Battle of Tanga

Battle of Tanga
Part of the East African campaign of World War I

"Battle of Tanga, 3rd–5th November, 1914" by Martin Frost (1875–1927)
Date3–5 November 1914
Location
Tanga, German East Africa
Result German victory
Belligerents

 German Empire

 British Empire

Commanders and leaders
German Empire Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck
German Empire Tom von Prince  †		 British Empire Arthur Aitken
British Empire Richard Wapshare
British Empire Michael Tighe
Strength
250 (Initially)
750 (Reinforcements)
Total:
1,000		 4,000 (Initially)
5,000 (Reinforcements)
1 Astraea-class cruiser
Total:
9,000
Casualties and losses
16 Germans killed[1]
55 Askaris killed[1]
76 Germans & Askaris wounded[1]		 360 killed[2]
487 wounded[2]
148 missing[3]

The Battle of Tanga, also known as the Battle of the Bees, was an unsuccessful invasion of the German East African port of Tanga by the British Indian Expeditionary Force "B" on 3–5 November 1914 during World War I. Under the command of the Major-General Arthur Aitken, British forces attacked Tanga in concert with Indian Expeditionary Force "C", which concomitantly attempted to capture Longido. The battle was the first major engagement of the East African campaign and saw Aitken's troops defeated by a smaller force of German Schutztruppe under Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and forced to retreat. Lettow-Vorbeck's men captured weapons, medical supplies, tents, blankets, rations and several Maxim guns after the battle, which played a major role in allowing his troops to resist the Allies for the rest of the conflict.

  1. ^ a b c Miller 1974, p. 71,
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Miller, p. 70 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ The Battle of Tanga, German East Africa, 1914 A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College