Battle of Tepe

The Battle of Tepe (or Tebe) on 25 August 1914 was the first skirmish between German and British forces during the Kamerun Campaign in of the First World War. The conflict took place on the border between British Nigeria and German Kamerun, ending in British victory and German withdrawal from the station.

Battle of Tepe
Part of the Kamerun Campaign in World War I
Date 25 August 1914 Location Tepe, German Kamerun Result British victory
Belligerents
British Empire British Nigeria	Germany German Kamerun
Commanders and leaders
Col. MacLear	O.Lt. Milbrat †[1]
Units involved
West African Frontier Force	Schutztruppe
Strength
unknown	unknown
Casualties and losses
2 officers[2]	5 officers[3]

Prelude

On 4 August 1914, Britain declared war on the German Empire at the beginning of the First World War. On 8 August, a mounted detachment from the West African Frontier Force embarked from Kano in northern British Nigeria towards the German colony of Kamerun.[4] These first British forces crossed the border into German territory on 25 August.

Battle

British cavalry came into contact with German forces at the border station at Tepe on the Benue River on 25 August. After sharp fighting German forces withdrew and the British occupied the station.[3] Few casualties resulted from the battle. The British occupation of the station gave their forces the opportunity to push further east to the German stronghold at Garua. The British were defeated in their attempt to take the forts there at the First Battle of Garua only days after the conflict at Tepe.

Notes

1. casualty list of the Schutztruppe in Cameroon 1914–1916 (german)
2. Hans Surén: Kampf um Kamerun. Berlin 1934, p. 61.
3. Reynolds et al. 1916, p. 62.
4. Buchan 1922.

References

• Buchan, John. A History of the Great War. Vol. I. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1922
• Reynolds, Francis J., Churchill, Allen L., and Miller, Francis T. "Chapter 77 - The Cameroons." "The Story of the Great War". Vol. III (of VIII). 1916.