Battle of Sandfontein
German NCO shortly before the Battle of Sandfontein
| date | 26.-29. September 1914 |
|---|---|
| place | at Sandfontein , Kopje Mountain |
| output | Victory of the German protection force |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 3,120 soldiers and auxiliary workers | 1700 soldiers |
| losses | |
|
50 dead |
14 dead |
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The Battle of Sandfontein was a skirmish between German troops and a coalition of South African and British units, which took place between September 26 and 29, 1914 in German South West Africa , today's Namibia , during the First World War .
background
Although the Schutztruppe for German South West Africa had to capitulate to the South Africans in the face of the opposing superiority in 1915 , the war year 1914 was still marked by numerous German victories. The Schutztruppe achieved its greatest success in the battle of Sandfontein.
Because there was a constant water shortage in German South West Africa due to the local climate, Sandfontein, where there were water sources, was a strategically important place.
When the South African-British coalition crossed the Orange River on a broad front in mid-September 1914 and in some cases had advanced 20 km into German territory, the Schutztruppe quickly brought together all the units available in this region in order to be able to start a counterattack . On September 24th the order to attack came and from September 26th to 29th, 1914, the battle at Sandfontein ensued.
course
For the military confrontation between the South Africans and the British, the 1st field battalion of the Schutztruppe under Major Emil von Rappard approached the enemy from the south, while the 2nd field battalion under Major Victor Franke concentrated on their eastern flank and the III. Field battalion under Major Ritter dedicated to the western flank. So the South Africans and British should be forced into a cauldron battle by a three-sided encirclement .
The South African-British federation, consisting of 135 officers, 2463 soldiers, 522 locals and 4347 animals, reached the sources of Sandfontein after a long march through very dry area, so that the soldiers were exhausted and most of the animals were close to collapsing Dehydration stood. As a result, security measures were neglected and the heights in the area where the protection force lurked were not checked any further before one went to the obviously freely accessible water point.
The commander of the South African-British troops, General Sir Henry Lukin, had expected that the German protection force would not leave the sources of Sandfontein to him without resistance. Nevertheless, he did not initiate any special security measures.
The Schutztruppe was clearly inferior to the South Africans with around 1,700 soldiers, but had four machine guns and ten pieces of artillery .
After the South African-British troops had been adequately supplied with water, a patrol was dispatched to explore the surrounding area, which soon returned to Sandfontein with high losses and under constant fire. With heavy machine gun fire, the protection force worked its way relatively quickly to the Sandfontein waterhole.
As a result, Colonel Grant took over the command of General Lukin among the South Africans and British due to his grossly negligent behavior regarding the previous, unsecured use of the waterhole. Given the situation, Grant initially managed a strategic retreat to Kopje Mountain after a twelve-hour battle for the waterhole . After the retreat of the South Africans and British, the Schutztruppe took the waterhole without significant resistance.
Due to the ongoing German machine gun fire, the freedom of movement of the South Africans and British on Kopje Mountain proved to be extremely restricted. One of the German machine gun nests turned out to be very well positioned and inflicted very high losses on the South Africans and British.
In addition, the protection force had cut all telegraph and telephone lines used by the enemy , so that the now encircled South Africans and British no longer had the opportunity to call for reinforcements. In addition, the artillery carried by the South Africans and British proved to be inferior to the German guns. However, it was used very effectively due to the repeatedly necessary change of position, was initially able to score some important hits and returned fire much more strongly than expected from the German side. In the end, however, it was eliminated by the German artillery.
After the enemy artillery had been eliminated, the Schutztruppe moved up to about a kilometer from the South African-British positions on Kopje Mountain and began to bombard the South Africans and British with grenades , while the machine gun fire from the German side continued. Under these circumstances, the South African-British coalition was soon largely unable to return fire in an effective manner. After about 30 minutes of shell fire, they hoisted the white flag and surrendered to the protection force.
consequences
The German Schutztruppe achieved considerable military success in the Battle of Sandfontein and was able to completely crush three South African squadrons. In addition, the South African-British operational plans came into German hands by chance when the rider Gotthard captured three officer's horses whose saddlebags were packed with all the plans and a great deal of cartographic material.
The South African-British coalition suffered very heavy losses, with 50 dead and 100 wounded according to British reports. The German protection force, however, lost only 14 men in the course of the battle, including two officers. However, Major Emil von Rappard was among the dead. She was also able to capture 14 officers and around 240 soldiers, including the Commander-in-Chief Colonel Grant, who was wounded in the course of the battle. In addition, as a result of the battle they captured two artillery pieces as well as several machine guns with ammunition , transport vehicles and numerous horses.
Despite the clear German victory at Sandfontein, the war in South West Africa intensified and there were many small skirmishes in southern German South West Africa.
Others
At the time of the Battle of Sandfontein, the commander-in-chief of the Schutztruppe of German South West Africa, Lieutenant Colonel Joachim von Heydebreck , sent a protest note to the South African government after the battle , in which he complained that South Africa used colored soldiers against the Schutztruppe and this as a called a "crime against the white race".
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k The Battle of Sandfontein on Firstworldwar.com , February 25, 2012. (English)
- ↑ a b c d e f The Battle of Sandfontein on Afrikareisen.de ( Memento from August 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), February 24, 2012.
- ↑ a b c d e f The Battle of Sandfontein on Wfg-gk.de ( Memento from April 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), February 24, 2012.
- ↑ a b C. Willich: Days of War in Southwest - diary sheets from 1914 and 1915 ( page no longer available , search in web archives )], February 24, 2012.