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Auction: 12002 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 444

The Extremely Rare Great War ´Battle of Lake Tanganyika´ D.S.M. Group of Four to Chief Engine Room Artificer H. Berry, Royal Naval Reserve, of H.M.S. Fifi, the First German Warship to be Captured During The Great War a) Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R. (E.A. 1483 H. Berry. E.R.A. 1Cl. L. Tanganyika. 19. Feb. 1916.), surname and initial officially corrected b) 1914-15 Star (E.A. 1483, H. Berry, E.R.A., R.N.R.) c) British War and Victory Medals (1483 E.A. H. Berry. C.E.R.A. R.N.R.), good very fine, with the following related items: - Copy of the London Gazette, 14.7.1916, listing the award of the recipient´s D.S.M. - Two group photographic images of the recipient - Souvenir booklet of Bristol Officers, N.C.O.s, and Men who were awarded Decorations during the Great War, including the recipient - Congratulatory illuminated Certificate named to Chief Engineer Hubert Berry, D.S.M., R.N.R. from the Lord Mayor, Sheriff, and Citizens of Bristol, this damaged (4) Estimate £ 6,000-8,000 D.S.M. London Gazette 14.7.1916 Engine-Room Artificer, 1st Class, R.N.R., Hubert Berry, O.N.E.A. 1483. Battle of Lake Tanganyika At the outbreak of the Great War, Germany´s most valuable colony in Africa, German East Africa, was surrounded by British, Belgian and Portuguese possessions. Almost the entire western border with the Belgian Congo was defined by Lake Tanganyika, 20-40 miles wide and 420 miles long running north to south. If Germany was to hold on to its colony it had to control Lake Tanganyika, as whoever controlled the Lake controlled the border. Control of the Lake would enable the Germans to conduct raids at any point, transport troops by ship quickly to any part of the Lake, and interdict any similar act by its enemies. The Germans lost no time in establishing their dominance of the Lake. Their aim was to eliminate every other vessel on the Lake. By November 1914 their task was complete, and they now had the only two working steamers on the Lake, the Hedwig von Wissmann and the Kingani, with a third, the Graf von Goetzen, under construction, and were thus the undisputed masters. They used this naval power to conduct surprise raids and attacks on Belgian and British territories, and conducted regular patrols to ensure that there was no developing threat to their dominance. In April 1915, a scheme was proposed to regain control of the Lake for the British by a professional hunter and ivory poacher called John Lee, who had travelled from South Africa to submit his idea to the Admiralty. Lee was an old Africa hand, having been a scout in the Boer War. He pointed out that, although the Germans had only two armed vessels on the Lake, it was two more than the Royal Navy had, and if they could be eliminated, it would enable the land forces to move more freely, alter the balance of power in the region, and make defeat of the Germans more probable. His proposal was to send out from England two motor-boats of a speed and armament which would outclass those of the German vessels. Lee, knowing the region very well, had thoroughly worked out his plan beforehand, including the route to be taken overland and the means required to achieve it. After consulting with the Belgians, Admiral Sir Henry Jackson, with the comment "It is both the duty and the tradition of the Royal Navy to engage the enemy wherever there is water to float a ship", approved the plan, and two suitable boats were found. They were forty foot Thorneycroft twin engine motor boats, originally destined as seaplane tenders for the Greek Air Force. They were both fitted with a 3 pounder Hotchiss gun on the foredeck and a Maxim in the stern. Lee was enrolled into the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as a Lieutenant. A further four officers and twenty four ratings volunteered for the party, now officially called The Naval Africa Expedition. An advance detachment under Lee was sent ahead to prepare the route. The rest of the Expedition with its two boats, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson, R.N., departed London aboard the Llanstephen Castle, 15.6.1915 for the 6,000 mile voyage to Cape Town. The total length of its journey from Britain to Lake Tanganyika would be over 9,000 miles, taking five months. Arriving at Cape Town, the two boats, which Spicer-Simson had named Mimi and Toutou, were taken 2,300 miles by railway to the rail-head at Fungurume, north of Elizabethville in the Belgian Congo. The next stage, 150 miles overland to Sankisia, was the most difficult through country varying in altitude from 2,000 to 6,000 feet over the Mitumba Mountains. Lee´s advance party had been preparing the way. A track needed to be cut through the bush and many bridges needed to be built to cross the 140 rivers and gorges in their way, and a large number of native helpers and oxen were recruited. In addition to the boats and their special trailers, there were fifty tons of supplies to transport. To help them haul the boats on their trailers, Lee had arranged for two traction engines from Southern Rhodesia to meet them at the Fungurume rail head. They were to haul the boats on their trailers for this part of the route. Managing only a few miles each day, the journey took over a month. From Sankisia they were taken by narrow gauge railway 15 miles to Bukama, from where they were floated 400 miles down the Lualaba River to Kabalo under their own power for part of the journey, and for the rest of the way on lighters. Because it was the dry season, the water level was low and barrels had to be lashed under the boats to reduce their draught. The final stage of the journey was 175 miles by rail from Kabalo to the small Belgian harbour of Lukuga on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika. Spicer-Simson decided the Belgian harbour, at the mouth of the river Lukuga, was in an unsuitable position, and started to build another one a little distance away. On the 23rd December 1915 the boats were successfully launched on the Lake. Three days later they were in action. Capture of the Kingani The first action took place on Sunday 26th December 1915. At 09.00, while the Expedition members were attending divine service, the German gunboat Kingani was seen about seven miles from Lukuga steaming south west, and reported to Spicer-Simson who, waiting until the service was over, ordered Mimi and Toutou to give chase. Waiting until the Kingani had passed them, they attacked from the northwest. The Kingani continued on her way and probably mistook the two motor boats for local fishing boats. It was not until they were close enough to see their white ensigns and guns did the Kingani realise the danger and turned away 90 degrees to port, then another 90 degrees to the north east to bring her forward gun to bear. With her superior speed, Mimi soon had the Kingani within her range. Attacking her from astern, she fired her 3-pounder Hotchkiss. Toutou came within range soon after and attacked the Kingani from the port quarter. The Kingani was only able to bring her superior gun to bear by tacking from side to side, but was unable to hit either of the British boats due to their speed and manoeuvrability. Eventually the end to this one sided engagement came when a shot hit the Kingani´s gun-shield, killing the two men at the gun and the Captain. After a few more shots the remainder of the crew surrendered, and the damaged Kingani was towed into harbour in a sinking condition. From the first shot, the action had lasted just eleven minutes. The Kingani was soon repaired and renamed H.M.S. Fifi. She was the first German warship to be captured and transferred to the Royal Navy. Her 6-pounder forward gun was moved aft, and a 12-pounder gun was mounted forward. With this latest addition to the British flotilla, its firepower was substantially increased. Action with the Hedwig von Wissmann On the 9th February 1916, the Hedwig von Wissmann was spotted following a similar course to the Kingani, in an apparent attempt to find out what had become of her. Fifi and Mimi were launched, and started the pursuit. The enemy, seeing the two boats, initially turned to engage them, then thinking better of it, turned about and attempted to outrun them. Fifi could only manage 7 knots to the Hedwig von Wissmann´s 8 knots, and so was falling behind and unable to close the range. Mimi being faster quickly closed to within range and opened fire. The Hedwig von Wissmann could not outrun Mimi but could outgun her if the forward gun could be brought to bear. But Mimi kept astern of her and out of range of her aft gun, causing the Hedwig bon Wissmann to keep tacking from side to side, and sometimes coming about in order to fire her heavier forward gun, but Mimi, thanks to her superior speed, was able to avoid all her shots. All these manoeuvrings delayed the Hedwig von Wissmann until Fifi could catch up. This running fight lasted for three hours during which the Fifi, thanks to Mimi continually snapping at the Hedwig von Wissmann´s heels, eventually closed the range and opened fire with her 12 pounder. The initial shots missed, but Fifi kept firing until she obtained a hit on the Hedwig von Wissmann´s hull causing some flooding. Down to her last few shells, Fifi obtained a hit in the Hedwig von Wissmann´s boiler bringing her to a standstill, and starting fires which soon spread. Her captain ordered her to be scuttled and the crew to abandon ship. A flag locker seen amongst the floating debris was retrieved by Mimi and was found to contain a German Naval Ensign, the first one captured in the Great War. Following the sinking of the Hedwig von Wissmann a stalemate now developed on the Lake with the newly completed Graf von Goetzen unwilling to leave port and Spicer-Simson unable to attack such a large ship with such superior armament. With the naval stalemate, events on land overtook events on the Lake, and in mid-July the railway to Dar-es-Salaam was captured, cutting Kigoma off. The Graf von Goetzen, too valuable to fall into enemy hands, was scuttled, and the naval battle for the Lake was over. For his gallantry in running the engines of Mimi in terrible heat and without a stoker, Berry was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, one of only four D.S.M.s awarded specifically for one of the two actions on the Lake, as opposed to the expedition as a whole, and later promoted to Chief Engine Room Artificer. His Commanding Officer, Spicer-Simson, was awarded the D.S.O. ´in recognition of his services in command of an Allied flotilla on Lake Tanganyika on the 9th February, 1916, when, after a chase and running fight lasting three and a quarter hours, he sank the German gunboat "Hedwig von Wissmann." As a contemporary writer wrote: ´No single achievement during World War One was distinguished by more bizarre features than the successfully executed undertaking of twenty eight daring men who transported a "ready-made" navy overland through the wilds of Africa to destroy an enemy flotilla on Lake Tanganyika.´

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£11,000