Battle of Dutumi

Battle of Dutumi
Part of East African Campaign
Date 9–12 September 1916 Location Dutumi, Bwakila Chini, German East Africa 7°22′40.13″S37°48′7.42″E / 7.3778139°S 37.8020611°E / -7.3778139; 37.8020611 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
German Empire German East Africa	South Africa
Commanders and leaders
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck	Jan Smuts Reginald Hoskins
Strength
2,000 soldiers 24 machine guns [1]
Casualties and losses
2 killed 12 wounded	90 killed [2]
class=notpageimage| Location within Tanzania Show map of Tanzania Battle of Dutumi (Africa) Show map of Africa

The Battle of Dutumi was fought during the East African Campaign of World War I.

The Battle

After having gained control of the northern part of German East Africa and the Central Railway in the summer of 1916, British troops pushed the Germans troops further south. In September, the Germans set up a well-defended position south of the Dutumi River, some 15 miles east of Kisaki. ^{[2] [3]}

The 3rd Kashmir Rifles and the 57th Wilde's Rifles, followed by the 3rd King's African Rifles attacked the enemy on 10 September, but made little progress.
On the morning of 11 September, two companies of the 3rd King's African Rifles crossed the river, but were driven back by a German counterattack. The Gold Coast Regiment came up from reserve and joined the attack, but the German defense line remained intact. ^[2]
The next morning the British vanguard found the German positions abandoned, and the pursuit was initiated. The British again encountered the Germans further south and another day of confused fighting in the dense vegetation followed. ^[2]

On the morning of September 13th, the German troops had again disappeared, but now the exhausted British troops stopped the pursuit and occupied Kisaki on 14 September, where they only found sick and wounded Germans, who were left behind. ^[2]

References

1. The soldier's Burden The action on the Dutumi River, 10th – 12th September 1916
2. Henry Maurice Stacke (1941). "Volume 1". Military Operations: East Africa. London: Library of the University of Michigan. pp. 369–371.
3. Collyer, John Johnston (2024). The South Africans with General Smuts in German East Africa 1916. Uckfield: Naval & Military Press. pp. 216–217. ISBN   9781474537407.