THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT Voi WAR CEMETERY-(One of the oldest in Kenya)
At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the proximity of the German and British colonies in East Africa posed an immediate threat to peace and stability within the East African Region. Conflict between the two countries was inevitable and so was the extensive loss of life which was soon to follow.
By August 1918 the Germans in Tanganyika had assembled a force of nearly 5,000 troops a number that steadily rose to 16,000 throughout the campaign period.
In light of this threat, the British were required to assemble an equal if not stronger force comprised of men who were not only able but also well equipped. Over the next four years this campaign would cost the British a substantial amount of resources in men, supplies and shipping.
The German east African forces officially surrendered on the 25th of November 1918 bringing the brutal campaign to a long awaited end. The losses both in life and supplies were interminable. The Allied dead numbered 60,000 of whom 50,000 were soldiers and porters from East Africa.
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