Battle of Naulila 1914
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 18 December 1914 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1914 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Location | Angola | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | German campaign in Angola | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -17.1961, 14.6842 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
Naulila was the scene of fighting between Portuguese Angola and German South West Africa during the early stages of World War I. On 19 October 1914, a German military column crossed the border and entered Angola without authorization from the Portuguese authorities in the Naulila Incident. The column was intercepted by Portuguese forces and conducted to Fort Naulila. At Naulila, a dispute occurred between the Portuguese and the Germans which resulted in the death of three German officers. The Germans later returned on 18 December and attacked Naulila, forcing the Portuguese to retreat.
On 31 October, the Germans under the command of Oswald Ostermann retaliated, and raided the Portuguese fort at Cuangar, destroying the fort and killing all stationed border guards with machine-guns. This was later referred to as the "Cuangar Massacre". On 18/19 December, Victor Franke led another successful retaliatory attack, defeating the Portuguese at Naulila.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Naulila (revision 1370270594), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Mufilo 1907 · 54 km
- Battle of Ongulumbashe 1966 · 275 km
- Battle of Cassinga 1978 · 275 km
- Battle of Namutoni 1904 · 298 km
- Battle of Otavi 1915 · 391 km
Browse more: battles in Angola · Africa · World War I era battles