Battle of the Oldorobo

The Oldorobo Hill (English Salaita Hill) seen from the west.

date	February 12, 1916
place	East of Taveta , British East Africa (now Kenya )
output	German victory

Parties to the conflict
German Empire German Empire German East Africa	United Kingdom 1801 United Kingdom British India British India Rhodesia South Africa 1910 South African Union
Commander
German Empire Georg Kraut	British India Wilfrid Malleson
Troop strength
2,300 soldiers 2 guns	6,000 soldiers 18 guns 4 armored cars
losses
low	172 dead and wounded

First World War outside Europe

The battle at Oldorobo , also known as the Battle of Salaita Hill , was a military conflict between troops of the British Empire and the German Empire during the First World War . It took place on February 12, 1916 east of the East African town of Taveta (today in Kenya ) and ended with a German defensive success.

background

Map overview of the battle area around Taveta.

Soldiers of the German Schutztruppe had already occupied the town of Taveta in British East Africa on August 15, 1914. In order to secure the place and the strategically important railway line, over which reinforcements could be laid quickly, a hill twelve kilometers to the east, called Oldorobo hill by the Germans, was fortified. Strong defensive positions with trenches and barbed wire barriers were built around and on the hill. This advanced base was then used as a starting point for patrols that scouted the area and occasionally disrupted the nearby Uganda Railway (20 trains destroyed in the first two years of the war).

For the troops of the Entente , 1916 marked the beginning of their offensives to take German East Africa . The South African Lieutenant General Jan Smuts was in charge of the invasion from the direction of British East Africa and instructed Brigadier General Wilfrid Malleson to take Taveta first with the 2nd South African Division and then to advance.

Lineup

Oldorobo Hill (Salaita Hill) seen from the east. The trenches below the hilltop are clearly visible. In contrast, the German positions at the foot of the hill are not visible.

Protection force

The Germans under Major Georg Kraut were subordinate to the following units for the defense of the Oldorobo Hill: 1st, 14th, 15th, 18th and 30th field company as well as six rifle companies, altogether about 1,400 men and two field guns . Captain Schulz with the 6th, 9th and 24th field companies (around 600 men) served as reserves . Another 300 soldiers were stationed in Taveta.

British Empire

Brigadier General Malleson was subordinate to the 1st East African and 2nd South African Infantry Brigades as well as an Indo-British artillery brigade, a total of about 6,000 men. The artillery consisted of 14 field guns and four heavy guns, including 102mm / L40 Ordnance 4inch QF Mk.III rapid fire guns, which had been removed from the sunk HMS Pegasus and transported on improvised carriages . Machine gun troops and some armored cars served as support .

The South African reconnaissance had estimated the strength of the Germans at around 300 men so that Malleson seemed to have a clear majority for the attack.

The battle

British 102mm / L40-Ordnance-4inch-QF Mk.III- rapid fire guns, formerly guns of the sunk HMS Pegasus , on improvised mounts, shell German positions on Salaita Hill.

In the early morning of February 12, 1916, the British-Indian artillery began bombarding the hilltop. An aircraft had cleared the German position, but the intense shelling caused no losses. The German positions at the foot of the hill, which were spared from the bombardment, were again undiscovered for the South African reconnaissance. Forewarned by the enemy artillery, the German troops were able to prepare for the expected attack in their trenches.

At 5:00 a.m., the South African infantry began to leave their starting positions and advanced towards Salaita Hill. The two German guns opened fire 2000 meters from the German positions. The 5th (left flank), 6th (right flank) and 7th South African Infantry Regiments of the 2nd South African Infantry Brigade under Brigadier General Beve approached the hill head-on in open formation. The South Africans were able to overcome the first line of defense. After that, the attack got stuck in German rifle and machine gun fire. After heavy losses, the South Africans withdrew. During the retreat, the reserve under Captain Schulz arrived on the German left flank, north of the hill, and attacked the retreating enemy. This led to a hasty retreat of the South Africans several kilometers northeast and east. The battle was over.

During the attack by the South Africans, the 1st East African Infantry Brigade was two kilometers behind. The reason for this was the lack of coordination of the leadership, which, however, did not prevent the South Africans from accusing their - mostly Indian - comrades of a lack of willingness to support.

output

The Allies lost 172 men, 138 of them from the 2nd South African Infantry Brigade. After the battle, the Germans buried 60 opponents. Some South Africans have been captured.

The Allies, despite multiple superiorities, had not managed to drive the Germans from Salaita Hill or from Taveta.

consequences

Brigadier General Malleson withdrew with his troops 40 km to Serengeti in order to regroup.

Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck initially reinforced the protection force around Taveta. But already at the beginning of March 1916 the protection force had to withdraw from Taveta because of overwhelming superiority and took up position on the Reata-Latema Mountains, 7 kilometers southwest of Taveta. The next battle took place there between March 11th and 12th, 1916 .

Web links

Allan Sinclair: Wittness to Salaita Hill February 12, 1916. The South African Military History Society, accessed February 18, 2020 . , English
Edwin P. Hoyt: Guerilla: Colonel von Lettow-Vorbeck and Germany's East African Empire. Collier MacMillan Publishers, accessed February 21, 2020 . , English
2nd Loyals in East Africa 1914-17. Lancashire Infantry Museum, accessed February 24, 2020 . , English

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Forgotten Battlefields: The Battle of Oldorobo Hill (Salaita Hill). Retrieved February 18, 2020 . , English
↑ tokencoins.com: Summary of Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's extraordinary military campaigns against the allies :. Retrieved February 21, 2020 . , English
^ ^A ^b Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck : My memories from East Africa . Koehler, Leipzig 1920, p. 89
^ Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck : My memories from East Africa . Koehler, Leipzig 1920, p. 90
^ Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck : My memories from East Africa . Koehler, Leipzig 1920, p. 92
^ Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck : My memories from East Africa . Koehler, Leipzig 1920, p. 95

[FBFs-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Forgotten Battlefields: The Battle of Oldorobo Hill (Salaita Hill). Retrieved February 18, 2020 . , English

[TC-2] tokencoins.com: Summary of Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's extraordinary military campaigns against the allies :. Retrieved February 21, 2020 . , English

[Ostafrika89-3] A ^b Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck : My memories from East Africa . Koehler, Leipzig 1920, p. 89

[Ostafrika90-4] Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck : My memories from East Africa . Koehler, Leipzig 1920, p. 90

[Ostafrika92-5] Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck : My memories from East Africa . Koehler, Leipzig 1920, p. 92

[Ostafrika95-6] Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck : My memories from East Africa . Koehler, Leipzig 1920, p. 95