BATTLES IN AFRICA


 SADF's clashes with SWAPO and Cuban troops Wednesday, 1/16/08, 6:52 AM 
  
 Battles of Cuito Cuanavale; Cassinga; Operations Savannah, Protea. 
  
 From: Namibia 
  
 
 French Foreign Legion in Ivory Coast February 2003 Thursday, 9/13/07, 5:47 AM 
  
 The French foreign legionnaires reach a blind spot in the red earth track, halt, and drop silently as cats into western Ivory Coast's tangled bush. They crouch there, listening. But nothing stirs except chattering insects and startled birds. The lead man rises, beckons, and cautiously points his gun back up the track. One by one, the legionnaires follow - an anxious- looking Belgian, an unmistakable American, four men with Slavic features hidden behind Aviator shades - drawing France further into the most violent theatre of west Africa's new war. The patrol is ostensibly monitoring a ceasefire, following France's recent efforts to quell the three rebellions mushrooming in its most treasured former African colony. Yet here in Ivory Coast's humid west, despite a two-week lull in fighting between the main parties, the French foreign legion is indisputably at war. Over the past two months, the 140 legionnaires dug in around Duekoue, 150 miles west of Abidjan, Ivory Coast's main city, have come under attack eight times. Seventeen have been wounded. They have killed at least 50 of their attackers, and probably many more, admits their commander Col Emmanuel Maurin. Legionnaire Alan Barnes, a Dubliner with 15 years' service in the legion, tries to explain why things are going so badly wrong. "The rebels here are bloody crazy," he says. "They keep coming at us. When real soldiers open fire in Africa, rebels run; everyone knows that. But these keep coming." "We're fighting them almost hand-to-hand - the guys are taking them out at 10 metres." Over the past three months, little noticed by a world obsessed by a possible war with Iraq, France has been drawn deeper and deeper into an actual war; splitting one of Africa's richest countries three ways, and displacing more than a million people so far. Last week, the latest contingent of 450 French troops arrived in Abidjan, to protect 25,000 French citizens and 220 French businesses; and taking the official total to 3,000. Western diplomats say the true number may be far higher. If France is to stop Ivory Coast going the way of neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, it will probably need to be. Since September the country has been split into north and south, with only a thin line of French troops preventing the well-organised Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast (MPCI) sweeping south to Abidjan. Now, two more recent rebellions in the west are evoking bitter memories of neighbouring wars, with refugees reporting redundant rebels pouring over from Liberia and Sierra Leone. They tell of ethnically-targetted killing, and routine murder and rape. In Abidjan itself, the UN last week reported 300 ethnic and political murders carried out by death squads "close to the government and the presidential guard". On Thursday, President Laurent Gbagbo, who came to power in a violent election from which many northerners were excluded, revoked a French- brokered agreement to share power with the MPCI. The rebels have promised to wait for a week, reserving their right to resume the attack. "Abidjan and the west are now the serious threats to peace; we're at a crucial moment," said Col Maurin. "If the crisis continues, with fighting likely to spread across borders, we could see a conflagration across the region." A pointer towards that possibility is that Col Maurin is not even sure who his legionnaires have been killing. "More and more fighters are appearing in uniform, but we don't know who's providing them," he says. "The people of Ivory Coast want peace, and I believe the MPCI want peace; but here in the west the rebels don't want anything except to be able to rape and pillage." The Brussels-based thinktank the International Crisis Group has reported that thousands of youths have been recruited in Liberia to cross into western Ivory Coast. F 
  
 From: Ivory Coast 
 Web Site:  The Guardian 
  
 
 Bamum vs Nso 1906 Friday, 7/6/07, 9:06 AM 
  
 The tribal kingdom of Bamum, in the Western grasslands of Cameroon, was flourishing when the Germans first came into contact with it in 1902. Unlike many other tribes, the Bamum under King Njoya initially embraced German colonialism. To impress both the Germans and neighbouring tribes they adopted German style uniforms and drill patterns from 1904 onwards. Some weapons, uniforms and stocks of cloth were received as gifts or trade from the Germans but many of the uniforms were made by Bamum's own skilled tailors in imitation of pictures they had seen. The myriad varieties of uniform created by the craftsmen also included aspects of traditional Bamum artwork and embroidery. At first the Germans were flattered by the attention to detail and also found the Bamum useful allies in the 1906 campaign against the Nso' people, to which Njoya supplied 100 soldiers and personally led them on campaign. Later the Germans felt threatened by the independent native army and ordered them to disarm in August 1908. King Njoya then rejected all German customs and neither he nor men wore uniform after 1909. 
  
 From: the Western grasslands of Cameroon, 
 Web Site:  germancolonialuniforms.co.uk 
  
 
 Battles of Ifriqiya / Africa Tuesday, 1/9/07, 9:19 AM 
  
 Battle of Kairouan, NW of Mahdia in mid-Tunisia 828 ¿ Arab defeat Battle of Tebessa in Tunisia 698 Battle of Tahudha in Algeria 683 
  
 
 Battle for the Cape Colony 1795 Wednesday, 3/22/06, 3:58 AM 
  
 involved a black regiment called the Pandours 
  
 Web Site:  SA milhist journal 
  
 
 Strategy in Bantu tribal warfare during the 19th century Wednesday, 3/22/06, 3:45 AM 
  
 In the early decades of the nineteenth century, during the tyrannical rule of Shaka, King of the Zulu, the South African territories today known as Zululand and Natal were studded with great military kraals garrisoned by powerful, war-lusty regiments. Called amakhanda, these settlements were strategically situated on hilltops, mountain slopes and along the banks of rivers. They defended Shaka's expanding empire against invasion by hostile tribes but more important they were the centres from which swift and destructive forays were constantly launched into neighbouring territories. 
  
 From: Azania 
 Web Site:  SA milhist journal 
  
 
 The Battle of Tsuntua December 1804 Tuesday, 3/7/06, 8:10 AM 
  
 The Battle of Tsuntua, fought in December 1804, was one of the largest battles of the Fulani War. In 1804, Yunfa of Gobir realized the growing threat that his former teacher, Fulani Islamic refomer Usman dan Fodio, posed to the Hausa city-states. Appealing to the other Hausa rulers for help, Yunfa assembled an army to capture and kill Usman. Meanwhile, Usman's followers spread word of a jihad against the Hausa rulers, attracting a number of Fulani nomads to their cause. The forces met in December in a significant victory for the Hausa rulers. Dan Fodio's forces lost over 2,000 men, 200 of whom were said to have known the Koran by heart. However, the Hausa victory proved to be short-lived, as Dan Fodio's forces seized Kebbi and Gwandu the following year, ensuring the survival and growth of their party. 
  
 From: Nigeria 
  
 
 Ethiopian battles Tuesday, 3/7/06, 5:00 AM 
  
 ¿ Battle of Amba Sel ¿ Battle of Antukyah B ¿ Battle of Amba Jebelli ¿ Battle of Ayshal ¿ Battle of Derasge Battle of Gur Amba B cont. ¿ Battle of Magdala ¿ Battle of Takusa ¿ Battle of Baçente C ¿ Battle of Chelenqo D ¿ Battle of Debre Abbay ¿ Battle of Debre Tabor G Battle of Gomit S ¿ Battle of Sahart ¿ Battle of Segale ¿ Battle of Shimbra Kure W ¿ Battle of Wayna Daga ¿ Battle of Wofla 
  
 Web Site:  Wiki 
  
 
 Kingdom of Mali 1230 - 1430 Friday, 3/3/06, 1:42 AM 
  
 From: Sahel 
 Web Site:  allempires 
  
 
 African military history before 1750 Friday, 3/3/06, 1:35 AM 
  
 "Since the dawn of recorded history, Africa has been the home to empires. The pharaohs of Ancient Egypt built a realm that endured for nearly 3,000 years. The warrior-traders of Carthage ruled from the Atlantic to Tripoli, and hammered at the gates of Rome. To the south, Meroe and Axum, Ghana and Mali, built vast kingdoms, and traded in salt and ivory and gold. At one time Timbuktu had libraries and universities greater than any in Western Europe. Later, the warrior nations of the Ashanti, the Fulani and the Zulus built disciplined armies and conquered wide areas. Africa has known the tread of Hannibal and Scipio Africanus, Caesar and Cleopatra, Mansa Musa and Shaka Zulu, Henry Morton Stanley and Cecil Rhodes, Kwame Nkrumah and Nelson Mandela. From the grim slave pits of Elmina to the brooding towers of Zimbabwe, from the battlefield of Zama to the blood stained diamond mines of Katanga and Sierra Leone, Africa has known conquerors and rebels, heroes and villains, idealists and tyrants" 
  
 Web Site:  All Empires 
  
 
 Some Ethiopian battles 1875 ¿ 1896 Thursday, 3/2/06, 3:22 AM 
  
 Adowa (1 March 1896), Italo-Abyssinia War. Italian forces under Colonel Oreste Baratieri were defeated in a major, and decicive battle by an large Abyssinian army led by Meneiek II. AmbaAIagai (7 December 1895), Italo-Abyssinia War. Italian forces under Colonel Oreste Bararieri pushed too far inland from Eritrea and were defeated by an Abyssinian force led by Meneiek II near this village in eastern Abyssinia. Dongali (26 January 1887), Italo-Abyssinian War. Abyssinian forces under Ras Alula [q.v.], governor of Tigre, attacked and defeated an Italian force of about 500, killing more than 400. Gallabat (1885 and 1889), Sudanese-Abyssinian conflicts. Two battles between Sudanese and Abyssinians were fought near this town, now in the north-eastern Sudan on the Abyssinian border, 90 miles southeast of Galadi. 1. In 1885, after Sudanese Dervishes looted an Abyssinian church, Ras Takia Adal, an Abyssinian chief, invaded the Sudan and defeated the Dervishes near Gallabat. 2. On 12 March 1889 Abyssinians under King Johannes were defeated by a Dervish force under Zaki Tamal. The Abyssinians were winning, thousands of prisoners were taken, and the town was stormed and burned, until Johannes was mortally wounded by a stray bullet and the dispirited Abyssinians quit the field. As they did so, the Dervishes turned and pursued, routing the Abyssinian rear guard and capturing Johannes's corpse, which was sent as proof of their victory to Omdurman, the Sudanese capital under the Mahdists. Gundet (17 November 1875), Abyssinian-Egyptian War. Near this village in the Abyssinian highlands, 30 miles northeast of Axum, west of Massaua (Massawa), near the Egyptian border, Abyssinians under King Johannes, aided by Walad Michael, hereditary chief of Bogos, defeated an invading Egyptian force of 2,500 led by Seren Adolph Arendrup, who was killed in the battle. Gura (7 March 1876), Abyssinian-Egyptian War. After the Abyssinian victory over the Egyptian army under Seren Adolph Arendup at Gundet on 17 November 1875, an Egyptian force of 14,000 under Muhammad Ratib Pasha, sirdar of the Egyptian army, with American staff officers who included former Confederate General William Wing Loring and former Confederate Colonel Samuel Henry Lockett, invaded Abyssinia from Mussawa. On a plateau near Gura in central Eritrea 5 miles south of Decamere and 20 miles south-southeast of Asmara, it was soundly defeated by an Abyssinian force under Walad Michael, the hereditary chief of Bogos. Ratib Pasha blamed his defeat upon his American staff officers and retained his post as sirdar. Kassala Battle of and Siege of (1894 and 1897), Italian-Dervish conflicts. In 1885 this fortified town, 250 miles east of Khartoum near the border of Eritrea, was captured by the Dervishes. On 17 July 1894 Italian Colonel Oreste Baratieri with 2,600 men in a surprise attack drove them out and occupied the town. He then garrisoned it with local levies under Italian officers commanded by Carlo Caneva. In 1897 Mahdist forces under Emir Fadil Muhammad (d. 1899) invested Kassala, but it was relieved by an Italian force under General Antonio 
  
 From: Horn of Africa 
 Web Site:  Kriegsspiel News 
  
 
 Medieval empires of Africa Wednesday, 3/1/06, 10:42 AM 
  
 There were many great empires in Sub-saharan Africa over the past few millennia. These were mostly concentrated in West Africa where important trade routes and good agricultural land allowed extensive states to develop. These included the Mali Empire, Oba of Benin, the Kanem-Bornu Empire, the Fulani Empire, the Dahomey, Oyo, Aro confederacy, the Ashanti Empire, and the Songhay. Also common in this region were loose federations of city states such as those of the Yoruba and Hausa. Further south empires were less common, but there were exceptions, most notably Great Zimbabwe. One region that did see considerable state formation due to its high population and agricultural surplus was the Great Lakes region where states such as Rwanda, Burundi, and Buganda became strongly centralized. Ethiopia, closely linked with North Africa and the Middle East also had centralized rule for many millennia and the Axumite Kingdom which developed there has created a powerful regional trading empire (with trade routes going as far as India). 
  
 From: Africa 
 Web Site:  Wikipedia 
  
 
 more African battles Friday, 2/24/06, 8:18 AM 
  
 Southern Africa Mosega 1837 Vegkop 1836 Mariqua [near the Limpopo River] Boers v. Ndebele Egypt Cairo 1517 Heliopolis 640 Alexandria 642 The Alexandrian War (Julius Caesar and Cleopatra vs. Ptolemy) Punic Wars Bagradas 250bc The Mercenary War Zama Tuaregs vs Hausas Matankari 1804 ¿ east of Niger Kamba 1806 ¿ ditto Tsuntsuwa 1804 ¿ NE of Solcoto Gwanda 1805 ¿ SW of Solcoto Fafara 1806 ¿ SE of Solcoto Africa WW1 Some rivers in Togo were contested by Germans and Askaris as they retreated north on the location of their important radio station in the jungle (the only one which could reach German warships in the southern oceans). There were also some actions in the Cameroons, which was invaded from the neighbouring Belgian Congo, British Nigeria, and French Equatorial Africa. These campaigns involved about 10 porters to each fighting soldier. The campaigns of Von Lettow Warbeck in East Africa, with the linked naval campaign on Lake Victoria, are far better known. 
  
 
 The Battle of Maychew March 31, 1936 Wednesday, 7/20/05, 8:22 AM 
  
 The last major battle of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. Plans were leaked of a counter-attack by 40,000 of Haile Selassie's best troops, and the Italian forces crushed them, going on to annex the country until it was liberated by the British during WW2. The Italians used poison gas in this campaign. 
  
 From: Ethiopia 
 Web Site:  Onwar 
  
 
 Ashanti Wars Thursday, 6/9/05, 10:47 AM 
  
 From: Ghana 
 Web Site:  Ashanti Wars 
  
 
 West African kingdoms 1800+ Tuesday, 12/14/04, 10:33 AM 
  
 Nice maps and detailed histories of several African regions here 
  
 From: West Africa 
 Web Site:  Art History Timelines 
  
 
 African battles Thursday, 10/21/04, 9:32 AM 
  
 Morocco Tangier 1437 Tangier Africa Tunisia Tunis Bc46 Thapsus Pompeiian defeat Africa Tunisia Utica Bc255 Bagradas Romans invade Africa but are defeated 
  
 
 History of Algeria Wednesday, 2/5/03, 9:16 AM 
  
 from ancient Carthage to the present day 
  
 From: Algeria 
 Web Site:  Library of Congress Country Studies 
  
 
 History of Zanzibar Tuesday, 11/19/02, 11:23 AM 
  
 Site contains great graphics and brief histories of the British fleet bombardment in 1896 and of the Great War in east Africa. 
  
 Web Site:  Zanzibar Unveiled 
  
 
 African History and Culture Resources Tuesday, 11/19/02, 11:10 AM 
  
 From: Tanzanica 
 Web Site:  Tanzanica 
  
 
 Italo-Abyssinian Wars of the 1870's Friday, 11/15/02, 5:59 AM 
  
 In the 1870s the Italians acquired a foothold on the Abyssinian coast that they steadily expanded. In January 1885 they seized Beilul, a fishing port on the Red Sea, 25 miles west-northwest of Assab (Aseb), and in February they occupied Massawa (Massaua) on the Gulf of Massaua, an inlet of the Red Sea. They purchased Assab from a local Eritrean prince and began to move inland. The site uses frames so you will need to navigate to the detailed account. 
  
 From: Ethiopia & Eritrea 
 Web Site:  Kriegspiel News 
  
 
 Military history of Egypt & Maghreb North Africa Monday, 11/11/02, 11:03 AM 
  
 From: Egypt & Maghreb North Africa 
 Web Site:  Military history of Egypt & Maghreb North Africa 
  
 
 German colonial uniforms Thursday, 10/31/02, 9:14 AM 
  
 Web Site:  German colonial uniforms 
  
 
 The German - Wahehe War, 1891-98 Thursday, 10/31/02, 9:08 AM 
  
 The German Schutztruppe for East Africa was officially founded on 8th February 1889 as military instrument of the ¿Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft¿, a private enterprise which acquired territories from the Sultan of Sanzibar for colonization. The first Schutztruppe consisted of 22 German officers, 63 NCO¿s, 2 medical officers, 3 officials and 768 native troops, most of which were Sudanese hired in Egypt. After suppressing the uprising of the coastal Arab population from 1889 to 1891 under the command of Reichskommissar Hermann von Wissmann (the force was referred to as ¿Wissmanntruppe¿ during that period), on 22nd March 1891 the Schutztruppe became officially a force of the German Empire. 
  
 From: Tanzania 
 Web Site:  Holger Doebold 
  
 
 Spanish Foreign Legion uniforms Thursday, 10/31/02, 9:02 AM 
  
 ..of the Rif War period 
  
 From: Morocco, Spanish Sahara et al 
 Web Site:  Spanish Foreign Legion uniforms 
  
 
 Mediaeval Africa Wednesday, 10/30/02, 10:26 AM 
  
 Web Site:  Mediaeval Africa 
  
 
 Colonial warfare in Portuguese Africa Tuesday, 10/29/02, 11:23 AM 
  
 This site is dedicated to the Portuguese colonial wars and geographical explorations in the African continent, during the second half of the 19th century until the second decade of the 20th. Although the Portuguese army and navy fought more than 300 campaigns and actions in Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea, in this period, it is still a subject hitherto uknown to many, many people. I hope to unveil the tip of the iceberg of this obscure colonial experience, almost as dark and mysterious as the land itself. 
  
 From: Portuguese Africa 
 Web Site:  The King's Carbine 
  
 
 Colonial uniforms of the French, German & Italian armies Tuesday, 10/29/02, 10:41 AM 
  
 numerous excellent illustrations here 
  
 Web Site:  Warflag 
  
 
 The South African Military History Society Tuesday, 10/29/02, 10:01 AM 
  
 The Military History Journal (incorporating the Museum Review), established in 1967, is published by the South African National Museum Of Military History in association with the South African Military History Society, bi-annually, in June and December. The aim of the Journal is to publish research and articles of interest concerning military history by members of the Society or the Museum or any other person who wishes to submit his or her work. Most of the articles published since 1967 are found here online, comprising a vast array of information on the subject. 
  
 From: Azania 
 Web Site:  The Military History Journal 
  
 
 African chronology Tuesday, 10/29/02, 9:55 AM 
  
 Web Site:  North Park uni 
  
 
 history of ancient Mali Tuesday, 10/29/02, 9:47 AM 
  
 From: Mali 
 Web Site:  history of ancient Mali 
  
 
 history of Ethiopia Tuesday, 10/29/02, 9:46 AM 
  
 From: Ethiopia 
 Web Site:  history of Ethiopia 
  
 
 Military analysis network Tuesday, 10/29/02, 9:44 AM 
  
 a vast amount of material here. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. 
  
 Web Site:  Military analysis network 
  
 
 Military history of the British Commonwealth countries Tuesday, 10/29/02, 9:35 AM 
  
 From: Commonwealth Africa 
 Web Site:  Military history of the British Commonwealth countries 
  
 
 The History of Africa Tuesday, 10/29/02, 9:29 AM 
  
 The Story of Africa tells the history of the continent from an African perspective. Africa's top historians take a fresh look at the events and characters that have shaped the continent from the origins of humankind to the end of South African apartheid. See the rise and fall of empires and kingdoms, experience the power of religion, the injustices of slavery, and chart the expansion of trade between Africa and other continents. Hear what it was like to live under colonialism, follow the struggle against it, and celebrate the achievement of independence. 
  
 From: Africa 
 Web Site:  BBC online 
  
 
 A German Guerrilla chief in Africa(Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck) Tuesday, 10/29/02, 9:07 AM 
  
 David Rooney describes the extraordinary exploits of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, the German soldier who kept the Allies tied down in Africa throughout the Great War. 
  
 From: Tanzania 
 Web Site:  History today 
  
 
 The British Empire in Africa Tuesday, 10/29/02, 8:43 AM 
  
 The continent of Africa provided some of the earliest and many of the latest colonies of Empire. The earliest colonies, on the West Coast of Africa, were a legacy of the fabulous fortunes that could be made out of the Slave Trade in that area. Gold and Ivory were other lures for early traders of all European countries. Fortunately for many Africans the climate and naturally occuring diseases meant that most Europeans found it most difficult to live in the equatorial areas of Africa. Malaria was the chief barrier to early colonisation. Advances in technology eventually provided Europeans with the means to colonise Africa at a time of peculiarly intense competition between the European powers. Hence, the Scramble for Africa provided the British Empire with a substantial increase in her African territories. The already impressive African presence was further added to with the defeat of Germany in the Great War and the confiscation of her colonies. The Dark Continent held intense fascination for many of the British public. Missionaries and explorers brought back stories and tales of wonderful beasts, colourful peoples and incredible geography. It is not hard to see why Victorians were so keen on expansion of Empire into this the most mysterious of continents. This is a beautiful site. 
  
 From: the dark continent 
 Web Site:  The British Empire 
  
 
 British campaign in Abyssinia 1868 Tuesday, 10/29/02, 8:40 AM 
  
 a beautiful site 
  
 From: Ethiopia 
 Web Site:  British Empire 
  
 
 History of Central Africa Tuesday, 10/22/02, 5:25 AM 
  
 From: Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, & Mozambique 
 Web Site:  History of Central Africa 
  
 
 History of the Kingdom of the Kongo Tuesday, 10/22/02, 5:22 AM 
  
 the Kingdom of the Kongo (kông´g, kng´-)was a former state of W central Africa, founded in the 14th cent. In the 15th cent. the kingdom stretched from the Congo River in the north to the Loje River in the south and from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to beyond the Kwango River in the east. Several smaller autonomous states to the south and east paid tribute to it. Kongo was ruled by the manikongo, or king, and was divided into six provinces, each administered by a governor appointed by the manikongo. In 1482, Diogo Cão, a Portuguese explorer, visited the kingdom, and the reigning manikongo, Nzinga Nkuwu, was favorably impressed with Portuguese culture. In 1491, Portuguese missionaries, soldiers, and artisans were welcomed at Mbanza, the capital of the kingdom. The missionaries soon gained converts, including Nzinga Nkuwu (who took the name João I), and the soldiers helped the manikongo defeat an internal rebellion. The next manikongo, Afonso I (reigned 1505-43), was raised as a Christian and attempted to convert the kingdom to Christianity and European ways. However, the Portuguese residents in Kongo were primarily interested in increasing their private fortunes (especially through capturing Africans and selling them into slavery), and, despite the attempts of King Manuel I of Portugal to channel the efforts of his subjects into constructive projects, the continued rapaciousness of the Portuguese played a major part in weakening the kingdom and reducing the hold of the capital (renamed São Salvador) over the provinces. After the death of Afonso, Kongo declined rapidly and suffered major civil wars. The Portuguese shifted their interest southward to the kingdom of Ndongo and helped Ndongo defeat Kongo in 1556. However, in 1569 the Portuguese aided Kongo by helping to repel an invasion from the east by a Lunda ethnic group. The slave trade, which undermined the social structure of Kongo, continued to weaken the authority of the manikongo. In 1641, Manikongo Garcia II allied himself with the Dutch in an attempt to control Portuguese slave traders, but in 1665 a Portuguese force decisively defeated the army of Kongo and from that time onward the manikongo was little more than a vassal of Portugal. The kingdom disintegrated into a number of small states, all controlled to varying degrees by the Portuguese. The area of Kongo was incorporated mostly into Angola and partly into the Independent State of the Congo (see Congo, Democratic Republic of the) in the late 19th cent. See also J. K. Thornton, The Kingdom of Kongo (1983); A. W. Hilton, The Kingdom of Kongo (1985). 
  
 From: W central Africa 
 Web Site:  History of the Kingdom of the Kongo 
  
 
 History of Egypt Monday, 10/21/02, 9:25 AM 
  
 Includes: The Battle of Meggido, Egyptian Account, c. 1469 BCE [At Hillsdale] Pen-ta-ur: The Victory of Ramses II Over the Khita, 1326 BCE [At this Site] The Battle of Kadesh, Egyptian Account, c. 1294 BCE [At Hillsdale] 
  
 From: Egypt 
 Web Site:  History of Egypt 
  
 
 The British Naval African Expedition 1915-18 Tuesday, 10/8/02, 2:44 AM 
  
 In World War One, Lake Tanganyika, Known As "The Blue Heart Of Africa", Occupied An Important Strategic Position Between The Allied Belgian Congo And The German Possession Of Tanganyika (Now Tanzania). The Lake Was Dominated By The German Warships The 1500 Ton Goetzen (With A 4.1-Inch Gun), The 150 Ton Hedwig Von Wissmann And The 53 Ton Tugboat Kingani. To Dispute Control Of The Lake, Two Armed Wooden 40ft Motor Launches ("Mimi" And "Toutou"), Mounting One 3lb Gun Fore And A Machine Gun Aft, Were Conveyed From The Thames Via Capetown To Lake Tanganyika To Deal With The German Warships Stationed There. The Expedition Travelled 2800 Miles Overland, Much Of It By Rail And River But Some Of It Dragged By Steam Traction Engines And Then By Oxen Over Mountains. The Trip Took From July To October To Complete. . The Infamous Thick Bush, The Horrific Wastage Rates On Draught Animals (Mainly Due To Tsetse Fly) And The Fact That East Africa Has Two Rainy Seasons Did Not Help. A White Hunter Named John R Lee (Who Was Dismissed 1/3 Way Into The Journey) And A Naval Lieutenant Commander Named Geoffrey B Spicer-Simson Were In Charge Of The Expedition. Spicer Was A Hitherto Deskbound Eccentric Who, Although Wearing A Kilt And Taking Ceremonial Baths In Front Of The Entire Complement, Captured The Hearts Of The African Porters And Proved Himself A Military And Naval Genius. The British Motor Launches First Captured The Kingani Which, Having Been Refitted As Flagship Of The British Flotilla, Then Sank The Von Wissman. The Giant Goetzen Was Later Attacked By British Aeroplanes In Port, And Scuttled. Sources: 'The Great War In Africa' By Byron Farwell (1987) 'Battle For The Bundu' By Charles Miller "The Phantom Flotilla" By Peter Shanklin The African Queen" By C.S.Forester Was Inspired By The Expedition, As Was Humphrey Bogart's Famous Film Of The Same Name. 
  
 From: Lake Tanganyika 
 Web Site:  The British Naval African Expedition 1915-18 
  
 
 Julius Caesar Friday, 5/17/02, 10:30 AM 
  
 From: Rome 
 Web Site:  The North African Wars 
  
 
 Procopius Friday, 5/17/02, 10:26 AM 
  
 Web Site:  The Byzantine Reconquest of North Africa, 534 
  
 
 "Kingdoms of the Medieval Sudan," Wednesday, 5/15/02, 11:25 AM 
  
 an electronic exploration of the history of the African states of Songhay, Kanem-Bornu, and Hausaland, in the Western Sudan, which it is to be noted covers a much larger area and to the west of present-day Sudan. "Kingdoms of the Medieval Sudan" provides a narrative historical overview of the empires of Mali, Songhay, Kanem-Bornu, and Hausaland before the modern era, plus a hyperlinked glossary with pronunciation aids. 
  
 From: west Africa 
 Web Site:  "Kingdoms of the Medieval Sudan,"
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Go to the wars of Sub-Saharan Africa

Nigeria during the Biafran War of 1970, when the Ibo tribe of the east declared a short lived independence
Danakil warriors of Djibouti
Ethiopian highlanders beat the Italians at Adowa in the 1890s
Dahomean troops of the late nineteenth century
1874 news coverage of the Ashanti War
Biafran Ibo troops parade in a clearing circa 1968-9
Ibo rebel of the Biafran War c 1968
WILLIAM GEORGE WALKER VC CBColvin 1876 - 1881Captain Indian Army serving with Bohottle Flying ColumnDuring the return of Major Gough's column to Donop on 22 April 1903, after the action at Daratoleh, the rearguard got considerably in the rear of the column, owing to the thick bush, and to having to hold their ground while wounded men were placed on camels. At this time Captain Bruce was shot through the body from a distance of about twenty yards, and fell on the path unable to move. Captains Walker and Rolland, two men of the 2nd Battalion King's African Rifles, one Sikh, and one Somali of the Camel Corps were with him when he fell. In the meantime the column. being unaware of what had happened, were getting farther away. Captain Rolland then ran back some 500 yards, and returned with assistance to bring off Captain Bruce, while Captain Walker and the men remained with that officer; endeavouring to keep off the enemy, who were all round in the thick bush. This they succeeded in doing though not before Captain Bruce was hit a second time, and the Sikh wounded. But for the gallant conduct displayed by these officers and men, Captain Bruce must have fallen into the hands of the enemy.Ultimately he became a Major General commanding the 2nd Division in 1916. He was Mentioned in Dispatches serving throughout the Great War. He retired in 1919 and died 16 February 1936
77mm field gun Eritrea 1935
native african troops of the late C19
Chadian troops depart to combat Libya during the "Toyota Wars"
Charles Napier storms the rock of Magdala against the Ethiopian Emperor Theodorus in 1868
area map of Angola
Ahaggar flags of the Sudanese "fuzzy wuzzies", as carried by the Mahdi's army at Khartoum and Omdurman
"Knight" of the Lake Chad region C19
Senegalese native troops
troops of Danish Guinea
emperor menelik - victor of Adowa
Bornu musketeers and drummers 1912
central African villagers defend themselves against Bagirmi slave raiders
The Moroccan Invasion of the Songhai Empire 1591