Historical Background
The British force had been waiting in the Abercorn area to attack the German forces coming from northern Mozambique, thinking they would make for Lake Tanganyika, but General von Lettow-Vorbeck had evaded them by turning south-west towards Kasama. Its tiny British population evacuated to Mpika, except for nine who set up two Maxim guns at the Chambeshi, but they did not know how to work them. One, Charlie Simpson, had with him about £10,000 which was all the cash from the government offices and businesses in Kasama, which he buried in a goat pen near the rubber factory he ran, thinking that the goats' hoofprints would hide evidence of digging, and that the Germans would probably be more interested in the goats than looking for the money. On arrival at the Chambeshi the Germans machine-gunned the rubber factory before Croad arrived with the telegram.
Read more about this topic: Von Lettow-Vorbeck Memorial
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