East African Mounted Rifles

Last updated

East African Mounted Rifles
East African Mounted Rifles 1915.jpg
Members of the unit, 1915
Active1914–1917
Country Colony of Kenya
Allegiance British Empire
Type Mounted infantry
Sizec. 400 men
Engagements

The East African Mounted Rifles was a regiment of mounted infantry raised in the British Colony of Kenya for service in the East African Campaign of the First World War. Formed at the start of the war from volunteers, it was entirely white and drawn primarily from Boer settlers and members of the Legion of Frontiersmen. With horses in short supply, some men were mounted on polo ponies or mules.

Contents

The East African Mounted Rifles, around 400 strong, deployed to support the recapture of Kisii, Kenya, in September 1914. They also served in an attack on Longido in German Tanganyika in November. Further action on the frontier followed until April 1915, when the unit was posted on guard duty on the Uganda Railway. The East African Mounted Rifles was a good source of leaders for other units, such as the King's African Rifles. Detachments of men for this purpose and the return of volunteers to their farms depleted the force. It served on a small scale in actions in 1915 and 1916 but mustered just four men by the end of 1916. It was still extant, with three men, in May 1917, but is afterwards described as having "faded away". Veterans' reunions were held post-war, and the East African Reconnaissance Squadron in the Second World War is regarded as a successor unit.

Formation

Kenya was a British East African colony bordering German East Africa to the south. Tensions in Europe had been rising following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the July Crisis. Lieutenant Colonel Launcelot Ward, recently retired and headed for England, was recalled to the colony to assume command of British East African forces. He oversaw the creation of self-defence forces to supplement the relatively small British garrison, primarily consisting of elements of the King's African Rifles. [1]

Britain declared war on Germany on the night of 4/5 August 1914, following the German invasion of neutral Belgium. The following morning a recruitment office opened for self-defence forces in Nairobi, the capital of the Colony of Kenya. Several small units were formed, including the Plateau South Africans, Arnoldi's Scouts, Wessel's Scouts and William Bowker's Bowker's Horse. These were amalgamated to form the East African Mounted Rifles. A small infantry unit, the East African Regiment, was also established but was soon broken up to provide men for other units. [2]

The East African Mounted Rifles was envisaged as a regiment-sized mobile unit intended to strike against German forces threatening to invade from Tanganyika. [3] [4] It was intended to be formed of six mounted infantry squadrons, a Maxim gun section and a unit of signallers. [3]

The unit welcomed any white volunteer who could ride a horse and carry a rifle. [3] [5] It was formed primarily from Boer settlers and members of the civilian Legion of Frontiersmen. [6] [2] Some of the men had prior experience with the British forces in India or during the Second Boer War and many were big game hunters. [3] A number of experienced men served in leadership roles, including as commanding officer, second-in-command, adjutant, regimental sergeant major and as quartermasters. A unit of scouts, formed under the command of Frank O'Brien Wilson as the Magadi Defence Force, was integrated into the unit. [3] Bertram Gurdon, 2nd Baron Cranworth, with prior service in the Norfolk Artillery, served as a lieutenant. [7]

There were initially no uniforms available so volunteers wore their own shirts, onto the shoulders of which local women sewed the initials "EAMR" and, sometimes, the initials of the preceding units. [8] A standardised uniform was eventually made available in July 1915, though even then many members preferred not to wear it. [9] [5] Sometimes the horses of the regiment were camouflaged as zebras, with stripes being painted on in iodine. [10] [3] [11]

A depiction of a pig-sticking spear in action Royal Armouries, Leeds 20190201 125358 (49307566981).jpg
A depiction of a pig-sticking spear in action

The East African Mounted Rifles were initially armed with breech-loading rifles supplied by the colonial government. An intervention by Boer War veteran Davies Evans led to issuing of more modern magazine-fed rifles. [8] The unit was also issued with pigsticking spears, but these were soon withdrawn after several near-fatal accidents. [3] Horses were commandeered from local farms, but insufficient were available, and some of the men were mounted on polo ponies or mules. [8] [12]

The East African Mounted Rifles trained in Nairobi. Their drills were often watched by the daughter of the governor Henry Conway Belfield, and the unit came to be known after her as "Monica's Own". [8] By the end of August 1914 the unit reached 400 men in size but many of its men were taken to provide officers and non-commissioned officers to the King's African Rifles and other units. [3]

Early actions

Early actions of the East Africa Campaign East Africa WWI as at August 1915.png
Early actions of the East Africa Campaign

The East African Mounted Rifles were first deployed in an attack on German forces that had occupied the Kenyan village of Kisii. [9] [13] The principal attack came from the 4th battalion of the King's African Rifles and the East African Mounted Rifles was to support on the flank. The unit travelled by rail from Nairobi to Kisumu and embarked on boats on Lake Victoria. The men landed at Karungu but came under attack and withdrew into reeds. They reached Kisii on 12 September, by which time the King's African Rifles had already taken the village following the German retreat after an inconclusive engagement. The East African Mounted Rifles then returned to Nairobi. [14]

On 3 November 1914, 360 men of the East African Mounted Rifles supported an attack by Indian troops on the Tanganyikan town of Longido, successfully capturing the settlement. [15] In March 1915 a detachment of the regiment was formed into a mobile reserve on the Kenya-Tanganyika frontier. [16] On 9 March the unit was the first to spot and engage a German column under Lieutenant von Haxthausen. The Germans were eventually driven from a ridge and retreated across the Mara River. [17] The unit also participated in the attack on Gararagua, Tanganyika, later that month. [18]

The East African Mounted Rifles proved effective in the campaign. Treating the war "as if it were another safari", their use of civilian camp followers and practice of providing their own supplies led to notably lower rates of dysentery than other units. [19] While their initial service on the frontier was valuable, it was decided that the unit was more useful as a source of leaders for the King's African Rifles. [20] It was afterwards used to guard the Uganda Railway. [10] Between 12 April 1915 and 10 May 1916 German forces made 57 attempts to mine the railway but many were thwarted by the unit's patrols. [21]

Fading away

By early 1915 volunteers began to drift away from the unit back to their farms. [2] A squadron of the East African Mounted Rifles was part of a force sent to recapture Longido in September 1915. The squadron formed a firing line on a ridge overlooking the German position. The unit suffered losses of two killed, one wounded and four missing and were given permission to withdraw. The attack was unsuccessful, but the missing men were recovered by a party of the King's African Rifles. [22] A dozen men of the East African Mounted Rifles served in the August 1916 advance on the German Tanganyika Railway. [23] By the end of 1916 it mustered only its commander, Major Clifford Hill, a sergeant and two troopers. [24] By May 1917 it was just Hill, the sergeant and a trooper; the unit is described as having then "faded away". [25] [24]

The unit left behind few records, but a regimental history was written by its medical officer Dr C. J. Wilson, in 1938. [26] It is listed on the Cavalry of the Empire Memorial in Hyde Park, London. [24]

Annual regimental reunions were held jointly with the Kenyan Ex-War Service Federation after the war. These were started, at least partly, to provide a nucleus for any future defence force. [27] The East African Reconnaissance Squadron, formed in the Second World War, is regarded as a successor to the regiment. [28] Surviving veterans of the East African Mounted Rifles were honoured with a pageant in 1960. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German East Africa</span> 1885–1918 German colony including modern Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda

German East Africa was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozambique. GEA's area was 994,996 km2 (384,170 sq mi), which was nearly three times the area of present-day Germany and double the area of metropolitan Germany at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's African Rifles</span> British regiment raised in East Africa from 1902 to 1960s

The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from British possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed military and internal security functions within the colonial territories and served outside these territories during the world wars. The rank and file (askaris) were drawn from native inhabitants, while most of the officers were seconded from the British Army. When the KAR was first raised there were some Sudanese officers in the battalions raised in Uganda and native officers were commissioned towards the end of British colonial rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck</span> German army officer

Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, also called the Lion of Africa, was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four years, with a force of about 14,000, he held in check a much larger force of 300,000 British, Indian, Belgian, and Portuguese troops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Tanga</span> 1914 battle of the German East African campaign at the African theatre of WW I

The Battle of Tanga, sometimes also known as the Battle of the Bees, was the unsuccessful attack by the British Indian Expeditionary Force "B" under Major General A. E. Aitken to capture German East Africa during the First World War in concert with the invasion Force "C" near Longido on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. It was the first major event of the war in Eastern Africa and saw the British defeated by a significantly smaller force of German Askaris and colonial volunteers under Lieutenant Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. It was the beginning of the East African Campaign of World War I, and is considered one of greatest victories of the Schutztruppe in Africa. The British retreat enabled the Schutztruppe to salvage modern equipment, medical supplies, tents, blankets, food and a number of Maxim machine guns which allowed them to successfully resist the allies for the rest of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Giffard</span> British Army general (1886–1964)

General Sir George James Giffard was a British military officer, who had a distinguished career in command of African troops in World War I, rising to command an Army Group in South East Asia in World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umvoti Mounted Rifles</span> Military unit

The Umvoti Mounted Rifles is an armoured regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit. It is part of the South African Army Armour Formation and is based in the town of Pinetown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African theatre of World War I</span> Theatre of operations during World War I

The African Theatre of the First World War comprises campaigns in North Africa instigated by the German and Ottoman empires, local rebellions against European colonial rule and Allied campaigns against the German colonies of Kamerun, Togoland, German South West Africa and German East Africa. The campaigns were fought by German Schutztruppe, local resistance movements and forces of the British Empire, France, Italy, Belgium and Portugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East African campaign (World War I)</span> Series of battles in East Africa during World War I

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Overseas Expeditionary Force</span> Military formations of South Africa in World War I

The South African Overseas Expeditionary Force (SAOEF) was a volunteer military organisation in World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Salaita Hill</span>

The Battle of Salaita Hill was the first large-scale engagement of the East African Campaign of the First World War to involve British, Indian, Rhodesian, and South African troops. The battle took place on February 12, 1916, as part of the three-pronged offensive into German East Africa launched by General Jan Smuts, who had been given overall command of the Allied forces in the region.

The Battle of Latema Nek was a battle of the East African Campaign in World War I.

The Battle of Kondoa Irangi was a battle of the East African Campaign of World War I.

The Royal East Kent Yeomanry was a British Army regiment formed in 1794. It saw action in the Second Boer War and the First World War.

The Battle of Kisaki was a confrontation between German and South Africa forces near the town of Kisaki, German East Africa, on 7–11 September 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Australia during the Second Boer War</span>

The military history of Australia during the Boer War is complex, and includes a period of history in which the six formerly autonomous British Australian colonies federated to become the Commonwealth of Australia. At the outbreak of the Second Boer War, each of these separate colonies maintained their own, independent military forces, but by the cessation of hostilities, these six armies had come under a centralised command to form the Australian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ngomano</span> 1917 battle in the East African Campaign of WWI

The Battle of Ngomano or Negomano was fought between Germany and Portugal during the East African Campaign of World War I. A force of Germans and Askaris under Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck had recently won a costly victory against the British at the Battle of Mahiwa, in present-day Tanzania and ran very short of food and other supplies. As a consequence, the Germans invaded Portuguese East Africa to the south, both to supply themselves with captured Portuguese materiel and escape superior British forces to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Rhodesia in World War I</span> The territorys contributions during the Great War

When the United Kingdom declared war on Germany at the start of World War I in August 1914, settler society in Southern Rhodesia, then administered by the British South Africa Company, received the news with great patriotic enthusiasm. The Company administrator, Sir William Milton, wired the UK government, "All Rhodesia ... ready to do its duty". Although it supported Britain, the company was concerned about the possible financial implications for its chartered territory should it make direct commitments to the war effort, particularly at first, so most of the colony's contribution to the war was made by Southern Rhodesians individually—not only those who volunteered to fight abroad, but also those who remained at home and raised funds to donate food, equipment and other supplies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Lioma</span> Battle during the First World War

The Battle of Lioma was fought between the German Empire and British Empire during the East African Campaign of World War I. Having successfully evaded the Allies since late 1917, the German Schutztruppe under Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck waged a guerilla campaign in Portuguese East Africa, attacking and raiding settlements as well as forts in the search of supplies while inflicting as much damage as possible on the Allies. All the while, the Schutztruppe was chased by the British King's African Rifles, which finally cornered the Germans at the village of Lioma on 30–31 August 1918. Led by George Giffard, the British forces almost managed to encircle and destroy the Schutztruppe, but in the end the Germans broke out and successfully retreated. Although greatly weakened by the fighting at Lioma, the Schutztruppe was thus able to remain active until the end of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabora offensive</span> Military offensive in Africa during World War I

The Tabora Offensive was an Anglo-Belgian offensive into German East Africa, which ended with the Battle of Tabora in the north-west of German East Africa, it was part of the East African Campaign in World War I. The forces of the Belgian Congo crossed the border with German East Africa and captured the port city of Kigoma and the city of Tabora. In August a smaller Lake Force under the command of the South African brigadier general Crewe, launched a parallel attack from Uganda, also aimed at taking Tabora. The completion of the Tabora Offensive not only left much of the Ruanda-Urundi territory under Belgian military occupation but gave the Allies control of the important Tanganjikabahn railway.

Major Georg Kraut was an officer of the Imperial German Army during the First World War, a veteran of the Schutztruppe, and the second-in-command of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. He was active in German East Africa. He participated in multiple battles, including the Battle of Tanga, the Battle of Salaita Hill, and the Battle of Iringa. Post-war, he joined the Freikorps with Lettow-Vorbeck and helped suppress the Spartacist Revolt.

References

  1. ↑ Kumar, Ashutosh; Markovits, Claude (23 December 2020). Indian Soldiers in the First World War: Re-visiting a Global Conflict. Taylor & Francis. p. 103. ISBN   978-1-000-33528-6. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Toit, Brian M. Du (1998). The Boers in East Africa: Ethnicity and Identity. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 100. ISBN   978-0-89789-611-5. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Campbell, Guy (24 November 1986). The Charging Buffalo: A History of the Kenya Regiment 1937–1963. Pen and Sword. pp. 9–10. ISBN   978-0-436-08290-0. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  4. ↑ Cavalry School (U.S.) Department of General Instruction (1924). History of Cavalry During the World War. p. 22. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  5. 1 2 "'Germany's Last Colony Going-Going', 1915". National Army Museum. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  6. ↑ Tucker, Spencer C. (28 October 2014). World War I: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection [5 volumes]: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. ABC-CLIO. p. 702. ISBN   978-1-85109-965-8. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  7. ↑ Airlift. Military Airlift Command. 1985. p. 14. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Nicholls, Christine Stephanie (2005). Red Strangers: The White Tribe of Kenya. Timewell Press. pp. 9–120. ISBN   978-1-85725-206-4. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  9. 1 2 Page, Malcolm (30 March 2011). King's African Rifles: A History. Pen and Sword. p. 30. ISBN   978-0-85052-538-0.
  10. 1 2 Pakenham, Valerie (1985). The Noonday Sun: Edwardians in the Tropics. Methuen. p. 213. ISBN   978-0-413-47180-2. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  11. ↑ Paice, Edward (4 February 2021). Tip and Run: The Untold Tragedy of the First World War in Africa. Head of Zeus. p. 164. ISBN   978-1-80024-033-9. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  12. ↑ Collister, Peter; Vere-Hodge, Edward Reginald (1956). Pioneers of East Africa. Eagle Press. p. 8. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  13. ↑ Pakenham, Valerie (1985). The Noonday Sun: Edwardians in the Tropics. Methuen. p. 213. ISBN   978-0-413-47180-2. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  14. ↑ Page, Malcolm (30 March 2011). King's African Rifles: A History. Pen and Sword. p. 31. ISBN   978-0-85052-538-0.
  15. ↑ Gladding, R. G. (17 February 2022). The Kaiser's Last General: The East Africa Campaign and the Hunt for Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, 1914–1918. McFarland. p. 22. ISBN   978-1-4766-8599-1.
  16. ↑ Gladding, R. G. (17 February 2022). The Kaiser's Last General: The East Africa Campaign and the Hunt for Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, 1914–1918. McFarland. p. 43. ISBN   978-1-4766-8599-1.
  17. ↑ Gladding, R. G. (17 February 2022). The Kaiser's Last General: The East Africa Campaign and the Hunt for Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, 1914–1918. McFarland. p. 45. ISBN   978-1-4766-8599-1.
  18. ↑ Heaton, Colin D.; Lewis, Anne-Marie (19 January 2014). Four-War Boer: The Century and Life of Pieter Arnoldus Krueler. Casemate. p. 202. ISBN   978-1-61200-176-0. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  19. ↑ Reigel, Corey W. (22 April 2015). The Last Great Safari: East Africa in World War I. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 62. ISBN   978-1-4422-3593-9. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  20. ↑ Fazan, S. H. (19 March 2020). Colonial Kenya Observed: British Rule, Mau Mau and the Wind of Change. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 50. ISBN   978-1-350-15536-7. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  21. ↑ Amin, Mohamed; Matheson, Alastair; Willetts, Duncan (1986). Railway Across the Equator: The Story of the East African Line. Bodley Head. p. 109. ISBN   978-0-370-30774-9. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  22. ↑ Gladding, R. G. (17 February 2022). The Kaiser's Last General: The East Africa Campaign and the Hunt for Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, 1914–1918. McFarland. pp. 75–76. ISBN   978-1-4766-8599-1.
  23. ↑ Clifford, Hugh Charles (21 September 2018). The Gold Coast Regiment in the East African Campaign. BoD – Books on Demand. pp. 15–16. ISBN   978-3-7340-4424-3. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  24. 1 2 3 Hill, Mervyn F. (1961). Permanent Way. East African Railways and Harbours. p. 354. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  25. ↑ Moyse-Bartlett, Lieutenant-Colonel H. (13 February 2012). The King's African Rifles – Volume 2. Andrews UK Limited. p. 710. ISBN   978-1-78150-663-9. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  26. ↑ Wilson, Christopher James (1938). The Story of the East African Mounted Rifles. East African Standard. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  27. ↑ Canadian Journal of African Studies. Canadian Association of African Studies. 1991. p. 211. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  28. ↑ Hill, Mervyn F. (1961). Permanent Way. East African Railways and Harbours. p. 535. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  29. ↑ Kenya Sisal Board (July 1960). Bulletin. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.