Battle of Lioma

Schutztruppe askaris and carriers late into the war, when there was little uniformity left among the depleted and exhausted German forces, who had make do with whatever equipment, clothing and supplies they could capture.[16]

By 1918, the once strong Schutztruppe, which had successfully resisted the allies for four years, was much depleted and exhausted. Of its peak strength of around 15,000 soldiers in 1916[17] just about 1,600 were left.[7] Many African as well as European soldiers had deserted or surrendered as the allies overran their home areas in German East Africa, wages were no longer paid, and life in the army became harder and more brutal.[18][19][20] Many of the soldiers also became unfit for combat due to the extreme food shortages and disease under which the Schutztruppe suffered.[21][22] Driven from their territory and unable to regularly recruit or train new soldiers, manpower shortages among the common soldiers were severe,[lower-alpha 1] while officers and NCOs became irreplaceable. This was particularly problematic because the Schutztruppe's ability to continue to function as coherent, effective fighting force largely rested upon its experienced and capable leadership.[lower-alpha 2]

Nevertheless, most of the black soldiers who had already served since before the war[23] were still staunchly loyal to Lettow-Vorbeck by 1918, with their fighting spirit and morale remaining largely unshaken. Even though they suffered from exhaustion, poor supplies, hunger, excessive heat or cold, and an increasingly experienced and stubborn opponent in form of the King's African Rifles during the fighting in Portuguese East Africa, these core cadres refused to give up – be it out of loyalty to their comrades, economic self-interest, desire for revenge,[18][19][20] or sheer will to survive.[lower-alpha 3] Battle-hardened, experienced in mobile bush-warfare, and possessed by a strong esprit de corps after years of warfare, they still constituted a force to be reckoned with.[29] Lettow-Vorbeck himself would judge after the Battle of Lioma that his men had fought "brilliantly" in face of the odds.[30] Willpower alone could not substitute for adequate supplies and reinforcements, however, so that the Schutztruppe's effective combat power had still much declined by 1918, and the Germans could no longer meet strong enemy formations head-on without risking their own destruction.[26][31]

King's African Rifles soldiers rest near Mssindyi, German East Africa, September 1917.

The British soldiers that faced the Schutztruppe at Lioma were part of the King's African Rifles (KAR), a long neglected branch of the British colonial forces. Having proven themselves to be among the most effective opponents of the Schutztruppe, the KAR were drastically expanded, strengthened and reorganized after 1915. Their tactics and strategies were adapted to the mobile German bush warfare,[32] and better equipment and weaponry was given to the British askaris.[33] Unlike the Germans, whose supply and recruitment prospects deteriorated as the war went on, the KAR could replenish its ranks.[lower-alpha 4] The massive expansion of the KAR meant, however, that most of its troops were fresh recruits and thus inferior in experience to the hardened Schutztruppe.[36] At Lioma, for example, the 1/1st KAR mostly consisted of recent recruits from Nyasaland (modern-day Malawi) formed around a cadre of veterans.[37] Furthermore, the extremely poor quality or non-existence of roads in Mozambique greatly hindered the supply of the large numbers of KAR soldiers who chased the small Schutztruppe. As result, both British white officers as well as askaris had to live off the land and often were, just like their German counterparts, near starvation.[38][39] In one case, when "the officers and men [of one unit] were inspected at the end of their stint in the field they were described as resembling the victims of famine. Their experience of the hardships of war in East Africa was typical, not exceptional."[40]

Despite these adverse conditions, the British native soldiers generally proved themselves to be tenacious and very capable fighters, motivated by a variety of reasons, most of them rooted in traditional African concepts of loyalty and their comparably high wages.[42][43][37] The white and black officers and NCOs of the King's African Rifles also led by example and like their Schutztruppe counterparts suffered heavy losses, though unlike the Germans the British could relatively quickly replace them.[42] New British white officers often could not speak Swahili (the regional lingua franca), however, hindering communications with their men.[44]

One of the most important British commanders during the operations in Mozambique was Lt-Col George Giffard; leading a brigade (K.A.R. 2nd Col. or "KARTUCOL") specifically to find and destroy Lettow-Vorbeck's remaining troops, he was highly regarded by both his own forces and respected by the Germans. His troops would relieve the Lioma garrison on the battle's second day.[41]

Dense bush such as seen here greatly hindered visibility at Lioma and concealed enemies, thus making it necessary for the 1/1st KAR to set up vulnerable outposts and sent out scouts in order to prevent the Schutztruppe from surprising them.[5]

The Schutztruppe arrived at area surrounding Lioma on 30 August.[6] The British forces at Lioma had noticed the German approach hours before the latter's arrival, and thus could strengthen their defenses accordingly.[38] Indeed, as the German columns (Abteilungen, short: Abt) advanced on the village, one of the relief units, namely 3/2nd KAR under Lt-Col Charles George Phillips, arrived around 12:00 and deployed north-east of 1/1st main position at Lioma.[6][7]

While the newly arrived battalion was deploying, the Schutztruppe's vanguard, formed by Abt Müller, encountered a detached platoon of 1/1 KAR east of Lioma, resulting in a first skirmish, whereupon the leading soldiers of Abt Müller retreated southwards. When Lettow-Vorbeck learned of this firefight, he incorrectly assessed that the British had not yet fortified their positions due to the minimal defenses of the encountered forward outpost. Believing that the enemy positions were still vulnerable, he consequently ordered Abt Göring and Abt Müller to flank 1/1st KAR's main position, while Abt Poppe was sent against and overran the British outpost around 14:30. An attempt by the British to relieve the detached platoon failed,[6][7] though Hptm. Poppe was seriously wounded during the British counter-attack.[4] As result of the German encirclement movement, communication between 1/1st and 3/2nd KAR was severed.[6]

Around 16:30, the Germans launched their determined attack on 1/1st KAR's main position with around 1,000 men and 30 machine guns.[7] The assault began with Abt Müller attacking from the east and north, followed by Abt Poppe from the south. At the same time, 3/2nd KAR launched a number of counter-attacks against the Germans, capturing Abt Müller's baggage and reserve ammunition, and blocking Abt Göring's attempt to also flank 1/1st KAR. Unable to advance further, Hptm. Karl Göring consequently ordered part of his force to oppose 3/2nd KAR, while the rest charged 1/1 KAR's western perimeter.[45] The vigorous, unnerving German attacks scattered 1/1 KAR's carriers and caused many casualties, among them several senior officers of the battalion killed or wounded, including Major Masters, who had to be replaced by Captain Stanley Conway John as commanding officer of 1/1 KAR.[7] Nevertheless, the 1/1st KAR's askari held firm and reportedly displayed "excellent" shooting.[37] One small German group actually succeeded in breaking into the northwestern corner of the British defensive square, but they were quickly killed.[7] The Schutztruppe continued its attacks until 22:30, when the mounting casualties among his troops led Göring to the conclusion that a continued engagement was futile, whereupon he ordered a withdrawal. The German units subsequently retreated south to rejoin the rest of their forces.[46][47]

Lieutenant colonel George Giffard, whose attempt to encircle and destroy the Schutztruppe were hindered by the terrain and reluctance of 1/2nd KAR to press the attack.[10]

In course of the following night, Lettow-Vorbeck came to the conclusion that his forces had to escape Lioma toward the east; he knew that the Schutztruppe needed a respite and that more enemy units were converging on his position. On the other side, 2/2nd KAR had reached Lioma, while 1/2nd KAR was closing in on the Nalume River crossing to the village's east; thus, by early 31 August, three British battalions were in the vicinity of Lioma, with a fourth marching to blockade the most important eastern escape route. Lt-Col Giffard, who had arrived with 2/2nd KAR and now took command over all present British forces, consequently saw a good opportunity to finally encircle and crush the Schutztruppe.[5]

The German forces began to move northeast towards the Lioma-Muanhupa road at 09:00 on 31 August, after regrouping during the night. In order to speed up their advance, they left behind seriously wounded and sick Schutztruppe personnel as well as prisoners. These were later captured by the British. The German vanguard was once again formed by the columns of Müller and Göring, the main body was led by Gen. Maj. Kurt Wahle, while Hptm. Stemmermann was left in charge of the rearguard. Lettow-Vorbeck would freely move through the force to oversee its advance and take command wherever he was most needed.[48] Even though they sent out patrols to learn about the Schutztruppe's location throughout the night, the British only received reports about Lettow-Vorbeck's movement at 10:00. Thereupon Giffard ordered 2/2nd KAR and half of 3/2nd KAR to move eastwards, and 1/2nd KAR to march west in order to engage and encircle the German forces between them. 1/1st KAR, badly shaken by the previous day's fighting, was to remain at Lioma to guard the British baggage and reserve ammunition, while the other half of 3/2nd KAR was held as mobile reserve.[49]

Two companies of 2/2nd KAR came up against the German vanguard's flank on the Lioma-Muanhupa road around 12:00, immediately starting a stubborn, but stagnant firefight with Abt Müller and Abt Göring.[50] Other elements of the 2/2nd and 3/2nd KAR attempted to flank this vanguard and attack the German main body in order to scatter its carriers and capture its supplies, which would have meant a heavy logistical blow for the Schutztruppe. Well covered by the bush and the rugged hills, however, the German main body evaded the British to the west and managed to move eastwards along the road, and then on a trail into the northern hills. After encountering 2/2nd and 3/2nd KAR, Lettow-Vorbeck initially assumed that he could possibly destroy them with a determined counter-attack using all his forces; this plan was dropped, however, when it became clear that the German main body had already too far advanced northwards to be called back for an assault. Meanwhile, unknown to the Germans, 1/2nd KAR marched southwest along the Lioma-Muanhupa road, and encountered parts of the Schutztruppe's rearguard by 14:30. Completely surprising the defenders, 1/2nd KAR managed to overrun a whole enemy field hospital largely unopposed. Hindered in its advance only by a few snipers, 1/2nd KAR then moved into the northern hills, where the German main body and the remaining rearguard were located, and promptly came under machine gun fire. This only briefly halted the King's African Rifles soldiers, and overall the German rearguard offered only light resistance to 1/2nd KAR until it was forced to retreat northwards in disorder around 15:00.[50]

The Schutztruppe on the march. Difficult terrain such as seen here could greatly hinder effective operations, as it was the case at Lioma.[16]

While this was happening, Lettow-Vorbeck had already ordered his western units to retreat after Hptm. Göring was wounded. Having lost several officers and NCOs on the battle's first day, he could simply risk no more casualties among them. As there was almost no communication possible between the different detachments due to the problematic terrain, Lettow-Vorbeck noticed the attack on his rearguard units only when he had begun to ascend the northern hills with the withdrawing Abt Göring and Abt Müller. By then it had become too late for the German commander to make contact with or aid the now beleaguered forces of Stemmermann and Wahle.[3][51]

That the Germans did not suffer more casualties among their rearguard was thanks to the false reports of captured German askaris, who massively exaggerated the Schutztruppe's remaining strength when being questioned by 1/2nd KAR. Thus discouraged, the latter stopped its pursuit of the Germans, regrouped, and only resumed to cautiously advance at 16:00. The British forces coming from the east and west finally met around 17:00, by which all German units had managed to successfully escape northwards.[50] Due to the difficult terrain, however, the communications between the retreating Schutztruppe forces had "become hopelessly muddled" and order had also largely broken down: The western vanguard units, attempting to climb the steep northern granite hills, had become lost, while the situation among the main body was also chaotic. Only late into the night was Lettow-Vorbeck, who was still with Abt Müller and Abt Göring, able to reestablish contact and eventually reunite with the main body under Wahle.[52][53] One German detachment under Hptm. Köhl even became so completely lost that it was only able to reunite with the rest of the Schutztruppe after several days.[54][30]