The Battle of Namacurra, part of the East African campaign of World War I (1914–1918), was fought from 1 to 3 July 1918 in central Portuguese Mozambique, a colony of the Portuguese Republic. Portugal and the British Empire, two Allied Powers, fought the German Empire, a Central Power, at the Namacurra River at the town of Namacurra.
In 1917, a German army from the colony of German East Africa began an incursion into bordering Mozambique. The Battle of Namacurra was the deadliest engagement of the campaign. Between the Portuguese and British soldiers, 209 died, while the German casualties are unknown. Portugal's losses greatly weakened its war effort in East Africa.
Background
On 25 November 1917, during the East African campaign of World War I, a militia led by German general Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck crossed the Ruvuma River south, from German East Africa into Portuguese Mozambique. They continued southwards from then on. By the end of March 1918, British general Jacob van Deventer, whose troops were following Lettow-Vorbeck's troops in an attempt to encircle them, expected the latter to turn back into German East Africa. Instead, Lettow-Vorbeck kept going south, and British and Portuguese troops could not stand their ground to the Germans. The British Gold Coast Regiment withdrew their forces. At Ile, the defending Portuguese troops ran off after they spotted the Germans. They left behind a large amount of supplies, more than Lettow-Vorbeck could carry. Much of it was burned to prevent future use by the British or Portuguese.
At the time, the town of Namacurra had a newly established supply depot for the British and Portuguese armies, which contained "vast warehouses stuffed full of arms and ammunition, food, wine, and whiskey". It was connected by railroad to the nearby port town of Quelimane, where the British feared the Germans would seize vessels and escape from Africa.
Battle
The battle started on 1 July 1918. It was the southernmost strike of Lettow-Vorbeck's campaign. The Portuguese offered greater resistance than they had at Ile. Three Portuguese battalions, aided by two British King's African Rifle companies commanded by Colonel Eric Gore-Browne, fought against three German companies commanded by Captain Erich Müller. By 3 July, Lettow-Vorbeck had brought out his main force. The Portuguese units were steadily pushed back, until they were forced to retreat across the Namacurra River. One hundred European and African men drowned, including Gore-Browne. The fighting ended on the afternoon of the 3rd.
Aftermath
Of the ~100 engagements of Lettow-Vorbeck's campaign, Namacurra was the deadliest. 209 of the British and Portuguese died, and 540 were taken as prisoner. The Germans received the enemy spoils. Days later, the bodies of the men who drowned in the river were found downstream. Instead of going to Quelimane, the Germans looped back across the Namiurre River to Numarroe, and went north. For a few days, while the Germans were going north, van Deventer's forces kept going south to Quelimane. Van Deventer's forces, still chasing von Lettow, admitted defeat in September 1918. Lettow-Vorbeck eventually turned back into German East Africa.
Namacurra, as well as a native revolt against Portuguese misrule in Angoche, Mozambique, effectively ended Portugal's involvement in the East African campaign. Vorbeck's army kept fighting throughout the region, remaining undefeated by 25 November, when he surrendered his troops to the British in Northern Rhodesia upon learning of the Armistice of 11 November, which ended World War I.