THE BELGIANS IN EAST AFRICA.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14235, 1 March 1917, Page 4

THE BELGIANS IN EAST AFRICA.

■• I. m . i i ... .- • < HOW T4JE-Y' HELPED. OOCUPATIOS-ToF. TABORA. Ireuter's ■Agency recently received from one who was present a drama tia account of the. entry of the Belgian Army -into Tabora and the final flight of the Gei'.mans into . tho marshy region m the south, where they are hiow gradually being' roundsd up. Jt is extraordinary that relatively .so small a force a 3 that •under the command of < General Tombeur ffiould have attempted -a feat which to m a try seemed almost impossible. In this cennection a tribute i& paidvto the loyalty i'qf the King of Uganda, who supplied for ;tlii» army,. 15,C00 porters under their 'own uhiefs, all this transport being under tho command of British oilioers from Uganda. : Four days before the fall of Tabora those who were m the town heard heavy gun-fire resultiiig from a dayjf;. engagement which. Mas taking place some- riiV ; tanco to tho north. That evening the Germans ran up the. white .flag and b,ogan to evacuate tho place. The fact, however, that a stray cow got on to tile railway, ; arid, upsetting some trucks, caused a stoppage of traffic*, . compelled the Germans to return, and 011 doing fo they found" that their position was not so b?,d as they had at first thought 1 . Thereupon -,they hauled.: tfown the white flag and again raised the German ensign.' , OCCUPATION OP TABORA. During the next few days the Belgian Army, from tho- west made 'farther pro-gre.-is, and after, a slight engagement m the early morning the Germans f ouitd that their' position wan ' untenable, and tint if they remained they would be Qaiight betwen ; thertwo Belgi.au Columns. Accordingly they packed op and cleared to. the south and east,; leaving behind them (m Tabora .about ,16Q .1 military .whites (Germans) m hospital; two-thirds of • whom were -m reality quite able- to leave. In addition they left behind them a targe number of. 'civilian nicn and women, also Germans. A% the -earliest possible moment a considerable number of the German, military vdiscarde<l their uniforms and dressed m civilian, clpth.es. .The Belgian' advance guard 'reached the town about eleven m tho ' morning, and the. main force came m during tlie .afternoon. ' . For months the Belgian columns had been fighting and marching under the greatest difficulties, often thropgh dense bush , and swamps, from iw-hioh /m some cases soldiei\s could not be extricated. 'The German . white fide [was at once hauled <kiwn and replaced by tho Belgian flag at the big- fort. The scene wap one of the greatest enthusiasm and Thousarids of Africans and Arabs who had been under -German rule turned. out to welcome the Belgians, and the whole town was ablaze •with ; British, Fi'ench, Belgian, , and 'Italian flags, v The ficene, as the thousands of Belgian troops, marching eight abreast, came m, occasiortally singing wild chattts, was most impres.«)ive, and fhe 'men ' all. ' seemed 1 ' m good condition considering the great hardships they had undergone. , GERMAN' TREACHERY. The Belgian commanders allowed full liberty t<y the- German civilians who had been left behind, but m a 'few days, they found that their confidence had been misplaced, and th?it the eiiciny had begun to stir np the natives to revolt, ai)d also %o =cut tho telegraphs. . Thoso of military' age were then interned m a civilian* camp. The natives all. over German East Africn welcomed tho advance of the Allied troops, and even thG\ German native soldiers m many cases said that they were tired of sorV Ihg the Germans. 'Over and over again large lnun'bers of Gcrma.ll troops wero prepared to run away. The- Germans always regarded tho Tabora district as being the most loyal and' dependable m. their colony, yeb 'when tHe G-ormana <>ndeavpred to recruit men from ' the great Sutean» m the neighborhood .tlipy were entirely unsuccessful. Tho big chiefs point blank'refused to supply any people either as soldiers or as porters. Later, on they oven secretly proposed a scheme whereby they should wipe out'> all Gorman men, women and children, saying that they could no loiigoa' submit to . German tyranny. In reply tliey >v«re told that ,Um> British and Belgians would soon -have control of .tho. country, -Avhereupon tyranny would cease. /The' fall , of th« German inland capital wp« tlie cause of general i^joicing amohg'tho natives, a"nd the common ci*y was: "The people of IS have gone away. May they never return." (Tlie 15 referd to "the minimum '.number of lashes given for trivial of fences.) , ,• .... , .»v . . It... is v. significant, fact, that m this i-ogi9n, tho only oniel w'hero Germans had, any i^lrhold,. tho wljolo of th< population should hp-ye rejoiced, at, .the overthrow ot their former rulers. , Ger man Askaris deserted m whqlesa4< .fashion, and even before : th^a, fall ql Tabora sufficient tnen to form e«i,conp|( of, regiments went over to the Allies The natives declare that the Germans do not know what justice is. Thej would regard with terror any possibility

of their return^ for they know what a, small British column temporarily ;oc-. ctipied tlie country and were ; weleqmbd . by the natives th© latter were massacred J wh«n tho Germans returned. 1 • .Thfe enemy adopted-; every possible Aol vice to give the 'campaign the chare*- 1 ter of a holy war', but" were ■entirely un. ] successful. t They had the fereen Mahomedan prbclaimihg' a ' J«had flown at all railway stations, yet; at thesame time they issued instructions to district commissioners to see that the people bred pigs. " • ' . ,