Affair of Khra

Affair of Khra
Part of the Togoland Campaign of the First World War
Map of Togoland, 1914
Date 22 August 1914 Location River Khra (Chra), German Togoland 7°10.24′N 1°09.52′E / 7.17067°N 1.15867°E / 7.17067; 1.15867 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
British Empire Gold Coast  France French Dahomey	Germany Togoland
Commanders and leaders
Frederick Bryant A. F. Redfern H. S. Collins R. Castaing	Hans Georg von Doering
Units involved
Gold Coast Regiment Tirailleurs Sénégalais	Paramilitary and police forces
Strength
British: 300 France: 158	German Empire: 460–560
Casualties and losses
Britain 31 France: 44	German Empire: 13
Khra class=notpageimage| Map of Togo

The Affair of Khra [Chra] ("affair" a military engagement by a force less than a division) was fought by British and French troops against German Polizeitruppen (paramilitary police) in the village of Khra, near the Khra River on 22 August 1914, during the Togoland Campaign of the First World War.^[a] The German defenders mined the approaches to the river, blew the bridges and dug in around the village on the far bank, ready to defend the crossing with rifles and three concealed machine-guns. The British–French attack was repulsed and then a German counter-attack was ordered but many troops refused the order and the attack was not delivered.

The Germans retired overnight to Kamina, due to apprehension that other British and French troops would cut off the German retreat and overestimation of the number of their opponents. The invaders paused for two days and resumed the advance on Kamina; they were met at Glei, on 25 August, by two Germans who offered terms of surrender. The British commander demanded unconditional surrender and the Germans accepted his terms the next day, ending hostilities. The colony was administered jointly for the duration of the war by the French and British. After the war Togoland was partitioned, the western part of Togoland, administered by the British, joined Ghana in 1957 and French Togoland became independent as Togo in 1960.

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