Fighting in Africa is dated from 3 August 1914, and it included Allied attacks on Germany's colonies. In November 1914 British Indian troops were routed at Tanga in German East Africa, partly by swarms of bees. The German commander there, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, took Jassin in 1915, beat a Portuguese force at Ngomano in 1917 and surrendered only on 25 November 1918, after news of the armistice reached him. In the south, pro-German Boers rose against the South African government, and South African troops under Louis Botha went on to conquer German South West Africa in 1915; British, French and Belgian forces took Kamerun the next year. Others rose against colonial rule itself: in Morocco, Zaian warriors destroyed a French column at El Herri, and in Niger, Tuareg rebels under Kaocen besieged Agadez.
This page lists all 135 events in our records for Africa from January 1914 to December 1918, so the months before and after the fighting are here too. 80 are battles and other fighting; the rest are the politics, disasters, culture and daily life that went on alongside. The biggest come first, then every event year by year.
How sure we are: events with no label are high confidence. Medium confidence means the event rests on one source family or a detail is uncertain; Low confidence means the sources disagree or are thin, and the notes say where. Dates are in the Gregorian calendar; where a country still used another calendar, the notes give the original. How events are checked
The biggest stories
War & conflict
British Indian force is routed at Tanga in East Africa, partly by bees
· Tanga, German East Africa (now Tanzania) · Africa
Date uncertainty: Some sources start the battle on 2 November, when the first British ship arrived
About 9,000 British Indian troops tried to take the port from about 1,000 defenders under Lettow-Vorbeck; swarms of bees disrupted the advance and the British withdrew, leaving behind rifles and ammunition for the Germans.
Why it is interesting. Swarms of bees broke up one attacking Indian battalion and attacked both sides, giving the fight its nickname, the Battle of the Bees.
Notes and dating details
Stored as 3 to 5 November 1914, the dates in the English article's infobox and lead. The cruiser HMS Fox arrived off Tanga on 2 November and mine-sweeping ran into 3 November, while the troops landed on 3 November; for that reason German Wikipedia starts the battle on 2 November, and the English article's reading list includes a 2001 journal article titled for 2 to 5 November (not opened). The id still says 02 because the 1914 and Africa page leads point at it; the stored date of 3 November is the one shown. British propaganda claimed the Germans rigged the beehives, but the article treats that as propaganda.
Medium confidence: rests on one source family, or a detail is uncertain.
Boer insurgents who backed Germany rose against the South African government at the start of the First World War. The rebellion was put down; its surviving leaders were fined or jailed, and one of them, Jopie Fourie, was executed.
Why it is interesting. The rebels hoped to restore the South African Republic, and many government members had once fought alongside them.
Notes and dating details
The English infobox gives 15 September 1914 to 4 February 1915, but the body shows 15 September was the day Beyers and de la Rey set off for Potchefstroom, before Maritz's pro-German proclamation; martial law followed on 12 October. German Wikipedia says the revolt began in October 1914, so only the month is stored. Infobox end date 4 February 1915.
The pro-German Boer uprising in South Africa, which began in September 1914, was over by early February 1915, when General Kemp surrendered. The ringleaders received heavy fines and prison terms, and one, Jopie Fourie, was executed.
Why it is interesting. Many government members had themselves fought alongside the rebel leaders against Britain a dozen years earlier.
Notes and dating details
Infobox gives the rebellion as 15 September 1914 to 4 February 1915; Kemp's surrender is dated 4 February 1915 in the text.
Cape Verde adopted the escudo as its currency in 1914. That year the Banco Nacional Ultramarino issued five small banknote denominations, from 4 to 50 centavos.
Why it is interesting. The same currency remains in use in Cape Verde today.
· German East Africa and neighbouring territories · Africa
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's German colonial forces learned of the armistice at 07:30 on 14 November 1918, waited for confirmation, and surrendered formally on 25 November. German East Africa then became British and Belgian territory.
Why it is interesting. The Germans in East Africa heard of the armistice on 14 November but waited for confirmation before surrendering formally on 25 November.
Notes and dating details
The candidate's region of Europe is changed to Africa. Infobox end date is also 25 November 1918, as are the African theatre article's infobox and the Lettow-Vorbeck article (surrender offered at Abercorn). Wikidata's item for the wider African theatre (Q659991) lists 23 November 1918 as its end, unsourced; the theatre article's own 23 November refers to Lettow-Vorbeck's 1917 crossing into Mozambique, not a surrender.
Fighting in Africa during the First World War is dated from 3 August 1914. It took in campaigns in North Africa, uprisings against colonial rule, and Allied attacks on Germany's colonies.
Why it is interesting. About 750,000 African civilians died of famine and disease during these campaigns.
Notes and dating details
Start date 3 August 1914 from the infobox, which gives the end as 25 November 1918.
German forces in South West Africa surrendered at Khorab, ending the campaign. South African troops had conquered the German colony, with Louis Botha leading them as commander-in-chief.
Why it is interesting. Botha led his troops into battle himself, which frustrated his cabinet.
Notes and dating details
Merged duplicate row 1915-07-09-german-forces-in-south-west-africa-surrender-at-khorab (German forces in South West Africa surrender at Khorab). Its notes: Wikidata gives 1915 as the year of dissolution; Germany formally ceded the territory only in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles.
Medium confidence: rests on one source family, or a detail is uncertain.
Sultan Yusef signed a dahir introducing Morocco's flag, a red field with a green five-pointed star. It has been the national flag since.
Why it is interesting. The star is said to stand for Islam's five pillars, while the red field represents ancestral blood and unity.
Notes and dating details
Wikidata gives 16 November 1915, imported from English Wikipedia with no other reference; the article's infobox, lead and history section all give 17 November 1915 for the dahir.
German troops attack the British-held town of Jassin
· Jassin, German East Africa
A German force under Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck attacked Jassin, held by a little over 300 Indian troops commanded by Colonel Raghbir Singh. Singh was killed and the garrison surrendered.
Why it is interesting. After the surrender, Lettow-Vorbeck praised the two British captains' defence and released them on their promise to take no further part in the war.
Medium confidence: rests on one source family, or a detail is uncertain.
Battles and guerrilla fighting began in German East Africa and later spread across the border into Mozambique, Rhodesia, Uganda, British East Africa and the Belgian Congo.
Why it is interesting. The Germans fought on until formally surrendering on 25 November 1918, after learning of the armistice.
Notes and dating details
The infobox gives 3 August 1914 as the start, but the body says British troops from Uganda assaulted German outposts on 5 August, and French Wikipedia dates the first skirmish on the Kagera river to 5 August, so 5 August is stored. Candidate region Europe changed to Africa. Infobox end date 25 November 1918.
Northern and Southern Nigeria are joined as one colony
Politics & diplomacy
Britain merged the Northern and Southern Nigeria Protectorates into the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, headed by a Governor-General; Frederick Lugard, who had pushed for the union, held the post. The colony lasted until independence on 1 October 1960.
Notes
Date from the infobox (date_start 1 January, year_start 1914). Candidate region 'Europe' corrected to Africa; the colony's capital was Lagos.
French columns enter the empty Zaian capital of Khenifra in Morocco
War & conflictMedium confidence
Three French columns marched on Khenifra from 10 June and raised the flag on 12 June to find it deserted by the Zaian confederation under Mouha ou Hammou.
Notes
The article's phrase 'captured' is really 'found empty'; the article also contains the impossible date '31 June'.
French and German troops fought over the fort at Kusseri, in the north-east of German Kamerun, as part of the World War I campaign there. The French won and the German garrison fell back to Mora.
Notes
Article gives late August as the start, so month precision only; battle ended 25 September 1914. Wikidata gives 1914-08.
Fighting in Africa during the First World War is dated from 3 August 1914. It took in campaigns in North Africa, uprisings against colonial rule, and Allied attacks on Germany's colonies.
Notes
Start date 3 August 1914 from the infobox, which gives the end as 25 November 1918.
Al Ittihad of Alexandria, one of Egypt's oldest football clubs, was formed in 1914 when two local clubs, El Haditha and United Champions, joined together.
Notes
The club's article gives 4 August 1914 in its infobox; the 1914 year page gives 2 August.
Battles and guerrilla fighting began in German East Africa and later spread across the border into Mozambique, Rhodesia, Uganda, British East Africa and the Belgian Congo.
Notes
The infobox gives 3 August 1914 as the start, but the body says British troops from Uganda assaulted German outposts on 5 August, and French Wikipedia dates the first skirmish on the Kagera river to 5 August, so 5 August is stored. Candidate region Europe changed to Africa. Infobox end date 25 November 1918.
Soldiers open fire on villagers in the Ijemo Massacre
War & conflict
Around 3 p.m. on 8 August 1914, soldiers fired on a gathering of villagers at Ijemo in Abeokuta, including their leader Oluwo Arimokunrin. The incident grew out of the Ijemo people's opposition to the Treaty of 1893.
Notes
Article does not give a death toll; it says a number of Ijemo people were killed.
Skirmish on Lake Nyasa between British and German gunboats
War & conflictMedium confidence
On 13 August 1914 the British gunboat Gwendolen found the German gunboat Hermann von Wissman under repair near Sphinxhaven. A single shot disabled the German vessel in a minor skirmish with no human casualties.
Notes
Wikidata gives 14 August 1914 with no reference; the Wikipedia article gives 13 August, citing Paice, Tip & Run (2007).
British ambush German trains in the Affair of Agbeluvoe
War & conflict
On 15 August 1914 two trainloads of German colonial troops sent south in Togoland were ambushed by British West African Rifles. They took many casualties and fled.
Notes
Candidate region Europe corrected to Africa. A line tying the Kamina station to the Battle of the Falkland Islands was left out as a side point, although the article's aftermath section does mention that the station's demolition influenced that battle.
Battle of Laï: German column from Kamerun drives French out of a Chad village
War & conflict
A German column from Kamerun under Captain von Duhring attacked Laï in southern Chad, defended by Captain Jeanjean. The French were driven out and the Germans held the village until 1 September 1914.
German troops raid the Portuguese outpost at Maziua
War & conflict
German colonial soldiers crossed into Portuguese Mozambique and destroyed the outpost of Maziua, although the two countries were officially at peace. Ten to thirteen Portuguese were killed.
Notes
Raid began in the night of 23 August 1914 per the body text; the lead and infobox give 24 August. Casualty figure from infobox (10-13 killed).
German Togoland surrenders to British and French forces
War & conflictMedium confidence
On 26 August 1914 the German colony of Togoland gave up, with governor Hans Georg von Doering in charge. French and British troops had invaded unopposed on 7 August; the colony was later divided between British and French zones.
Notes
Wikidata gives only 1914. Infobox and body give the surrender on 26 August 1914; German Wikipedia says Togo was formally handed to the British on 27 August 1914. Allied occupation 26 August; partition 27 December 1916.
British forces from Nigeria attacked German-held Garua in northern Kamerun and were driven back. The German victory stalled Allied advances in the area until mid-1915.
German forces attacked the village of Nsanakong in German Kamerun in the early morning of 6 September 1914. They drove the British force, which had occupied the town on 30 August, back over the border into Nigeria.
De la Rey, a Transvaal Boer general in the Second Boer War, was killed by the South African Police in Johannesburg in disputed circumstances. His death played a major part in starting the Maritz rebellion.
Notes
Place from infobox: Main Reef Road, Langlaagte, Johannesburg. Wikidata gives place of death as Witwatersrand (imported from English Wikipedia), a broader label, not a competing place. Police fired on his car at a roadblock set for the Foster gang.
The German cruiser Königsberg entered Zanzibar harbour and caught the British cruiser Pegasus, which was under repair, by surprise. Pegasus was badly damaged before replying and sank later that day.
Notes
Infobox gives 39 killed for the British side; the lead says 38 crew dead.
· Ukoko, German Kamerun (modern Cocobeach, Gabon) · Africa
Battle of Ukoko in German Kamerun
War & conflict
French troops landed from the gunboat Surprise attacked the small German garrison at Ukoko, in German Kamerun (now Cocobeach, Gabon), during the Kamerun campaign. The Germans retreated into the neighbouring Spanish colony of Río Muni.
A German force defeated South African troops at Sandfontein in German South West Africa, taking more than 200 prisoners.
Notes
English infobox gives 205 captured; German Wikipedia describes 14 officers and about 240 men taken, roughly 254, so only 'more than 200' is stated. An image file name mentions 25 September, but the lead and infobox give 26 September and German Wikipedia confirms 26 September.
Boer insurgents who backed Germany rose against the South African government at the start of the First World War. The rebellion was put down; its surviving leaders were fined or jailed, and one of them, Jopie Fourie, was executed.
Notes
The English infobox gives 15 September 1914 to 4 February 1915, but the body shows 15 September was the day Beyers and de la Rey set off for Potchefstroom, before Maritz's pro-German proclamation; martial law followed on 12 October. German Wikipedia says the revolt began in October 1914, so only the month is stored. Infobox end date 4 February 1915.
British warships worked to sink the blockaded German light cruiser Königsberg in the Rufiji Delta, German East Africa. The effort lasted until the ship was destroyed in July 1915.
Notes
The infobox and lead date the start to October 1914; the body says HMS Chatham found the ship towards the end of October. Wikidata gives October 1914 to 11 July 1915 (English Wikipedia import).
Germans and Portuguese clashed along the frontier of German South West Africa and Portuguese Angola before the two states were formally at war. The Germans won most clashes and held the Humbe region until the Portuguese regained it.
Notes
The infobox gives 18 October 1914 to 9 July 1915 and Wikidata gives October 1914. The body names the Naulila incident on 19 October as the first serious clash, and Portuguese Wikipedia also dates the incident to 19 October, so no start day is firm; only the month is stored. Infobox end 9 July 1915; text says Humbe was reoccupied 7 July 1915 and fighting with local groups lasted to September 1915. Wikidata place Europe is wrong.
Portuguese forces and a German delegation clash at Naulila
War & conflict
A small German delegation and a Portuguese patrol came to blows near Naulila in southern Portuguese Angola. The Portuguese won, and tensions led to a German attack on 18 December.
British and French forces advanced from Duala against German troops at Edea in Kamerun. The Germans withdrew to Jaunde after stiff resistance, and the Allies occupied Edea on 26 October.
Notes
Wikidata gives the same dates; the article names 26 October as the day Edea was occupied.
· Tanga, German East Africa (now Tanzania) · Africa
British Indian force is routed at Tanga in East Africa, partly by bees
War & conflict
About 9,000 British Indian troops tried to take the port from about 1,000 defenders under Lettow-Vorbeck; swarms of bees disrupted the advance and the British withdrew, leaving behind rifles and ammunition for the Germans.
Notes and dating
Date uncertainty: Some sources start the battle on 2 November, when the first British ship arrived
Stored as 3 to 5 November 1914, the dates in the English article's infobox and lead. The cruiser HMS Fox arrived off Tanga on 2 November and mine-sweeping ran into 3 November, while the troops landed on 3 November; for that reason German Wikipedia starts the battle on 2 November, and the English article's reading list includes a 2001 journal article titled for 2 to 5 November (not opened). The id still says 02 because the 1914 and Africa page leads point at it; the stored date of 3 November is the one shown. British propaganda claimed the Germans rigged the beehives, but the article treats that as propaganda.
Roughly 1,500 Punjabi troops of the British Indian Army moved up the slope near Longido overnight and came under crossfire from a strong German position. They made no headway, and the Germans won this early East African skirmish.
Notes
Lead says only 'November 1914'; infobox and battle section give 3 November 1914.
Moroccan Zaian warriors destroy a French column at El Herri
War & conflict
Lt-Col Laverdure marched out of Khenifra with 43 officers and 1,187 men; 623 were killed, against 182 Zaians dead, and the French lost all their artillery and four machine guns.
Notes
The Battle of El Herri article dates the battle to 13 November 1914. Khenifra was relieved on 16 November.
Germans defeat Portuguese forces at the Battle of Naulila
War & conflictMedium confidence
On 18 December 1914 German forces from South West Africa attacked Naulila in Portuguese Angola and forced the Portuguese to retreat. It followed the deaths of three German officers there during a dispute.
Notes
Infobox and lead say 18 December; the second lead paragraph says 18/19 December. Portuguese Wikipedia, drawing on Portuguese historiography, dates the battle to 18 December 1914, so that day is kept at medium confidence.
After the Ottoman entry into the war, Britain deposed the pro-Ottoman Khedive Abbas II and made his uncle Hussein Kamel Sultan, under a protectorate that ended nominal Ottoman rule.
Notes and dating
Date uncertainty: 18 or 19 December
Sources differ: Abbas II's article and Wikipedia's 1914 page give 18 December; the Sultanate of Egypt article and Hussein Kamel's reign start give 19 December.
Cape Verde adopted the escudo as its currency in 1914. That year the Banco Nacional Ultramarino issued five small banknote denominations, from 4 to 50 centavos.
The escudo was Mozambique's currency from 1914 to 1980, divided into 100 centavos. In 1914 the Banco Nacional Ultramarino brought out provisional 100 and 1000 escudo notes alongside regular centavo notes.
Notes
Year from the lead and the Banknotes section (first notes issued in 1914). Wikidata gives a start time of 1914-01-01 with no reference; no day appears in the article and none was confirmed elsewhere, so the year is kept.
The escudo became the currency of Portuguese Guinea in 1914, replacing the real at 1000 réis to 1 escudo. Banknotes were issued that year by the Banco Nacional Ultramarino.
Notes
Source gives only the year 1914. Lead says use ran to 1973 in Portuguese Guinea and then in independent Guinea-Bissau to 1975.
São Tomé and Príncipe used the escudo as its money from 1914 to 1977, at par with the Portuguese escudo. The Banco Nacional Ultramarino issued the notes.
Notes
Notes of 10, 20 and 50 centavos were introduced in 1914.
The Hertzog Prize for Afrikaans literature is established
Art & literatureMedium confidence
The Hertzog Prize for Afrikaans writing was created as part of the Second Language Movement and is now awarded by South Africa's Academy for the Sciences and Art. Totius was the first to win it, with Trekkerswee, his poetry collection of 1915.
Notes
Year only, from the lead. The winners list dates Totius's award for Trekkerswee to 1916. Wikidata inception 1914, unreferenced.
German troops attack the British-held town of Jassin
War & conflict
A German force under Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck attacked Jassin, held by a little over 300 Indian troops commanded by Colonel Raghbir Singh. Singh was killed and the garrison surrendered.
Chilembwe uprising against British rule in Nyasaland
War & conflict
Rebels led by the Baptist minister John Chilembwe attacked the A. L. Bruce Estates headquarters at Magomero on 23 January 1915 and killed three white settlers. Colonial forces suppressed the revolt by 26 January; Chilembwe was shot dead on 3 February.
Notes
Infobox date January 23-26, 1915. About 40 rebels were executed afterwards and 300 imprisoned. German Wikipedia's article on Chilembwe also dates the start to 23 January 1915 and his death to 3 February 1915 and calls him a national hero in Malawi.
John Chilembwe, a Baptist pastor from Nyasaland, was killed by colonial forces shortly after leading an unsuccessful armed uprising against colonial rule. He is remembered as an independence hero in some African countries.
Notes
Place of death disputed: the infobox says near Mulanje, Nyasaland, while Store norske leksikon (also cited on Wikidata) gives Blantyre. The article's text says a patrol tracked him down and killed him as he apparently tried to escape into Mozambique. Stored at country level.
The pro-German Boer uprising in South Africa, which began in September 1914, was over by early February 1915, when General Kemp surrendered. The ringleaders received heavy fines and prison terms, and one, Jopie Fourie, was executed.
Notes
Infobox gives the rebellion as 15 September 1914 to 4 February 1915; Kemp's surrender is dated 4 February 1915 in the text.
A German force under Major Ritter attacked Kakamas, hoping to take two fords over the Orange River. South African troops held the fords and stopped the Germans crossing, and the Germans withdrew across the border.
Notes
The article describes it as a skirmish for control of two fords; the earlier wording that it kept the Germans from moving deeper into South Africa went beyond the article and was removed.
· Mizda territory, Nafusa Mountains, Libya · Africa
Senussi forces defeat the Italians at Wadi Marsit
War & conflictMedium confidence
In the Nafusa Mountains of Libya, Senussi fighters under Ahmed al-Sunni defeated an Italian force. The result threatened Italian control of its Libyan colony.
Notes
Date: the infobox gives 7 April 1915 and the body has the Italians reaching Wadi Marsit on 6 April, camping, and being attacked in the night and following hours, which fits 7 April; an Italian specialist history (qattara.it) dates the fight only to April 1915 and does not give a day. Force sizes differ: the article says 400 Senussi against 1,400 Italians; the Italian source says about 2,000 Italians (700 regulars and 1,300 irregulars) against at least 2,000 Senussi, with 323 Italian losses and three guns and about 400 rifles captured. The row therefore gives no force sizes. The interest line uses only what the English article states (camels and baggage abandoned); the loss of guns rests on the Italian source alone and is not used.
South Africans repel a German attack at Trekkopjes
War & conflict
German forces attacked a railway station held by South African troops under Major Skinner in German South West Africa. Armoured cars helped drive the attack back.
Notes
Date 26 April 1915 is given by the article and by the South African Military History Society's account (which puts the German force at about 2,000 and Union losses at 8 killed and 34 wounded). The article's claim that this was the last German offensive of the campaign was not confirmed by that source and is left out.
British Nigerian garrison repels German attack at Gurin
War & conflict
German troops encircled and assaulted the fort at Gurin in British Nigeria, close to the Kamerun border, at first light. About forty defenders held out against several hundred attackers.
Notes
Numbers differ by source: the article says 42 defenders and 350-400 attackers; a contemporary letter by the political officer Fitzpatrick, printed in a New Zealand newspaper, says about forty soldiers and two Europeans held the fort against some 300 soldiers, 16 Europeans and four Maxim guns; both say the fort held and Pawle was killed. Exact figures are therefore left out of the row.
British and French forces began an attempt to take Jaunde, the German capital in Kamerun. Poor coordination, hard terrain, bad weather and strong German resistance forced a retreat in late June.
Notes
Infobox gives 1 May to late June 1915 and Wikidata gives 1 May as the start and June 1915 as the end; the article has no body text beyond the lead. Omniatlas's map notes date the first attack to May-June 1915, with the Allied columns beaten back in late June, and a second assault from October. No outside source confirms 1 May, so the dates are kept at month level.
Die Nasionale Pers, later Naspers, is founded in South Africa
Economy & trade
Die Nasionale Pers was founded by W.A. Hofmeyr as a publisher of newspapers and magazines supporting Afrikaner nationalism. Its daily Die Burger first appeared on 26 July 1915. It later became the Naspers group.
Notes
Planned at a meeting of sixteen Cape Afrikaners in December 1914. Renamed Naspers in 1998. The Naspers article says Die Burger began in June 1915, but the Die Burger article and South African History Online give 26 July 1915, which is used.
· Abu Urqub Mountain, Tripolitania, Libya · Africa
Senussi fighters defeat an Italian relief force at Abu Urqub
War & conflictMedium confidence
Senussi fighters led by Masoud Al-Shweikh defeated an Italian force sent to relieve besieged troops in Tarhuna. Most of the Italians were killed and about 200 were taken prisoner.
Notes
Infobox gives location as Tripoli, Libya; text places the fight on Abu Urqub Mountain. Spelled Abu Arqub in the article title. Strength 700 is from the infobox. Only the English Wikipedia article describes this battle; no independent source was found for the date, the 700 men or the 200 prisoners.
The Second Battle of Garua begins in German Kamerun
War & conflict
French and British forces dug in around the forts at Garua and began a siege on 31 May 1915. The German garrison under Captain von Crailsheim surrendered on 10 June and was taken prisoner.
In early June 1915 about 600 rebels under a local prince, Sabukki, took over Bussa, in protest at indirect rule after the British deposed the Emir, Kitoro Gani. They killed roughly half of the Native Administration set up three months before, and a small British force soon ended the rising.
Notes
Candidate region Europe corrected to Africa (Bussa is in Nigeria). Article places the start in early June 1915.
A national football championship was launched in the Sultanate of Morocco on 11 June 1915 under the rule of the USFSA. It is the forerunner of today's Botola Pro, the top tier of Moroccan football.
Notes
Infobox lists founding under the USFSA in 1915, the LMFA in 1922 and the FRMF in 1956. RSSSF lists the first official USFSA championship of Morocco, 1915/16, as starting on 11 June (year implied by the 1915/16 season). The 22 titles for Wydad AC match French Wikipedia's table.
A British force launched an amphibious raid from Kisumu against Bukoba in German East Africa, aiming to destroy its wireless station. The fighting lasted until 23 June and ended in a British victory.
· Southern Portuguese Angola, Portuguese Empire · Africa
The German campaign in Angola ends
War & conflictMedium confidence
German and Portuguese troops had clashed on the border of southern Portuguese Angola since October 1914, before the two countries were formally at war. The campaign ended in a Portuguese victory.
Notes
Disputed end date. English Wikipedia's infobox gives 9 July 1915 for the end of the campaign (the day South West Africa surrendered), its body says Portuguese forces reoccupied Humbe on 7 July, and Italian Wikipedia says 17 July 1915. Stored at month level. Wikidata gives 9 July 1915 without a reference. Italian Wikipedia adds that the Germans kept arming local revolts in the area until at least September 1915.
Battle of Otavi is fought in German South West Africa
War & conflict
South African forces under Louis Botha routed a German delaying force led by Major Hermann Ritter between Otavi mountain and Otavifontein. It is described as the last battle of the South West Africa Campaign.
German forces in South West Africa surrendered at Khorab, ending the campaign. South African troops had conquered the German colony, with Louis Botha leading them as commander-in-chief.
Notes
Merged duplicate row 1915-07-09-german-forces-in-south-west-africa-surrender-at-khorab (German forces in South West Africa surrender at Khorab). Its notes: Wikidata gives 1915 as the year of dissolution; Germany formally ceded the territory only in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles.
South Africa captures German South West Africa and begins to administer it
Politics & diplomacyMedium confidence
South African forces captured the German colony during the South West Africa campaign of the First World War. The territory then stayed under South African administration until 1990.
Notes
The article's infobox gives the start of the South African occupation as 9 July 1915, the date the German forces' surrender was signed (German Wikipedia: 9 July 1915, Governor Seitz and Lt Col Franke; military administration followed). The same infobox's status line oddly dates the occupation 1916-1920, and the League of Nations mandate began in 1919/1920. The day stored is the surrender and start of occupation.
· Rufiji Delta, German East Africa (now Tanzania) · Africa
The Battle of the Rufiji Delta ends
War & conflict
Over several months British warships tried to sink the blockaded German light cruiser Königsberg in the Rufiji Delta. The campaign ended with her sinking, a British victory.
The Afrikaans-language daily Die Burger published its first issue on 26 July 1915. Sixteen prominent Afrikaners had met in Stellenbosch in December 1914 to discuss starting a national newspaper.
In September 1915 the Kru of the Sinoe County coast rose against the Liberian government, blockading Greenville with war canoes; by 28 September the port of Sinoe was under siege. The United States sent the USS Chester, and by September 1916 the revolt was considered all but over.
Notes
The infobox gives 28 September 1915 to September 1916, but 28 September is the date of US Chargé Bundy's telegram (FRUS 1915, doc. 759), which already reports the port of Sinoe in a state of siege. President Howard's message (FRUS 1915, doc. 758) says only that the Kru began hostilities in September 1915 by blockading Greenville with war canoes. Start stored as September 1915; end September 1916 per the article.
The French authorities in the Moroccan protectorate held a commercial exposition at Casablanca from 5 September to 5 November 1915. Goods from across Morocco were displayed.
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck outside Asmara, Eritrea, on 23 September 1915. Its maximum perceived intensity was VI (Strong) on the Mercalli scale.
Notes
NOAA UTC date 1915-09-23 08:14. Local time 11:14 per the Wikipedia infobox.
On 9 October 1915 the Allied assault on Jaunde, the German capital of Kamerun, began. British and French columns converged on the town and took it on 1 January 1916 after German troops had left.
Notes
Infobox gives 9 October 1915 to 1 January 1916. The start date rests on the English infobox and Wikidata (one reference); the English Kamerun campaign article describes Allied forces ready for the assault on Jaunde only by December 1915, and no other approved source gave the start day, so no outside check was available.
Voters in South Africa chose all 130 seats of the House of Assembly on 20 October 1915. Louis Botha's South African Party won 54 seats, the most, but no majority, and Botha formed a minority government.
British forces besieged German troops entrenched on Banjo mountain in Kamerun. Much of the German force deserted and the rest surrendered within days.
Notes
Also spelled Banyo. The English article and infobox give 4-6 November 1915 (Wikidata agrees); Russian Wikipedia gives 4-8 November 1915, so the end day is disputed and stored at month level.
Sultan Yusef signed a dahir introducing Morocco's flag, a red field with a green five-pointed star. It has been the national flag since.
Notes
Wikidata gives 16 November 1915, imported from English Wikipedia with no other reference; the article's infobox, lead and history section all give 17 November 1915 for the dahir.
Villages between the Bani and Volta rivers, in what are now Burkina Faso and Mali, rose against French colonial rule. The rebellion began on 17 November 1915 and was put down by colonial troops.
Notes
Start 17 November 1915 is given by the English infobox and French Wikipedia (Wikidata: November 1915). The end is disputed, so it is stored at year level: the English infobox says 12 August 1917, Wikidata says 1 February 1917, and French Wikipedia says the war ran between 1915 and 1916. Place is given as the modern states.
Balthazar Johannes Vorster, born in Jamestown, Cape Province, later led South Africa as Prime Minister (1966 to 1978) and then as State President (1978 to 1979).
Notes
Article infobox and early-life section give Jamestown, Cape Province. Wikidata gives Uitenhage, referenced only as imported from English Wikipedia; the article is also filed under people from Uitenhage.
Battle for Lake Tanganyika opens with the capture of Kingani
War & conflict
British motor boats Mimi and Toutou, under Geoffrey Spicer-Simson, damaged and captured the German vessel Kingani on Lake Tanganyika. This began a series of engagements that gave Britain and Belgium control of the lake by mid-1916.
Notes
Wikidata gives the end as 1916-07-01; infobox gives July 1916, stored as 1916-07. Wikidata category everyday_life changed to war_conflict.
Johannesburg Art Gallery building opens to the public
Art & literature
The gallery's purpose-built building in Joubert Park, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, opened to the public without a ceremony in 1915, soon after the First World War began. The collection had been shown since 1910 in temporary premises.
Notes
The infobox gives established 1910, when the collection was first opened to the public in temporary premises (Wits, per English Wikipedia). The Friends of JAG centenary article and the City's heritage plaque both say the building opened to the public in 1915; the foundation stone was laid in 1911. The row is about the 1915 opening of the building.
Anti-colonial uprisings broke out in southern and western Madagascar against French rule, lasting from 1915 to 1917. The rebels resisted heavy taxation and forced labour; the revolts were put down and leaders punished.
Notes
Source gives the span 1915-1917 only; end year 1917 used as date_end.
German South West African mark is replaced by the pound
Economy & tradeMedium confidence
South Africa's occupation of German South West Africa in 1915 brought British currency back and ended the short life of the colony's own paper marks. Local emergency notes in marks were still being issued in 1916 to 1918.
Notes
English Wikipedia says the 1915 South African occupation officially replaced the mark with the pound. Two outside sources agree on the direction: the Monetary History of Namibia (liganda.ch) says the 1915 occupation brought back British currency, and Nortje (Western Cape Numismatic Society, 2025) says the 1914 mark notes circulated only briefly before the 1915 occupation. Local emergency notes in marks were issued 1916-1918 and only South African notes were official from 1919, so the changeover was not a single day. Wikidata end 1915 is a year-precision value with no reference. Year stored.
P. W. Botha was born at Paul Roux in the Orange Free State. He went on to be South Africa's last Prime Minister and then its first executive State President.
· Dianra, French West Africa (now Burkina Faso) · Africa
Sangoulé Lamizana is born
Lives
Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana is born in Dianra, in what is now Burkina Faso. He became a military officer and ruled Upper Volta as president from 1966 to 1980.
Notes
Both the English and French infoboxes label the birthplace as Upper Volta, but French Wikipedia dates the creation of that colony to 1 March 1919, after his birth, so the place is given as French West Africa and the present-day country.
Allied troops from Britain, India, Rhodesia and South Africa met German forces at Salaita Hill, near Mount Kilimanjaro. It was the East African campaign's first large engagement involving those troops, and the Germans won.
An invasion of the German colony of Kamerun by British, French and Belgian forces finished in an Allied victory. Most German troops and officials had fled to neighbouring Spanish Guinea, and the colony was later divided between France and Britain.
A clash in the East African Campaign took place in the Latema-Reata Hills of British East Africa on 11 and 12 March 1916. It ended in a British victory over the German East Africa force led by Major Georg Kraut.
Notes
Infobox figures (1,500-2,000 Germans; 270 British killed, wounded or missing) were not confirmed outside Wikipedia and are left out of the reader text.
A British and Egyptian force of around 2,000 men under Reginald Wingate's orders crossed into Darfur in March 1916. Sultan Ali Dinar had stopped paying tribute to the Sudanese government and had sided with the Ottoman Empire.
Notes
Wikidata category suggested exploration; this is a military invasion.
South African and British troops surrounded the German force holding Kahe, to the south of Mount Kilimanjaro. The Entente side captured large artillery pieces and inflicted heavy losses, and the Germans withdrew further inland.
Notes
Wikidata place is Kahe, Tanzania; the article names German East Africa.
Forces of the Belgian Congo, and from August a smaller British force from Uganda under the South African Charles Crewe, advanced on Tabora; the Belgians took the port of Kigoma and the town of Tabora. Much of Ruanda-Urundi came under Belgian military occupation.
Notes
Wikidata gives only 1916-09; infobox gives April-September 1916. Stored as a month-level span.
The Battle of Kondoa Irangi begins in German East Africa
War & conflict
From 7 to 10 May 1916, German colonial troops under Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck fought General van Deventer's 2nd Division at Kondoa Irangi during the East African Campaign. The Germans won.
The Battle of Mkalamo was fought at Mkalamo in German East Africa, now Tanzania, on 9 June 1916, as part of the East African Campaign of the First World War.
A series of naval engagements between British, Belgian and German forces ended in July 1916. Two British motor boats had been hauled overland to the lake, and control of its surface passed to the British and Belgians.
Notes
Month precision; the fighting began on 26 December 1915. Wikidata gives an end of 1916-07-01. Candidate category everyday_life changed to war_conflict.
Der Kriegsbote, forerunner of the Allgemeine Zeitung, is founded
Art & literatureMedium confidence
A German-language newspaper called Der Kriegsbote was founded and reported on World War I events. It later became the Allgemeine Zeitung, published in Windhoek, Namibia.
Notes
Founding place not stated; Windhoek is the newspaper's present headquarters. Infobox gives 1916; history section gives 22 July 1916.
Hubert Maga was born in Parakou, Dahomey, now Benin. He became a schoolmaster and politician, premier from 1959, and was appointed president when Dahomey became independent on 1 August 1960.
Notes
Article lists him as 1st President of Dahomey. Birth day is slightly uncertain: English Wikipedia's early-life section says August 10 or August 19, 1916 (rulers.org gives 10 August; a 1961 Ghana Information Services publication gives 19 August). The English infobox, French Wikipedia and the Europa international who's who cited by the article give 10 August, which is stored.
In the Nguru Mountains of German East Africa, German troops at the Matamondo pass held off a British advance for a day of heavy fighting, then slipped away overnight, letting their main force escape a planned encirclement.
Notes
Wikidata gives 11 November 1916, imported from an older English Wikipedia revision; the infobox gives 10-11 August 1916, and the body describes fighting on 10 August and the German withdrawal the next morning, within a British offensive launched in August 1916. The infobox figure of German losses (4 killed, 7 wounded) is tagged 'citation needed' in the article, so it was left out of the reader text.
British forces under General Jan Smuts advanced from Kenya into German East Africa and pushed back German troops at Mlali. The Germans lost several supply locations but the main force escaped.
German colonial troops under Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck met South African forces near Kisaki in German East Africa. On the first day the 3rd Infantry Division attacked the German positions head on, and the battle ended in a German victory.
A Belgian force that had crossed from the Belgian Congo, led by Charles Tombeur, fought German colonial troops at Tabora, the biggest town inland in the German colony. Victory gave the Allies the Tanganjikabahn railway.
Notes
The English article gives 8-19 September 1916; German Wikipedia gives 8-20 September, and the French article captions the troops entering Tabora on 19 September 1916.
Troops under Jan Smuts attacked German forces under Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck along the Dutumi River in German East Africa. After three days of fighting the Germans slipped away during the night, and Kisaki was occupied on 14 September.
Notes
The British official history (Stacke, Military Operations: East Africa, vol. 1, pp. 369-371, the article's main source) titles this 'The Affair of the Dutumi, 10th-12th September 1916': Smuts ordered the advance on 9 September and fighting began on 10 September. The article's infobox gives 9-12 September; Wikidata gives start 9 and end 11 September, imported from English Wikipedia without other references. Stacke gives about 90 British casualties in total (not 90 killed, as the infobox says) and German European losses of 2 killed and 12 wounded, citing Schnee. The infobox calls the result an Allied victory.
Charles de Foucauld, a French monk, priest and hermit living among the Tuareg in the Sahara, died at the hands of a bandit at his hermitage in Tamanrasset, Algeria.
German troops under Lettow-Vorbeck advanced on Kibata, north-west of Kilwa, which British forces had occupied in October under Jan Smuts's plan to block a German withdrawal southwards.
Notes
Infobox gives 6-15 December 1916, but the text describes events continuing into January 1917, so no end date is stored.
Kaocen's Tuareg rebels besiege Agadez, opening revolt against French rule
War & conflictMedium confidence
Tuareg forces led by Kaocen laid siege to the French garrison at Agadez, in the Aïr Mountains of northern Niger, in a rising against French colonial rule. They took the main towns of the Aïr before a French column from Zinder relieved Agadez on 3 March 1917.
Notes
The article dates the 1916 rising by the siege of the Agadez garrison, which began on 17 December 1916; it gives no other start date for the revolt, and says Kaocen had made scattered attacks on French forces since at least 1909. The stored end date is the relief of Agadez (3 March 1917); the infobox and Wikidata give the revolt only as 1916–1917 (unsourced). Single source for the day.
German Togoland is split into British and French zones
Politics & diplomacyMedium confidence
The German protectorate of Togoland was divided into two territories during the First World War, one under British administration and one under French. The British part later became part of Ghana.
Notes
Infobox date_event1 begins 27 December 1916 and date_start reads 27 December; the lead says the territory formed in 1916. French Wikipedia's infobox for French Togoland also gives 27 December 1916 for the partition, while German Wikipedia says only 1916. This also covers the French Togoland row.
German East African rupie ends its run as the colony's currency
Economy & tradeMedium confidence
The rupie served German East Africa from 1890 to 1916. Wartime coins were minted at Tabora in 1916, and British and Belgian forces occupied the colony later that year.
Notes
Article gives 1890 to 1916 but says the rupie kept circulating in the Tanganyika Territory until 1920; the Belgian Congo franc replaced it in Burundi and Rwanda in 1916.
Fort Hare was established in Alice, in what is now the Eastern Cape, with Alexander Kerr as its first principal. It became a key institution of higher education for black Africans, and its alumni include Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
Britain conquered Darfur, ending the revived sultanate; its ruler Ali Dinar was killed in battle. The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium absorbed the kingdom in 1917.
France seized the territories Germany had gained from it in 1911, after German forces in western Africa fell. After the war the border returned to its pre-1911 line and Neukamerun ceased to exist.
Notes
Infobox year_end 1916 matches the seizure; the text places the formal end of Neukamerun after the war, when the pre-1911 boundary was restored. Wikidata Julian flag is not relevant here.
Algerian politician, soldier and revolutionary, born at Maghnia. He later led the National Liberation Front and became Algeria's first president.
Notes
The article gives 1916 but says the exact birth date is not known: some sources give 1918, his father is said to have antedated the birth by two years, and in 2002 Ben Bella said he was probably born in 1916. Wikidata lists 25 December 1916, citing BnF, the Great Russian Encyclopedia, Britannica Online, SNAC, BlackPast and the Great Norwegian Encyclopedia (not opened here). Year kept because the date is disputed.
A temporary currency, the South West African mark, was issued in South West Africa after the German South West African mark was withdrawn. It stayed in use until the South African pound arrived in 1918.
Notes
Wikidata end date 1918; article says replaced by the South African pound in 1918.
A Roman altar linked to the imperial cult was discovered in 1916 on the slopes of Byrsa hill above ancient Carthage's port. It is now in the Bardo National Museum in Tunis.
Gaston Ripert reports a huge iron hill near Chinguetti
ScienceMedium confidence
The French consular official Captain Gaston Ripert said he had come upon a huge iron hill about 45 kilometres from Chinguetti in the Mauritanian Sahara. Later expeditions never relocated it, and renewed analysis of the fragment he took capped the size of any meteorite it came from.
Notes
Alleged find; existence unconfirmed. Infobox found date 1916.
The football club that became MC Oran was set up and declared in Medina Jedida on 1 January 1917. The French authorities approved the declaration on 4 December 1919.
Notes
Infobox gives 1917; lead and history give 1 January 1917, which French Wikipedia confirms. Declaration approved 4 December 1919. The article's claim that it was the only Algerian club in every top-flight season until 2008 could not be confirmed and was dropped.
Battle of Behobeho is fought in German East Africa
War & conflict
A battle of the East African Campaign was fought at Behobeho, with Capt. Ernst Otto commanding the German East African side and Capt. Frederick Selous the other. It ended inconclusively.
British units of the 1st East African Division were ordered to attack German forces spotted near Nambanje. The Germans had detected the advance a day earlier and beat off the attack.
German forces won a clash at Rumbo (Kiranjeranje) in German East Africa during the East African Campaign, beating a British force of Indian and African troops that was driven back across the Ngaura River.
Notes
The infobox and Wikidata give 18 April 1917 but the text says only 'April 1917'; Wikidata also gives start 1917-08-02 and end 1917-08-10, unsourced. No other edition of this article exists, so the day could not be confirmed and is stored at month level.
A Portuguese column under Augusto da Cunha left Nambude on 29 April 1917 to take the Mueda Plateau in Mozambique. Heavy fighting in the forest followed from 1 to 3 May.
Notes
Date is the column's departure from Nambude. Wikidata gives end 1917-07-30, which the source does not state. Infobox gives only 1917.
Ranavalona III, last sovereign of Madagascar, dies in Algiers
Lives
Ranavalona III, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Madagascar, dies in Algiers. French authorities had exiled her to Réunion in 1897, and she later lived in Algiers.
German forces defeat British Empire troops at Narungombe
War & conflictMedium confidence
A British Empire force advanced in three columns at daybreak against a German position in German East Africa during the East African Campaign. The Germans inflicted heavy losses and are credited with the victory, then withdrew during the night.
Notes
Wikidata places it in Portuguese Mozambique; the infobox and text give German East Africa. The article is short and has no counterpart in German, French or Swahili Wikipedia, so the date and force figures are single-sourced; the force figures were removed. The infobox records a German victory, but the body says the Germans pulled out overnight after making the British pay heavily for the water well, with the British holding some positions at nightfall.
Belgian forces captured Mahenge in German East Africa, ending an offensive that began on 28 August 1917. Afterwards the Belgian Congolese army held roughly one-third of the colony.
Notes
Wikidata date matches the end of the offensive (28 August to 9 October 1917); the capture is the dated event used here.
South African and Nigerian troops under Jacob van Deventer engaged Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's column at Mahiwa in German East Africa. The fighting lasted until 18 October and cost both sides heavily.
Oliver Tambo was born in the village of Nkantolo in eastern Pondoland, about 20 kilometres from Bizana. He became a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician.
Helen Suzman was born Helen Gavronsky to Lithuanian-Jewish emigre parents. She went on to be an activist against apartheid and a politician, spending 36 years in the South African House of Assembly.
German forces under Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck outflanked a Portuguese force camped at Ngomano in Portuguese East Africa, almost wiping it out, and seized a large haul of supplies.
The Tuareg rising in the Aïr Mountains of northern Niger ran through 1916-17 and ended in French victory. A column sent from Zinder reached the besieged Agadez garrison on 3 March 1917 and started seizing rebel towns.
Notes
Wikidata gives end 1917-01-01 (year level). The 3 March 1917 relief marks the start of suppression; no exact end day given.
The anti-colonial rebellion against French rule in the area of the Bani and Volta rivers ended in a French victory. At least 30,000 Africans were killed, and French forces razed many villages.
Notes
Wikidata gives 1917-02. The infobox gives 17 November 1915 to 12 August 1917, but its stated length (1 year, 10 months, 5 days) does not match that end date, and the full article gives no other end date; the lead says pockets of resistance lasted until 1917. French Wikipedia dates the war 1915 to 1916, so the end year is disputed. Stored as year. French Wikipedia confirms about 30,000 deaths; the figure of about 112 villages razed was not confirmed and is left out.
The Islamic scholar Mohamed Turay devised the Mende Kikakui syllabary around 1917 at Maka, a town in southern Sierra Leone. It is used to write the Mende language.
Racing Athlétic de Casablanca football club is founded
Sport
A football club was founded in Casablanca under the name Racing Athlétic de Casablanca. It was renamed Association des Douanes Marocains in 1969 and took back its original name in the 1980s.
The Adubi War, also called the Egba Uprising, was fought in June and July 1918, officially over colonial taxation. Colonial troops had crushed it by 10 July, and it ended Abeokutan independence and brought forced labour to the region.
Notes
The infobox gives 13 June to July 1918 and the article says rebels tore up the railway at Agbesi on 13 June, but the African theatre of World War I article puts that act on 13 July. The lead dates the conflict to June and July 1918 and the chiefs' arrest to 7 June, so the months are stored.
Rolihlahla Mandela is born at Mvezo in Transkei, South Africa. He grew into an anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician, and held the presidency of South Africa between 1994 and 1999.
German and British forces fought at Lioma in Portuguese East Africa on 30-31 August 1918. British forces under George Giffard nearly encircled and destroyed Lettow-Vorbeck's Schutztruppe, but the Germans broke out and retreated.
Notes
Wikidata gives 31 August 1918; lead and infobox give 30-31 August.
The war in Africa had been waged against Germany's colonies of Kamerun, Togoland, South West Africa and East Africa. It ended in November 1918, when Lettow-Vorbeck's German force, told of the armistice, gave itself up to the British at Abercorn.
Notes
The infobox gives 25 November 1918 as the end; the same article's text says Lettow-Vorbeck formally surrendered at Abercorn on 23 November, which Wikidata also gives; the English and German articles on Lettow-Vorbeck give 25 November. The month is stored.
· German East Africa and neighbouring territories · Africa
German forces surrender in East Africa
War & conflict
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's German colonial forces learned of the armistice at 07:30 on 14 November 1918, waited for confirmation, and surrendered formally on 25 November. German East Africa then became British and Belgian territory.
Notes
The candidate's region of Europe is changed to Africa. Infobox end date is also 25 November 1918, as are the African theatre article's infobox and the Lettow-Vorbeck article (surrender offered at Abercorn). Wikidata's item for the wider African theatre (Q659991) lists 23 November 1918 as its end, unsourced; the theatre article's own 23 November refers to Lettow-Vorbeck's 1917 crossing into Mozambique, not a surrender.
Afrikaner Broederbond is founded as Jong Zuid Afrika
Politics & diplomacyMedium confidence
Four men, among them H. J. Klopper and Rev. Jozua Naudé, founded a secret society open only to Calvinist Afrikaner men to advance the Afrikaner people. It was first called Jong Zuid Afrika and took the name Broederbond in 1920.
Notes
Wikidata gives May 1918; the source gives 1918 only.
South West African mark is replaced by the South African pound
Economy & tradeMedium confidence
The temporary currency used in South West Africa after the German South West African mark was withdrawn in 1916 gave way to the South African pound in 1918. Its notes carried values in marks and pfennigs.
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