When
European colonists landed in Africa, it was all about one thing, grab as much
territory as you could and make it yours, by any means necessary. Even before
the Berlin Conference, most of African land was already divided among the
European and conflicts between them and the natives of the land they had now
made theirs were taking shape
The
violent collisions pitted the well-equipped, well organized and highly disciplined
armies of the Europeans with the too often weak armies of people of the African
continent. They were no match. More often than not, entire African armies were
annihilated wholesomely and their people subdued almost as fast as the battles
began. Famous Anglo-French write Hilaire Bellocr even confidently wrote that
“Whatever happens, we have the Maxim gun, and they have not”
Well,
except that the Maxim gun sometimes failed terribly when it faced the unbridled
determination, bravery and the sheer spirit of Africans. Downright unexpected upsets sometimes took
place that caused the apparently superior armies of the Europeans to suffer
embarrassing losses in the hands of native Africans.
1.
The Battle of Adwa (1 March 1896)
The
Battle of Adwa, sometimes Adowa, was fought between the Ethiopian Empire and
the Kingdom of Italy near the town of Adwa, in the Ethiopian province of Tigray.
It was the last and decisive battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
The
conflict between Ethiopia and Italy had begun with the Italian occupation of
Eritrea almost immediately after which Italy invaded the Northern Ethiopian province
of Tigray. Ras Mangasha the ruler of Tigray initially resisted the incursion
but was defeated and forced further inwards into Ethiopia
In
September of 1895, Menelik, king of the southern province of Shoa, called the
population of Ethiopia to arms. He began
to lead a massive force of some 100,000 men northward toward the
Italian-occupied territories. Through
late 1895 and into the early months of 1896, Menelik led a brilliant campaign
that forced the overextended Italians to fight on his terms. By threatening to outflank the Italian forces
and threaten Eritrea, Menelik II maneuvered the Italians into a position that left
their supply lines exposed and vulnerable to a population that was now turning
against the occupiers.
Although
General Baraiteri had been initially unwilling to attack the Ethiopians in an
open field, some of his generals convinced him that it was the better option to
attack, believing spy reports that Menelik’s forces were unwilling to fight due
to low morale and depletion of important resources. That proved to be a fatal
mistake.
On
the night of 29th February 1896, the Italians advanced into
Ethiopian lines. The first brigade of Eritrean Askaris came under so much fire
that the survivors were forced to flee and join the other brigades. The Italian
generals believing that a tactical retreat was the only option instead got
caught up in a narrow strip between the valleys of Adowa where most of the army
was annihilated by Menelik’s forces. By noon that day, a beaten, demoralized
and uncoordinated Italian army was on a desperate retreat into Eritrea, and the
battle was won
Victory
at Adwa, shocked many Italians at home and left the world dismayed. It
effectively sealed the unification of Ethiopia and solidified Menelik’s claim
as emperor, effectively securing Ethiopian independence at a time when all of
Africa except Liberia came under European rules.
2.
The Battle of Isandlwana (22nd
of January 1879)
The
Zulus had for a long time been revered by the neighbouring tribes for their
strong, disciplined and organized military since the days of the famed King
Shaka the Zulu. At one time in fact, the Zulus extended their might right up to
the Southern reaches of the Bantu tribes of East Africa.
To
no surprise, when the British began a series of attacks to put southern Africa
under their control, they were met with fierce resistance from Zulus who had an
already established army, which was kept ready at all times unlike most of the
other African tribes.
The
Battle of Isandlwana was the first major conflict in a series of Battles
between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom
A
Zulu force of about 20,000 warriors attacked a British column under Lord
Chelmsford of about 1800 men including natives who were stationed at a camp in
Isandlwana by surprise. The Zulus commanded by princes, were mostly armed with
the Assegai, a type of a short spear although they also employed several
muskets and old rifles. They developed in the traditional formation of horns
and chest of buffalo, aiming to encircle the British column. The British
soldiers initially kept the Zulus at bay with their massive fire power of
mountain guns and Martini-Henri rifles, but heavily outnumbered, grossly
uncoordinated and running out of ammunition ended up being almost wholesomely
slaughtered by the well-organized Zulu army. Of all the nearly 1800 men, only
around 300 men escaped mostly natives who the Zulu army had been commanded to
either ignore or spare. Most of them were stabbed by the assegai after
desperate last stands or close quarter combat in which the Zulu were well
trained at.
The
battle of Isandlwana was perhaps one of the worst defeats the British army ever
suffered in the hands of a native African army. It led to a more aggressive
campaign against the Zulus and eventually, by the turn of the century, the Zulu
kingdom was subdued and King Cetwayo who had so greatly humiliated the British
at Isandlwana was deposed, captured and sent into exile in London
3.
The Battle of Nsamankow (January
22, 1824)
The
Battle of Nsamankow was fought between the British Empire and the Asante in
1823. The battle was one of a series of violent encounters of the First
Anglo-Asante war which lasted up to 1831.
It
was a result of the refusal of the British to accept negotiation on claims the
Asante made on disputed land with the Fante who collaborated closely with the
British, but who were traditionally adversaries with the Asante. Another bone
of contention was the fact that the Asante were still trading in slaves,
despite public opinion in Britain having already turned against slave trade,
forcing the government back home to initiate stern action against communities
that were still practising the trade.
In
December 1823, the British, led by Sir Charles McCarthy attacked the Asante
from the Cape Coast, with the support of the Fante and other local
collaborating tribes. Having greatly underestimated the power of the Asante,
and especially the extent in which they would employ modern weapons which they
had acquired through trade with other Europeans, the British were faced with
fierce resistance of modern weaponry combined with the large numbers of the
Asante. The British battalion was annihilated after only some few hours of
fighting. Only 20 men managed to escape.
General MacCarthey himself was mortally wounded. He shot himself rather
than being captured. His body was decapitated and his heart eaten by the Asante
as a show of respect for his bravery. His head and that of ensign Wetherell
were taken as trophies by the Asante rulers.
4.
Battle of Kitombo (October 18, 1680)
On
October 18, 1680, the colonial Portuguese forces of Angola came head on with
the Bakongo warriors from the province of Soyo, which had earlier on been a
province of the Kongo Kingdom.
Tension
between the Portuguese and Bakongo dated much earlier, and often resulted in
skirmishes between then. In 1665, the Portuguese had crushed the Bakongo
decisively in the Battle of Mbwila. The defeat of the Kongo in that battle
resulted in an eruption of a brutal civil war between the House of Kilanza,
whose ruler was now dead and the House of Kimpanzu, whose elements were
stationed in Soyo. Several times, invaders from Soyo captured the capital and
installed their own puppet leaders. Finally, having grown tired of Soyo disruption
and intervention, King Rafael I, who had now been driven out of the capital
sought Portuguese help. The Portuguese gladly accepted, fearing that failing to
do so, the Soyo would become as powerful as the Kongo had been before the
crushing at Mbwila.
In
August 1680, the governor of Luanda, Francisco de Távora, a contingent of 400
Portuguese musket men supported by native warriors to attack the Soyo and crush
them once and for all. They were led João Soares de Almeida. The force first
encountered Soyo warriors at Mbidizi River who they defeated albeit suffering
severe losses of men, and continued to march forward.
Three
months later, the colonial forces again encountered the Soyo at the fateful
densely forested area called Kitombo. Using artillery and light field pieces
acquired from the Dutch, Soyo warriors immediately overwhelmed the Portuguese
resulting in heavy casualties including Francisco de Távora. The few who
survived died while attempting to cross the swollen Mbidizi River.
The
Battle of Kitombo were a crushing defeat for the Portuguese and although
tension remained high between them, the Portuguese never returned to Soyo again
until almost two centuries later.
4.
5.
The Battle of Viervoet (30th
June 1851)
The
Battle of Viervoet is definitely one of the most memorable battle of the
British- Basotho wars, a series of armed conflicts between the Basotho people
of South Africa and colonial British forces.
The
Basotho were a people whose country was forged by diplomacy after the
disruptions in Southern Africa caused by the ambitious territorial ambitions of
King Shaka o the Zulu. As early as 1822, the Basotho were united firmly under
their leader, King Mshoeshoe I.
In
1851, the British controlled the land between Orange River and Vaal River.
However their occupation of the Orange River state was not recognized by the
Basotho, and there were numerous skirmishes between them. In the end, the same
year, the Warden Line was proclaimed which put a clear border between land of
the Basotho and British territories. Instead of helping the already tense
situation, the Warden line in fact caused greater resentment of the British by
the Basotho because the agriculturally vital land in Caledon River valley was
still left under British protection. Contention of the Caledon River Valley
ultimately resulted to a face-off between a small contingent of British, Boer,
Griqua and Barolong led by Major Warden and Basotho warriors at Viervoet.
Few
details exist but the Basotho Light Cavalry, well organized and certainly as
skilful as the British, quickly overran the contingent and drove them back. The
unwise decision of attacking the highly trained and well-armed mounted Sotho
was starkly realized. That day the British lost 150 men in the hands of what
they had believed to be an inferior opponent.
After
that battle, the Sotho would once again humiliate the British one more time,
after which King Mshoeshoe, who had proved his worth in war as in diplomacy
sued for peace with the British. To no surprise, they gladly accepted. At least
for that moment.
6.
Second Mandingo War 1894-1895
The
Second Mandingo War was the second of three wars between the French and the
Mandinka under the warrior king and emperor Samori Toure. Samori is arguably
the most powerful example of resistance towards the colonial powers invasion of
the African Continent. He employed a clever mix of diplomacy and brilliant war
strategies in resisting the French incursion in what is today Senegal and parts
of Ivory Coast. During his army’s first conflict with the French, Samori has
been forced to migrate with his people further eastwards establishing a new
capital in Bissandugu.
Samori
commanded a disciplined and well equipped army of 30000 infantry and 3000
cavalry. He had been able to obtain modern weapons from trade with the British
who were also showing interest in the territories West of Samori’s empire.
Toure’s army even had skilled men who repaired and sometimes improved the
European made weapons.
The
French with the help of local tribes from Senegal and modern day Guinea
attacked Samori’s Empire seeking to capture his capital and put his whole
empire, rich in many valuable resources under their rule. In March of 1891, a
French force led by Colonel Louis Archinard launched a direct towards the town
of Kankan. Realizing the French’s army mighty firepower and great organization,
Samori started a series of manoeuvres, employing the Scorched-Earth policy and
surprise attacks on isolated French troops. He managed to score several decisive
victories of French columns despite the divisions that had now began to rock
his army and Britain’s decision to stop selling weapons to him. Fearing more
losses, the French halted their ambitious campaign and momentarily stopped the
campaign to put Ivory Coast under its protection.
It
was not to be for too long as the Third French-Mandingo war broke out and
Samori was captured clearly worn out by the might of the colonial French army.
7.
The Battle of Intombe (7th
of March 1879)
The
Zulus had already proved Isandlwana but the British were not done with them
yet. In fact since the defeat at Isandlwana, the British had only grown
suspicious of the Zulu and had remained in a constant state of alert. That
February Major Charles Tucker sent a group of 100 men under Captain David
Moriarty to gather all wagons that had been sent to Intombe earlier that
February and laager them on the banks of River Intombe in anticipation for any
attack that the Zulus would launch.
Although
Major Tucker inspected the laagers and found them to be substandard or poorly
constructed, three days later, two sentries were already stationed at Intombe.
On
March 13th, in early hours of the morning, a group of around 600
Zulu warriors commanded by Mbelini advanced quietly and unnoticed up to very
proximally close to the camp. One of the sentries, one of the patrols
discovered the mass of Zulu warriors and fired a shot to alarm the other men.
Most of Moriarty’s men had been asleep and although they were up in a moment,
the Zulu warriors, highly skilled in hand to hand combat, and utilizing their
assegai to their advantage were upon the men, stabbing and shooting into a
dismayed, disorganized and now panicked camp. Moriarty was among the first to die
by the stab of an assegai. Most of his men suffered the same fate after
attempting to put on some resistance albeit futile. By dusk that day, only 36
of the men survived to tell the horror of the Battle at Intombe River Drift.
The Zulus had suffered almost no fatalities.
8.
Shangani Patrol (December
3rd 1893 – December 4th
1893)
The
Shangani patrol is perhaps most famous for the spirited last stand put up by a contingent
of 46 scouts led by Major Allan Wilson of the British army.
After
the defeat of the Matebele by the British in the First Matebele war, King
Lobengula fled the capital Bulawayo, after setting alight the city. However,
British South African Company official Leander Starr Jameson believed that
unless Lobengula was captured and forced to acknowledge his victors, there
would be no peace. To that effect, he sent a letter asking Lobengula to meet
him, to which Lobengula replied ambiguously. Jameson therefore decided to
pursue the King, sending 460 men under the command of Major Forbes to capture
the king dead or alive.
Forbes
further split his men up and sent Major Allan with 46 scouts near Shangani to
look out for Lobengula who had been said to be hiding around Shangani River.
Wilson and three others approached the Kings enclosure calling out for him. No
answer was received. A skirmish then
erupted as Lobengulas men who had been hiding behind trees began firing at the
company from both sides of the river.
At
first, it seemed like the Matebele would be easily overwhelmed but their firing
forced Forbes and his men to make a hasty retreat. Wilson and his men had
wanted to join up with the rest of the company but they were blocked from
joining Forbes by a line of warriors. All attempts to break through failed.
According to Matebele who’s the only information about that battle come from,
Wilson and his men were asked to surrender, an offer which they refused,
fighting ceaselessly and furiously until they ran out of ammunition in the
evening. At that point, the Matebele warriors downed their weapons and a young
warrior proceeded to stab Wilson in the heart, who was the last of the men to
die. The rest of Forbes’ company was pursued actively by the warriors until
they retreated back to the safety of the now rebuilt Bulawayo.
It
was to be the last confrontation between the British and the Matebele before
King Lobengula died days later from small pox.
9.
The Battle of Dul Madoba (9th
August 1913)
The
Battle of Dul Madoba was an epic battle, perhaps the most memorable, of the
conflicts between British Somaliland forces under Colonel Richard Corfield and
Dervish soldiers under Mohamed Abdullah. Abdullah, nicknamed ‘Mad Mullah’ by
the British for his ruthless, became one of the greatest headaches for the
British government early 20th century. The British even made it a
priority to kill or capture him, in order to establish a protectorate over
Somaliland. For the past four years however, the British had constantly
launched punitive expeditions into Abdullah’s territories but Abdullah and his
armies remained largely elusive and constantly attacking British interests in
Somalia.
Although
few details exist of the battle, Corfield led a Camel constabulary of 110 men which
was soon to come face to face with Abdullah’s well-armed and confident
contingent almost 3000 men. The Dervish forces attacked Corfield’s men near the
hill ridge of Dul Madoba. Catching Corfield by surprise, then heavily
outnumbered camel constabulary was quickly overran. At the end of the battle 36
of the 110 men were killed, and 21 men severely wounded. Among those killed in
battle that day was Corfield himself. The defeat was so humiliating for the
British that some soldiers who survived imagined seeing a white man in Mad
Mullah’s army.
The
British would momentarily withdraw their protection of Somali clans in Port
Berbera in the aftermath of the loss.
After
the battle, Mohammed Abdullah aptly wrote a now famous poem and titled it ‘Richard Corfield’
10.
War of the Golden Stool (25 March 1900 - 1 January 1902)
The
War of the Golden stool was the last and arguably one of the fiercest wars of
the five Anglo-Ashanti wars. It derives its name from the Ashanti’s royal
Golden stool which was the cause of the war. The war is most famous not on the
scale of the armies or the number of casualties the side took, but the level which Ashanti pride was
restored by the time it was over.
The
war broke out after an attempt by the British to take control of the equivalent
of Ashanti’s Ark of covenant. Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson ordered his men to
search for the Golden stool after Ashanti kings refused to surrender it. The
Ashanti organised themselves, managing to consolidate a force of 12,000
warriors and attacked the soldiers who were attempting to retrieve the Golden
stool.
The
British retreated to a small fort, taking with them several high profile
Ashanti leaders. One of the Ashanti leaders taken captive was the Queen mother
of Ejisu and the leader of the rebellion Yaa Asantewaa. For months the skirmishes continued, claiming
casualties on both sides although the British and their allies managed to
defend themselves until a rescue party arrived in June, which took with it
Frederick, his wife and 100 other men. A second recue party was sent in July
and managed to avoid Ashanti warriors to escort all the remaining men to
safety.
The
Ashanti sued for peace with the British on condition that their sacred Golden
Stool would not be violated again by the British or their allies. That offer
was accepted. In all, the British and their allies had suffered 1000 casualties
while the Ashanti suffered 2000.
Although
it ended with most of Ashanti’s leader sent to exile, they scored one last
major victory against the intruder- keeping the Golden Stool, their Ark of
Covenant, safe.
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