Battle of Zanzibar

The Battle of Zanzibar was an encounter between the German ''Kaiserliche Marine'' and the British Royal Navy early in the First World War. While taking on coal in the delta of the Rufiji River in German East Africa, the German cruiser learned that a British cruiser, , which had been part of the Royal Navy's Cape Squadron sent to counter ''Königsberg'', had put in at Zanzibar for repairs. ''Königsberg'' captain, Commander Max Looff, decided to attack ''Pegasus'' while she was in port.

On 20 September 1914 ''Königsberg'' sailed past the picket ship at the entrance to Zanzibar harbour. ''Helmuth'' was unable to warn ''Pegasus'' of ''Königsberg'' approach, with the result that when ''Konigsberg'' opened fire she took ''Pegasus'' entirely by surprise. As a result, ''Pegasus'' suffered severe damage before she was even able to return fire.

''Königsberg'' guns out-ranged those on ''Pegasus'', which was consequently unable to damage her opponent. The one-sided battle ended in a German victory, ''Pegasus'' sank later that day, having lost 38 crew dead.

Background

Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, on 19 September 1914, Commander Max Looff of the light cruiser SMS ''Königsberg'' was coaling in the Rufiji Delta, when he learned from coast watchers that a British warship had entered Zanzibar harbour. Looff assumed the cruiser at Zanzibar was either or HMS ''Pegasus'' and ordered an immediate attack. As ''Königsberg'' had been recently resupplied, she was prepared for battle. ''Königsberg'' left on the afternoon tide for her run to Zanzibar.

The protected cruiser ''Pegasus'', under the command of Captain John Ingles, had just left the company of HMS ''Astraea'' and for repairs at Zanzibar to her boilers and engines. Also at Zanzibar, the British had armed the captured German tug HMS ''Helmuth'' with a 3-pounder gun and posted her as a picket ship at the entrance of the harbor.

''Königsberg'' had been built in 1905 and was armed with ten 10.5 cm quick-firing guns, ten 5.2 cm anti-torpedo-boat pieces and two torpedo tubes. ''Pegasus''—a protected cruiser built in 1897—was armed with eight QF 4-inch guns, eight 3-pounders and two 18-inch torpedo tubes. Her complement consisted of 234 officers and men.

Battle

At dawn on 20 September, ''Königsberg'' entered the southern end of the Zanzibar approaches and sailed past the picket ship ''Helmuth'', firing a few warning shots as she passed. ''Helmuth'' could neither stop the ''Königsberg'' from entering the harbour nor even warn ''Pegasus'' of the German cruiser's approach.

Once ''Königsberg'' came within of ''Pegasus'', she began firing salvos. ''Pegasus'' sat at anchor in Zanzibar Harbour, preparing steam and at that moment, was helpless. For about 20 minutes while ''Königsberg'' fired, ''Pegasus'' remained stationary. ''Pegasus'' did raise the White Ensign and began firing, but her shells splashed into the water well short of ''Königsberg''. The light cruiser slowly continued forward and fired until the range had closed to within . One of the first British sailors wounded was gunnery officer Lieutenant Richard Turner, who suffered both of his legs being mangled by shrapnel. Despite his injuries, Turner rallied his men, telling them; "''Keep it up, lads, we’re outclassed and done for; but damn them, and keep it up!''"

The British continued their futile fight for around 20 minutes more, taking additional hits from ''Königsberg'', the majority landing on ''Pegasus deck. Her ensign was shot away during the fight. Also, because the Germans were always at least beyond the range of ''Pegasus'' guns, no British rounds struck ''Königsberg''.

''Pegasus'' became holed near her waterline and began taking on water. All hope of defeating the Germans having gone, Ingles struck his colours and gave the order to abandon ship. ''Pegasus'' later sank.

After ''Königsberg'' had finished with ''Pegasus'', she fired a few parting shots at ''Helmuth'', whose crew managed to abandon ship before one of the German cruiser's salvos struck the tug. Having achieved a clear victory, ''Königsberg'' turned around and headed back for the Rufiji Delta.

Aftermath

The Royal Navy's losses were ''Pegasus'' sunk and ''Helmuth'' damaged. Thirty-eight British sailors on ''Pegasus'' had died; another 55 sailors were wounded, most of whom had been top-side when hit. Staff Surgeon Alfred J. Hewitt was on the deck of ''Pegasus'' from the beginning to the end of the battle, aiding wounded sailors and marines. Captain Ingles later recognized Hewitt's courageous behaviour in a report on the action. Although ''Helmuth'' had taken a hit from ''Königsberg'', the damage to the tug was relatively minor and her crew managed to reboard her after ''Königsberg'' had sailed off. Only one man on board ''Helmuth'' died, a non-enlisted native working in the engine room.

The hospital ship ''Gascon'' and the Scottish merchant ship SS ''Clan Macrae'' rescued the survivors of ''Pegasus''. Twenty-four of the British sailors that died in the battle were buried in a mass grave in the naval cemetery on Grave island, Zanzibar, while 14 others were laid to rest at the town's cemetery before being moved in 1971 to the Dar es Salaam war cemetery. The British salvaged six of ''Pegasus guns from the wreck and later used them in the East African land campaign.

Although ''Königsberg'' had suffered no hits or casualties, Looff's plans to continue the offensive were soon cut short. One of her main engines failed. The British were watching the port of Dar es Salaam so she had to return to the Rufiji River delta to await the overland transport of spare parts. The British soon discovered ''Königsberg'' location and blockaded her. They damaged her beyond repair in the Battle of Rufiji Delta when they were able to bring up the monitors and that July.

See also

* East African Campaign (World War I)

Citations

References

*
*
*
*
*
*

Further reading

*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zanzibar, Battle of
Conflicts in 1914
1914 in Zanzibar
Naval battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom
Naval battles of World War I involving Germany
History of Zanzibar
East African naval battles of World War I
Military history of Tanzania
September 1914 events