Portuguese campaign in Mozambique (World War I)

The frontier posts established along the Rovuma River were very basic. The post at Maziua, situated far from the main Portuguese stronghold of Porto Amélia, was one of the weakest, defended by a small garrison of just one sergeant and half a dozen indigenous soldiers from the Niassa Company's police force. On August 24, 1914, the German forces launched an unexpected and unjustified attack on the post. The German forces raided and massacred the indigenous soldiers who were guarding the post, and the sergeant Eduardo Costa was killed during the attack.^[4][5]

The Kionga Triangle had long been disputed between Portugal and Germany. When Portugal entered World War I in March 1916, reclaiming the Kionga Triangle became a priority for local forces. At the time, the Portuguese garrison included around 1,500 Europeans and 2,800 African troops, many weakened by illness. Without waiting for reinforcements, Major da Silveira launched an offensive early in April, assembling a force of 400 at Palmas, near the Kionga. The small German detachment made no attempt to resist, and by 10 April the Portuguese had occupied the Triangle.^[6]

However, German forces on the opposite bank continued to launch raids. Major da Silveira organized a river crossing with naval support from the cruiser Adamastor and gunboat Chaimite to counter the Germans. On 27 May, native troops attempted to land at Mwambo, but German defenders waited until the boats were in close range before opening fire, forcing the Portuguese to abandon their attempts.^[7]

On 25 November 1917, at 07:00, the Portuguese garrison at Ngomano was warned of an impending attack but was unprepared. The Germans distracted them with artillery fire while crossing the Rovuma River upstream. The Germans flanked the camp with six infantry companies from multiple directions.^[8] The Portuguese were surprised by the attack from the rear, and their defenses collapsed after their officers were killed, despite preparing for the initial attack. With the Portuguese lacking weapons and facing heavy casualties, they eventually surrendered, even though they had enough supplies to continue fighting.^[9]

On 12 April 1918, German detachments under Major Koehl, part of General Paul von Lettow‑Vorbeck's Schutztruppe, attacked the Portuguese post at Medo in northern Mozambique. The garrison, numbering several hundred men, was quickly overwhelmed, and the Germans seized food, ammunition, and equipment.

The victory at Medo allowed Lettow‑Vorbeck's column to resupply and continue its campaign deeper into Mozambique. The clash also exposed the weakness of Portuguese colonial defenses and marked the beginning of a series of confrontations in northern Mozambique, culminating in the larger Battle of Mbalama Hill later that month.

On July 1, 1918, the Germans entered Namacurra, three battalions supported by two British King's African Rifle companies under Colonel Gore-Browne, facing three German companies led by Captain Müller. By July 3, von Lettow had deployed his main force, pushing the Portuguese back to the Namacurra River. During their retreat, 100 men drowned, including Gore-Browne. The fighting ended in the afternoon of July 3.^{[10][11][12][13]}

• Matias, Diogo (2010). "As operações militares de manutenção do Império Português em África: Uma visão sobre as tácticas usadas na perspectiva da doutrina actual" (PDF).
• Paice, Edward (2008) [2007]. Tip & Run: The Untold Tragedy of the Great War in Africa. London: Phoenix. ISBN 978-0-7538-2349-1.
• Downes, Walter (1919). With the Nigerians in German East Africa. London: Methuen & Co. OCLC 10329057.
• David Smith, Graham Turner (2022). The East Africa Campaign 1914–18: Von Lettow-Vorbeck’s Masterpiece, Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472848925
• Gaudi, Robert (2017). African Kaiser: General Paul Von Lettow-Vorbeck and the Great War in Africa, Hurst. ISBN 9781849048675
• Erez Manela, Robert Gerwarth (2014). Empires at War: 1911–1923, OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191006944
• David F. Burg, L. Edward Purcell (2010). Almanac of World War I, University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813127453
• Stacke, Henry Fitz Maurice (1941). Military Operations East Africa. Vol. 1.