly to the Zambezi, doubled on his tracks in the following September and again made his way into German East Africa. He ultimately reached northern Rhodesia where he finally sur rendered Nov. 14, 1918, three days after the armistice had been signed on the western front.
The disposition to be made of the former German colonies in Africa was announced at the Peace Conference, May 6, 1919. The official statement was as follows: Togoland and Kamerun—France and Great Britain shall make a joint recom mendation to the League of Nations as to their future.
German East Africa—The mandate shall be held by Great Britain.
German Southwest Africa—The Man date shall be held by the Union of South Africa. See WORLD WAR.