CHAPTER XVI

THE ENGAGEMENT AT MEDO

Although the Great War had now been in progress for more than three years and a half, the time-honoured British practice of attempting to effect a military purpose while employing therefor a wholly inadequate force had once more been resorted to. The difficulties which had been experienced in feeding and supplying the columns of “Linforce” and “Hanforce” during the operations which led to von Lettow-Vorbeck’s retreat across the Rovuma, probably convinced the British Command that any direct pursuit of the enemy into the country beyond that river, at a time when the beginning of the rainy season was almost due, would be attended by too great risks. The Germans, as they retired, always swept the country clear of supplies of every description and of practically all its able-bodied inhabitants, so an advancing British force would depend entirely upon the provisions that could be conveyed to it from Lindi along many miles of unmetalled motor-road, and thereafter by head-carriage over tracks, most of which would be submerged as soon as the waters of the Rovuma had been sufficiently swelled by the first freshet to cause them to overflow their banks.

Direct pursuit being therefore out of the question, an advance westward from Port Amelia had been determined upon, but unfortunate delays had occurred, as we have seen, and by the time “Pamforce” had begun its march inland, the enemy had been able to complete his arrangements for its embarrassment and for his own security.

Towards the end of February, therefore, it was decided that “Pamforce” must be strengthened if anything practical were to be achieved, and a second column was dispatched to Port Amelia, the whole force being placed under the command of General Edwards. It was General Edwards, it will be remembered, who, while commanding the lines of communication when the extended attack upon the Dar-es-Salaam-Lake Tanganyika Railway was in progress in 1916, had inspected the Gold Coast Regiment immediately after its arrival in East Africa.

“Pamforce” was now divided into two columns, one, under the command of Colonel Rose, being composed of the Gold Coast Regiment, the 4th Battalion of the 4th Regiment of the King’s African Rifles, the 22nd D.M.B., and a body of the King’s African Rifles Mounted Infantry, and the other, under the command of Colonel Giffard, comprising the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 2nd Regiment of the King’s African Rifles. The first was designated “Rosecol” and the second “Kartucol.”

* * * * *

A good deal of rain fell during March, deepening the swamp between Bandari and Mtuge, which had already caused so much trouble, filling the nullahs all along the road, and reducing the surface to a quagmire which, in many places, made traffic very difficult, even though the track had now been “corduroyed” from end to end. The journey up the road from Mtuge to Meza, though the distance was only some four-and-sixty miles, often took more than a week, and after the striking force had been strengthened by the addition of “Kartucol” the work of moving the new troops up to the front and of accumulating sufficient supplies to render an advance in any degree continuous, when it could at last be undertaken, proved to be at once slow and difficult.

Until the 27th March, therefore, the Gold Coast Regiment remained in camp at Meza, sending out patrols in all directions, doing its best to familiarize itself with the topographical features of the country in its neighbourhood, and having occasional brushes with small parties of the enemy, which more than once attempted to cut its lines of communication.

On the 27th March half the Gold Coast Regiment with the Stokes Battery and half the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of the King’s African Rifles, marched up the road, and camped for the night at Natovi—eleven miles distant—pushing on the next day to Namarika, some seven miles further on. Heavy rain fell on both days very soon after the camp was formed, and the bush-huts, called _banda_ in East Africa, constructed of sticks and grass, afforded indifferent protection from the tropical downpour, which turned the trodden mud of the camp into deep slush.

From Natovi Lieutenant Clarke, with a patrol of thirty rifles, had been sent out to try to intercept an enemy foraging party, and on the following day Captain Leslie-Smith and fifty men had been left at Namarika, when the rest of the Regiment advanced eight miles along the road to Manambiri. On the 29th March patrols under Lieutenant Chaundler and Lieutenant Beech were sent out, the first along the main road as far as Kitambo, distant four miles from Manambiri, and the other along the Nicoque-Medo road, which branches off to the north-west from the latter place. Neither of these parties found any traces of the enemy, and Lieutenant Clarke’s report, when he reached Manambiri the same afternoon, was similarly negative. During the night, however, shots were exchanged between an enemy patrol and an outpost furnished by the 4th Battalion of the 4th King’s African Rifles.

On the 30th March Lieutenant Chaundler again patrolled to Kitambo, but found that an enemy camp, which had been established just beyond that village, was deserted. During the day Manambiri camp, which by now had become a mere mud-hole, was rearranged, an endeavour being made to pitch it upon higher ground.

On the 2nd April, an enemy patrol having fired upon a party of sappers and miners near Namarika at about 7 a.m., Lieutenant Bisshopp with fifty rifles was sent out to try to intercept him, marching through the bush on a compass-bearing for a distance of eight miles. It was a toilsome and comfortless task, cutting and forcing a way through dripping-wet bush, but it led to no result.

On the 5th April Captain Harman patrolled along the main road to Medo with half of I Company, and reached Namaaka, which is distant about four miles from Manambiri. From Namaaka he sent out a small party which engaged an enemy patrol, composed of about thirty men and two machine-guns, which retired before it, though two men of I Company were wounded.

On the 7th April the Headquarters of the Gold Coast Regiment, with A and I Companies, advanced to Namaaka. This place was reached without incident, but two miles further on the advanced guard came up against a party of the enemy, about fifty strong with two machine-guns. A fight ensued which lasted for about two hours, in the course of which one man of the advanced guard was killed, and five men, two machine-gun carriers and four carriers belonging to the Sierra Leone Carrier Corps were wounded. The enemy was driven back to a position behind a large swamp, from which it would have been very difficult to eject him unless he could be outflanked. The advanced guard was not strong enough to attempt this, and it accordingly fell back upon the main body. A patrol was then sent round the north side of the swamp, only to find that the enemy had retired.

On the 8th April, half of I Company, under Captain Webber, was sent forward in the direction of Medo, and came into touch with the enemy at a place about half a mile beyond the position behind the swamp which the latter had evacuated on the preceding evening. As usual, the first intimation received on this occasion of the proximity of the enemy was a volley fired from cover, the men forming the advanced point being shot down. This accomplished, the enemy blew his bugles and sounded the charge. It had been previously arranged that, in the event of a fight developing, the supporting section, under Lieutenant Bisshopp, should move to the side of the road upon which the enemy appeared to be the more numerous, in order to support the leading section, which was under the command of Lieutenant Clarke. As the enemy came on, the shouting and cheering which accompanied his charge indicated that he was strongest on the left of the road, so Lieutenant Bisshopp with his party pushed forward in that direction at the double, receiving a volley in partial enfilade from the _Askari_ who were engaging Lieutenant Clarke’s section, and whose onset had already been almost stopped by the latter. As Lieutenant Bisshopp’s section continued at the double, they presently met the enemy, who were also delivering an attack upon Lieutenant Clarke’s flank; whereupon the _Askari_ faced about and bolted. Many of them were wearing the green caps which are part of the service kit of the men of the Gold Coast Regiment, and so confused at all times is fighting in the bush, that one of Lieutenant Bisshopp’s party, seeing his officers aiming at a retreating _Askari_, pulled his rifle down, crying out that the fugitive was one of their own corps. The next moment, this soldier fell, shot through the ankle, ejaculating many and bitter things about the manners and morals of the “Germani.” I Company then attacked and drove the enemy down the road for several miles, and the other half of I Company having been sent forward to reinforce, a strong post was established about two miles west of Namaaka, with a picket thrown out a mile ahead of it. On this day I Company lost three men killed and five men wounded.

In the afternoon the rest of the column arrived at Namaaka, and on the 9th April it went forward through I Company’s post, the 4th King’s African Rifles being the advanced guard. The enemy were driven back about four miles further down the road, and the column camped for the night at a point to which the name of Rock Camp was given, on account of a large isolated bluff which was situated near to it on the northern side of the road.

From Rock Camp Lieutenant Reid was sent out to try to locate the road to Kimone toward the south, and Lieutenant Cumming took out a patrol in a north-easterly direction to the Montepuez River, which falls into the sea about forty-five miles north of Port Amelia, and on the right bank of which Medo is situated.

This place was now the immediate objective of “Pamforce,” the enemy being believed to have occupied it in some strength, and to have accumulated there a considerable quantity of supplies.

General Edwards and his Staff reached Rock Camp at 7.30 a.m. on the 10th April, and at 1.30 p.m. the Gold Coast Regiment moved out towards Medo, which was distant about seven miles.

The _boma_, or entrenched camp, at Medo—originally a stronghold of a Portuguese revenue-farmer—occupied a situation on a piece of rising ground some six or seven miles up the main road from Rock Camp. To the south of the _boma_, and about three-quarters of a mile from it, lay the village of Medo; and the country, which is here both rocky and hilly, was for the most part parkland, studded with frequent trees and covered with grass and patches of bush. Though some of it had the appearance of being fairly open, it proved to be what is called “very blind,” no extended view being obtainable in any direction.

The main road runs east and west from Rock Camp to Medo, passing through broken country, and flanked on the left or southern side by Chirimba Hill. This is an eminence several hundred feet in height and about two miles in length—a mass of slate-grey rock rising out of a tangle of bush and low forest, which clothes its lower slopes and overflows to the very edge of the road. The summit of this hill is razor-edged and deeply serrated throughout its length, rising into three principal peaks divided by ravines; and its nature was such that no attempt could be made to advance along it. Running parallel to the main road at a distance of only a few hundred yards from it, Chirimba Hill commanded it for a matter of about two miles, and completely dominated the position.

As usual, the enemy had selected a very awkward place in which to offer this, his first serious resistance to the British advance in Portuguese East Africa. He was six companies strong—say about eight hundred men—with twelve machine-guns and one field gun which he had captured from the Portuguese at Ngomano. The whole force was under the command of Major Kohl, the ablest of von Lettow-Vorbeck’s lieutenants, to whom throughout the campaign the task of harassing and delaying the British advance, and of fighting rear-guard actions, was most frequently confided by his chief. He had posted men in the thick bush along the base of Chirimba Hill, and had occupied a strong position on high ground astride the road on a very extended front, and most effectually concealed in the bush.

When the Regiment moved forward on the afternoon of the 10th April, Captain Harris with fifty rifles was sent out on the left to try to establish himself on the eastern extremity of Chirimba Hill. This patrol ran into an ambush before it had proceeded far upon its way, Sergeant Flatman and one soldier being killed and several of the party wounded. Though, after this, Captain Harris was at first forced to retire, he succeeded in collecting his rather scattered men, and, advancing again, made good a post on the slopes of the hill which had been his objective.

Meanwhile the advance-guard had come into action about three miles down the road from Rock Camp, and it speedily became evident that the enemy could not be ejected from the position he had taken up until Chirimba Hill had been occupied. The Gold Coast Regiment accordingly camped at a place two miles from Rock Camp, with an advanced post thrown out a mile further down the road. Its further losses during the afternoon were 1 man killed, 10 wounded, and 1 carrier missing, who was believed to have been killed.

On the 11th April the rest of “Rosecol” moved forward to the camp which the Gold Coast Regiment had established over night, and at dawn the advanced guard, consisting of I Company and two Stokes guns, advanced to the forward post a mile further down the road. From this point an officer’s patrol consisting of one section of I Company under Captain Webber was sent out on the left to occupy the peak at the eastern extremity of Chirimba Hill, at the foot of which a post had been established by Captain Harris on the preceding evening. His right rested on the road, the section being thence strung out through the bush to the foot of the hill.

Simultaneously another section of I Company, under Lieutenant Barrett, was pushed out on the right of the road, its left keeping touch with Captain Webber’s right. Yet a third section of I Company, under Lieutenant Bisshopp, was deployed on Lieutenant Barrett’s right. Lieutenant Barrett’s section was the first to come into action, a small party of the enemy opening fire upon it and then retiring. It was also seen by one of the enemy’s observation-points posted on Chirimba Hill, for it was shelled by the Portuguese field-gun, which was posted in the bush somewhere in the neighbourhood of Medo _boma_ to the right front of the advance. A section of A Company was sent out still more to the right to move along a track to the north which ran parallel to the main road, and was often described as “the telegraph road,” as there were vestiges on it of a line which had been constructed by the Portuguese and utilized by the enemy.

Major Shaw, who was in command of the advance, decided that it was not possible to push on further until Chirimba Hill had been cleared of the enemy, and a section of A Company was sent out to the left to reinforce Captain Webber’s party. This part of the line came into action early in the afternoon, and was engaged with the enemy, posted in the thick bush and low forest on the lower slopes of Chirimba Hill, until about 4.30 p.m. By the end of the day all that had been achieved was the establishment of a post, occupied by half of I Company under Captain Webber, on the slopes of Chirimba Hill, the eastern extremity of which had been cleared of the enemy; while on the right of the road a small post had been established under a native non-commissioned officer, about four hundred yards in advance of the point reached by Captain Webber on the left of the line.

At 4 p.m. “Kartucol” advanced from Rock Camp through the bush to the south of Chirimba Hill, for the purpose of taking up a position from which to join on the morrow in a general attack upon Medo; and an hour later “Rosecol” received orders to advance at 6 a.m. on the following morning, the attack to be delivered by the Gold Coast Regiment, the 4th Battalion of the 4th King’s African Rifles forming the force and column reserve.

On the 12th April the advanced guard, consisting of B Company with two Stokes guns, under Major Shaw, moved forward at 6 a.m., the 22nd D.M.B. covering its advance by shelling the bush in which the enemy was believed to have established himself. The broken, bush-covered country lent itself to defence, and the enemy’s machine-gun and rifle fire from the lower slopes of Chirimba Hill was persistent and galling, nor could even his main position be accurately located. Early in the day, however, three or four men of I Company scaled the higher peak of Chirimba Hill, which overlooked that cleared of the enemy the night before, and succeeded in ejecting therefrom a solitary _Askari_, who had evidently been engaged in observing for the enemy’s gun.

At this time the advance of “Rosecol” was being opposed by about two companies of the enemy, the remainder being held in reserve, though the movement of “Kartucol” round the southern side of Chirimba Hill had not yet been discovered by Kohl. The resistance offered was, as usual, of a very determined character, and the progress made by the attacking force was proportionately slow.

During the whole of the advance the Stokes guns belonging to the Gold Coast Regiment were of the greatest assistance. Under the command of Captain Foley and Lieutenant Lamont, these guns had been almost continuously employed in all recent actions, and while the companies of the Regiment had taken it in turn to bear the brunt of the work, the Stokes gun team and their officers had a record of almost continuous activity. On this occasion they had opened fire as soon as ever the machine-guns came into action, throwing their shells about one hundred and fifty to three hundred yards to the right and left of the advance on both sides of the road. When the line halted to fire, fifteen minutes were allowed the Stokes guns to take up fresh positions, generally about fifty yards in the rear of the firing-line. This worked very well, and the advance, though slow, was practically continuous until about 12.30 p.m., when the enemy developed a very stout resistance, and held the Gold Coast Regiment up for nearly three hours.

At 2 p.m. two sections of A Company, under Captain Wheeler, were sent forward to reinforce Major Shaw, and to extend the line on the right of the advance; and an hour later the Headquarters of the Regiment, with two sections of I Company, advanced, and Colonel Goodwin took over the command from Major Shaw. The latter then went forward and assumed the command of the firing-line, which at this time had worked its way along the northern face of Chirimba Hill, and was getting clear of its western extremity. Simultaneously fifty rifles of I Company, with one machine-gun and one Lewis gun, under the command of Captain Harman, were sent out to the right of the two sections of A Company, under Captain Wheeler, with orders to extend the line to the right and to be prepared to swing the right flank round so as to enfilade the enemy when the advance was continued.

At about 3 p.m. “Kartucol,” on the southern side of Chirimba Hill, was heard to be heavily engaged with the enemy, and the resistance offered to the advance of the Gold Coast Regiment perceptibly slackened. Major Shaw therefore worked round the western end of the hill and succeeded in getting into touch with the King’s African Rifles, who had dug themselves in in a hastily made perimeter camp. At the moment of Major Shaw’s arrival the enemy was delivering a strong counter-attack upon the leading troops of “Kartucol,” which were very hard pressed. Major Shaw at once attacked vigorously, and a very sharp engagement ensued, which resulted in the Gold Coast Regiment and the King’s African Rifles driving the enemy back with considerable losses.

Meanwhile half of I Company, under Captain Harman, which, as we have seen, had been sent out on the extreme right of the advance, had met a large open swamp, the negotiation of which caused some delay; and as the firing-line, commanded by Major Shaw, was wheeling steadily to the left, following the configuration of the ground at the western extremity of Chirimba Hill, touch with A Company was presently lost. Captain Harman crossed from the right to the left of the main road, still without regaining touch with A Company; and soon after firing broke out in front of him. Advancing in the direction from which the sound came, touch with the right of A Company was at last regained; but as the whole line pushed forward the wheel to the left became more and more pronounced, Major Shaw being engaged at this time in moving round the western extremity of Chirimba Hill to go to the assistance of “Kartucol.” Just as this movement began, fire was opened upon Captain Harman’s half-company from the right flank and right rear, the enemy company, which had hitherto been held in reserve, having been sent, it is probable, to join up with the other companies which were delivering a heavy attack upon the roughly made perimeter camp in which “Kartucol” was defending itself. The half-section of I Company on the extreme right of Captain Harman’s little party was hastily faced about to resist the attack from the right rear, and the section bombers on its left drove the enemy off from its right front. The attacking party to the right rear, however, was more persistent, and Colour-Sergeant Thornett, with three of his machine-gun team and three carriers, who at the moment when fire was opened upon them had just loaded up in order to move forward, were all hit, Colour-Sergeant Thornett being killed on the spot. These losses were caused by a machine-gun which the enemy had captured from the Portuguese. The reserve gun-team and carriers, however, behaved with their usual coolness, and they succeeded in getting their gun away, only leaving one box of ammunition behind them, which was recovered next day.

Sergeant Mudge was wounded badly in the groin and died in the course of a few minutes, while Lieutenant Barrett was slightly wounded in the thigh.

Meanwhile the half-section of I Company on the immediate left of the party which had been thus roughly handled, had gone on with the main advance, leaving only about twenty-five men to deal with the surprise attack which had been delivered upon them. They succeeded, none the less, in driving the enemy off; but recognizing the necessity of guarding the right flank of the main advance against a possible renewed attack, and hampered in his movements by the number of his casualties, Captain Harman decided to remain where he was, and not to attempt for the moment to regain touch with the troops on his left.

The wounded men were carried back to the place where Colonel Goodwin had established his Headquarters, the work being done in difficult circumstances, no stretchers or stretcher-bearers being available. Darkness fell, and Captain Harman’s little party, having found no further trace of the enemy, gathered together and began to work over to the left with the intention of regaining touch with the men under Major Shaw’s command. These had now joined up with “Kartucol,” as already mentioned, and had thereafter established themselves in the perimeter camp which had been hastily dug earlier in the day by the King’s African Rifles. Here, guided by the bugle-call of I Company, Captain Harman’s party presently joined them; and the weary men of both columns dossed down for the night on the bare ground to sleep as best they might, without food or cover of any description.

While the engagement was in progress Colonel Rose and several members of his staff had a very narrow escape. They had been walking up and down the road at some distance to the rear when a loud explosion occurred within a few feet of them, and a man of the 22nd D.M.B., who a few moments before had been coming down the road toward them, was blown into the air, receiving terrible injuries from which he shortly afterwards died. It was a road-mine which he had touched off—a road-mine constructed, as usual, of one of the 4·1 shells from the _Koenigsberg_—and Colonel Rose and his companions, who as it was were only spattered from head to foot with mud, had during the last quarter of an hour repeatedly passed within a few inches of the spot where the slightest pressure upon the surface of the road would have ignited the charge. These road-mines were found with considerable frequency, and the men of the Gold Coast Regiment had a rather embarrassing habit of digging them up, and carrying them to their officers for inspection, live-fuse and all, handling the lethal things with a reckless familiarity which it was hair-erecting to witness. On the whole, however, extraordinarily little damage was done by these man-traps.

Mention has been made of the good work done by the Stokes guns under Captain Foley and Lieutenant Lamont. These guns, one of the notable inventions of the Great War, proved to be the ideal artillery for bush-warfare. Their discharge causes so slight a report that, when rifle-fire is going on, it is practically inaudible, and it was therefore very difficult for the enemy to locate the positions from which the guns were shelling them. On the other hand, the Stokes guns were very handy and could be got into action with great rapidity, while the shells thrown by them burst with a particularly loud report that was not without its moral effect, and threw a very effective charge.

The losses sustained by the Regiment from the 10th to the 12th of April amounted to 4 Europeans—Colour-Sergeant Thornett, Sergeant Mudge, and Sergeant Flatman—killed, and Lieutenant Barrett wounded; 10 men killed and 40 wounded; and 1 carrier killed and 14 wounded—in all 69 casualties. Unfortunately the losses among the rank and file included a number of old soldiers and section commanders, all of whom were at this time doubly valuable owing to the experience which they had gained during nearly four years of almost continuous warfare.

During these three days a great strain was imposed upon Captain J. M. O’Brien, of the West African Medical Staff, and upon his assistants; and Captain O’Brien, by no means for the first time, displayed almost reckless courage while attending to the wounded under fire.

On the 13th April scouting parties sent out from the camp found that, as usual, the enemy had retired. His primary object had been to delay and embarrass the British advance, and to make it pay as heavily as might be for its passage over a few miles of road lying through particularly difficult country. This he had achieved; and if indeed the _boma_ at Medo had contained any accumulation of supplies, he had also succeeded in removing them before he was compelled to evacuate that place, for none were found when the troops occupied Medo on the 13th April. Meanwhile “Pamforce,” which throughout the three days’ fighting had been engaged in attacking and being attacked by an enemy who, from beginning to end, remained practically invisible, was no nearer the fulfilment of its purpose—the wearing down or rounding up of von Lettow-Vorbeck’s forces—than it had been when, more than three months earlier, it had first landed at Port Amelia.