The Battle of Jabassi or Battle of Yabassi was a pair of assaults on German positions at Jabassi on the Wuri river during the

Kamerun campaign The Kamerun campaign took place in the German colony of Kamerun in the African theatre of the First World War when the British, French and Belgians invaded the German colony from August 1914 to March 1916. Most of the campaign took place in ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

between

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

forces on 7 and 14 October 1914. The action resulted in British victory and their occupation of the station.

Background

Allied landings at

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

on 27 September, under the command of Major General C. M. Dobell, met little resistance.Reynolds et al. 1916. German forces who had been occupying the coast had withdrawn along the northern railway to Dschang, along the Wuri River to Jabassi, and along the midland railway to Edea. From these positions, the Allied commander feared the Germans could easily attack Douala.Strachan 2001, p. 523. Due to heavy rains, roads to Dachang, Jabassi, and Edea were washed out and impassable; however, Dobell felt that high water in the Wuri River made a boat-borne assault on Jabassi feasible. Six companies of the West Africa Regiment, two from the 1st Nigerians, one from the Gold Coast Regiment, and about 100 Royal Navy sailors and marines were assigned to the task.

Battle

First assault

On 7 October, British forces under the command of Brigadier General Edmund Howard GorgesFarwell, 1986, p.52 sailed up the Wuri river in barges with four field guns including a 6-pounder gun placed on a dredger. They landed five kilometers away from Jabassi and marched their way through the jungle to the German entrenchments. Once in the thick bush, British forces lost unity and coordination. In open ground in front of German entrenchments, they came under intense machine gun fire which forced them to retreat back into the bush. After regrouping they attempted to flank the German forces but failed, forcing them to once again retreat. The order was given to withdraw back on the river to Duala. The Germans lost four of the 26 Europeans at Jabassi.

Second assault

The following week, on 14 October, the Wuri river was again high enough for another attempt to take Jabassi. With two six-inch artillery pieces and reinforcements, British forces landed on both banks of the Wuri and advanced towards the German entrenchments, while General Gorges coordinated the assault from a boat. This engagement was victorious for the British, capturing ten Europeans and the station."Der Raubzug Gegen Unsere Kolonien".

Aftermath

This battle resulted in further German withdrawal into the mountainous interior of

Kamerun Kamerun was an African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon. Kamerun also included northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern ...

. It also gave more protection to the Allied landing forces at

and Victoria from a feared German counter-attack.

Notes

References

* Farwell, Byron. ''The Great War in Africa (1914-1918)''; W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 1986. *"Der Raubzug Gegen Unsere Kolonien - Besetzung von Jabassi." Der Täglichen Rundschau

erlin Erlin may refer to: Places *Erlin, Changhua, a township in Taiwan * Erlin, Ohio, an unincorporated community in the United States People *Robbie Erlin Robert Joseph Erlin (born October 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher w ...

1915: n. pag. Web.. *Reynolds, Francis J., Churchill, Allen L., and Miller, Francis T. "Chapter 77 - The Cameroons." "The Story of the Great War". Vol. III (of VIII). 1916. *Strachan, Hew. ''The First World War''. Vol. I: To Arms. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jabassi, Battle of 1914 Battles of World War I involving Germany

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

1914 in Africa Battles of the African Theatre (World War I) Battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom Military history of Cameroon Kamerun Battles of the Kamerun campaign Conflicts in 1914 October 1914 in Africa 1910s in Kamerun