After the successful Tabora offensive in autumn 1916, British and Belgian troops controlled a large part of German East Africa. However, after this battle, the remaining German troops under command of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck switched to guerrilla warfare tactics, by which they achieved a number of victories in 1917 and 1918. The Battle of Rumbo was such a victory.
In April 1917, the British became aware of a German army detachment southwest of Kilwa. They sent the 40th Pathans Regiment and some units of the King's African Rifles and Gold Coast Regiments in two columns across the Ngaura River to defeat the Germans.
They found the Germans in a well-defended position and their attack was repulsed with significant losses. The Germans then launched a counterattack that forced both columns back across the river. Meanwhile, the river had swollen considerably from rainfall upstream, leading to further British losses in men and material. [2]
German Empire
Major William Thornton Gregg
