East African campaign (World War I)

East African campaign
Part of the African theatre of World War I
An Askari company ready to march in German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika)
Date 3 August 1914 – 25 November 1918 Location Modern Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo 6°18′25.2″S 34°51′14.4″E / 6.307000°S 34.854000°E / -6.307000; 34.854000 Result Allied victory Territorial changes German East Africa partitioned by Britain, Belgium and Portugal
Belligerents
United Kingdom  South Africa  India Rhodesia East Africa Protectorate Nyasaland Uganda Nigeria  Belgium  Belgian Congo  Portugal Mozambique	Germany German East Africa
Commanders and leaders
Jan Smuts Jacob van Deventer Arthur Hoskins Charles Tombeur Armand Huyghé Ferreira Gil João Teixeira Pinto †	Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Heinrich Schnee (POW) Kurt Wahle
Strength
British Empire Initially: 2 battalions[1] 12,000–20,000 soldiers Total: 250,000 soldiers[2] 600,000 porters[3]	Regulars (Schutztruppe) Initially: 2,700[a] Maximum: 18,000[b] 1918: 1,283[c] Total: 22,000[d] Irregulars (Ruga-Ruga) 12,000+[7][e]
Casualties and losses
22,000 11,189 soldiers killed 95,000 porters died 5,000 2,620 soldiers killed 15,650 porters died 12,000+ 5,533 soldiers killed 5,640 soldiers missing/POW Unknown number of porter deaths Total: 40,000+ military casualties c. 20,000 dead	16,000+ military casualties 2,029 killed[9][10][f] 2,849 deserted[9][11][g] 4,512 missing[9][11][6] 7,122 POW[9][11][h] 7,000 porters died[6]
365,000 civilians died in war-related famines.[i] 135,000 in German Africa 30,000 in British Africa 150,000 in Belgian Africa 50,000 in Portuguese Africa

The East African campaign in World War I was a series of battles and guerrilla actions, which started in German East Africa (GEA) and spread to portions of Mozambique, Rhodesia, British East Africa, the Uganda, and the Belgian Congo. The campaign all but ended in German East Africa in November 1917 when the Germans entered Mozambique and continued the campaign living off Portuguese supplies.^[14]

The strategy of the German colonial forces, led by Lieutenant Colonel (later Major General) Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, was to divert Allied forces from the Western Front to Africa. His strategy achieved only mixed results after 1916 when he was driven out of German East Africa. The campaign in Africa consumed considerable amounts of money and war material that could have gone to other fronts.^[2][15]

The Germans in East Africa fought for the whole of the war, receiving word of the armistice on 14 November 1918 at 07:30 hours. Both sides waited for confirmation, with the Germans formally surrendering on 25 November. GEA became two League of Nations Class B Mandates, Tanganyika Territory of the United Kingdom and Ruanda-Urundi of Belgium, while the Kionga Triangle was ceded to Portugal.

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