Location of Mount Lubafu in East Africa?

[Tanzania]

Location of Mount Labafu in East Africa?Any idea where is Mount Lubafu in German-East Africa?
Seems to be a fortified place; conquered of defended from the Belgian Force Public?!?Original Source:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/EST-AFRICAIN-EM ... 56/?_ul=AR

[danebrog]

Have a glance at:
http://www.kaowarsom.be/documents/bbom/ ... Joseph.pdf
There we find a Goma - Mont Lubafu line. Also they mention a Mont Tshanjarue and a Mont Bulele. The text describes a Belgian Operation about 25/09/1914 near Lake Kivu

Regarding to this site, the Operation was launched at 04/10/1914
http://renaudjuste.wixsite.com/henrydel ... e-mondiale

Also:
http://www.wardeadregister.be/de/content/terlinden-0
Sterbedatum: 04/10/1914
Ort des Todes:
Kisenyi (Rwanda) - Lubafu (Rwanda)

obviously there was a second action around 1916
http://www.1914-1918.be/cimetieres_belg ... ricain.php

Also there´s a Belgian Newspaper from 20/04/1916 who has an article "a l`assaut du Mont Lubafu"
There the Mission Niondo was located nearby:
https://hetarchief.be/de/media/lecho-be ... JROHDc6pL6

Finally a sattelite view:
http://travelingluck.com/Africa/Congo+( ... ubafu.html

After all I would assume Mont Boma was a Belgian Fortification
Hope this helpy a little

[danebrog]

And here we are:

https://ia600807.us.archive.org/16/item ... ch.edu.pdf

The Windsor Magazine, pg 264 (numbering 301 in .pdf)
A Record of Valor
The Belgian´s part in the war in Africa

At
the beginning of the campaign, when there
was a lack of European officers, it frequently
happened that they skilfully led their men
against superior German forces and put them
to rout. This was actually the case with the
native sergeant Otohu, who, on September 2,
1915, holding with only thirty of his men
the much-exposed post of Mount Lubafu,
found hiraself attacked by four German
columns, composed of 120 natives and
6 Europeans. The Belgian sergeant repulsed
the first column, and then turned against the
three others, which had succeeded in getting
past his positions. The Germans were
routed, and fled.

Onkel Ludwig could be of help. Unfortunately I have my specimen not at hand.
But the entire region was Wintgens Playground...

[stevebecker]

Mate,

What do the German say about this?

While small forces have defeated large forces more then once in history, one has to wonder about the Germans orders here?

Like advance to contact, avoid contact, recee in force until meeting contact?

S.B

[danebrog]

Hmm..I would say:
Mont Lubafu was a fortified position of the Belgian Force Publique at the northern Edge of Lake Kivu.
This in direct response to Holgers question above.
Furthermore the sources called us there were three documented actions at:
04/10/1914
02/09/1915
20/04/1916

In order to locate the exact location and further informations the knowledge base tell us:
The entire region was under command of Major Wintgens from the Schutztruppe.
Ludwig Boell wrote a very detailled chronicle about the Schutztruppe, hence these engagements should be documented there.

The heroical tenor of contemporary publications like the last source is far less interesting (as we have more reliable sources as war diaries and - of course - Boells chronicle)

hope this helps

[Tanzania]

As you know, I am currently very busy with other topics for GEA, so the late answer.
.
The Lubafu mountain (1890 meters high), which was named by the Belgians, is located in the North-West
corner of the former German East Africa. On the German side, it was called Kissi-Berg and was part of the
so-called `Ssebeja-Position', north of the border post Kissenji on the Kiwu-lake. The border-fights between
the German `Schutztruppe´ and the Belgian `Force Public´ took place between August 1914 and April 1916.
.
The Lubafu-Mountain / Kissi-Berg changed during this time several times the owner. The motif of the Belgian
postcard was probably taken in February 1916.
.

Original map: http://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/k ... ew/7789247
.
.
The Lubafu-Mountain / Kissi-Berg. In the background is the Nyiragongo-Vulcan lying on the Congolese side.
.

[Tanzania]

Part I - Updates about of Mount Lubafu in Rwanda and surroundings in 1914 - 1916

The map below shows the positions of Mount Lubafu and Rubavu, further the, from the
Germans mentioned, Mount Kissi (here Kizi).This map section is from an U.S. Army map
in 1942, based on the Belgian Military map from 1937 and are a clear development of the
original maps of the Belgian complete work about the Great War in Africa in three Volumes.

01_Mount Lubafu-Rwanda-GEA.jpg

Original Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... isenyi.jpg
(I have improved the quality of all original map-scans and reduce them to the most important sections.)

02_Mount Lubafu-Rwanda-GEA.jpg

At the beginning of the hostilities in East Africa, the entire saddle of Mount Lubafu was still under
German control. On 4. October 1914, two Belgian companies with 400 rifles attacked the first
time the north-east back of the German positions, which was defended by 111 rifles. After a nine-
hours struggle, the fight was stopped at dusk without result and with heavy losses on both sides.
(However, the pictured battle sequence does not match the written detail-reports in any way.)

03_Mount Lubafu-Rwanda-GEA.jpg

Original source: http://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/k ... ew/7788610


In the course of 1915, the Belgians tried to outperform German positions on their eastern
flank and expanded their own positions in order to surpass the "Detachment Ruanda".
On 27. November 1914, the “Force Public” had already been able to occupy the isolated
Mount Tschansargwe, still north-east of the Lubafu massif. In the spring 1915, the fights
between the opponents shifted further and further east, but however, without fixed positions.

Because of the fourfold superiority of the Belgian forces, the “Schutztruppe” withdrew to
prepared positions south of the Ssebeja river and had to leave both Mounts Lubafu and
Kissi to the “Force Public”. The Germans had built already an extensive defence system
around Mount Kama. This `shortening of the fronts´ has proven to be extremely effective
because the Belgians were now forced to occupy a triple outer radius in length around the
river and the mountain.


The below mentioned book, contains a wealth of historical details and tells, among
other things, the events around Mount Lubafu in Rwanda / GEA in 1914 – 1915
Here is a photo with the Belgian Mount Lubafu and Nyirangongo in the
background and the German fortification Mengo as part of the Kama ridge.

04_Mountain fortress Mengo.jpg

Original source:
https://books.google.de/books?id=Ii1CDw ... go&f=false
“Ruanda und die Deutschen, Missionare als Zeitzeugen der Kolonialgeschichte“
Hans-Ulrich Duwendag, Wolfgang Völker, LIT Verlag Berlin 2017, page 130

Below is a Google Earth perspective as a rough comparison to the photo above
to determine the location at that time on the fortified German position on the Mengo Hill.

05_Mount Lubafu-Rwanda-GEA.jpg

(Will be continued. . . )
Cheers Holger

[Tanzania]

Part II - Updates about Mount Lubafu in Rwanda and surroundings in 1914 - 1916

The campaign in German East Africa 1914 - 1918 is generally known as a flexible bush
fight or as an mobile warfare, which even some book-authors have given the media title
'Guerrilla Warfare'. The following map section shows that there was also an 'immovable'
trench warfare with fortifications, linking trenches and obstacles, in the extreme north-west
of the German colony. The position system described by the Germans as the "Kissi position
at the Ssebeja River" proved to be quite effective in the defence of the years 1915 to 1916.

The Belgian map section below, shows the Belgian camps and trenches on Mount Lubafu
and the German positions on Mount Kama. In addition, the "Redoute 1" is also as “Mengo”
fortification mentioned. This is located on the western foothill, opposite the bridge over the
Ssebeja, south, on the left side of this river.

06_Mount Lubafu-Rwanda-GEA.jpg

Original Source: http://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/k ... ew/7788605


The Belgian Camp `Weiler´ on Mount Lubafu.

07_Mount Lubafu-Rwanda-GEA.png

Belgian position on Mount Lubafu with south view on Lake Kivu.

08_Mount Lubafu-Rwanda-GEA.png

This section of the map shows details of the slopes on Mount Lubafu
and Mengo Hill, with the Ssebeja River in between. Furthermore, the
main connection roads of Kissenji with the location of Wintgens Boma.

09_Mount Lubafu-Rwanda-GEA.png

[Tanzania]

Part III - Updates about Mount Lubafu in Rwanda and surroundings in 1914 - 1916

The top photo of the “Mengo Hill position” shows bamboo obstacles in the foreground.
The barbed-wire fences, so notorious on the European western front were replaced in
East Africa by, probably no less effective, sharpened piles. Especially in Rwanda, both
opponents used, the local, plentiful existing bamboo. Look at the picture below, one can
very well imagine what kind of “obstacle course” the attackers must have experienced
into such a position, especially in view of the fact that in Africa was no "clearing effect"
from previously massive artillery usage during the whole Great War, as in Europe.

10_Defence position with trench.jpg

Original Source: http://www.ub.bildarchiv-dkg.uni-frankf ... 0_0052.jpg

The German Post Kissenji direct at the Lakeshore.

11_Kisenji.jpg

Original source: http://www.ub.bildarchiv-dkg.uni-frankf ... 3_0047.jpg

Especially, due to the appearance of the civilians seen in the background, the landscape
and the size of the Askaris, I suspect that the picture below is from Rwanda or Burundi,
and represents a German unit of the Detachment Rwanda.

The obvious left-wing Sergeant (?) Classic Schutztruppen hat was probably only used in
GEA in the early days of the war. There was no substitute for this during the war. On the
other hand, there were plenty of tropical helmets, like the one on the right officer (?),
including civilian inventory, as well as captured helmets.

12_Schutztruppe maybee Rwanda.jpg

Original source: http://www.ub.bildarchiv-dkg.uni-frankf ... 2_0049.jpg


The Belgians have to be granted one thing; - They included in their major work on the
war in Africa 1914-1918 very unusual detailed maps. Neither the British historian Charles
Hordern nor his German colleague Ludwig Boell have published such details maps in
their general works about these events. Ludwig Boell did not include any maps or sketches
in his book, except one, with a very good general overview from GEA. On the other hand,
in his unpublished raw manuscript, he summarized what is probably the most extensive
collection of written documents from the events in GEA. In his book he describes the
events in Rwanda and Burundi summarized on a few pages, while his unpublished raw
manuscript consists of several hundred pages, only about Rwanda and Burundi!

13_Boell Index for Rwanda + Burundi.png

(Will be continued. . . )
Cheers Holger