Battle of Tanga

Battle of Tanga
Part of the East African campaign of World War I
"Battle of Tanga, 3rd–5th November, 1914" by Martin Frost (1875–1927)
Date 3–5 November 1914 Location Tanga, German East Africa Result German victory
Belligerents
German Empire German East Africa	British Empire  India
Commanders and leaders
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Tom von Prince  †	Arthur Aitken Richard Wapshare Michael Tighe
Strength
250 (Initially) 750 (Reinforcements) Total: 1,000	4,000 (Initially) 5,000 (Reinforcements) 1 Astraea-class cruiser Total: 9,000
Casualties and losses
16 Germans killed[1] 55 Askaris killed[1] 76 Germans & Askaris wounded[1]	360 killed[2] 487 wounded[2] 148 missing[3]

The Battle of Tanga, also known as the Battle of the Bees, was an unsuccessful invasion of the German East African port of Tanga by the British Indian Expeditionary Force "B" on 3–5 November 1914 during World War I. Under the command of the Major-General Arthur Aitken, British forces attacked Tanga in concert with Indian Expeditionary Force "C", which concomitantly attempted to capture Longido. The battle was the first major engagement of the East African campaign and saw Aitken's troops defeated by a smaller force of German Schutztruppe under Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and forced to retreat. Lettow-Vorbeck's men captured weapons, medical supplies, tents, blankets, rations and several Maxim guns after the battle, which played a major role in allowing his troops to resist the Allies for the rest of the conflict.