WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.649 Imagine you are overseeing a massive, highly 00:00:03.649 --> 00:00:07.230 anticipated military operation. You've got overwhelming 00:00:07.230 --> 00:00:10.710 numbers, superior firepower, and a clear, seemingly 00:00:10.710 --> 00:00:13.210 simple objective. Right. On paper, the odds are 00:00:13.210 --> 00:00:15.609 entirely in your favor. It's a sure thing. Exactly. 00:00:15.890 --> 00:00:17.710 But then, you know, the reality of the ground 00:00:17.710 --> 00:00:20.469 hits and absolutely everything goes disastrously 00:00:20.469 --> 00:00:22.649 wrong. Oh, completely wrong. And it doesn't just 00:00:22.649 --> 00:00:25.089 go wrong because of standard battlefield tactics 00:00:25.089 --> 00:00:27.929 or bad weather. It falls apart due to a phantom 00:00:27.929 --> 00:00:30.969 threat that completely doesn't exist. remarkably 00:00:30.969 --> 00:00:33.810 polite warning given to the enemy and, well, 00:00:33.909 --> 00:00:36.409 an incredibly angry swarm of bees. It sounds 00:00:36.409 --> 00:00:38.070 totally absurd when you list it out like that. 00:00:38.229 --> 00:00:40.070 It really does. If you think that sounds like 00:00:40.070 --> 00:00:42.990 the plot of a surreal over -the -top comedy film, 00:00:43.130 --> 00:00:45.090 you are not alone. No, you're definitely not. 00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:48.200 But today, we are taking you straight into the 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:51.079 heart of a very real, very chaotic historical 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:54.100 event where truth totally eclipses fiction. It 00:00:54.100 --> 00:00:56.579 truly is one of those moments in history where 00:00:56.579 --> 00:01:00.960 the sheer cascade of improbable compounding errors 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:05.609 is staggering when you lay it all out. It's really 00:01:05.609 --> 00:01:09.450 a masterclass in how rigid thinking can completely 00:01:09.450 --> 00:01:12.469 dismantle a superior force. I am so ready to 00:01:12.469 --> 00:01:15.290 get into this. Our mission for you today is to 00:01:15.290 --> 00:01:18.049 explore the Battle of Tunga. Though honestly, 00:01:18.049 --> 00:01:20.090 you might know it by its much more descriptive 00:01:20.090 --> 00:01:22.930 and frankly wild nickname. The Battle of the 00:01:22.930 --> 00:01:25.329 Bees. The Battle of the Bees. This all took place 00:01:25.329 --> 00:01:28.769 from November 3rd to the 5th in 1914, right during 00:01:28.769 --> 00:01:31.230 the East African campaign of World War I. Right 00:01:31.230 --> 00:01:33.170 at the start of the conflict, really. Yeah. And 00:01:33.170 --> 00:01:36.370 for today's deep dive we've distilled a comprehensive 00:01:36.370 --> 00:01:39.290 Wikipedia article detailing the battle to really 00:01:39.290 --> 00:01:41.849 look at the numbers the mind -boggling blunders 00:01:41.849 --> 00:01:44.189 and those bizarre natural interventions that 00:01:44.189 --> 00:01:46.530 turned a sure victory into a complete route. 00:01:46.629 --> 00:01:49.349 Okay let's unpack this. Well to really understand 00:01:49.349 --> 00:01:51.469 how this disaster unfolded you kind of have to 00:01:51.469 --> 00:01:53.870 picture the setting. Set the scene for us. We're 00:01:53.870 --> 00:01:56.049 looking at Tonga which was a bustling port city 00:01:56.049 --> 00:01:59.810 in German East Africa. Today that area is in 00:01:59.810 --> 00:02:02.959 modern -day Tanzania. And it's situated just 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:06.319 about 80 kilometers or roughly 50 miles from 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:09.219 the border of what was then British East Africa. 00:02:09.620 --> 00:02:12.360 Which is modern day Kenya. Exactly. So it's right 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:14.840 on the doorstep. A really strategic location 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:17.560 then. Extremely strategic. But it wasn't just 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:20.900 any port. It was the ocean terminal for the Zambora 00:02:20.900 --> 00:02:24.759 Railway. Ah, railways in wartime. Always the 00:02:24.759 --> 00:02:27.840 main target. Always. This railway ran straight 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:31.370 from Tainga all the way inland to Noemoshi. right 00:02:31.370 --> 00:02:34.069 at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. Wow, so it 00:02:34.069 --> 00:02:37.169 goes deep inland. Yes. If you control Tanga, 00:02:37.210 --> 00:02:39.289 you control the literal engine moving troops, 00:02:39.469 --> 00:02:42.090 weapons, and supplies straight into the interior 00:02:42.090 --> 00:02:44.650 of the territory. Which means the British absolutely 00:02:44.650 --> 00:02:46.849 needed that control to choke out the opposition. 00:02:47.069 --> 00:02:48.889 They did. It was vital. Now we know the British 00:02:48.889 --> 00:02:51.490 came in with overwhelming numbers to secure this 00:02:51.490 --> 00:02:54.689 port. Just how lopsided was this initial matchup? 00:02:54.770 --> 00:02:57.550 It was staggeringly lopsided. The British Empire 00:02:57.550 --> 00:03:00.469 brought in an invasion force of between 8 ,000 00:03:00.469 --> 00:03:03.270 and 9 ,000 troops. 8 to 9 ,000? Yeah, primarily 00:03:03.270 --> 00:03:06.280 the Indian Expeditionary Force B. This was commanded 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:08.539 by Major General Arthur Aitken. And they didn't 00:03:08.539 --> 00:03:10.639 just march across the border, did they? No, they 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:12.699 didn't just walk there. They arrived off the 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:15.960 coast in a massive convoy. How massive? We are 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:19.599 talking 14 separate troop transports, all of 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:22.360 them escorted by a heavily armed cruiser, the 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:26.259 HMS Fox. 14 transports and a warship for one 00:03:26.259 --> 00:03:29.180 port. Just for Tonga. And what were the Germans 00:03:29.180 --> 00:03:31.719 working with on the ground at that exact moment? 00:03:32.020 --> 00:03:34.659 The initial defending force inside Tonga was 00:03:34.659 --> 00:03:38.280 just 250 men. 250, that's it. That's it. That 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:40.939 consisted of German officers and Askaris. Let 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:42.340 me just pause you there because we want to make 00:03:42.340 --> 00:03:44.620 sure everyone is on the same page. For those 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:46.620 who might not be familiar with the military makeup 00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:50.120 of the time, Askaris were local African soldiers 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:52.300 serving in the European colonial armies, right? 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:55.330 Exactly right. They were local African troops 00:03:55.330 --> 00:03:58.169 trained and commanded by the colonial powers. 00:03:58.469 --> 00:04:01.030 Got it. So you have this initial force of just 00:04:01.030 --> 00:04:04.289 250 of these men, eventually reinforced to about 00:04:04.289 --> 00:04:07.430 1 ,000. They were commanded by Lieutenant Colonel 00:04:07.430 --> 00:04:10.830 Paul von Letovorbeck and his second -in -command, 00:04:11.189 --> 00:04:13.729 former German East Africa company Captain Tom 00:04:13.729 --> 00:04:17.310 von Prinz. Okay, my math isn't perfect, but 9 00:04:17.310 --> 00:04:20.750 ,000 troops backed by a warship against 250 guys. 00:04:21.149 --> 00:04:24.040 It's quite the ratio. How does a force that massive 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:26.560 fail? They could have basically walked off the 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:28.819 boats and just occupied the town. They could 00:04:28.819 --> 00:04:31.500 have. And they really should have. But it starts 00:04:31.500 --> 00:04:34.339 with an incredibly strange change of plans. What 00:04:34.339 --> 00:04:36.860 happened? Originally, the Royal Navy was supposed 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:40.160 to simply sit off the coast and bombard Tonga 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.379 into submission. Which makes tactical sense. 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:44.829 It does. But there was a neutrality agreement 00:04:44.829 --> 00:04:47.230 in place that guaranteed the safety of the capital, 00:04:47.670 --> 00:04:50.589 Dar es Salaam, and Tonga. Oh, I see. This accord 00:04:50.589 --> 00:04:52.850 ended up being modified though. And the British 00:04:52.850 --> 00:04:55.870 commanders decided it was, well, only fair to 00:04:55.870 --> 00:04:58.410 warn the Germans that the deal was off before 00:04:58.410 --> 00:05:00.589 they launched an amphibious assault. Wait, hold 00:05:00.589 --> 00:05:02.629 on. You're telling me they essentially knocked 00:05:02.629 --> 00:05:04.750 on the door and said, excuse me, we are about 00:05:04.750 --> 00:05:08.000 to invade you? Yes. They actually did that. That 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:10.860 sounds insane for a global war. This isn't just 00:05:10.860 --> 00:05:14.360 a quirky mistake. It's a perfect snapshot of 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:17.560 a massive military transition during this era. 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:20.860 What you mean? You have 19th century gentlemanly 00:05:20.860 --> 00:05:24.399 warfare colliding head on with the brutal mechanized 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:28.379 reality of 20th century global conflict. The 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:31.600 British were fighting a modern war using obsolete 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:34.420 manners. That context makes it so much clearer, 00:05:34.420 --> 00:05:36.860 but it doesn't make it any less baffling to hear. 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:40.329 I know. Because on November 2nd, 1914, Captain 00:05:40.329 --> 00:05:43.129 Francis Wade Caulfield of the HMS Fox arrives 00:05:43.129 --> 00:05:45.970 at Tonga. He actually goes ashore and literally 00:05:45.970 --> 00:05:48.410 gives the city a one -hour ultimatum to surrender 00:05:48.410 --> 00:05:50.389 and take down the flag of the German Empire. 00:05:50.490 --> 00:05:53.329 One single hour. One hour. But before he leaves 00:05:53.329 --> 00:05:55.930 to go back to his ship, he asks the Germans a 00:05:55.930 --> 00:05:58.230 question that sets the entire disaster in motion. 00:05:58.470 --> 00:06:01.250 He politely asks them if the harbor is mined. 00:06:01.290 --> 00:06:03.029 Which is an incredible thing to just ask your 00:06:03.029 --> 00:06:05.370 enemy outright. Right. And to be clear, it wasn't. 00:06:05.389 --> 00:06:07.230 There were absolutely no sea mines in the harbor. 00:06:07.449 --> 00:06:10.170 None at all. But the Germans, who must have been 00:06:10.170 --> 00:06:12.610 unable to believe their luck, assure him that 00:06:12.610 --> 00:06:15.550 yes, absolutely, the harbor is completely full 00:06:15.550 --> 00:06:18.230 of deadly mines. What's fascinating here is how 00:06:18.230 --> 00:06:21.269 this single bluff completely unravels the British 00:06:21.269 --> 00:06:24.189 timeline. It totally breaks their momentum. Exactly. 00:06:24.790 --> 00:06:27.129 Captain Caulfield waits his three hours. The 00:06:27.129 --> 00:06:30.069 German Empire flag stays firmly flying over Tonga. 00:06:30.610 --> 00:06:34.009 No surrender. Of course not. So Caulfield leaves 00:06:34.009 --> 00:06:37.790 to fetch the 14 troop transports. But because 00:06:37.790 --> 00:06:40.430 he bought the bluff about the mine's hook, line, 00:06:40.589 --> 00:06:43.750 and thinker, he spends November 2nd and a huge 00:06:43.750 --> 00:06:46.430 chunk of November 3rd sweeping the harbor for 00:06:46.430 --> 00:06:49.050 nonexistent mines. He's clearing an empty harbor? 00:06:49.250 --> 00:06:52.069 Yes. He is diligently clearing a completely safe 00:06:52.069 --> 00:06:54.899 harbor while the clock is ticking. 36 hours of 00:06:54.899 --> 00:06:57.379 chasing ghosts in the water. That delay had to 00:06:57.379 --> 00:06:59.839 be the death knell for the invasion. It absolutely 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:02.160 was. That delay gave Lieutenant Colonel Paul 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:04.379 von Lettow -Vorbeck the one thing he desperately 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:06.980 needed. Time. Time. Because remember that railway 00:07:06.980 --> 00:07:09.620 we mentioned? The Uzambara Railway running inland 00:07:09.620 --> 00:07:11.560 to Nomoshi. Right. The one the British wanted 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:14.860 to control. Lettow -Vorbeck used this exact window 00:07:14.860 --> 00:07:18.740 of time to rush to Tonga and Ferry in his reinforcements 00:07:18.740 --> 00:07:21.920 by train. Oh, man. He was able to boost his defenses 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.720 from a single company. to six companies, bringing 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:27.600 his numbers up to that 1 ,000 mark. They practically 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:30.199 gave the enemy their itinerary so they could 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:32.360 catch the train to the battlefield. They really 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:35.199 did. OK. So Caulfield finally finishes sweeping 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:37.879 for the imaginary mines. And on November 3rd, 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:41.339 the British finally march. Major General Aitken 00:07:41.339 --> 00:07:43.740 starts landing troops and supplies. Finally. 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:46.519 They land in two groups, one right at the harbor, 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:48.860 and another about three miles east of the city 00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:51.660 on a completely mine -free beach. And at first, 00:07:51.819 --> 00:07:54.040 it's totally unopposed. Right. By the evening 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:56.680 of November 3rd, almost all of the British forces 00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:59.360 are ashore. The records note the only exceptions 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:01.899 were the 27th Mountain Battery and the fared 00:08:01.899 --> 00:08:03.819 -cott sappers. And just to clarify those terms 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:06.120 for you listening, the 27th Mountain Battery 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:08.399 refers to light artillery units that can be broken 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:11.160 down and carried over rough terrain. Usually 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:14.040 by pack animals. And the sappers. The faredcott 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:17.079 sappers were essentially combat engineers. The 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:19.939 guys who build bridges, clear obstacles, and 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:23.360 handle explosives. Got it. Crucial units to leave 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:26.939 on the boats, honestly. Very bad planning. So 00:08:26.939 --> 00:08:29.199 Caulfield's delay is over. The troops are mostly 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:32.059 on land. That brings us to noon on November 4th. 00:08:32.220 --> 00:08:34.460 Aitken orders his troops to officially march 00:08:34.460 --> 00:08:37.080 on the city. But walking into Tonga isn't the 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:40.269 parade they expected, is it? Not at all. Leto 00:08:40.269 --> 00:08:42.870 Vorbeck's defenders were incredibly well concealed, 00:08:43.070 --> 00:08:45.169 and they immediately began breaking up the British 00:08:45.169 --> 00:08:47.789 advance. The fighting really fractured into two 00:08:47.789 --> 00:08:49.970 distinct nightmares for the British. How so? 00:08:50.269 --> 00:08:52.269 Well, for the Harbor Force, it became bitter, 00:08:52.669 --> 00:08:55.029 brutal street fighting. But for the Southern 00:08:55.029 --> 00:08:57.870 contingent, it turned into confusing, terrifying 00:08:57.870 --> 00:09:01.259 skirmishes amidst dense plantations. If you are 00:09:01.259 --> 00:09:03.000 trying to picture this at home, imagine being 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:05.600 an untested soldier walking into a sweltering 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:08.320 coconut and palm oil plantation. It's incredibly 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:10.659 thick vegetation. The vegetation is so incredibly 00:09:10.659 --> 00:09:12.879 dense, you can barely see your allies 10 feet 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:15.200 away from you, let alone the enemy firing at 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:17.639 you. That kind of isolation instantly breeds 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:20.799 panic. It's an environment that completely nullifies 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:23.000 the advantage of sheer numbers. Yeah, you can't 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:25.039 use 9 ,000 men if they can't see each other. 00:09:25.159 --> 00:09:28.399 Exactly. But to be fair, it wasn't a total failure 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:32.529 immediately. The Cashmere Rifles and the 2nd 00:09:32.529 --> 00:09:34.669 Loyal North Lancashire Regiment actually made 00:09:34.669 --> 00:09:37.470 very good progress initially. They did push forward. 00:09:37.730 --> 00:09:40.450 They managed to push through the chaos into the 00:09:40.450 --> 00:09:42.629 town itself. They captured the Customs House, 00:09:42.830 --> 00:09:44.950 they took the Hotel Deutscher Kaiser, and they 00:09:44.950 --> 00:09:47.570 even managed to run up the Union Jack. So for 00:09:47.570 --> 00:09:49.490 a brief moment it looked like they were actually 00:09:49.490 --> 00:09:51.690 going to pull it off. It did look hopeful. But 00:09:51.690 --> 00:09:54.409 then the momentum just completely hits a brick 00:09:54.409 --> 00:09:58.919 wall. The advance stops. Why did the lines suddenly 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:01.179 collapse? A lot of it came down to a massive 00:10:01.179 --> 00:10:05.120 disparity in training, cohesion, and morale among 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:07.379 the different units making up that expeditionary 00:10:07.379 --> 00:10:09.440 force. Right, they weren't all seasoned veterans. 00:10:09.740 --> 00:10:12.539 Far from it. When you are fighting in isolating, 00:10:12.840 --> 00:10:15.679 confusing terrain, unit cohesion is everything. 00:10:16.620 --> 00:10:19.480 The less well -trained and equipped Indian battalions, 00:10:19.820 --> 00:10:22.419 specifically Richard Wabsher's 27th Bangalore 00:10:22.419 --> 00:10:25.179 Brigade, they just scattered. They broke ranks 00:10:25.179 --> 00:10:28.059 entirely. They were overwhelmed by the invisible 00:10:28.059 --> 00:10:30.320 fire from the plantations and they literally 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:33.240 ran away from the battle. And as we know, panic 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:35.799 is highly contagious on a battlefield. Highly 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:38.679 contagious. The accounts show that the 13th Rajputs 00:10:38.679 --> 00:10:41.200 failed to play any significant role in the fight 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:44.539 simply because their morale completely collapsed 00:10:44.539 --> 00:10:47.639 just from watching another unit, the 63rd Pelham 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:50.840 Cotillite Infantry, retreat. The psychological 00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:53.879 aspect of warfare is vividly on display here. 00:10:54.120 --> 00:10:56.799 Seeing your own guys run is demoralizing. When 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:58.899 troops see their flanks collapsing and their 00:10:58.899 --> 00:11:01.059 allies running, especially when they are already 00:11:01.059 --> 00:11:04.379 disoriented, order vanishes very quickly. And 00:11:04.379 --> 00:11:06.019 just when you think the situation couldn't get 00:11:06.019 --> 00:11:07.940 any more chaotic or the terrain couldn't get 00:11:07.940 --> 00:11:10.799 any more hostile for the British forces. Nature 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:13.539 decides to intervene. Yes, the infamous intervention. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:15.860 Because this is where the 98th Infantry steps 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:18.659 into the picture, or rather, steps into a nightmare. 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:22.139 They are suddenly and violently attacked by massive 00:11:22.139 --> 00:11:25.299 swarms of angry bees. And not just a few bees. 00:11:25.559 --> 00:11:28.840 We're talking about aggressive, territorial swarms 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:31.039 native to the region. Why were they so aggressive 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:33.980 right then? They had been intensely agitated 00:11:33.980 --> 00:11:36.759 by the deafening sounds of machine gun fire and 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:38.580 artillery tearing through the plantations. The 00:11:38.580 --> 00:11:41.330 bee attacks are so severe that the 98th infantry 00:11:41.330 --> 00:11:44.190 lines completely break up. Men who were just 00:11:44.190 --> 00:11:46.450 holding the line against rifle fire drop their 00:11:46.450 --> 00:11:48.309 weapons and scatter. They just couldn't take 00:11:48.309 --> 00:11:50.149 it. Here's where it gets really interesting. 00:11:50.649 --> 00:11:53.350 The B's didn't pick a side. No, they did not. 00:11:53.470 --> 00:11:55.889 They attacked the Germans as well. The sheer 00:11:55.889 --> 00:11:58.389 volume and aggression of these swarms is exactly 00:11:58.389 --> 00:12:00.649 what gave this engagement its famous nickname, 00:12:01.110 --> 00:12:03.850 the Battle of the Bees. It's just wild. Let me 00:12:03.850 --> 00:12:05.889 get this straight. You have massive artillery, 00:12:06.169 --> 00:12:09.049 machine guns, a warship off the coast, and the 00:12:09.049 --> 00:12:11.450 deciding factor that shatters the infantry lines 00:12:11.450 --> 00:12:16.049 is an angry swarm of local bees. You cannot write 00:12:16.049 --> 00:12:18.250 a comedy script better than this. It is deeply 00:12:18.250 --> 00:12:20.789 absurd. And as researchers, it's important we 00:12:20.789 --> 00:12:23.450 pause here to look at how this event was processed. 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:26.120 after the fact. Because the British had to explain 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:28.500 this somehow. Exactly. The British military had 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:31.460 to explain this monumental, embarrassing disaster 00:12:31.460 --> 00:12:33.840 to the public back home. And they couldn't just 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.580 say, well, we were chased off by insects. Right. 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:39.440 And we want to be completely impartial in how 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:42.039 we relay this, simply outlining the propaganda 00:12:42.039 --> 00:12:44.480 of the era as presented in the historical account. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:47.019 Yes. Strictly sticking to the sources. So without 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:49.279 taking sides on the politics of the time, how 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:52.299 did they spin it? To excuse the collapse of their 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:55.100 lines, British propaganda later spun the bee 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:58.279 attacks into what they officially called a fiendish 00:12:58.279 --> 00:13:01.559 German plot. A fiendish German plot. The military 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:04.659 spin was that the Germans had brilliantly and 00:13:04.659 --> 00:13:08.620 maliciously set up hidden tripwires in the plantations 00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:11.639 specifically designed to agitate the beehives 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:14.529 as the British troops walked through. Booby -tracked 00:13:14.529 --> 00:13:16.409 bees? That was the official story. I mean, when 00:13:16.409 --> 00:13:18.870 you have 9 ,000 men running away from 1 ,000 00:13:18.870 --> 00:13:20.870 men, you are going to blame whatever you can 00:13:20.870 --> 00:13:23.250 to save face. It was a very convenient narrative. 00:13:23.389 --> 00:13:25.330 And while the bees were causing absolute mayhem 00:13:25.330 --> 00:13:28.350 and stinging everyone in sight, the actual human 00:13:28.350 --> 00:13:30.009 reinforcements for the Germans were arriving, 00:13:30.230 --> 00:13:33.429 right? That's right. Leto Vorbeck throws in everything 00:13:33.429 --> 00:13:36.070 he has left. He brings in his volunteer rifle 00:13:36.070 --> 00:13:38.750 companies, the 7th and 8th Schützen Company. 00:13:38.909 --> 00:13:42.289 They came by train. Yes. They arrived by railway. 00:13:42.519 --> 00:13:45.740 to stiffen the hard -pressed Ascari lines. There's 00:13:45.740 --> 00:13:47.860 a slight bit of irony here, too. What's that? 00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:50.679 Well, the 8th Schutzen Company was normally a 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:53.419 manned cavalry unit. But in their rush to get 00:13:53.419 --> 00:13:56.000 on the train from Noy Moshi, they had to leave 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:58.860 all their horses behind. So they showed up as 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:00.759 infantry whether they liked it or not. Exactly. 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:03.549 And they arrived just in time. By the late afternoon 00:14:03.549 --> 00:14:06.850 of November 4th, Lett Alvorbeck realizes this 00:14:06.850 --> 00:14:09.070 is the moment to turn the tide entirely. Time 00:14:09.070 --> 00:14:11.269 to go on the offensive. This wasn't a coordinated, 00:14:11.490 --> 00:14:14.230 polite maneuver. This was a desperate, loud, 00:14:14.409 --> 00:14:18.049 final push. He orders his very last reserves, 00:14:18.669 --> 00:14:21.710 the 13th and 4th Ascari Felt Company. And the 00:14:21.710 --> 00:14:23.750 4th had just gotten there, right? Literally just 00:14:23.750 --> 00:14:26.639 stepped off the train in Tonga. He orders them 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:29.139 to envelop the British flank and rear. He orders 00:14:29.139 --> 00:14:31.940 bayonet attacks along the entire front. And they 00:14:31.940 --> 00:14:34.340 advance to the sound of bugle calls and piercing 00:14:34.340 --> 00:14:37.440 tribal war cries. The psychological impact of 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:39.320 hearing that coming toward you through the dense 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:41.759 sweltering brush while half your army is already 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:43.860 running away must have been terrifying. Completely 00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:46.299 demoralizing. The historical records describe 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:48.679 the British retreat degenerating into a total 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:52.120 rout. All semblance of order just vanishes. It 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:54.419 was every man for himself. It's reported that 00:14:54.419 --> 00:14:57.399 at least three entire battalions of the Imperial 00:14:57.399 --> 00:14:59.379 Service Brigade would have been wiped out to 00:14:59.379 --> 00:15:01.779 a man if they hadn't simply turned on their heels 00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:04.539 and ran for their lives. But amidst all this 00:15:04.539 --> 00:15:07.860 routing and retreating, the battle produces one... 00:15:07.820 --> 00:15:11.700 final staggering blunder. Another one. And this 00:15:11.700 --> 00:15:14.179 time it was entirely on the German side. Remember 00:15:14.179 --> 00:15:16.980 even with their reinforcements the Germans were 00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:19.679 still outnumbered nearly eight to one. Right. 00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:21.960 Caution suddenly overtook some of the German 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:25.460 officers. As night fell Through a series of errors 00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:28.220 by their buglers and a catastrophic misunderstanding 00:15:28.220 --> 00:15:30.700 by an officer regarding orders to disengage and 00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:33.740 consolidate, the Ascari forces actually withdrew. 00:15:33.860 --> 00:15:36.159 Wait, hold on. You're telling me they successfully 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:38.620 defended the city against an army eight times 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:41.580 their size, pushed them to the brink, and then 00:15:41.580 --> 00:15:43.539 just walked away? They walked right out of the 00:15:43.539 --> 00:15:46.700 city. How does a miscommunication that catastrophic 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:49.799 even happen? It was the fog of war at its peak. 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:52.639 They pulled back to a camp several miles west 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:55.830 of Tonga. Several miles. As soon as Leto Vorbeck 00:15:55.830 --> 00:15:58.690 learned of this unauthorized withdrawal, he was 00:15:58.690 --> 00:16:01.730 furious. He immediately countermanded the move 00:16:01.730 --> 00:16:04.309 and ordered his troops to redeploy back to the 00:16:04.309 --> 00:16:07.029 city. But they were already miles away. Exactly. 00:16:07.370 --> 00:16:09.289 And moving scattered troops in the pitch dark 00:16:09.289 --> 00:16:12.289 takes time. That redeployment wasn't completed 00:16:12.289 --> 00:16:14.889 until the early morning, which means for nearly 00:16:14.889 --> 00:16:17.490 the entire night before the sun rose on November 00:16:17.490 --> 00:16:20.809 5th, the city of Tonga was completely entirely 00:16:20.809 --> 00:16:24.500 empty. Tonga was Atkins for the taking. He still 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:27.220 had a massive army. The enemy had literally walked 00:16:27.220 --> 00:16:30.220 away due to a bugle error, and the city was just 00:16:30.220 --> 00:16:32.100 sitting there vacant. Completely vacant. And 00:16:32.100 --> 00:16:34.220 the British had absolutely no idea they were 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:36.600 so busy fleeing and panicking back to the beaches 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:38.700 that they missed the fact that they had actually 00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:40.700 won the real estate for the night. That is the 00:16:40.700 --> 00:16:43.080 most stupendous irony of this entire engagement. 00:16:43.370 --> 00:16:47.169 It is a profound tragedy of errors. If the British 00:16:47.169 --> 00:16:50.049 command had maintained any reconnaissance, any 00:16:50.049 --> 00:16:53.549 scouts, or even basic unit cohesion, they would 00:16:53.549 --> 00:16:55.389 have walked right into their objective without 00:16:55.389 --> 00:16:58.210 firing a shot. Strolled right in. Instead, they 00:16:58.210 --> 00:17:00.350 spent the night scrambling in terror back to 00:17:00.350 --> 00:17:03.190 their boats. So what does this all mean? When 00:17:03.190 --> 00:17:05.529 the sun comes up, the dust settles, and the bees 00:17:05.529 --> 00:17:08.839 finally calm down, What is the actual fallout 00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:11.700 of this chaotic few days? The immediate fallout 00:17:11.700 --> 00:17:15.039 is a furious and completely frustrated Major 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:17.119 General Aitken ordering a general withdrawal. 00:17:17.400 --> 00:17:19.920 They give up entirely. The British evacuation 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:22.400 back to their transport ships lasted well into 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:24.549 the night. And because it was such a panicked 00:17:24.549 --> 00:17:27.190 route, the attacking troops didn't pack up. They 00:17:27.190 --> 00:17:29.329 left behind nearly all of their equipment on 00:17:29.329 --> 00:17:31.750 the beaches and scattered throughout the plantations. 00:17:32.250 --> 00:17:34.529 The amount of booty that Leto Vorbeck captured 00:17:34.529 --> 00:17:37.089 is jaw -dropping. He essentially got a massive 00:17:37.089 --> 00:17:39.470 free resupply drop from the British Empire. It 00:17:39.470 --> 00:17:41.609 was a treasure trove. Let me read you this list. 00:17:41.849 --> 00:17:44.250 They captured enough modern rifles to completely 00:17:44.250 --> 00:17:47.589 rearm three entire Ascari companies. They seized 00:17:47.589 --> 00:17:50.730 600 ,000 rounds of ammunition. That number is 00:17:50.730 --> 00:17:54.569 just hard to fathom. Think about the physical 00:17:54.569 --> 00:17:59.230 space that takes up. Plus 16 machine guns, highly 00:17:59.230 --> 00:18:02.009 valuable field telephones, and enough tents, 00:18:02.390 --> 00:18:05.849 blankets, rations, and clothing to last the German 00:18:05.849 --> 00:18:09.029 colonial forces for an entire year. We cannot 00:18:09.029 --> 00:18:11.410 overstate the strategic importance of that captured 00:18:11.410 --> 00:18:14.549 equipment. Those rifles, that mountain of ammunition, 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:17.690 and those machine guns played a major role in 00:18:17.690 --> 00:18:20.450 allowing Letov Orbeck's troops to actively resist 00:18:20.450 --> 00:18:23.150 the Allied forces for the entire rest of the 00:18:23.150 --> 00:18:26.009 world conflict. The British essentially, by running 00:18:26.009 --> 00:18:28.809 away, armed the exact enemy that would harass 00:18:28.809 --> 00:18:33.000 them for years to come. Amidst all of this monumental 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.740 military disaster, the blunder of the empty city, 00:18:35.819 --> 00:18:38.079 and the spoils of war, there was a really striking 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:40.460 moment of chivalry the next morning. It almost 00:18:40.460 --> 00:18:42.720 feels out of place. It really does. On November 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.980 5th, British intelligence officer Captain Richard 00:18:44.980 --> 00:18:47.599 Meinhardt Hagen actually enters Tonga. He goes 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:49.819 in under a white flag, and he isn't there to 00:18:49.819 --> 00:18:51.779 surrender or negotiate terms. What did he bring? 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:54.539 He brings medical supplies, and he carries a 00:18:54.539 --> 00:18:56.859 formal letter from General Aitken apologizing 00:18:56.859 --> 00:18:59.039 for the British artillery shelling the local 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:01.380 hospital during the fight. It's a poignant reminder 00:19:01.380 --> 00:19:03.819 of the human element that exists even amidst 00:19:03.819 --> 00:19:07.019 the chaos of war. It's a surreal image. Accounts 00:19:07.019 --> 00:19:09.240 note that the streets of Tonga were strewn with 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:12.119 the dead and wounded from both sides. And when 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:14.700 Meinert Hagen arrived at the hospital, he found 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:17.940 German doctors and their African orderlies working 00:19:17.940 --> 00:19:20.640 tirelessly side by side. Treating everywhere. 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:23.099 They were treating the wounded impartially, showing 00:19:23.099 --> 00:19:25.339 a fine disregard for their patients' uniforms. 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:27.660 Which brings us to the human cost of all this, 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:30.880 which was significant, especially given the completely 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.220 lopsided nature of the fight. Let's look at the 00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:35.119 casualties. The numbers are sobering. On the 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:38.900 British side, there were 360 men killed, 487 00:19:38.900 --> 00:19:42.589 wounded, and 148 missing. On the defending side, 00:19:42.690 --> 00:19:46.809 the Germans lost 16 German nationals and 55 Askaris 00:19:46.809 --> 00:19:49.670 killed, and they had a total of 76 wounded. Such 00:19:49.670 --> 00:19:51.789 a stark difference. What's wild to me is that 00:19:51.789 --> 00:19:53.869 Leto Vorbeck initially estimated the British 00:19:53.869 --> 00:19:56.829 had lost 800 men and later wrote he believed 00:19:56.829 --> 00:19:59.369 the number of British dead was more likely over 00:19:59.369 --> 00:20:02.609 2 ,000. He just couldn't logically believe an 00:20:02.609 --> 00:20:05.509 army of 9 ,000 had routed so completely without 00:20:05.509 --> 00:20:08.150 suffering massive catastrophic casualties. It 00:20:08.150 --> 00:20:11.359 didn't compute for him. Another interesting note 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:13.640 on the aftermath is how the prisoners of war 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:17.200 were handled. The Germans subsequently released 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:19.799 the British officers who had been wounded or 00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:22.960 captured during the chaos. But they did so only 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:25.900 after those officers gave their word as gentlemen 00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:29.319 not to fight again during the war. Paroling an 00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:32.420 officer based on a pinky promise is just a completely 00:20:32.420 --> 00:20:35.480 different era of warfare colliding with modern 00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:37.759 slaughter. It really is a fascinating intersection 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:40.059 of eras. If we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:20:40.339 --> 00:20:42.660 the historical consensus is crystal clear. Beaches. 00:20:42.920 --> 00:20:45.599 For Paul von Luttevorbeck, the successful defense 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:48.539 of Tango was his first major achievement, solidifying 00:20:48.539 --> 00:20:51.759 his legend and kicking off a long, deeply frustrating 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:54.720 guerrilla campaign for the allies in East Africa. 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:57.259 And for the British. For the British. It was 00:20:57.259 --> 00:21:00.410 an unmitigated disaster. It was officially recorded 00:21:00.410 --> 00:21:02.809 in the British official history of the war as 00:21:02.809 --> 00:21:05.210 one of the most notable failures in British military 00:21:05.210 --> 00:21:06.930 history. And when you lay it all out like we 00:21:06.930 --> 00:21:10.150 just did, it is so easy to see why. We are talking 00:21:10.150 --> 00:21:13.650 about a force of over 8 ,000 heavily armed troops, 00:21:14.430 --> 00:21:17.549 backed by a warship, entirely undone. Completely 00:21:17.549 --> 00:21:20.170 unraveled. They were undone by a polite bluff 00:21:20.170 --> 00:21:23.150 about harbor mines that cost them a crucial 36 00:21:23.150 --> 00:21:25.930 hours. They were undone by logistical delays 00:21:25.930 --> 00:21:28.250 that let the enemy literally take a commuter 00:21:28.250 --> 00:21:30.769 train to the battlefield. Which is just incredible. 00:21:30.970 --> 00:21:33.990 They were undone by a swarm of angry bees that 00:21:33.990 --> 00:21:36.710 shattered their front lines. And finally, they 00:21:36.710 --> 00:21:39.569 were undone by their own blind panic, which kept 00:21:39.569 --> 00:21:41.809 them from realizing the enemy had completely 00:21:41.809 --> 00:21:43.730 abandoned the city in the middle of the night. 00:21:44.490 --> 00:21:46.930 It's a sequence of events so absurd you'd be 00:21:46.930 --> 00:21:48.789 laughed out of a writer's room for pitching it. 00:21:49.029 --> 00:21:50.910 This raises an important question for you to 00:21:50.910 --> 00:21:53.390 consider long after we wrap up today's exploration. 00:21:53.549 --> 00:21:55.829 I love a good what if. Think about those spoils 00:21:55.829 --> 00:21:59.119 of war we mentioned. Those 600 ,000 rounds of 00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:02.180 ammunition and these 16 machine guns left sitting 00:22:02.180 --> 00:22:05.160 in the sand on the beach. That mountain of supplies. 00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:08.180 That equipment, abandoned in panic, sustained 00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:10.400 the German resistance in East Africa for the 00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:13.180 entire rest of the war. If the British hadn't 00:22:13.180 --> 00:22:15.920 fallen for a simple, almost polite bluff about 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:18.740 sea mines on day one, or if they had just maintained 00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:20.920 enough discipline to realize the city was completely 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:23.940 empty that single night, could the entire World 00:22:23.940 --> 00:22:26.220 War I East African campaign have ended years 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:29.089 earlier. It's a huge shift in the timeline. How 00:22:29.089 --> 00:22:31.190 many countless lives might have been spared across 00:22:31.190 --> 00:22:33.730 the continent simply because of one less hour 00:22:33.730 --> 00:22:36.680 of hesitation? That is exactly the kind of historical 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:38.819 what -if that keeps us digging into these events. 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:41.500 The ripple effects of a single misunderstood 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:44.539 bugle call or a single lie about a sea mine are 00:22:44.539 --> 00:22:47.099 just staggering. We want to warmly thank you 00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:49.180 for joining us on this custom deep dive into 00:22:49.180 --> 00:22:51.579 the Battle of Tonga. We hope it gave you your 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:53.839 aha moment for the day and brought history to 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:55.720 life without feeling like you were stuck in a 00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:58.319 lecture hall. Keep questioning the consensus. 00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:00.759 Keep looking at the bizarre details and keep 00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:03.259 seeking out those fascinating nuggets of history. 00:23:03.980 --> 00:23:05.779 right here waiting to unpack the next one with 00:23:05.779 --> 00:23:05.940 you.