THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1917. EAST AFRICAN CAMPAIGN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16673, 18 October 1917, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1917. EAST AFRICAN CAMPAIGN.

The successful conclusion of tho ' campaign in East Africa is now within sight. The enemy forces • have been driven from the Mahenge '

Plateau into difficult and waterless country in the southern portion of I the colony, while a guerrilla band j, that broke through the Allied cor-' J don to th-3 northern region has been I. captured. The conquest of East '■ ( Africa has been a long and arduous, ] .mdertaking. Aggressive operations !' tvere not commenced until the be-' 1 -inning of last year, when the capitu-1; ation of the Germans in South-west j' Africa and the liberation of the ■ forces that had been employed there snabled the Union Government to i offer assistance in the subjugation 1 of the northern territory. When '. General Smuts arrived at British j ! headquarters in February, 1916, the j' German forces were estimated at i some 16,000 men, of whom 2000 were j white, with 60 guns and 80 machine- 1 guns. They occupied a considerable tract of British territory, and! had also established widely scattered j posts' throughout the colony. East Africa is the largest of the German colonies, its area of 384,000 square miles being nearly double that of Germany. The problem confronting the Allied commanders was to sweep the whole extent of this vast area, the British moving from the north, the Belgians from the west, and the Portuguese from the south until the remnant of the enemy was completely enveloped. The natural difficulties alone were very great. The converging columns have had to cross waterless deserts and penetrate dense jungle, make long marches across wide plains and pursue an elusive foe among high mountains, endure gr?>at heat and drenching rains, while man and beast were harassed by disease bred by the uncustomed climate. The plans laid down by General Smuts were successfully developed iuring last year. The operations of ihe various forces were admirably co-ordinated, and steady progress was made, without serious check, towards the ultimate objective. By ihe end of the year, the 1 most valuable part of the colony had been 3onquered, the whole coastline, 400 miles in length, had been occupied, ind the enemy had been driven south of the Central Railway, leaving most, of the communications in British hands. The enemy had 'ought a prolonged series of rearguard actions, his main purpose being to avoid the repeated encircling movements. Considerable losses were inflicted, including the capture of the bulk of his heavy irtillery and ammunition, and his forces were compelled to retire in divergent directions so that combined operations were impracticable. Tho Belgians rendered great assistance by their advance from Lake Tanganyika and the capture of the mportant centre of Tabora in September. When the " lesser rains" of October terminated the year's programme, the enemy had been reduced to one-third of his original strength and forced back upon the

malarious delta of the Rufiji River, the Mahenge Plateau being the only healthy region still open to him, Early this year, General Smuts resigned the command to attend the Imperial War Conference. Ho then confidently predicted that the end of the campaign would be reached soon after the heavy rains of April and May. However, the wet season was unusually prolonged, and his successor, General van Deventer, was forced to postpone his advance much longer than had been expected. So soon as the conditions permitted, the pursuit of the enemy was vigorously resumed, the possession of the coast enabling the British to establish convenient bases for the final operations. Imperial, Indian, native African and South African troops were engaged in last year's campaign, but during this year only native troops have been employed by General van Deventer, as they were found not only better adapted Lo the climatic conditions, but also highly efficient fighters. The conquest of 'East Africa has proved more difficult than was ever anticipated- " If the Imperial Govsrnment had known what it was doing when it sent an army to conquer German East Africa," General Smuts declared on one occasion, "it would have thought twice about doing it." Since the fate of the Gorman colonies will be decided on ihe battlefields of Europe, the expenditure of men and material in defeating a force whose situation has ilways been regarded, even in Germany, as hopeless, may appear to lave been unnecessary. Yet in striking at German Africa the Allies tverc attacking part of the German scheme of world-empire and destroying a policy which aimed not at egitimate colonisation but merely at ;he provision of producing grounds 'or raw materials and at the establishment of military outposts and

observation stations. The German colonies were a constant menace to their neighbours; East Africathreatened from the south the road to India, as Mesopotamia did from the north. That its strategical importance was fully realised is apparent, for the army which has defended it for a year longer than any other German colony was held has been completely isolated from external aid, and yet has been able, drawing solely on the preparations made before the outbreak of war, to resist a superior force not handicapped by any of thoso disadvantages. The conquest of the colony will not only greatly enhance the prestige of Britain and her Allios among the 7,000,000 native inhabitants, but it will bring *o an end a regime of cruelty and of tyranny equal to the darkest pages in the history of German methods of colonisation.