Battle of Mahiwa 1917
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 15 October 1917 – 18 October 1917 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1917 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Location | Tanzania | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | World War I | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -10.3500, 39.2667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Mahiwa between German and British Imperial forces was fought during the East African Campaign of World War I, when South African and Nigerian troops under Lieutenant General Jacob van Deventer engaged a column under German General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, at Mahiwa in German East Africa. The Germans inflicted substantial casualties upon Van Deventer's army, forcing it to withdraw. However, the Germans lost a large percentage of their forces, and were ultimately forced to withdraw from their positions and continue their guerrilla war. The battle was noted by the British Official History as the "most disastrous day for the Nigerian Army since the formation of the force" and was called "the most savage battle in the history of African conflict-not excluding Omdurman or any engagement of the Boer War."
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Mahiwa (revision 1370268779), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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All 138 battles of the World War I →
Browse more: battles in Tanzania · Africa · World War I era battles