Salaita Hill, February 1916

[dkatz]

I have just published an article on Salaita Hill 1916. It was the first battle that the South Africans took part in German East Africa. I look forward to comments and criticism. The article is available for download at:

https://www.academia.edu/33381216/A_cla ... ruary_1916

Here is the abstract:

Brigadier-General Wilfrid Malleson (1866–1946) received his commission into the Royal Artillery in 1886 and transferred to the Indian Army in 1904. He was relatively inexperienced in combat having served on the staff of Field Marshal Kitchener as part of the British military mission in Afghanistan. Malleson was later transferred to East Africa where the 2nd South African Division fell under his overall command during the catastrophic attack on Salaita Hill. This was the first occasion, since the formation of the Union Defence Force (UDF) in 1912, where a British officer commanded South African troops in battle – with disastrous consequences. There were deep underlying reasons behind the fledgling UDF’s first defeat at the hands of the veteran Germans, commanded by the wily Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck (1870–1964). Malleson’s lack of combat experience was a factor in the defeat, but more importantly, the uninspired plan of attack doomed the UDF to failure.

[danebrog]

Hi David! So fast we meet again
Just even thought to post a link to your excellent article
Best regards
Olav

[Tanzania]

Dear David,

Many thanks for this information. This sounds very interesting.

Unfortunately my current location give me not the necessary Internet connection for the whole download.
But I will read it later carefully and will reply.

Cheers Holger