Kamerun campaign

The Kamerun campaign was a significant military conflict during the First World War. It took place in the German colony of Kamerun in West Africa. The fighting lasted from August 1914 until March 1916.

This campaign involved the British, French, and Belgian forces invading German territory. It ultimately resulted in the total defeat of German forces in the region. The outcome changed the political map of Africa by partitioning the colony.

Before the war began, Germany held a protectorate over Kamerun. They established this control in 1884 during the Scramble for Africa. Germany expanded its influence through the Bafut Wars and the Adamawa Wars. In 1911, the Treaty of Fez changed the borders. France ceded a large territory called Neukamerun to Germany to end the Agadir Crisis. By 1914, the colony included parts of modern Nigeria, Chad, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo.

The geography of the campaign was very difficult for the soldiers. In 1914, much of the land remained unmapped by European invaders. The colony was surrounded by Entente territories on almost all sides. French Equatorial Africa lay to the east. The Belgian Congo was to the southeast. British Nigeria bordered the colony to the northwest. The neutral colony of Spanish Guinea sat nearby, facing the sea.

Military numbers showed a major imbalance between the sides. The German Schutztruppen, or protection troops, started with only 1,855 men. They eventually recruited an army of about 6,000 soldiers by mid-1915. The Allied forces were much larger and better equipped. French Equatorial Africa could mobilize 20,000 soldiers for the war. British Nigeria could raise 7,550 soldiers. Later, 5,400 soldiers from the Indian 5th Light Infantry Division arrived to support the Allies.

The fighting began with several different types of operations. In August 1914, French troops under General Joseph Gaudérique Aymerich moved from the east. They traveled through mostly undeveloped marshlands. British forces moved into the colony from three points in Nigeria. They pushed toward Mara in the north, Garua in the center, and Nsanakang in the south. At the coast, the Germans mined the Wouri estuary to protect Douala. British and French naval vessels eventually cleared these mines and captured the city.

As the war continued, the German strategy changed. Most German forces withdrew to the mountainous interior near the new capital, Jaunde. They held strongholds at Mora and Garua to stall the Allied advance. The Siege of Mora lasted until the very end of the campaign. In 1915, German forces even launched a raid into Nigeria at the Battle of Gurin. However, the Allies regained momentum after the Second Battle of Garua in June 1915. By late 1915, British forces were capturing towns and preparing to assault Jaunde.

The campaign ended when the German commander, Carl Zimmermann, realized the war was lost. In early 1916, he ordered German units and civilians to flee. They escaped to the neutral Spanish colony of Río Muni.

The last German garrison surrendered at Mora in mid-February 1916. The Spanish treated the refugees amicably because they only had 180 militiamen. Eventually, some Germans and Cameroonians moved to the Netherlands or Spain.

The aftermath of the war led to a complete partition of the land. Britain and France agreed to divide the territory along the Picot Provisional Partition Line. Britain received about one fifth of the colony near the Nigerian border. France gained the majority of the territory, including the central plateau and Douala. The Treaty of Versailles made this division official. The land became the League of Nations mandates of British Cameroon and French Cameroon. The two powers used different methods to govern the local people. The French used assimilation to promote French education. The British used indirect rule by working with local landowners.