HOWEVER, wherever these large ammunition depots might be, they had certainly not fallen into our hands. We had to start out on the search again. The whole strategic situation, as well as the documents we captured, showed that they must be somewhere in this region. There was a high degree of probability that the more considerable stocks, whose existence we suspected, were further south, either because they had been there from the start or because they had been moved there as a result of our approach. It seemed likely that before long they would be transported to the coast and transferred to ships, in case of emergency.

During our march considerable patrols had reconnoitred the region within a radius of a day’s march, and captured a few small enemy food depots, but no arms or ammunition. MÜller’s detachment, with which we had joined up at Mujeba on June 27th, marched further south again the same day. The natives told us of a large boma at Origa, which was said to be somewhere further south, near the coast, and to have large ammunition supplies. MÜller’s party was to find this boma. Our directions were thoroughly inaccurate, as usual. I was quite certain that on the march other and conflicting reports would infallibly arrive. Unfortunately we had not a long time in which to test the intelligence that came in. All we could do was to trust that it contained at least an element of truth.

As the situation demanded, Captain MÜller was given the greatest freedom of action. If any promising objective presented itself during his march, he was to decide without hesitation what his best course was. I would bring up our main body and intervene unconditionally in his support, and, in any case, I would accept the situation he had created. The main thing was that he should not wait for special orders and instructions. I realized that in acting thus I was in a large measure placing the conduct of our operations in the hands of a subordinate commander. It was only possible because that subordinate commander possessed a very sound, tactical judgment and great initiative.

Our leading troops, with their three weak companies, had to perform the double function of cavalry sent out far and wide to reconnoitre, and that of an advance guard led with the greatest energy. In any other circumstances I should have been with the advance guard myself, in view of its important task, so that I could have a surer hold on the course of operations. Experience had taught me, however, that in view of the distance between our columns, my presence with the main body was indispensable, both to overcome obstacles quickly and to be able to act in face of some unforeseen change in the situation. It must not be forgotten that our whole advance was based on combination, and that, as actually happened often enough, the unsuspected appearance of hostile detachments from some other direction transformed the situation at a blow and made fresh dispositions necessary.

Accordingly we marched by small native tracks or right through the bush in single file. Owing to the great length of our columns, on a day’s march of nineteen miles or so the head had to start off in the dark—about 5 a.m.—if the tail was to reach the camp appointed the same day, that is, late in the evening and just before darkness fell. It was inevitable, because camping material had to be procured, wood to be chopped, grass to be cut and shelters to be built, in case of need, for the sick. For that reason our whole force could not march concentrated. It was much too extended. MÜller’s detachment, forming the advance guard, marched one or two days’ march ahead. The rearguard, Spangenberg’s detachment, followed the main body at a distance of about a day’s march. Communication was maintained by means of runners.

In the reports which reached us by the runners of MÜller’s detachment, the name “Kokosani” was now perpetually recurring. Considerable enemy depots, strongly protected by hostile troops, were to be found there, so it was said. But where was this Kokosani? The word could not be found on our maps. It gradually came to light that Kokosani was the same place that figured on Portuguese maps as Namacurra. In any case, all our previous intelligence, as well as a glance at the situation on the map, showed that Kokosani must be our most promising objective. We had no means of knowing whether it would be possible to capture this place, probably very strongly fortified, with our relatively limited resources. Only the attempt itself could enlighten us on that point. Captain MÜller had turned west towards the place independently. On the way it became clear that, as the natives had told us, there actually was a ford over the river Likungo.

I now marched on quickly with our main body, in order to join up, and gave orders to the same effect to our rearguard under Captain Spangenberg. In the afternoon of July 1st, the main force reached the Likungo and immediately crossed it. The water of this great river, more than four hundred yards wide, came up to our necks at the deepest parts of the ford. It took each man about an hour to cross. When the troops had successfully reached the western bank, we bivouacked, and next morning continued our march in the tracks of MÜller’s detachment ahead.

On the way some thirty natives met us. They had worked in Kokosani, and told us that a large number of Portuguese and Askari were encamped there, and that a number of chests had arrived. We had to employ interpreters in our talk with these men, as they did not know Kisuaheli. Several of our Askari were masters of the local tongue or related dialects.

Before long we received an important report from the advance guard. On the previous day Captain MÜller had completely surprised the enemy at Kokosani by an encircling move. Marching on the factory buildings from the north in broad daylight, through a field of knee-high agaves and without any cover, he had succeeded in getting into the Portuguese entrenchments and, in several hours of very severe hand-to-hand fighting, defeating the three Portuguese companies holding them, with very heavy losses to the enemy. In the course of the action a number of rifles, as well as two field guns with their ammunition, were captured.

I myself went on a little ahead of our main body, and in the morning came across several extensive and well-arranged plantations. Next I followed the track of a field railway, which ran along the main road right through the fields, and after a short time joined up with a standard-gauge line. As was to appear later, the latter led from the river Namacurra northwards to the neighbourhood of Lugella. When Captain MÜller struck this standard-gauge line the day before, he held up a train which had just come from Lugella. It is easy to realize the mutual amazement when there descended from the train several Portuguese non-commissioned officers whom MÜller had captured at Lugella and released again.

When I reached the factory buildings, Captain MÜller came limping up to me, pretty lame. He expressed his astonishment that I had brought my detachment direct to Kokosani by the main road and without opposition, for he thought that there must be quite two English companies somewhere in the neighbourhood. He had not yet been able to ascertain their whereabouts, but documents which Captain MÜller had captured pointed conclusively to their presence in the district. MÜller also told me that he had not yet found the considerable quantity of infantry cartridges. All his people were still busy trying to find them and anything similar.

When I considered the matter more closely, it seemed to me more probable that the ammunition stores we were hunting for would not be near the factory, but must be somewhere directly on the railway, and, indeed, at its southern terminus. That was the place for a large ammunition depot, for it must be the unloading point where the stuff was transferred to rail from ships on the Namacurra. We had to find out whether these deductions were sound. I went back immediately and met the leading files of our main body among the plantations. The leading companies were anything but pleased to have to retrace their steps in order to follow the standard-gauge railway southwards. After the long, tiring march a few complimentary remarks about my arrangements were comprehensible enough. Fortunately for me, I did not hear them.

It was in a rather bad humour that the men at the head of the column arrived in the neighbourhood of the railway-station. They did not seriously believe in the possibility of a fight. It was upon them suddenly, however, and several Askari were struck by hostile bullets at quite short range and fell. The rest of our main force, which was near at hand and ready for action, was brought up. When I arrived, the situation was not at all clear; the enemy was obviously entrenched and closer reconnaissance was in progress. An indecisive exchange of shots now developed. It began to rain and was unpleasantly cold, so that everyone felt thoroughly uncomfortable. I myself went to Lieutenant von Ruckteschell’s company, which was lying opposite to and about ninety yards from the corrugated-iron buildings of the station and directing a well-aimed rifle and machine-gun fire from some high ant-hills every time anything showed.

I considered that the situation at the moment was unfavourable to storming the station. We would have been compelled to rush at the enemy’s position through the thick bush, which was commanded by a most effective hostile fire. That offered but little prospect of success. A number of our men would probably not have joined in the rush at all, and those who did and got close to the enemy’s fortress would probably have been held up and found themselves unable to get on. We should, therefore, achieve nothing.

On the other hand, my reconnaissance had brought the idea to my mind that on targets, some of which were very visible, artillery fire would be effective, especially from two sides. It would frighten the enemy’s Askari and make them run away. That would be a favourable moment for good machine-gun fire. But the day was already too far advanced, and our gun was smashed, so that nothing definite could be ventured on for that day. The larger portion of the troops retired to our camp, and only three companies of Captain Poppe’s detachment remained in close contact with the enemy.

The next day, July 3rd, we got our gun into working order again, after strenuous efforts. As luck would have it, it was of the same model as the guns Captain MÜller had captured, and so, by interchanging the individual serviceable parts of these three guns, we produced a field-piece fit for use. There was thus a prospect of putting to good use the two hundred rounds we had captured two days before. In the afternoon the gun was to be brought up to within a few hundred yards of the station, and open fire upon it. Another smaller, 4-cm., gun was ready in the foremost infantry line—and therefore about a hundred and twenty-five yards off—to start a cross fire. All our machine guns were held ready. In the morning I had been to the factory buildings again for a conference, and had told the civilian personnel there they need not get frightened if they heard the sound of firing in the afternoon. The white women and children had been very frightened by the fighting, and some of them had fled into the bush.

I had gone back to our camp, extremely tired, when the sound of fighting at the station suddenly made itself heard. We received a telephone report that loud yells and cries of “hurrah” could be heard coming from the station. By degrees the following facts were established: the enemy was apparently tired of the well-aimed, concentric fire which had been directed at them since the afternoon. They were now being subjected to artillery fire from two sides at once, and the moment there was the slightest movement machine guns opened on them. Their young troops could not stand it, and were very restless. Our companies recognized that this was their weak moment and used it immediately, showing splendid initiative. They leaped up with loud hurrahs, and the next minute were in the enemy’s position. The enemy began to run away. The English maintained that they had been infected by the example of the Portuguese. However that may be, they ran away and our companies immediately went after them as hard as they could. Our flying foes reached the river Namacurra, which ran immediately behind their position, quickly pulled off their boots and dashed into the water. Here most of the hostile troops were drowned, including their commander, Major Gore-Brown.

Between July 1st and 3rd the enemy had 5 Europeans and 100 Askari killed, 4 Europeans and about 100 Askari drowned, while 421 Askari were taken prisoner. Of the Europeans (5 English and 117 Portuguese) who also fell into our hands, 55 Portuguese escaped and 46 sick and wounded Portuguese were left behind in the hospital at Kokosani. We had 8 Askari and 1 machine-gun carrier killed, 3 Europeans, 11 Askari and 2 machine-gun carriers wounded. At first it was quite impossible to estimate, even approximately, what amount of ammunition and food we had captured at the station. Seven heavy, 3 light machine guns and 2 guns had fallen into our hands, but these 2 guns had been rendered useless.

More and more cases of captured ammunition were brought into our camp. The Intendant, Lieutenant Besch (retired naval officer), was in despair because he did not know where he was going to get enough carriers to remove such vast stores. They included more than 300,000 kilograms of food and the stocks from the Kokosani sugar factory. The amount of booty enabled all our coloured men to receive as much clothing material as they wanted, and my boy, Serubili, said to me: “This is a very different matter to Tanga; we’re all getting as much sugar as we want now.”

It is a fact that the whole camp was littered with sugar. Each of the blacks was so well-off for food and clothing of all kinds that they stopped stealing, as if by word of command. Everyone knows what that means where blacks are concerned.

The booty included large quantities of European food and preserves. Every European found himself well provided for for months ahead. Unfortunately it was not possible for us to get away the whole stock of excellent wine we had captured. After a sufficient quantity had been set aside as a restorative for the sick, the rest had mainly to be drunk on the spot. The risk of a wholesale “jollification” that involved was gladly taken, and everyone was allowed to let himself go for once, after his long abstinence.

In addition there was some fine schnapps in a large number of casks in the Kokosani factory. These were being stored ready for the English troops. With the best will in the world it was impossible to drink it all, so we had to empty a large number of the casks into the Namacurra.

Column after column of carriers arrived in the camp with booty, and the Intendant became more and more desperate. Affairs reached a climax when a telephone message came from the station that a river-steamer had arrived. An English medical officer, all unsuspecting of what had happened at Namacurra, disembarked from it and closer examination of the boat revealed the presence of a considerable consignment of cartridges, exceeding three hundred cases.

In all we had captured about three hundred and fifty modern English and Portuguese rifles, a welcome addition to our resources, which brought our armament once more up to requirements. We were able to discard our ’71 pattern rifle almost entirely.