by Carly Smesh
They reached the rift in the dead of the night and as soon as they were under the netting, the horses were unsaddled and taken away. Guards were placed around the rim of the rift and the men were told to get some sleep.
Caves had been dug into the sides of the rift by the troops on their frequent visits to it. Not only for personal use but also for storing food and ammunition, Tartrha showed David to his cave that had been provided for him. It was around eight feet deep and seven feet wide and a blanket hung across the doorway. Inside a small table and stool had been provided for him along with a bunk bed alongside of which stood a small packing case. David lit the paraffin lamp that hung from a root in the ceiling.
Over the next half hour his saddle and saddlebags, bedroll and rifle were returned to him, as he settled down to the first night in the rift.
The next morning after breakfast, N'debi along with a Ghurkha carrying a telescope went towards the river to keep watch.
The men were kept busy attending to the horses, cleaning their weapons or improving their living conditions. The weather was hot, being late July the sun blazed down from a cloudless sky, but at least in the rift they were protected from the worst of it.
David knew water would be the main problem, so he had ordered that the men keep their water bottles filled and to keep the water skins full from the slow trickle of the pool.
When dusk fell N'debi and the Ghurkha returned. They had witnessed mounted men with strange headgear and carrying long spears entering the ford and placing sticks on both sides of it.
David was slightly alarmed at this news. Cavalry... they had cavalry and by the description they were Uhlans, a crack German lancer cavalry unit. They must have been marking the edges of the ford he reasoned.
The next day N'debi and a Ghurkha left while it was still dark.
They saw their first aircraft that day. When the alarm was sounded David climbed to the edge of the rift with his telescope. The aircraft was flying along the track on their side of the river, sometimes circling around on either side of it. At one point it flew directly over the rift, and David could see two men in it, as it was only about two hundred feet high. It continued to fly around before heading back across the river. When N'debi and the Ghurkha returned at dusk they reported dense dust clouds forming on the other side of the river.
That night he sent a dispatch back to the Crater, saying invasion was imminent.
David looked at his calendar... tomorrow would be the fourth of August.
He left with N'debi while it was still dark, finding a secure vantage point to observe the ford a quarter of a mile away.
As the first light lit the ford, twenty Uhlans crossed over fanning out around the track, followed by some two hundred Askari's. They were followed by a full company of white German soldiers wearing points on the top of their helmets. After them came more Askari's then the bullocks appeared, six to each of the three artillery pieces. David judged them to be six-inch howitzers.
It took most of the day for the column to cross the ford; the rear being brought up by thirty more Uhlans.
David estimated that in excess of 1300 enemy troops were now on his side of the river.
As darkness fell, he and N'debi returned to the rift.
Over the next seven days he noticed a routine being established by the German column. At dawn an aircraft would appear and fly ahead of it, returning to wag its wings over it, as if to confirm ahead was clear.
By now the column had passed the rift and was some forty odd miles from the river. On a good day it averaged about eight miles, being held up by the guns. Each day thirty or so carts would appear from the river carrying provisions and large earthenware jugs filled with water for the men and livestock. Normally an Askari rode on each wagon.
Chapter 45
David decided it was time for action after the seventh day.
Leaving their horses in the rift, he took the troop out during the night and arranged them alongside of the track. They waited concealed until the aircraft had returned back to its base before edging closer to the track and taking up positions.
The ambush was a complete success; at fifty yards the Ghurkhas couldn't miss. The carts were checked; provisions and fodder were quickly dispatched to the rift to supplement their own stocks along with some of the water carts. The rest were destroyed apart from two that were loaded with the dead bodies, which were taken back below the ford and dumped into the river. The empty carts were sent back to the rift were they were broken up for firewood.
Once they were gone, work began on covering their tracks. In three hours nothing remained to show of the ambush. It was noon before ten Uhlans were seen riding back towards the river.
That night, David ordered the mules to be herded back to the crater by a roundabout
route. For four days they stopped any water or supplies reaching the column; by now the number of carts was dwindling.
On the fifth morning they repeated their ambush on only ten carts, guarded by Uhlans with five riding in front and five behind. All the carts bore was water. He noticed the Uhlans horses were European stock with good bloodlines. Again everything was disposed of and their tracks carefully hidden. The wounded, along with the horses and mules sent back to the Crater.
Scouts reported that the column had haltered.
Later, forty Uhlans returned to the river moving slowly; their horse's heads hung low. They were led by an officer whose eyes constantly looked right and left, and he was mounted on a magnificent black stallion,
David held a council of war with Tartrha and his NCOs that night.
"It will be different tomorrow; they are expecting something to happen and will take precautions. If I was that officer I'd put out flankers on each side of the track, as well as front and rear guards. They may well bring more infantry with them. They must be getting desperate for water by now so I intend taking a Lewis gun with us. Make sure you have your best gunner using it," he told Tartrha.
David's premonition proved to be correct. They noticed the aircraft first flying in circles over the track, before a convoy of five heavy wagons drawn by bullocks came into view. They were escorted by the Uhlans, with a company of Askari's formed in front and back.
David ordered the Lewis gun to hold fire until commanded to do so. The first volley from the Ghurkhas downed the two Uhlan out-riders, and a number of the Askari, who dropped to their bellies returning fire wildly.
The Uhlan officer ordered his men into a line to charge. They dropped their lances and started off with a gallop straight towards the kneeling Ghurkhas.
David waited until they were a hundred yards from them, and then ordered the Lewis gun to open fire. Men and horses went down screaming as the charge was halted. The Askari seeing the carnage leapt to their feet and ran back towards the river leaving their weapons behind them in their haste to get away.
The horses were rounded up; miraculously none had been seriously hurt. Five Uhlans were wounded and were taken care of by a Ghurkha first-aid man. The aircraft circling above had witnessed the entire ambush, and now flew off in the direction of the German column.
The wagons were destroyed and set on fire and the water jugs smashed. The bullocks were driven back to the rift; they would supplement their rations. The dead were stripped of anything valuable and quickly buried. David rode the magnificent black stallion back to the camp; ordering the saddle and saddlebags to be taken to his quarters.
Back at the rift he questioned the wounded Uhlans after finding one who spoke English. It seemed they were under the command of Count Rupert Von Hassinberg; the Captain who had been killed. That night he sent the Uhlans back to the crater in a cart guarded by four Ghurkhas.
David was impressed by the quality of the saddle and saddlebags; made from the finest black leather. Inside the saddlebags he found a crude map of the track to Nairobi but with a mark on it in the hills near the crater. There appeared to be some letters written in German along with a pair of matching cutthroat razors wi
th ivory handles, brush and soap. In addition there was silk underwear and a change of shirts also in silk, along with six magazines of bullets. On examining the saddle he found a pistol holster containing a long barrelled automatic pistol called a Luger, which had a very good balance in his hand.
Another leather case held a pair of binoculars, which, when he tried them out were far superior to his old telescope. The cavalry sword belonging to the Count was of Solingen steel with a razor edge to it. David reasoned the Count had come from a very wealthy family going by the quality of his horse and equipment.
Later he went down to the horse lines to examine the horse the Count had ridden.
It stood at least seventeen hands high; as big as Zeus he realised. Running his hands over its body he could feel the hard muscles in its legs and withers.
"I think I'll call you Diablo, boy," he said stroking its velvet nose.
Talking to Tartrha later that night he said, "Well, the cat is out of the bag now; they know there's someone behind them stopping their supplies, but not where we are yet. The biggest danger is the aircraft. We need to kill it before it discovers the rift so we need to lure it into a trap to do that."
He outlined his plan that they would put into force the following day.
The next morning four Ghurkhas were riding out on the veldt when they heard the aircraft approaching. They immediately spurred their horses, dashing back towards the rift with the aircraft following on behind. On reaching it the net was raised and they rode down the embankment into it with the net closing behind them.
The aircraft flew over it circling and coming back lower and slower as the two men peered down over the sides of it. The troop hidden under the net waited and when it was directly over them David gave the order to fire. Two Lewis guns and forty-four rifles open up as one.
The aircraft wobbled in the air and then smoke started streaming from it followed by flames. The aircraft crashed in a loud explosion some five hundred yards from the rift.
In his quarters that night David reviewed the events of the past days. So far things had gone their way in regard to the enemy, and they had been fortunate that none in his command had been killed or wounded as yet. But the surprise element was now gone. They must know a force was behind them blocking their supply chain.
What would they do now, he pondered? They must be very low on water; none had reached them for over seven days. What he needed was information on what the enemy camp was doing. Would they retreat back to the river or leave the guns and make a dash towards the crater and locate the stream? David thought long into the night, wrestling with the problem before coming to a decision.
The next morning, mounted on Zeus he led the troop out, leaving ten men behind to guard the rift. Six mules each carrying four filled water skins brought up the rear.
It took five hours to reach were the column had laagered up in a depression of the track. David kept the troop below the skyline and went forward on foot with the German binoculars.
He was confused by what he saw. Askari's were laid out under the wagons and carts, many only partially uniformed and there seemed very little order about them. At the top of the laager were tents with a big one with the German Imperial flag flying listlessly. German soldiers guarded the area with machine guns set up pointing down towards the Askari camp.
It took a few moments for him to realise that either the Germans were afraid of the Askari mutinying or they had already done so. He carefully edged back over the skyline before walking back to the troop. To his surprise he found Stanley and two of his troop waiting for him. After a quick embrace, Stanley brought him up to date while David's troop made coffee for them.
"My troop and half of Sultar's are blocking their advance. We have four Vickers set up and the mortars, zeroed in on the laager. They know we have them; they tried to take our positions two days ago using the Askari's but as soon as we opened up on them they dropped their rifles and ran; most of them out into the veldt. The German soldiers executed the few that returned to the camp but that didn't go down well with the remaining Askari's. It seemed to us that they're in open mutiny now within the German command.
"Four days previously twenty German soldiers and a hundred Askari set out for the crater with forty mules in tow. Sultar set up an ambush in the foothills, and between us we wiped them out. The wounded and prisoners were sent back to the Crater under guard along with the mules.
"Since then every night forty or fifty Askari have deserted. We captured some of them, and under interrogation they revealed that there is hardly any water left. Their rations had been cut three times and they were now on half a cup a day. Yet the General was seen shaving and washing so they're sure the whites are getting more water than them. They said they were pressed into service and had, had enough."
David considered this news before asking, "How many do you think they have now Stanley?"
"Including the Staff Officers, no more than 500, the Askari's who are left are mostly regulars. Leave them for a few more days and they'll do our job for us."
David shook his head, "I can't do that Stanley. Those are men down there; most don't even know what they're fighting for. I'll give them a chance to surrender."
A white flag was made with a tall stick to support it. David, along with Hans who spoke German, rode out, stopping just out of rifle range; Hans was holding the flag. After a few minutes he saw a white flag being waved in the German camp, and two men stepped out, one carrying the flag.
David and Hans dismounted and walked towards them; stopping when they were five feet from them. They were both German Staff officers; David and Hans saluted them, which was returned. Finding out from Hans they spoke English, David addressed them.
"My name is Colonel Ramage of the 1st Nairobi Rifles," he began.
The senior German officer introduced himself as Colonel Branmark of the 10th Rineguard.
"Are you empowered to speak for your General?" David asked.
The Colonel clicked his heels, "I am Sir."
David continued, "As you must know you are surrounded, and there is no aid going to reach you. I shall only give you this one opportunity to surrender now; it will not be given again.
My terms are simple; you may hold on to your personal weapons and leave this country. Water will be given to you once you leave this camp, sufficient for you to reach the river once you give your parole never to take up arms across the river again. You have exactly two hours from now in which to decide. After that, if no reply is forthcoming I shall open a bombardment on your camp. Do you understand Colonel?"
"If I can amend your conditions Sir... that the Askari hand over their weapons," he replied.
David nodded, "Agreed," realising that the conditions in the camp were far worse than he had imagined. They returned to their positions, to wait. An hour and a half later the white flag was waved from the camp. David went forward again; this time the General in person was there. David saluted him. "I'm General Otto von Frisburg; reluctantly I accept all of your terms."
"Very well General, tell your Askari's to come out of the camp with their rifles over their heads and carrying their water bottles. They will place their rifles where we tell them, after which we will fill their water bottles and send them down the track to the river. After which we will enter your camp and take the parole of the whites remaining. Water for you and your horses will be distributed. Any damage to your guns or other weapons will negate this surrender. Is that clear General?"
The general bowed his head, "You have my word as a Prussian Officer."
Stanley had sent some of his troop to fill more water skins from the stream as the Askari started to file out of the camp. After they had all gone, David took some of his troop into the camp where he found there were sixty-one Germans left. Water and food was given to them as they gave their parole. The four horses were all that remained; all in a pitiful condition. Fodder and water was given to them but it was apparent that they could not support a rider so mules were exch
anged for them.
Before leaving the General complimented David on his tactics, "You fought a good war Colonel, I'm afraid I completely underestimated my enemy."
Chapter 46
It took seven days to transport the guns and weapons along with the ammunition back to Nairobi. The crowds lined the street to cheer as the troops rode by in formation. David was told by the Mayor of Nairobi that troops had arrived from Mombasa.
On finding out where they were billeted, David presented himself to a Major Mainwaring, who it seemed was newly arrived from Australia with two companies of Australian Light Horse, to take over the defence of Nairobi. Seated in his makeshift office David accepted a whisky from the Major.
"Well Colonel Ramage, you have pulled off a fantastic feat against a much larger enemy force. Could you please explain how you did it? I've only held this rank since boarding the ship at Freemantle and have yet to learn the trade of soldiering."
David liked the Major right away due to his friendliness and honest appraisal of himself.
"Not at all Major and the name is David." He then went on to explain in detail how his campaign had been fought. The Australian Major interjected a few times to clarify a point, but otherwise just listened. At the end of David's explanation, he shook his head and smiled. "The name's Bert, David; you make it all seem so simple but there was a lot of background information to it wasn't there?"
David chuckled, "The first thing was know the country that you will be fighting in. The second was to have information on the enemy's numbers and equipment, and thirdly to know your own men."
"Well, we will be starting from scratch," Bert replied. "Most of our horses are down at Mombasa recuperating from the sea voyage."
"Well if I can advise you, I'd have them salted right away," explaining about AHD. "In the meantime your men can join mine on patrol and learn about the country that way."
Over the next week David worked closely with Bert in setting up a citizen's home guard for Nairobi. They armed them with the German rifles and ammunition and Stanley took over as commander of the unit. His troop was issued with six of the German Maxim machine guns.