Sub-Saharan Africa 1916: East African Campaign

Their victory in South-West Africa in 1915 allowed the British to transfer veteran South African units under General Jan Smuts to British East Africa for a renewed invasion attempt on German East Africa. In March 1916 the British crossed the border near Mount Kilimanjaro to begin their main attack on the colony; additional advances were made from the Belgian Congo, Uganda, and Northern Rhodesia. By September a British landing force had captured Dar es Salaam, completing Allied control of the German Central Railway to Ujiji and forcing the Germans into the southeast of the country. in wikipedia

9 Mar 1916 Portugal enters World War I ▲

On 23 February 1916, at the request of the British, Portugal ordered the internment of 36 German and Austro-Hungarian ships in Lisbon. Germany reacted by declaring war on Portugal two weeks later; the Portuguese immediately responded with a reciprocal declaration. On 7 August the Portuguese Parliament approved the dispatch of an expeditionary force to France and a build up of its colonial forces in Africa. in wikipedia

16 Mar–6 Nov 1916 Darfur Expedition ▲

In March 1916 Sirdar Reginald Wingate led 2,000 Sudanese and Egyptian troops from the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan into the Sultanate of Darfur to restore British power over the territory following Sultan Ali Dinar’s decision to side with the Central Powers. On 22 May the British decisively defeated the Fur Army at Beringia, occupying the capital of El Fasher the following day. Dinar fled south with his remaining forces, eventually dying in Jebel Juba in November when the British fired on his camp. On 1 January 1917 Darfur was annexed to the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. in wikipedia

? Apr 1916–27 Jul 1920 Kaocen revolt ▲

In 1916 Kaocen Ag Geda, an adherent of the Senussi religious order, led a Tuareg revolt from the Aïr Mountains of northern Niger in French West Africa. Supported by the Senussi of Kufra, Kaocen united Tuareg rebellions across the Sahara to besiege the French in Agadez in December. In 1917 the French forces in West Africa pushed back the rebellion in the south while gaining the support of Moussa Ag Amastan of the Kel Ahaggar Tuaregs in Algeria’s Southern Territories to the north. With the assistance of Moussa, Kaocen was defeated and killed in early 1919, although Tuareg resistance would continue for another year. in wikipedia

1 Apr 1916 Apostasy of Lij Iyasu ▲

Lij Iyasu, the designated but uncrowned Emperor of Ethiopia since December 1913, had been born to a Muslim convert to Christianity. In 1915 Iyasu began to spend much of his time consorting with the Muslim community and secretly traveled to French Somaliland in August without informing either the Ethiopian or French governments. Suspicions that he had converted to Islam and was about to join the Central Powers in return for French Somaliland seemed confirmed when it was reported that he had acknowledged the Ottoman Sultan as Caliph in April 1916. in wikipedia

19 Apr–19 Sep 1916 Tabora Offensive ▲

Two columns of the Belgian Congo’s Force Publique entered German East Africa, marching north and south of Lake Kivu to conquer Ruanda and Urundi in May 1916. From here they advanced south and eastwards, capturing Ujiji and Kigoma in July, and Tabora in September. Meanwhile, a smaller British force from Uganda crossed Lake Victoria and landed Mwanza; it also advanced on Tabora, which it reached shortly after the Belgians. in wikipedia

10 Jun–4 Jul 1916 Battle of Mecca ▲

Hussein bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca and leader of the Banu Hashim clan, declared independence from the Ottoman Empire, bringing Mecca into revolt. Ottoman resistance in Mecca lasted until July 4, when Jirwal barracks capitulated to British-supplied artillery. in wikipedia