The Conquest of Cameroon and Tog()Land.
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CHAPTER CXXXI. THE CONQUEST OF CAMEROON AND TOG()LAND. ,. EIGHTEEN MONTHS OF 'WEST AFRICAN vV ARFARE-THE GERMANS IN TOGOLAND-GERMAN PRO POSALS FOR" NEUTRAJ_ITY" IN AFRICA-FRANCO-BRITISH CO-OPERATION-SURRENDER OF TOGO LAND~HISTORY OF CAMEROON-GERMAN AMBITIONS IN THE CONGO-MORE "NEUTRALITY" INTRIGUES-CAMEROON OPERATIONS ANALYSED-PLAN OF CAMPAIGN-SURRENDER OF DUALA GENERAL DOBELL'S FIRST OPERATIONS-THE CAMPAIGN OF 1915-THE FRENCH OPERATIONS JOINT ADVANCE-FALL OF YAUNDE- SURRENDER OF MORA IN FEBRUARY, 1916-REVIEW OF THE CAMPAIGN ERMANY lost Togoland, the smallest by a British column to seize Garua failed with of her African possessions, in the first heavy loss. But on September 21 Gen. G month of the war. French troops Largeau, at the second attempt, captured entered Togoland from Dahomey on KU8seri, the German post near Lake Chad, August. 6; on August 7 Lome, the capital, and thereafter sending a cohunn under Lieut. -Col. a strip of territory extending seventy-five miles Brisset to cooperate with the British forces in north from the coast was surrendered to a Nigeria, the combined columns being placed British officer sent from the Gold Coast. The under Brigadier-General Cunliffe, who took Germans made an effort to defend Kamina, command in February, 1915. It was not till farther inland, where they had a powerful wire Jlme, 1915, that, by the capture of Garua and less telegraphy station. On August 22 they N gaundere, the northern columns achieved were engaged at the Chra river, south of their first important successes. Kamina; by an Anglo-French force under Meanwhile the French columns advancing Lieut.-Col. Bryant. On the night of August 24 from the south and south-east, under Gen. the Germans destroyed their wireless station at Aymerich-who had the help of a detachment Kamina, and on August 26 Major von Doring, from the Belgian Congo-failed to make the the Acting Governor, lIDconditionally surren J?rogress expected. Gen. Dobell occupied dered to Col. Bryant. Northern Togoland was Duala, the chief port of the colony, on Sep 9.t the same tin'le occupied, w'ith scarcely any tember 27 , and in November took Buea, on the opposition, by French and British troops. slopes of the Cameroon mountain and the The campaign in Cameroon lasted eighteen administrative capital of the colony. The months. It was attacked on the north-east, governor, Herr Ebermaier, and the commander east and south-east by French troops from the of the troops, Col. Zimmermann, with the bulk Chad Territory and the Congo region; on the of the forces had, however, withdrawn, after the west by British troops from Nigeria, and from surrender of Duala, to Yalmde, in the centre of the sea by an Anglo-French force llnder Gen. the southern part of the colony. A French Sir Charles Dobell. The first attacks, made in officer, Col. Mayer, took command of the August, 1914, f.rom the Chad T erritory and forces sent by Gen. Dobell towards Yaunde, Nigeria, had not been successful. An attempt and on October 26, 1914, Edea, 32 miles in. a Vol. VIII.--Part 99. 273 274 THE TIMES H.lS'TORY OF THE TV AR. A SQUAD OF THE ROYAL MARINE LIGHT INFANTRY. direct line east of Duala, was occupied. In numbered over 800, and included the Governor January, 1915, the Germans made the only and the commander of the troops. considerable offensive movement undertaken The last place to fly the German flag in by them during the campaign; they tried, Calueroon was Mora. I ts garrison, under unsuccessfully, to dislodge Col. Mayer from Hauptmann von Raben, occupied a practically Ede~. In March a combined movement impregnable position on an isolated mountain. on Yalmde by the troops of Generals Aymerich All attempts to capture it failed, but on and Dobell was planned, but did not succeed. February 18, 1916, Hauptmann von Raben, Gen. Aymerich's troops failed to make pro seeing the hopelessness of his position, capitu gress, and Col. Mayer, after advancing some lated. Independent operations undertaken by distance, was compelled to fall back on Edea the French had earlier in the war cleared the (June, 1915). Germans out of that part of their colony lying A new combined movement was begun south of Spanish Guinea. The conquest of towards the close of September, in which the Cameroon was complete. forces of Generals Dobell, Cunliffe, and Ay merich all took part. The Germans at first Togoland and Cameroon were acquired by resisted firmly, but by the close of December Germany in 1884., being among the first fruits their opposition had been' overcome. Yaunde of the partition of Africa among European was occupied by one of Gen. Dobell's Powers-a partition which resulted from H. M. columns on J anuary 1, 1916. A few days Stanley's discovery of the course of the Congo previou:sly' that place had been abandoned by and his revelation of the abLmdant richness of the Germans, who, despite the efforts made to the interior of the equatorial r egions of the cut. them off, succeeded in escaping into continent. Togoland, part of thE> old Slave Spanish Guinea, where they wore interned, Coast of West Africa, has only 32 miles of sea being subsequently removed to Spain. Those board, and though its hinterland widens its Germans who found refuge on neutral territory total area is less than 34,000 square miles; THE TIMES HISTORY OF THE WAR. 275 it is a trifle larger than Ireland. When the Germans entered into the scramble for Africa, Togo was the sole p atch of coast in Upper G uinea not appropriated by other European States, and it was h emmed in, save seawards by French and British t erritory- Dahomey c!:! the east, the Gold Coast on the west, and the U pper Senegal and Niger colony on the north. Differing in no essential respect in physical features from the adjacent districts of the W est Coast, Togoland is rich in sylvan pro ducts, and its r esources had been greatly developed by the German s. Lome, the capital and chief port, a creation of the Germans, lies n ear the Gold Coast border. In the interior, and connected with Lome by railway, is Kamina, where just b efore the war b egan the Germans had, as has b een seen, complet ed a very powerful wireless t elegraphy station. It communicated direct with N alIen, n ear COL. E. H. GORGES, C.B., D.S.O. B erlin, and with the wireless stations in been erected with such se.erecy that the Cameroon and German South-·West Africa. French author.ities were not aware of its Though only 38 miles from the Dahomey ex:istence. Baron C odelli, the designer of the border, the wirf~ l es s station at Kamina had station, was still in Togoland, and on August 16 was taken prisoner hy the British. When the European situation became threatening in July, 1914, Major von Doring, Acting Governor and commander of the troops in Togoland, made preparations to attack the French in Dahomey, on the assumption that Great Britain wm.lid not enter into the war. When he found out his error he abandoned his design. Acting on instructions from Berlin, in telegrams dated August 4 and 5, addressed to M. William Ponty, Governor-General -of French West Africa, to tbe Lieut.-Governor of Dahomey and to the Governor of the Gold Coast, he proposed that Togoland and the neighbouring French and British colonies should remain neutral. The GBrman Govyrn m ent shortly afterwards came to have wider conceptions of neutrality in Equatorial Africa, conceptions to whieh reference is made later on, but the Togo proposal was a distinct move, and though reasons of humanity and the supposed need of the white races to present a solid front to the blacks were urged by Major von Doring, the real object of the Germans in wishing to keep Togoland neutral was to preserve for their use the Karnina wireless station. Both the French and the British authorities refused to entertain the proposal. The Lieut.-Governor of Dahomey, . M. Ch. [Speaigilt. .... MAJOR-GENERAL SIR CHAS. DOBELL. Nouffiard, who did not even answer Major Commanded Allied Forces in Cameroon. von Doring's t.elegram, d.irected Comma,ndant 27G THE TINIES HISTORY OF THE WAR. Maroix, the senior n~ilitary officer in Dahomey, structions to surrender the colony as far to open hostilities. On August 6, French as a line drawn 120 kilometres (74.57 miles) colonial troops crossed the Togoland border north of Lome. Major von Daring, the German near the coast. They met with no opposition; troops, and many German civilians had r etired Little Popo (Anecho) was seized, and on the up the r ailway, the Acting Governor having evening of August 8 the town of Togo was received iluperative instructions to defend the occupied. wireless station at Kamina. * On their side the Gold Coast authorities Up to this tim.e the French and British had not been idle. Mr. W. C. F. Robertson, authorities had worked indep endently, but Acting Governor, in the absence of Sir Hugh on August 8 arrangem ents were made b etween Clifford, and Capt. F. C. Bryant, R.A., senior Mr. Robertson and M. N ouffiard for their co officer on the Gold Coast station, took prompt operation. Capt. Bryant, who was granted the and energetic measures. European volunteers temporary rank of Lieut.-Col., was in chief com at Accra, . Sekondi and Kumasi were enrolled mand of the Allied forces. Capt. Castaing, of and every necessary step was taken, both for the French Colonial Infantry, commanded the defence and offence.