TheKingani was refitted and named the Fifi. 3y; 1 Reply. Two of Konigsbergs guns were mounted on the Graf von Gotzen, a big steamer launched on June 1. As the Admiralty put it: \"It is both the duty and the tradition of the Royal Navy to engage the enemy wherever there is water to float a ship.\"So London decided to send two gunboats and by an equally difficult route. This oddball of a man christened the boats as HMS Mini and HMS Toutou.
THE STRANGE BATTLE OF LAKE TANGANYIKA - PressReader The German vessel had been wounded but was still full of fight. [14] By the outbreak of war, he was in command of HMSNiger and a small flotilla at Ramsgate. She was sister vessel to the larger Hermann von Wissmann on Lake Nyasa, and like that vessel originally used as a gunboat against slavers. var month=mydate.getMonth()+1
Same to you. On February 1st, there was an article titled "Reichstag Dissolved By Hitler's New Cabinet.". Required fields are marked *. Goor hoped to bring into commission the as-yet unassembled Baron Dhanis, and the hulk of Alexandre del Commune, which had been sunk early in the war by Hedwig von Wissmann. Rather an end in terror, than terror without end, he said. FIFI was the former German . Choosing the latter course, he reduced his army to a more manageable 2,000 men and left an unhappy Captain Looff to oversee the surrender of the rest. He devised a skirt as part of his uniform and ceremoniously displayed his tattoos, acquired during his service in the Far East. They killed the commander and knocked out Kingani's only gun; all achieved in only 11 minutes. Each one was taken apart, cleaned, dried, and reassembledit took months of tedious effort. It's been scuttled and then raised again from the deep. Heath said there are some shoreline owners who have property rights . Twice a week, he would perform a ceremonial bath, naked, in the center of camp. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, . The gunboats were hoisted onto specially built cradles on wagons that were hauled by steam tractors, assisted by teams of oxen, into the Mitumba Mountains and across the Mitumba Plateau a distance of about 240 kilometres. We have been discovered, Looff informed his crew. On another reconnaissance attempt on December 26, Zimmer dispatched his gunboat Kingani to launch a hit-and-run foray on the British. In its time it's been a pawn in the colonial scramble for . //-->, By On 28/07/2014 at 22:20, Darlaston Remembered said: Men on the Darlaston War memorial S Staffs. Catalogue reference:ADM 1123/142 f 305, 4. Arthur Morrell PRATT Army Chaplains Department who died 29/06/1917 ST. The once-obscure desk clerk was now being treated as a war god. By early January, Looffs crew had suffered 50 cases of malaria and two deaths from typhoid. Her tale is stranger than fiction. This proved the highpoint of Spicer-Simsons career. Alfred Edward Wainwright, RNVR "In recognition of his services in command. Spicer-Simson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and various Belgian awards for his efforts. Royal Flying Corps who died 12/07/1917 BAILLEUL COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION, NORD France '
GWF is free to use so please support the Forum. Spicer was assigned 26 British sailors, a tropical disease doctor, and a former Rhodesian railroad designer. [11] Sir Henry considered the plan and approved it with the words "It is both the duty and the tradition of the Royal Navy to engage the enemy wherever there is water to float a ship. to scout for the missing boat, but it was spotted by the Allied ships, which by then had three motor launches and a wooden whaleboat. [15] Spicer-Simson then suggested Mimi and Toutou as alternatives, which were accepted. In between these was German East Africa, one of Berlins largest overseas colonies, which also bordered the Congo colony of the UKs ally, Belgium. 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. // Stop Define Variables for days of the month
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24272 Private Albert ANGEL 16th Bn. No hits were scored, but fires were started on the supply ship Somalia, leaving her a burned-out hulk and denying Konigsberg the coal she would need for a prolonged high-seas cruise. "Llandovery Castle" (London) Mercantile Marine who died 27/06/1918 TOWER HILL MEMORIAL United Kingdom '
Probably not, it depends on what is considered a warship. Britain did not take the presence of the vessel easily. DSC. From Bagamoyo, thousands of British troops advanced on Dar se Salaam, and Looffs tiny force withdrew in good order on September 2. [37] He also discovered the camps, where the British flag revealed the presence of Spicer-Simson and his expedition. [19], The first leg of Mimi and Toutous 10,000mi (16,000km) journey was completed after 17 days at sea and their arrival at the Cape. Within 20 minutes Pegasus was afire, her forward turret smashed.
AfricanMecca Tour & Safari Activities In Lake Tanganyika In Tanzania They may well have had Ensigns on board. Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated, Twickenham to Tanganyika: an extraordinary naval expedition. German naval strategy at the beginning of the war was dictated by circumstances.
Hope yet for African Queen gunboat on Lake Tanganyika - BBC Lake Tanganyika ( / tnjik, - n -/) [4] is an African Great Lake. If you want to see us we are always at home.. Sign up for a new account in our community. He had suffered various mishaps, including the loss of a destroyer under his command in a collision. Wary of being bottled up as war approached, Konigsberg left the harbor on July 31. A chain of sentry posts was set up along the coast and on tiny Mafia Island, four miles offshore.
But Lord Loincloth realized that his little Tanganyika fleet, despite its unbelievable success so far, wasnt powerful enough to face down the large German ship, and he searched around for a bigger vessel that could challenge her. The British wished to challenge this, so during the war, they dragged two boats overlandunder the command ofthe eccentric British Lieutenant-Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson. The vessels anchored 11,000 yards from Konigsberg while aircraft carried out ineffective bombing runs. Hedwig could do 9 knots (17km/h; 10mph) to Fifis 8 knots (15km/h; 9.2mph), but as Fifi fell behind, Mimi sped past, firing on the retreating German vessel with her three-pounder gun. It seemed impossible. He was known as a braggart, a liar, a hot head, and was the oldest Lieutenant Commander in the British Navy at the time. Before the beginning of the war, the Brazilian navy had ordered two shallow-draft gunboats for use on South American rivers. He went ashore to entertain guests at a nearby hotel, from whose windows he watched Niger being torpedoed and sank. The Allies wanted to capture German East Africa, but they needed to control the lake to do so. In November 1917, Lettow-Vorbeck was faced with the choice of fighting a last stand in German East Africa or invading Portuguese East Africa. if (year < 1000) year+=1900
His previous ship had been torpedoed and sunk while he was entertaining guests on shore. Kigoma fell to General Charles Tombeurs forces on 28 July, during the Tabora Offensive, but Gtzen was already gone. The expedition was to support land operations from the lake, and the flotilla, consisting of Mimi, Toutou, Fifi and Vengeur arrived off Bismarckburg on 5 June. Your email address will not be published. dailyinfo[12]='
Captain Donald Charles CUNNELL 20th Sqdn. [7] Meanwhile, on 8 June Graf von Gtzen was launched on Lake Tanganyika. She returned to service on 16 May 1927 under the name Liemba, and still sails Lake Tanganyika. Meanwhile, Lee set out north through the bush, clearing a path for Simson and his boats. dailyinfo[30]=' SD/3772 Lance Corporal John Edward GOLDSMITH 13th Bn. This enabled the German command to move troops rapidly, and to attack Northern Rhodesia across the lake. var year=mydate.getYear()
was scuttled in 20 meters of water, effectively ending the Battle of Lake Tanganyika. dailyinfo[10]=' 94575 Sapper Charles BELCHER 172nd Tunnelling Coy. She arrived off the coast of East Africa in April with a precious cargo of 1,000 rounds for Konigsbergs guns, thousands of shells for Lettow-Vorbecks artillery, two new 60mm guns, 1,800 rifles, 3 million rounds of ammunition, six machine guns, and 3,000 tons of coal. Under heavy bombardment, the British tried twice to brave the German shore defenses, but the landings were driven off by the well-prepared enemy. But these proved elusive.
But no one could deny that Spicer, whether crazy or not, was making unexpectedly good progress: the expedition reached the Belgian Congo village of Kalemei, on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika, on October 28, 1915, and Mimi and Toutou were quickly assembled and floated. The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Henry Jackson, was sufficiently impressed to underwrite Lees ambitious project. On July 11, Severn and Mersey steamed close again, trading fire with Konigsberg. Lee was a famous big-game hunter who had extensive experience in the African bush and also had contacts amongst most of the African native tribes in the area. This information will help us make improvements to the website. From there, she would be able to threaten the vital British sea lanes from India around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, as well as British shipping in the Red Sea. Canadian Infantry who died 13/07/1918 WAILLY ORCHARD CEMETERY France '
Spicer was already making his way with Mimi and Toutou towards the Belgian Congo and Lake Tanganyika. Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, commander of the Schutztruppe, or defense force, in German East Africa, dispatched a 150-man force to guard the approaches. Lake Tanganyika's naval Battle - Naval Encyclopedia [24][25] From there, a small railway took them to just short of the Belgian port of Lukuga, on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. The ruse worked. The net tightened. Most important for their mission up the shallow Rufiji, they drew less than 61/2 feet of water fully loaded. Setting off in June 1915, the two gunboats (named HMS Mimi and HMS Toutou) were transported by train and ship 6,100 miles from the Thames to Cape Town, and then nearly 2,000 miles by train via Elizabethville in theBelgian Congo. Rifle Brigade who died 01/07/1915 HOUPLINES COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION France '
of a motor-boat on Lake Tanganyika on the. He entertained the sailors with stories of his lion-hunting in Gambiathough there were no lions there, and Spicer had in fact never been on a hunt. Twickenham to Tanganyika: an extraordinary naval expedition Guest raasay26 July , 2014 in Sailors, navies and the war at sea. Her main opponent was the British Cape of Good Hope Squadron, made up of three aging cruisersHMS Hyacinth, HMS Astrea, and HMS Pegasus. It was an amazing logistical feat. [14] He ran another ship aground while testing the defences of Portsmouth Harbour, and later collided with and sank a small boat, killing a man.
The Bizarre Battle for Lake Tanganyika. By the time Konigsberg finally rendezvoused with her supply ship off Italian Somaliland, she was down to a mere 14 tons of coal, and drinking water was being severely rationed. On his way out of the harbor, Looff spotted the picket ship Helmuth, which he had missed going in, and pumped three shells into her, causing her to explode as well. [45][46] Junge and four dead crewmembers were buried; one African crewman was allowed to stay on Kingani as a stoker and three German and eight Africans were prisoners of war. Battle for Lake Tanganyika - Wikipedia Hope yet for African Queen gunboat on Lake Tanganyika attd 1st/4th Bn. [27] The German position on the lake had been further strengthened with the loss of the cruiser SMSKnigsberg in the Rufiji River in July. "Fandango." var fontend = ''
He was now nearing retirement, but he had previously served for four years in Gambia where he had captained a small riverboat on a mapping mission. Ships don't come with much more historical ballast than the MV Liemba. George Koch, the ships first officer, put detonators under the two torpedoes and blew up the ship. Shewas then armed with two 37mm Hotchkiss Revolver Guns from a scuttled commerce raider theMoewe, making her even more dangerous. At 3:30 pm, the monitors retired, having fired 635 shells, only four of which scored hits, one striking Konigsberg below the waterline. [69] A British naval force features in the book, consisting of two motor boats named HMS Amelia and HMS Matilda. By the start of the war, the Germans had two warships on Lake Tanganyika: the 60t (59 long tons; 66 short tons) Hedwig von Wissmann, and the 45t (44 long tons; 50 short tons) Kingani. if (dailyinfo[daym] != "") { document.write(fontstart+dailyinfo[daym]+fontend) }
http://bookshop.nationalarchives.gov.uk/9781911070139/Lake-Tanganyika-Expedition-1914-1917-Volume-1/, Visit this page for family history and other research enquiries, The New Poor Law and an early example of information management, Seizing Plato: How a 1934 anti-obscenity police raid caused an outcry in Greece and at home, A new way to explore the nations archives, Empire Windrush passengers accommodated at the Clapham South deep shelter, Remembering the men of Bomber Command who didnt make it home, Friends of The National It may have been the model for the warship sunk by The n Queen, a steam-powered launch in the film of the same name, starring Katharine Hepburn as a prim spinster and Humphrey Bogart as the rough captain. The Naval Africa Expedition left England on June 15, 1915. Other officers and crew returned to sea aboard a small fleet of gunboats on Lake Tanganyika. Simson had his first victory, a German ship captured, no loss of life, and without alerting German forces. Realizing that the British would be keeping a close watch on East African ports, the Germans had prepared a secret haven. The ship was called the Graf von Goetzen and was intended to be a ferry before the war broke out. During the 6,000 mile voyage, Spicer, free at last from any direct Admiralty control, began displaying behavior that was, to say the least, unusual.
[5] It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. Glorious Gunboats. They found one; Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson. [2][68] The Belgians for their part appointed him a Commander of the Order of the Crown, and awarded him the Croix de guerre. var fontstart = ''
On New Years Day, HMS Fox sent Konigsberg a jaunty radio message: A happy New Year. The steamer that serves the citizens around Lake Tanganyika was once the Kaiser's gunboat.
10 guns were actually brought up to Lake Tanganyika. The Germans maintained a third large and heavily armed craft on the lake, Graf von Gtzen; this craft was attacked indecisively by Belgian aircraft and was subsequently scuttled. The Kingani was put into service by the british, and renamed HMS Fiji. . The crew escaped into the bush and met up with a detachment of German Askari, well-trained native troops who proceeded to drive away a British boarding party from the wreck. The British went looking for the German auxiliary warship SMS Goetzen. Lifestyle This German Warship Is Now The World's Oldest Ferry By Aaron Spray Published Apr 2, 2022 The MV Liemba ferry on Lake Tanganyika in the heart of Africa is the old Imperial German SMS Goetzen. 1902-3 from Abercorn (Rhodesia) to Bismarckburg and Ujiji (on Lake Tanganyika in German East Africa). It was not until mid-January that Hedwig came to Lukuga to investigate the disappearance of the German ship. The ship was the inspiration for the German gunboat Luisa in C.S. dailyinfo[28]=' 577 Rifleman BAHADUR LIMBU 2nd Bn. Spicer himself fished her broken flag mast out of the water: it was the first German battle flag to be captured anywhere in the First World War. The steamer still shudders and belches its way across Lake Tanganyika. Join historians and history buffs alike with our Unlimited Digital Access pass to every military history article ever published (over 3,000 articles) in Sovereigns military history magazines. Heading north, Konigsberg captured the 6,600-ton City of Winchester, loaded with choice Ceylonese tea, off the coast of Aden on August 6the first British merchant ship taken in the war.
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