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) | ||||||||
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| Belligerents | ||||||||
| African Bees | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
|
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Tom von Prince † |
Arthur Aitken Richard Wapshare Michael Tighe | |||||||
| Strength | ||||||||
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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 55 Askaris killed 76 Germans & Askaris wounded |
360 killed 487 wounded 148 missing | |||||||
The Battle of Tanga, also known as the Battle of the Bees, was an unsuccessful invasion of the Port of Tanga in German East Africa 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 Schutztruppen 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 world conflict.