Battle for Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika, between Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
What happened
A small British Royal Navy flotilla under Geoffrey Spicer-Simson, with Belgian forces, fought German ships under Captain Gustav Zimmer. In the First World War, German ships controlled Lake Tanganyika in the heart of Africa. Britain sent two small, fast motor boats, Mimi and Toutou, which were carried overland to the lake. They captured one German ship and sank another, and when Allied armies took the port of Kigoma, the Germans sank their largest ship themselves.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It gave the British and Belgians control of the lake. The story of boats hauled across Africa became one of the most unusual episodes of the war.
What came next
The sunken German ship, Graf von Götzen, was raised and in 1927 returned to service as the ferry Liemba.
Did you know?
The Liemba, built in 1913, still carries passengers and cargo on Lake Tanganyika.
Timeline
- 1915Graf von Götzen is launched on the lake.
- 26 December 1915The British capture the German ship Kingani.
- February 1916The British sink the Hedwig von Wissmann.
- July 1916The Germans scuttle Graf von Götzen.
- 1927The ship returns to service as the Liemba.