A viewer pointed out that British volunteer James Sutherland, while seriously wounded, recovered rather than being killed as I say in the episode. I apologize for the error.
Thank you. Most honorable of you sir, to be honest and accountable is to be held in the highest regard and garners respect. Integrity seems lost at times these days.
The one pounder used by the Germans sounds a lot like the 40 mm Machinegun made by the British Company that produced the Maxim Machinegun in it's own version. Used by the Boers against the British, possibily one of these. Water Cooled with a slow rate of fire, it was Effective.
While living and working in Malawi in 1976/80, I visited Karonga in the far north. While there I visited the CWG cemetary which contained several British and German military graves dated 9th and 11th September 1914. I learned that when news of the declaration of war eventually reached the British and German forces, they both set off, the British marching around the top of Lake Malawi into German East Africa, the Germans marching west into Nyasaland. They missed each other and then, realising what had happened, they turned around and eventually fought an inconclusive engagement, resulting in the graves in Karonga. Malawi was a delightful country to work in. I was able to travel widely. We visited the Nyika Plateau, 7,000 ft high, which was like being on top of the world, with zebra and buck of all kinds roaming freely. The lake was fabulous to enjoy as long as you avoided hippo and made sure there were ducks nearby, because these ate the snails that carried bilharzia. Every tree had a fish eagle perched on it, with that magical keening cry sounding across the water. It was the time of my life. Our daughter spent her first four years there and couldn't have been safer elsewhere.
My gosh man.....What a super job telling this history.......and the African Queen ha man there was great movie maty .....Which i have watched many many times.....But back to you telling this story ......Great Job......And thanks very much for it.......!
The tiniest bit of History, you find, and bring back to life. Thank you. Always interesting, always well done, and always looking forward to your next video.
@@MrAmhara I agree. Wasn't specifically talking about this one being tiny in as much as he tends to find obscure facts in history, and bring them to life. Probably shoulda have been more specific in my comment.
Sir, how do you come up with the most seemingly mundane of facts, turn them to jewels, and present them so succinctly.....I guess that’s why you’re....The History Guy. Thank you once again. And Amen.
I visited in the late 1990's some of the locations you mention and read in detail the local accounts of the battles. Also walked around the wreck of the King George (apparently) ... An absolutely amazing part of the world! Your account of the battles is absolutely spot on - brilliant!!
Wow - Thanks for another AMAZING video on another beautiful part of the dark continent. Lake Malawi has changed little in the intervening 100 years and it is still a little difficult to get there. However anyone who wants to experience the British Colonial life and do it inexpensively must go visit. The friendly people will spoil you. The wild game is great. If you decide to visit, be sure to allocate enough time. You'll meet many Americans and Europeans there who went on a two week holiday and are still there 2 to 5 years later.
Besides the beautiful fresh water Lake Malawi, the game reserves and the magnificent Mount Mulanje with tea estates at the foot hills makes eye catching scenery not forgetting the friendly people
Small correction. At 11:14 you call the guns on the Gwendolyn "six inch" when you meant to say "six pounder". A six pounder is a 57 mm (2.2 inch) weapon so it's a substantial difference.
@@trevoncowen9198 British designation for a 37 mm gun. They used to classify guns based on the weight of their shell rather than bore diameter. They finally joined the rest of the world and used metric designations after WWII.
@@eamonnprunty You don't "get" 57mm from six pounder. It's not a direct conversion, but based on knowing the shell weight, bore of a gun, and type of service, and then looking at a chart. There's a handy chart at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_standard_ordnance_weights_and_measurements. You'll notice several like the 76.2mm guns where one is a 15 pounder and one a 17 pounder. That was done because, even though the bore and weight of shell is the same, the two shells don't have the same length and are not interchangeable. Giving one a "pounder" weight different than the other obviates mixups in the supply chain.
I watch a lot of The History Guy's videos and I always find them interesting. It is therefore interesting to see a video about my country Malawi. Thank you.
Growing up in Kenya, and know a little about the East Africa campaigns (mostly through fictional accounts!) it was wonderful to hear some real history. There is one accounts of British boats being conveyed overland to one to the lakes that I struggle to remember the details of. Wonderful stuff, thank you.
von Lettow Vorbeck did very much with little gear and provisions,built his own equipment when needed and found guns ,troops and equipment where he could.
MrPh30 Yes, von Lettow Vorbeck was very capable. I have often wondered if Germany would have done better in WWI if Vorbeck had been on the Western Front instead of in Africa. Interestingly, Vorbeck lived until 1964, dying when he was 94! And, despite his military experience he refused to serve the Nazi regime. Supposedly, he told Hitler to "go f&ck himself". For that, he was under surveillance by the regime all during WWII. A very interesting life.
And on the other side who it would be a good episode about , Fredrick Courtney Selous who was killed in now Tanzania in 1917, he had a fascinating life . And his legacy was brought forward with the Selous Scouts . Several of his rifles exist to this day .
MrPh30 the great part about his life was when he came back to present day Tanzania and the Askaris who served under him remembered their marches and they did them in his presence
Great episode as always. Suggestions for episodes: - the Christie Pits Riot of Toronto, Ontario in 1933. - the Bath School Disaster of Bath Township, Michigan in 1927 - the Vermont Republic 1777-1791 Fantastic work. You're a very engaging presenter. Thank you for all the work.
Time to revisit my geography. My world geography knowledge took place at the tail end of the African colonial time, learning from 6th grade history and my philatelic hobby. Then seemingly over night it all changed. Thanks for jogging my memory.
I did know about Lake Nyasa and the naval battle. Also the connection with the Germans sister ship and the film The Africa Queen. But it is still very enjoyable to watch your video about what happened. I do hope you follow this up with the Battle for Lake Tanganyika. One of the ships involved in that, the Graf von Goetzen, is still in service as the MV Liemba. Which means as a WW1 German warship she has faired better the the High Seas Fleet. The British naval forces was commanded by one Captain Geoffrey Spicer-Simson who was known for his idiosyncrasies. and would probably make an interesting video in his own right. An eccentric in the finest of English traditions.
For the sake of completeness: the SMS Graf Goetzen *did* receive two of the Königsberg's guns and is apparently also considered to have been inspiration for the African Queen.
Completely agree, the Battle for Lake Tanganyika is very interesting (and obscure) history, and Spicer-Simpson a true character. There is a fascinating story by Giles Foden called “Mimi and Toulouse Go Forth: The Bizarre Battle for Lake Tanganyika” which I have on the shelf and I see is referenced in the wiki entry on the Battle. To ship two boats overland from Cape Town to Lake Tanganyika was an epic feat especially considering the significant obstacles. Very much a good example of good British colonial “can do”.
There's also an hour long documentary of this remarkable battle found here: ruclips.net/video/ARyGQdepY1o/видео.html and there's a book called The Lord of the Loincloth.
Interesting history that I never knew (I'm originally from Kenya). It strikes me that your viewers may be interested in the "man-eaters of Tsavo" story (another bit of East African history).
I learned to drive in the Tsavo in 1976. Don't drive over elephant dung, it can be rock hard when dried and always contains lots of thorns. The man-eating lions of Voi who caused a problem for the builders of the old Mombasa - Nairobi railway is a fascinating story, I vaguely recall it was made into a film.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Just saw this video which I did know you had. Yes, it makes mention of the "man-eaters of Tsavo." Very interesting. Wow, you've been working a lot. Thanks for sharing!
@@welshskies Unfortunately, I've never been to Tsavo and have never seen elephant dung. Will try to hit the park when I next visit Kenya. Thanks for educating me. Was your dad the park's warden?
@@usa_kenyan Jambo, Unfortunately I've only spent one summer in Kenya back in 1976. :-( When I was sixteen after my school exams I was packed off from the UK to stay with my cousins who had a beach house at Nyali, Mombasa. I spent five amazing months living by the sea and had the opportunity to travel up to Malindi and inland through the Tsavo to Voi and on to Lake Jipe at the base of Kilimanjaro. I had the great honour to meet President Jomo Kenyatta (complete with fly-whisk) at the Mombasa Agricultural Show that year as my cousin's family were involved the Agricultural Society. I loved my time in Kenya, I went on to read international economics at university back in the UK and I made good friends with the talented Kenyan, Malawian and Botswana students who were on my course. Kenya is one of the world's most beautiful countries and the Kenyans were the kindest and friendliest people.
Great to see Nyasaland, now Malawi get into the history picture. My grandfather managed the now defunct African Lakes Corporation there from 1931 to 1953 or thereabouts, my father was born there, my parents met and fell in love there and my brother was born there. And hopefully, this year, I will get there!
These little history snippets are absolutely great in bringing some of the 'big picture' events that happened before or after them into focus. Love this series, I've not seen one yet (out of the 75 or so I've viewed) that wasn't interesting.
Another outstanding austere story from THG. Definitely was not aware of the fluid fight on the African continent during WWI. Everything that I had known was about the stagnant lines on the European continent. Thank you so much.
I recently read "African Kaiser," Robert Gaudi's excellent biography of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. The book doesn't say much about the Lake Nyasa campaign, but does cover the Konigsberg saga in great detail. Like some other comments here, I wanted to know more about the Askaris and other African troops who did much of the fighting and dying in the African theater of the Great War. Lettow-Vorbeck was an amazing commander and character. He was an enemy of Hitler, and somehow managed to outlive the Nazi regime and survive into ripe old age. Lettow-Vorbeck returned to Africa late in his life. Many of his former Askari troops traveled long distances to see him again, stating for all to hear that they were ready to fight and die for him once again. According to the book, von Lettow-Vorbeck treated the Askaris with respect and on an equal basis with his white German officers--high praise indeed.
Great story. Very interesting. African Queen was not only a great movie there is a good story about the making of it. The thing that made the ships so necessary was the numbers of horses killed by the Tsetse fly. The numbers of horses that died there are staggering!
I thank you once again for this morish morsel of information, it is really forgotten history which needs to be remembered. The Asirikars (soldiers) who fought this war are long gone and all we have to folktales of their bravery.
Love the show. I've been a "History Nerd" since the 6th grade, (I'm sixty now). A person to review, please consider Rosemary Bryant Mariner, April 2, 1953- January 24, 2019 American aviator. A true example of "Female Empowerment". Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for bringing to light this very important story. Also thank you for dressing up in your gorgeous suit. For this I give you an extra dose of Respect.👏🏾🏆🌹🌟👑
I think when you look back on it, the Seven Years War (aka French and Indian War in North America) of the 1750s-60s may have been the first world war. Or one of the first, anyway.
One of my favorite oddball skirmishes. I always wished there were written accounts of the exchange between captains. Not everyone was unfriendly to each other until war broke out.
Thank you for bringing forth this information. As I recall in my history class in school, the only information given was at the close of WWI the Germans lost their colonies in Africa.
Terry Grossmann that's all that was mentioned in my high school and college classes in the 70's as well. I did some digging on my own and learned of von Lettow- Vorbeck, and the fascinating story of the supply Zeppelin, but never this! Also, it never occurred to me about Influenza hitting this area. I imagine it decimated them!
Yep, the Japanese used the tactic twice in fact. Once for Pearl Harbor and decades earlier against Russia about 1904 / 1905. In both cases they were negotiating for peace, until right before they attacked.
love your shows have been very ill lately and found them a great diversion.loved the african queen and shout at the devil both set in this war theatre.would love you to a show on the fenian movement in the usa and their invasion of canada and didnt they kill the governer of montana? plus they rescued guys from a penal colony in australia another exciting tale.thanks again .
A very interesting article. Thanks. Have you done one on the destruction of SMS Königsberg in the Rufigi River? If so, what is the title of the article? If not how about doing one. Seasons Greetings and all the best for 2020.
This was a fascinating story! I had wondered if the African Queen story about a ship on a lake had it's basis in fact and now I know. Thanks for sharing this.
I knew this story when I lived in Malawi during the 60-70's. One story told was that the two Captains were having lunch together when the news of war came through and the German Captain didn't know about it until he returned to base giving the English Captain a head start to go and disable the Hermann.
Hi History Guy, Could you do a video (or a few videos) on the First World War in Africa. And in particular, the campaign waged by Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck against the British.
There are videos about theses ship on RUclips already. Some our short some are from broadcast programs 45 mins long. I like that the History Guy covers events that many people have never herd of. Keep it up HG.
I'm seeing Humphrey and Katherine as I watch this. If memory serves, the movie didn't discuss the relatively weak nature of the German warship, but the book did. Still, if you have ANY firepower on the lake and the enemy has none, you are the boss!
Liked the clip. This was a real concern for those back in the day. Even made it to the big screen: see 'Shout at the Devil,' with Lee Marvin and Barbra Parkins with others. In a way, the economies of the early 20th century were still of a mercantile sort. The sort of economy that led to the American Revolution.
Someone needs to make a film about this conflict it is a fascinating example of late colonial conflict in Africa, and the officers involved were real characters.
If you have not already done so I would recommend that you read Guerilla: Colonel von Lettow-Vorbeck and Germany's East African Empire by Edwin P. Hoyt . An historical aside to all this is that after WW2 in the African post colonial period many of the tribal chieftains called on Lettow -Vorbeck in an advisory capacity . During this same period the Federal Republic of Germany was called upon by the native Imperial German Colonial veterans of the era to collect back pay from the period of their service - some still had their paybooks others were required to demonstrate their proficiency at performing the German Army manual of arms which they did using the very same Mauser rifles which had been issued to them prior to WW1.
Edit: yes I know the British were actually fighting the Germans. I was playing off the part at the beginning where he said the British French and Germans were disrupting each others supply lines
Great work! I first became interested in this while living in Malawi. I did not find very much on the subject at the time. There is an interesting historical novel based on WWI in German East Africa - "The Ghosts of Africa" by William Stevenson.
Great video. You might also consider speaking of the MV Liemba, formerly Graf Goetzen or Graf von Goetzen, another ww1 German lake vessel that is still in use as a ferry on Lake Tanganyika. Unlike other old war ships that have been scrapped at the end of their service, I hope when she retires she is restored as a memorial.
The Chancey Maples was still operating a regular ferry service on Lake Malawi when I lived there in 1976 to 1980. Muli bwanji to any old Malawi expats reading this.
Jared Martin yea, those monitors were part of a pet project of the great Admiral John Fisher, father of the rebuilt British fleet before the Great War. Winston Churchill as Navy minister had brought “Jackie” back. Fisher, father of the all big gun battleship starting with Dreadnought and the battle cruiser with a battleships big guns and less armor for speed, ordered a lot of shallow draft monitors with large bombardment guns for a possible operation in the Baltic that never came off. It took a while to for them to make their way from Britain all the way to East Africa, but it was an amazing story of espionage to find where the German cruiser was up the river and get the monitors into the mouth far enough to bring the ship under fire. A South African ivory hunter named Pretorius did a lot of the spy work for the British. He had run afowl of the Germans at the start of the war and held a grudge! An excellent work of fiction by Wilbur Smith loosely based on Pretorius’s exploits called Shout at the Devil was made into a movie with Lee Marvin and Roger Moore.
10 66: Well, you know what they say..."Those that can, *do;* those that can't, *teach!* [Disclaimer: Not *ALWAYS* true, but in this case, *absolutely YES!]* I hereby award you a retrospective, honorary *A+* for your essay [something I'm in *no way* qualified to do!], but irregardless, you hereby go right to the top of the class!
This excellent presentation: wrankles. Humans; we are the innocent makers of tragic comedy. Practicing the results of thinking we know we are gonna leave behind. '...So my children can be farmers, and their children be poets.' My, 'the history guy', speaks in gratitude for bullets that didn't fall, and sees how human the tragedy had they engaged. Hoom, the sport of Peace. #thesportofpeace
Did you know the entire film was shot in Hong Kong harbor and Taiwan and never went up the yanghtze? By using multiple clever angles and shooting the gunboat moving in different directions and "flipping" the film they were able to create the illusion completely.@@aliceshaw8265. Its an amazing story and no CGI! Some facts www.thesandpebbles.com/filmfacts/filmfacts.html
@@itsjohndell I didn't know that. Silly me just watching. Enjoying. That's very interesting info. My dad was in the biz, and told me The Sound of Music was just filler for the producers while they waited for funds. I've always imagined if Steve McQueen and Candice Bergen could sing....
Interestingly, the 1-pounder autocannon used by the German ship was a British design by Hiram Maxim and was used by countries around the world. Known as the QF 1-pounder ("Quick Firing 1-pounder) it was primarily used by Germany as the "Maxim FlugAbwehrKanone M14" ("Flight defense cannon" ie, an anti-aircraft gun) from which the term "Flak" was derived.
Perhaps you could at some future point do a video about the battles of Saltville in 1864. Saltville, Virginia was known as the salt capital of the Confederacy.
There is a wonderful book about the goings on on involving the sister ship on Lake Tanganyika called "Mimi and Toutou Go Forth" by Giles Foden. "Mimi and Toutou's Big Adventure" in the US edition that proves that truth is stranger than Monty Python. How Huston ever turned it into the "African Queen" is a mystery to me but anything that includes the wonderful Katharine Hepburn has my vote.
A viewer pointed out that British volunteer James Sutherland, while seriously wounded, recovered rather than being killed as I say in the episode. I apologize for the error.
Hell yeah
Wasn't there a British officer fond of women's dresses , That will take more than 10 minutes . . . ( L.O.L.) He was a very good officer .
Thank you. Most honorable of you sir, to be honest and accountable is to be held in the highest regard and garners respect.
Integrity seems lost at times these days.
Wonder if Bogart was in all of that L0L....?
The one pounder used by the Germans sounds a lot like the 40 mm Machinegun made by the British Company that produced the Maxim Machinegun in it's own version. Used by the Boers against the British, possibily one of these. Water Cooled with a slow rate of fire, it was Effective.
While living and working in Malawi in 1976/80, I visited Karonga in the far north. While there I visited the CWG cemetary which contained several British and German military graves dated 9th and 11th September 1914. I learned that when news of the declaration of war eventually reached the British and German forces, they both set off, the British marching around the top of Lake Malawi into German East Africa, the Germans marching west into Nyasaland. They missed each other and then, realising what had happened, they turned around and eventually fought an inconclusive engagement, resulting in the graves in Karonga.
Malawi was a delightful country to work in. I was able to travel widely. We visited the Nyika Plateau, 7,000 ft high, which was like being on top of the world, with zebra and buck of all kinds roaming freely. The lake was fabulous to enjoy as long as you avoided hippo and made sure there were ducks nearby, because these ate the snails that carried bilharzia. Every tree had a fish eagle perched on it, with that magical keening cry sounding across the water. It was the time of my life. Our daughter spent her first four years there and couldn't have been safer elsewhere.
How and why could anyone dislike this guy and his yarns?
While that is regrettably true,!
I was referring to The History Guy. We will soon see the end to what you referred to, as that generation is dying out.
I think some emotionally stunted people get a charge out if disliking things out of spite.
Big anti - bowtie faction🤔
@@donc2446 it's TRUE
Perhaps the German Askaris deserve their own video? Pretty interesting picture at 11:01 with a German flag.
The pension of the Askaris was permanently honored and paid even through WWII.
it sounds romantic and very interesting...
I think it sounds pretty awesome, actually. I bet that the Askaris were great people to be around!
@@FortuneZer0 Actually well into the 1970s...
@@AbsoluteMongoloid What Nazis are you talking about? Seems you might catch up on your history lessons...
My gosh man.....What a super job telling this history.......and the African Queen ha man there was great movie maty .....Which i have watched many many times.....But back to you telling this story ......Great Job......And thanks very much for it.......!
Thank you for mentioning Northern Rhodesia. My late wife was born there, in Ndola.
The tiniest bit of History, you find, and bring back to life. Thank you. Always interesting, always well done, and always looking forward to your next video.
Not so tiny.
The first World War for the Germans was largely motivated by possession of it African colonies.
@@MrAmhara
I agree. Wasn't specifically talking about this one being tiny in as much as he tends to find obscure facts in history, and bring them to life. Probably shoulda have been more specific in my comment.
Your delivery is so much better than when you began. Very professional. Thank you.
"Goddam, Rhodes, are you drunk?!"....oooo we need new notification uploaded to Zedge!
It's not quite sufficiently martial, but definitely quotable...
Sir, how do you come up with the most seemingly mundane of facts, turn them to jewels, and present them so succinctly.....I guess that’s why you’re....The History Guy. Thank you once again. And Amen.
I visited in the late 1990's some of the locations you mention and read in detail the local accounts of the battles. Also walked around the wreck of the King George (apparently) ... An absolutely amazing part of the world!
Your account of the battles is absolutely spot on - brilliant!!
Suggestion: the Brazilian dreadnought Minas Geraes, the Revolt of the Lashes, and Brazil's involvement in WWI.
Wow - Thanks for another AMAZING video on another beautiful part of the dark continent.
Lake Malawi has changed little in the intervening 100 years and it is still a little difficult to get there. However anyone who wants to experience the British Colonial life and do it inexpensively must go visit. The friendly people will spoil you. The wild game is great.
If you decide to visit, be sure to allocate enough time. You'll meet many Americans and Europeans there who went on a two week holiday and are still there 2 to 5 years later.
Besides the beautiful fresh water Lake Malawi, the game reserves and the magnificent Mount Mulanje with tea estates at the foot hills makes eye catching scenery not forgetting the friendly people
Africa is far from a dark continent.
Small correction. At 11:14 you call the guns on the Gwendolyn "six inch" when you meant to say "six pounder". A six pounder is a 57 mm (2.2 inch) weapon so it's a substantial difference.
What's a one pounder
@@trevoncowen9198 British designation for a 37 mm gun. They used to classify guns based on the weight of their shell rather than bore diameter. They finally joined the rest of the world and used metric designations after WWII.
I’m curious... how did you get 57 mm from six pounder?
@@eamonnprunty You don't "get" 57mm from six pounder. It's not a direct conversion, but based on knowing the shell weight, bore of a gun, and type of service, and then looking at a chart. There's a handy chart at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_standard_ordnance_weights_and_measurements. You'll notice several like the 76.2mm guns where one is a 15 pounder and one a 17 pounder. That was done because, even though the bore and weight of shell is the same, the two shells don't have the same length and are not interchangeable. Giving one a "pounder" weight different than the other obviates mixups in the supply chain.
Sar Jim thanks for that. I’ve never understood that. Now ima go read up about it:)
I ❤ this guy. Gloss over history in high school and you learn about it for the rest of your life IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.
I watch a lot of The History Guy's videos and I always find them interesting. It is therefore interesting to see a video about my country Malawi. Thank you.
Growing up in Kenya, and know a little about the East Africa campaigns (mostly through fictional accounts!) it was wonderful to hear some real history. There is one accounts of British boats being conveyed overland to one to the lakes that I struggle to remember the details of. Wonderful stuff, thank you.
I want to see the history of The History Guy, Its history that deserves to be remembered. This is one of the most awesome channels on the tube
von Lettow Vorbeck did very much with little gear and provisions,built his own equipment when needed and found guns ,troops and equipment where he could.
He sure did and then some General von Vorbeck was one of the better Generals of the First World War.
There's a bit on him in the middle of a Ray Mears video. ruclips.net/video/T7fX9H7blDY/видео.html
MrPh30 Yes, von Lettow Vorbeck was very capable. I have often wondered if Germany would have done better in WWI if Vorbeck had been on the Western Front instead of in Africa. Interestingly, Vorbeck lived until 1964, dying when he was 94! And, despite his military experience he refused to serve the Nazi regime. Supposedly, he told Hitler to "go f&ck himself". For that, he was under surveillance by the regime all during WWII. A very interesting life.
And on the other side who it would be a good episode about , Fredrick Courtney Selous who was killed in now Tanzania in 1917, he had a fascinating life . And his legacy was brought forward with the Selous Scouts . Several of his rifles exist to this day .
MrPh30 the great part about his life was when he came back to present day Tanzania and the Askaris who served under him remembered their marches and they did them in his presence
I love history . Glad I found this channel Keep up the great work!!
Great episode as always.
Suggestions for episodes:
- the Christie Pits Riot of Toronto, Ontario in 1933.
- the Bath School Disaster of Bath Township, Michigan in 1927
- the Vermont Republic 1777-1791
Fantastic work. You're a very engaging presenter. Thank you for all the work.
Time to revisit my geography. My world geography knowledge took place at the tail end of the African colonial time, learning from 6th grade history and my philatelic hobby. Then seemingly over night it all changed. Thanks for jogging my memory.
Best informational site on the net.......thank you....HG!
I did know about Lake Nyasa and the naval battle. Also the connection with the Germans sister ship and the film The Africa Queen. But it is still very enjoyable to watch your video about what happened.
I do hope you follow this up with the Battle for Lake Tanganyika. One of the ships involved in that, the Graf von Goetzen, is still in service as the MV Liemba. Which means as a WW1 German warship she has faired better the the High Seas Fleet.
The British naval forces was commanded by one Captain Geoffrey Spicer-Simson who was known for his idiosyncrasies. and would probably make an interesting video in his own right. An eccentric in the finest of English traditions.
For the sake of completeness: the SMS Graf Goetzen *did* receive two of the Königsberg's guns and is apparently also considered to have been inspiration for the African Queen.
@@tz8785 thanks for that.👍
Completely agree, the Battle for Lake Tanganyika is very interesting (and obscure) history, and Spicer-Simpson a true character. There is a fascinating story by Giles Foden called “Mimi and Toulouse Go Forth: The Bizarre Battle for Lake Tanganyika” which I have on the shelf and I see is referenced in the wiki entry on the Battle. To ship two boats overland from Cape Town to Lake Tanganyika was an epic feat especially considering the significant obstacles. Very much a good example of good British colonial “can do”.
There's also an hour long documentary of this remarkable battle found here: ruclips.net/video/ARyGQdepY1o/видео.html and there's a book called The Lord of the Loincloth.
Good book to read " The Great War in Africa". Great read, breaks down the African campaign very well.
Interesting history that I never knew (I'm originally from Kenya). It strikes me that your viewers may be interested in the "man-eaters of Tsavo" story (another bit of East African history).
Noir Boston Ami ruclips.net/video/Rb-DSFoh7zk/видео.html
I learned to drive in the Tsavo in 1976. Don't drive over elephant dung, it can be rock hard when dried and always contains lots of thorns. The man-eating lions of Voi who caused a problem for the builders of the old Mombasa - Nairobi railway is a fascinating story, I vaguely recall it was made into a film.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Just saw this video which I did know you had. Yes, it makes mention of the "man-eaters of Tsavo." Very interesting. Wow, you've been working a lot. Thanks for sharing!
@@welshskies Unfortunately, I've never been to Tsavo and have never seen elephant dung. Will try to hit the park when I next visit Kenya. Thanks for educating me. Was your dad the park's warden?
@@usa_kenyan Jambo, Unfortunately I've only spent one summer in Kenya back in 1976. :-( When I was sixteen after my school exams I was packed off from the UK to stay with my cousins who had a beach house at Nyali, Mombasa. I spent five amazing months living by the sea and had the opportunity to travel up to Malindi and inland through the Tsavo to Voi and on to Lake Jipe at the base of Kilimanjaro. I had the great honour to meet President Jomo Kenyatta (complete with fly-whisk) at the Mombasa Agricultural Show that year as my cousin's family were involved the Agricultural Society. I loved my time in Kenya, I went on to read international economics at university back in the UK and I made good friends with the talented Kenyan, Malawian and Botswana students who were on my course. Kenya is one of the world's most beautiful countries and the Kenyans were the kindest and friendliest people.
Thank you, History Guy and Gal, for all the work to put these video's out every day (almost).
Yup, I knew you were going to do this outstanding story. Truly a campaign that deserves to be remembered!
Great to see Nyasaland, now Malawi get into the history picture. My grandfather managed the now defunct African Lakes Corporation there from 1931 to 1953 or thereabouts, my father was born there, my parents met and fell in love there and my brother was born there. And hopefully, this year, I will get there!
These little history snippets are absolutely great in bringing some of the 'big picture' events that happened before or after them into focus. Love this series, I've not seen one yet (out of the 75 or so I've viewed) that wasn't interesting.
Great piece of virtually unknown history! Thanks!
Thanks HG for bringing the side stories of the Great War to life. People seem to forget the war was more than just in the trenches.
Another outstanding austere story from THG. Definitely was not aware of the fluid fight on the African continent during WWI. Everything that I had known was about the stagnant lines on the European continent. Thank you so much.
Great episode, more history I had no idea about. Thanks History Guy. 👍
Just a suggestion for a topic. The oyster wars in the Chesapeake. Post civil war. Thanks and I love your channel.
Learnt this in during my history class...greetings from Kenya👋👋
I'm quite familiar with the "naval" battles on Lake Tanganyika, but this is really news to me!! A thousand thanks for putting this up.
That story was truly fascinating for me at least; I lived in Malawi in 1972 and befriended many Brits but was never told this story.
I'm surprised that you don't have a video on the battle of Lake Tanganyika because it is very very very strange
Very informative! Thank you, history guy! I love your show! Keep up the good work.
A nice telling of the history of Lake Nyasa. I'd love to hear some forgotten history of the great explorers of Africa someday.
Hey History Guy! Have you covered Simpson’s Circus? I would love to hear your take on the Lake Tanganyika action and the bizarre Commander Simpson.
I recently read "African Kaiser," Robert Gaudi's excellent biography of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. The book doesn't say much about the Lake Nyasa campaign, but does cover the Konigsberg saga in great detail.
Like some other comments here, I wanted to know more about the Askaris and other African troops who did much of the fighting and dying in the African theater of the Great War.
Lettow-Vorbeck was an amazing commander and character. He was an enemy of Hitler, and somehow managed to outlive the Nazi regime and survive into ripe old age.
Lettow-Vorbeck returned to Africa late in his life. Many of his former Askari troops traveled long distances to see him again, stating for all to hear that they were ready to fight and die for him once again. According to the book, von Lettow-Vorbeck treated the Askaris with respect and on an equal basis with his white German officers--high praise indeed.
Great story. Very interesting. African Queen was not only a great movie there is a good story about the making of it. The thing that made the ships so necessary was the numbers of horses killed by the Tsetse fly. The numbers of horses that died there are staggering!
I thank you once again for this morish morsel of information, it is really forgotten history which needs to be remembered. The Asirikars (soldiers) who fought this war are long gone and all we have to folktales of their bravery.
Good story! Still waiting for your version of the Bernt Balchen story, it is history that deserves to be remembered :-)
Love the show. I've been a "History Nerd" since the 6th grade, (I'm sixty now). A person to review, please consider Rosemary Bryant Mariner, April 2, 1953- January 24, 2019 American aviator. A true example of "Female Empowerment". Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for bringing to light this very important story.
Also thank you for dressing up in your gorgeous suit. For this I give you an extra dose of Respect.👏🏾🏆🌹🌟👑
I think when you look back on it, the Seven Years War (aka French and Indian War in North America) of the 1750s-60s may have been the first world war. Or one of the first, anyway.
One of my favorite oddball skirmishes. I always wished there were written accounts of the exchange between captains. Not everyone was unfriendly to each other until war broke out.
Thank you for bringing forth this information. As I recall in my history class in school, the only information given was at the close of WWI the Germans lost their colonies in Africa.
Terry Grossmann that's all that was mentioned in my high school and college classes in the 70's as well. I did some digging on my own and learned of von Lettow- Vorbeck, and the fascinating story of the supply Zeppelin, but never this! Also, it never occurred to me about Influenza hitting this area. I imagine it decimated them!
Did Indy's The Great War Series RUclips Channel ever talk about this battle or the East Africa front? This piece of history is amazing and hilarious
Enjoyed the video and gave a Thumbs Up
I've been to Malawi and own a Weinerdog so this video was even more interesting to me than most. Love your history videos!
Hurrah!!! Awfully good show chaps!!
Having watched the "African Queen" many times as a "Comfort Movie" this was especially interesting, Thanks HG
It is easier to win a battle when your enemy does not know he is in a war.
OODA
Yep, the Japanese used the tactic twice in fact. Once for Pearl Harbor and decades earlier against Russia about 1904 / 1905. In both cases they were negotiating for peace, until right before they attacked.
The US at Manila with Olympia.
Please more on the German East Africa campaigns, it is a fascinating part of WWI that is rarely covered.
love your shows have been very ill lately and found them a great diversion.loved the african queen and shout at the devil both set in this war theatre.would love you to a show on the fenian movement in the usa and their invasion of canada and didnt they kill the governer of montana? plus they rescued guys from a penal colony in australia another exciting tale.thanks again .
A very interesting article. Thanks.
Have you done one on the destruction of SMS Königsberg in the Rufigi River? If so, what is the title of the article? If not how about doing one.
Seasons Greetings and all the best for 2020.
This was a fascinating story! I had wondered if the African Queen story about a ship on a lake had it's basis in fact and now I know. Thanks for sharing this.
thanks for touching on Africa.
Another great video my man! You really should have more subscribers! Im sharing away buddy!
Really enjoyed this, long may you be around to tell your yarns sir.
Great foreshadowing. I was thinking this story has to be tied to the African Queen. Cool.
I usually have seen every Bogart movie but for some reason I have avoided watching the African Queen over the years. I might watch it now.
@@mikeyoung9810 you should. It's very good.
@@mikeyoung9810 excellent movie. You will like it. You also might like We're No Angels.......the one with Bogart
@@@mikeyoung9810 - You think Bogey or Kate could disappoint?! See it, man! It's a classic.
The same thought came to me while reading the description.
Great video as always
You should consider getting somebody to caption these videos so deaf/hearing impaired people can watch them :)
This battle reminds me of "Battle of Lake Erie" in 1812. An inland lake with limited ships.
Wow. Fascinating story.
Informative and entertaining as usual!
I knew this story when I lived in Malawi during the 60-70's. One story told was that the two Captains were having lunch together when the news of war came through and the German Captain didn't know about it until he returned to base giving the English Captain a head start to go and disable the Hermann.
More than anything, this illustrates the importance of leadership in communications
Do the story of HMS Mimi and HMS Toutou next. The Graf von Goetzen is apparently still afloat and still plying Lake Tanganyika.
Hi History Guy,
Could you do a video (or a few videos) on the First World War in Africa. And in particular, the campaign waged by Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck against the British.
I really enjoyed this.
Love your videos: keep it up!Any chance we could get a video on the Merrimack and Monitor?
There are videos about theses ship on RUclips already. Some our short some are from broadcast programs 45 mins long. I like that the History Guy covers events that many people have never herd of. Keep it up HG.
Interesting story. Please do a video about Pancho Villa and his Texas Raid.
I'm seeing Humphrey and Katherine as I watch this. If memory serves, the movie didn't discuss the relatively weak nature of the German warship, but the book did. Still, if you have ANY firepower on the lake and the enemy has none, you are the boss!
Liked the clip. This was a real concern for those back in the day. Even made it to the big screen: see 'Shout at the Devil,' with Lee Marvin and Barbra Parkins with others. In a way, the economies of the early 20th century were still of a mercantile sort. The sort of economy that led to the American Revolution.
Someone needs to make a film about this conflict it is a fascinating example of late colonial conflict in Africa, and the officers involved were real characters.
john ruddick ruclips.net/video/ARyGQdepY1o/видео.html
If you have not already done so I would recommend that you read Guerilla: Colonel von Lettow-Vorbeck and Germany's East African Empire by Edwin P. Hoyt . An historical aside to all this is that after WW2 in the African post colonial period many of the tribal chieftains called on Lettow -Vorbeck in an advisory capacity . During this same period the Federal Republic of Germany was called upon by the native Imperial German Colonial veterans of the era to collect back pay from the period of their service - some still had their paybooks others were required to demonstrate their proficiency at performing the German Army manual of arms which they did using the very same Mauser rifles which had been issued to them prior to WW1.
"When a Serbian man kills an Austrian archduke so you end up fighting the French in India for England"
Edit: yes I know the British were actually fighting the Germans. I was playing off the part at the beginning where he said the British French and Germans were disrupting each others supply lines
Great work! I first became interested in this while living in Malawi. I did not find very much on the subject at the time.
There is an interesting historical novel based on WWI in German East Africa - "The Ghosts of Africa" by William Stevenson.
Loved this story. Thanks man.
That was fascinating, thank you.
Great video. You might also consider speaking of the MV Liemba, formerly Graf Goetzen or Graf von Goetzen, another ww1 German lake vessel that is still in use as a ferry on Lake Tanganyika. Unlike other old war ships that have been scrapped at the end of their service, I hope when she retires she is restored as a memorial.
The Chancey Maples was still operating a regular ferry service on Lake Malawi when I lived there in 1976 to 1980.
Muli bwanji to any old Malawi expats reading this.
I liked the Bogie and Hepburn cameo. Have loved "African Queen" since I was a little kid, and it's how I knew WW1 was fought in Africa.
Excellent video History Guy ! ., " The African Queen " was a great movie ! ( They don't make them like that anymore).
Hey! Your hair looks nice! You always look very dapper😊
Your channel certainly does what it says on the tin!
The Mimi and Tutu monitors shipped from Britain to fight the Konigesberg...that would be a good episode
Jared Martin yea, those monitors were part of a pet project of the great Admiral John Fisher, father of the rebuilt British fleet before the Great War. Winston Churchill as Navy minister had brought “Jackie” back. Fisher, father of the all big gun battleship starting with Dreadnought and the battle cruiser with a battleships big guns and less armor for speed, ordered a lot of shallow draft monitors with large bombardment guns for a possible operation in the Baltic that never came off. It took a while to for them to make their way from Britain all the way to East Africa, but it was an amazing story of espionage to find where the German cruiser was up the river and get the monitors into the mouth far enough to bring the ship under fire. A South African ivory hunter named Pretorius did a lot of the spy work for the British. He had run afowl of the Germans at the start of the war and held a grudge! An excellent work of fiction by Wilbur Smith loosely based on Pretorius’s exploits called Shout at the Devil was made into a movie with Lee Marvin and Roger Moore.
In college, my prof dinged me for bringing this very subject up in a paper.
I always knew he was full of it.
10 66: Well, you know what they say..."Those that can, *do;* those that can't, *teach!* [Disclaimer: Not *ALWAYS* true, but in this case, *absolutely YES!]*
I hereby award you a retrospective, honorary *A+* for your essay [something I'm in *no way* qualified to do!], but irregardless, you hereby go right to the top of the class!
very enlightening. thanks.
This excellent presentation: wrankles. Humans; we are the innocent makers of tragic comedy. Practicing the results of thinking we know we are gonna leave behind. '...So my children can be farmers, and their children be poets.' My, 'the history guy', speaks in gratitude for bullets that didn't fall, and sees how human the tragedy had they engaged. Hoom, the sport of Peace. #thesportofpeace
Seeing smaller gun boats always reminds me of Sand Pebbles.
Did you know the entire film was shot in Hong Kong harbor and Taiwan and never went up the yanghtze? By using multiple clever angles and shooting the gunboat moving in different directions and "flipping" the film they were able to create the illusion completely.@@aliceshaw8265. Its an amazing story and no CGI! Some facts www.thesandpebbles.com/filmfacts/filmfacts.html
Main steam stem valve.
@@itsjohndell I didn't know that. Silly me just watching. Enjoying. That's very interesting info. My dad was in the biz, and told me The Sound of Music was just filler for the producers while they waited for funds. I've always imagined if Steve McQueen and Candice Bergen could sing....
itsjohndell Hollywood is all about illusion.
Watched the movie after reading the book...The Sand Pebbles... Learned not to do that again. 600 page story cannot be squeezed into a movie very well.
Interestingly, the 1-pounder autocannon used by the German ship was a British design by Hiram Maxim and was used by countries around the world. Known as the QF 1-pounder ("Quick Firing 1-pounder) it was primarily used by Germany as the "Maxim FlugAbwehrKanone M14" ("Flight defense cannon" ie, an anti-aircraft gun) from which the term "Flak" was derived.
Perhaps you could at some future point do a video about the battles of Saltville in 1864. Saltville, Virginia was known as the salt capital of the Confederacy.
African Queen is in my top five movies of all time if liberal with the facts it catches the spirit of the particularly nasty front fairly well
There is a wonderful book about the goings on on involving the sister ship on Lake Tanganyika called "Mimi and Toutou Go Forth" by Giles Foden. "Mimi and Toutou's Big Adventure" in the US edition that proves that truth is stranger than Monty Python.
How Huston ever turned it into the "African Queen" is a mystery to me but anything that includes the wonderful Katharine Hepburn has my vote.
It also would be interesting to look into the naval actions on Lake Garda in Italy during the Third Italian War of Unification
H.G. Thank you for that bit of Africana. I hope the dachshund did not go to prison camp.
It probably made for some great tasting sausage.
@@gregparrott Indeed Hundwurst.
How about Dackelwurst!