Before we continue with the original topic headline in Urundi; - Subsequent comments and additions:
4. – MILITARY- TECHNICAL ORDNANCE EXCURSUS (Subpart G)
In this case, about the last Position of the second 8.8 cm L/30 SK which was lost on 24. January 1917 at Likuju,
80 km East north-east from Songea under
Oberleutnant d.R. Walter Sternheim, within the Detachment
Grawert.
O.Vm.G. Ruhland describes the loss of the last 8.8 cm SK as an eyewitness to this gun operation as follows:
"
. . . The other [8.8 cm gun]
, of which I was part of the gun crew, came to the south-west of the colony after it had
been assigned to several departments. There it was blown up by us near Songea after all of the ammunition had
been fired. The detonation was carried out through a 8.8 cm cartridge case filled with dynamite. Not unmentioned
are the last battles in which this gun took part. While it was usually a few hundred meters behind the rifle line, the
gun here - since the two companies were surrounded by a strong British Detachment; had to be in the infantry line.
Of course there was direct shooting here. Given the confusing terrain, there were only a few visible targets here.
Bringing the gun out of the encirclement was out of the question. The last rounds were fired straight into the bush
and a chance hit was achieved in an English heavy machine gun. In other ways, too, the British suffered losses
from the artillery; It was primarily the shrapnel used as grapes mentioned above that worked very well. These were
the last successes of our 8,8-cm Guns. Our Detachment couldn't get out of the encirclement and surrendered. The
end of the gun has already been mentioned, it was blown up by us in time."
Oberleutnant Ludwig Boell, expressed himself critically in his book:
"
Meanwhile, Major Byron McCarthy had advanced half a battalion from Njamabengo and Kitanda on Likuju on
13. January 1917, while two other companies of the South African 5th Infantry marched south past her and dug
into her back. Major von Grawert refused to attack or march off for fear of losing the 8,8-cm Gun, without which
he thought a later attack on Songea would be pointless and decided to maintain his fortified position, until the
advance of the Detachment Kraut and Wintgens. On 24. January 1917 he surrendered with 4 officers, 33 other
Europeans and 220 Askari. The night before, 2 Europeans and 130 Askari, who refused to surrender, marched
south-west without any further contact of the South Africans. This Germans marched towards Tunduru and partly
to Mahenge, where they found again connections with their own troops."
It is currently unknown whether this
8.8-cm Gun, or even parts thereof are still present. Because of the bad
roads and long distances, the gun captured by the British was probably not transported to
Daressalam. As the
captivity of the prisoners points to the easier-to-reach
British Nyasaland, it is more likely that the cannon, if at
all, had been transported across the
Lake Nyasa as a trophy. There is also the possibility that the destruction
described by
Ruhland by the blasting was carried out in such a way and a transport for the winners no longer
worthwhile. As already mentioned, no further recordings or documents of this
8,8-cm Gun are currently known.
Source, Google Position: https://www.google.de/maps/place/Likuyu ... 36.1898341
We have been already in June 2018 at
Likuyu, about 15 km North north-east from
Namtumbo. But the problem
is, that there are together four
Likuyu villages, or one very fragmented district with the same name. Further 12 km
North north-east from the above mentioned Google position, there are three other villages with the same name:
Likuyu Mandela,
Likuyu Maganga and
Likuyu Seka. The last, easternmost
Likuyu is already the sector HQ of the
Selous Game Reserve and we should turn back before the landing strip. However, the Selous rangers were very
friendly and indicated that '
firearms' had been found;- whatever is to be understood by that. In any case, someone
should have to bring more time next time. Unfortunately, we had only planned 3 days; - too less for a larger area.
“Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. . . . All History was a
palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary” – G. ORWELL 1984
