When the Great War started in Europe, a number of colonies and forces in Africa agreed not to fight. Their fate would be determined by what happened in Europe, not by any battles or conquests in Africa. Why waste resources and lives for a war they could not alter the outcome of? Besides it would not be in their best interests to have the natives see Europeans fighting each other. However it was only a matter of time before the rulers in Europe to force the war to spread to Africa.
German East Africa was one of the colonies targeted by the British Empire. One of the keys to conquering the colony was the port city of Tanga. Plans were made for an invasion. Today Tanga is in the nation of Tanzania along the coast not far from the border with Kenya.

Map of Tanzania in 2009
“In all there were some 8,000 troops, but except for the 2nd Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, in the Bangalore Brigade, they were generally poorly trained and ill-equipped.” (Farwell 163-164) Major General Arthur Edward Aitken would not even take an opportunity to let his troops to disembark from their transports for a few days after being stuck in overcrowded transports for weeks.
“Captain F.W. Cauldfield, RN, in HMS Fox had steamed ahead of the convoy and on 2 November arrived off Tanga at 7:05 A.M….. Because of the 17 August agreement between the captain of the Astaea and Governor Schnee guaranteeing the neutrality of Dar-es-Salaam and Tanga, Cauldfield thought it only fair to warn the Germans that the deal was off.” (Farwell 166)
Von Lettow-Vorbeck was watching as the British took their time landing. The pace of the British landings gave the Germans fifty-four hours to prepare. Von Lettow-Vorbeck believed that things would go his way: “for one thing, from experiences in East Asia, I knew the clumsiness with which English troops were moved and led in battle, and it was certain that in the very close and completely unknown country in which the enemy would find himself directly he landed, these difficulties would grow infinitely larger. The simplest disorder was bound to have far-reaching consequences.” (Farwell 170)
One of the contributing factors to the slow pace of the landing was the extreme caution Captain Cauldfield was exercising due to his obsessive fear of mines. He was not the only Captain who had such fears, such fears were what allowed the SMS Königsberg to be as successful as it was.
Despite gathering little intelligence on the situation in Tanga as well as sending out few patrols Aitken felt confident that Tanga was unprotected and that he could take possibly take the city without a shot being fired. “…[H]e was so confident of snaffling the town without a fight that he took the decision for Tighe to advance when only one and a half of the three battalions allotted to take the town were ashore. They would, he was certain, be ’sufficient for the time [being]‘.” (Paice 46) Needless to say, the Germans were willing to fight and they caught Tighe unprepared. German reinforcements were arriving as the survivors of Tighe’s troops were routed, many of the officers were killed during the fighting.
“The Battle of Tanga has been called “The Battle of the Bees,” for at one point swarms of angry bees joined the fighting with an élan that Aitken and Lettwo-Vorbeck would have admired…. ….When rifle and machine gun bullets battered their hives, the bees swarmed out in force…. ….The Times later reported that the hives were devilish devices which the Germans had deliberately incorporated into their defenses.” (Farwell 171-172) “This was the first but not the last time in [the African campaign] that combatants were routed by angry bees.” (Farwell 172)
“Von Lettow-Vorbeck decided…. That he would ignore Schnee’s instruction ‘to avoid a bombardment of Tanga at all costs’ and would ‘meet the attack’. ‘To gain all we must risk all’ was his maxim, despite the only too obvious numerical advantage of [the British], and he issued his orders accordingly.” (Paice 50) His willingness to take the initiative, as all good commanders should, gave the Germans a large advantage over Aitken’s forces. “Lettow-Vorbeck was outnumbered eight to one, but he was eager to counterattack and anxiously awaited the arrival by train of the 4th Field Company.” (Farwell 173)

"Battle of Tanga, 3rd-5th November, 1914" by Martin Frost (1875-1927)
“By nightfall the bush, mangrove swamps, and sisal and rubber plantations were full of clusters of disoriented sepoys trying to retreat to the beach where they had landed. Their flight had panicked the carriers, adding to the chaos.” (Farwell 173)
Not all of the bad luck was experienced by the British. “A German askari bugler suddenly blew the Sammeln, the same command as had been used the previous day to order the German troops to withdraw when Fox had bombarded Tanga, and from all across the battlefield German troops began to make their way back to the assembly point at Muhesa.” (Paice 55) It took the Germans some time to reorganize and they were not able to push their advantage.
“The next morning (5 November) Meinertzhagen, carrying a white sheet on a pole, was sent to the German lines with bandages, chloroform, and other medical supplies for the wounded prisoners. He also carried a letter of apology from General Aitken for the shell from the Fox that had struck the German hospital. On the way he passed [the bodies of a British officer and his sepoys lying face down] each with his own bayonet stuck in his back.” (Farwell 175) Arrangements were made so that the British could withdraw. They also made plans to allow wounded British prisoners to retreat with their comrades, usually under the condition that they would swear not to fight Germany again. The scene was chaotic. The Germans noted that the British were not acting as if that had not been badly beaten in the battle. At times the patience of the Germans wore very thin.
“The Germans made no attempt to stop the British departure and all was progressing smoothly until the covering party fired a few shots at a German patrol.” (Farwell 175)
“The Germans were left with an enormous quantity of war materiel. Lettow-Vorbeck was able to re-arm three companies with modern rifles, for which he now had 60,000 rounds of ammunition. He also had sixteen more machine guns, some valuable telephone equipment, and large numbers of coats and blankets.” (Farwell 178) This gear would help von Lettow-Vorbeck greatly during the remainder of his time spent in the war.
“’So ended,’ wrote the intrepid Lieutenant Russell, who had escaped from Dar-es-Salaam and twice been sent to reconnoiter Tanga at night, ‘one of the most ignominious defeats ever inflicted on a British Army’.” (Paice 58)
WORKS CITED
Edward Paice, World War I The African Front: An Imperial War on the African Continent (copyright 2008 by Edward Paice; W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York) ISBN: 978-1-933648-90-3
Byron Farwell, The Great War in Africa (copyright 1986 by Byron Farwell; W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York) ISBN: 0-393-30564-3
IMAGE SOURCE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_tanga.jpg (accessed 25 June 2009)
MAP SOURCE
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/TZ.html (accessed 26 June 2009)