Ovambo Uprising

Ovambo Uprising
Part of South West Africa Campaign of World War I

Portuguese naval infantry in 1915.
These soldiers were sent to Angola and fought in Mongua.
(colorized photo by Joshua Benoliel)
Date18 December 1914 – 6 February 1917
Location
Southern Portuguese Angola
Result Portuguese sovereignty in southern Angola restored
Belligerents

Portugal Portugal

 United Kingdom

Commanders and leaders
Portugal Alves Roçadas
Portugal Pereira d'Eça
Union of South Africa Colonel de Jager		 Mandume ya Ndemufayo †
Calola
Strength
Portugal 5,000[2]
Portugal <1,000 African auxiliaries[2]
Union of South Africa 700[3]		 50,000 – 150,000
(<20,000 fully armed)[4]
Casualties and losses
Portugal 52 killed (18–20 August 1915; October 1916)[5][6]
Portugal 57 wounded[5]		 25 killed (18–20 August 1915)[5]
100 wounded[5]

The Ovambo Uprising was an uprising against Portuguese colonial rule in World War I. It lasted from about 18 December 1914 to 6 February 1917 with the death of its leader, King Mandume yaNdemufayo, by South African forces in Namibia. The war pitted Portuguese troops, commanded by General António Júlio da Costa Pereira de Eça, against an Ovambo army, composed mainly of fighters from the Oukwanyama clan.[7][1]

  1. ^ a b Pélissier 1977.
  2. ^ a b Zollmann 2016a, p. 212.
  3. ^ Zollmann 2016b, p. 101.
  4. ^ Zollmann 2016a, p. 212–213.
  5. ^ a b c d Zollmann 2016a, p. 219.
  6. ^ Zollmann 2016b, p. 100.
  7. ^ Zollmann, Jakob (2016). Naulila 1914. World War I in Angola and International Law.