Birds -- Tanzania; World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Tanzania
It will naturally be assumed that at all events in the matter of
equipment and arms we had the advantage, but until the very latest stages
it may be doubted if this was so. Two incidents will illustrate this.
During the latter part of 1916 a German prisoner, being taken past a spot
where some of our artillery units, which shall be nameless, were parked,
remarked, “the movable armament from the Ark, I should imagine!” And,
indeed, his naval guns, his 42-in. howitzers, and quick-firing mountain
guns were far ahead of anything in our possession. Again, late in 1917,
a German doctor came in to demand back one of his medical panniers
abandoned on the field. We returned it with reluctance, as it was a very
fine set, the latest model in 1914. However, in response to repeated
and urgent indents and “hasteners,” new equipment for our own medical
department was that moment arriving. It was far in advance of anything
we had seen on our side, but was plainly marked 1906. I shall not soon
forget the sneer on that doctor’s face.
It is true that twice in the campaign the Germans were on short commons
in the matter of small-arm ammunition, in spite of their enormous pre-war
accumulation, but in each case, most unfortunately, a blockade runner
relieved the situation. Later on, unfortunate captures prevented a
shortage which would have appeared inevitable.
Again, the Germans worked throughout on interior lines and were able,
for the most part, to choose the areas in which their resistance would
be stiffest. Such spots were naturally where they would gain the fullest
advantage from their knowledge of the country, and where the evil climate
would exact the most murderous toll from our white and Indian troops.
These considerations should, I think, be borne in mind by those who feel,
as many must, that the cost in blood and money was altogether in excess
of the results obtained. In any case it is to our credit that having
put hand to the plough we did not turn back. It is for those who in the
future will reap the benefit to see that the worthiest use is made of the
vast country which the efforts of those who have fallen have placed in
our hands.
The wild animal and bird life encountered throughout the campaign formed
a most distinctive feature. This especially applies to the last stages,
when the fighting in the south-east corner of the Colony was conducted in
territory almost virgin to the naturalist. This applies equally to the
insects both large and small, which in many cases were as unpleasant as
they were intrusive. Captain Buchanan is well qualified to discourse on
these subjects, and his observant notes are most instructive. Let us hope
that some day he may find an opportunity of renewing his researches under
happier circumstances.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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