| Battle of Waterberg | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theHerero Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 German Empire | Herero | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Lieutenant GeneralLothar von Trotha | Samuel Maharero | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2,000 | 3,500 – 6,000 warriors with their families | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 26 killed 60 wounded | Unknown, but high | ||||||
TheBattle of Waterberg (Battle of Ohamakari)[1] took place on August 11, 1904, at theWaterberg,German South West Africa (modern dayNamibia), and was the decisive battle in theGerman campaign against the Herero.
The German Imperial Forces were under the command ofLieutenant GeneralLothar von Trotha and numbered just over 1,500.[2][3] They were armed with 1,625 modernrifles, 30artillery pieces and 14machine guns.
TheHerero were under the command ofSamuel Maharero and – in expectation of peace negotiations – had assembled some 3,500-6,000 warriors along with their families.[2][3] The total number of Hereros in the area is estimated at 25,000 to 50,000. Some of them were armed with traditional close combat weapons calledkirri.
From the opening of theHerero Wars in January 1904 until June 11, 1904, the German military efforts had been directed by colonial Governor ColonelTheodor Leutwein.[4] Leutwein combined a policy of military pressure with communication with the Herero to negotiate a settlement to the hostilities. The Germans achieved moderate military success in a series ofskirmishes before cornering the Herero at theWaterberg Plateau. However, theKaiserreich replaced Leutwein with Lieutenant GeneralLothar von Trotha, expecting Trotha to end the revolt with a decisive military victory.
The Waterberg Plateau where the Herero concentrated lay 100 km east of therailhead source of German supplies, so Trotha spent nearly three months (June, July, and part of August) transporting troops and supplies byox-drawn carts to the site of the expected battle. In the meantime, the Herero, estimated around 60,000 men, women, and children, with an equal number of cattle, drew on meager grass and water supplies while awaiting overtures from the Germans.
On the eve of the battle the Germans around the Waterberg were organized into six columns:[5]
Trotha's headquarters, headed by his Chief of Staff Lieutenant ColonelMartin Chales de Beaulieu, was in the south near Mueller's position.
Execution of Trotha's battle plan began on August 11, 1904, after a careful buildup of troops and supplies. The German commander intended part of his force to squeeze the Herero south of the Plateau with columns from the east and west while two more columns would seal off the escape route to the south and southeast. The commander of the southeastern blocking column, however, failed to maneuver his troops into position in a timely fashion, and to communicate that fact to Trotha. Meanwhile, the western advancing column did not stop at the appointed line and pressed the Herero through the unclosed gap created by the failure of the southeastern troops. The bulk of the Herero and their cattle escaped eastward into theOmaheke Desert.
The Waterberg military station was occupied by Herero mounted infantry and irregular guerrilla forces. These Herero forces were quickly defeated by colonial forces usingbreech-loading artillery and 14 Maximbelt-fed machine guns at the Battle of Waterberg on August 11, but the survivors escaped into the desert. Trotha and his staff were unprepared for their failure to decisively defeat the Herero. At the end of an attenuated supply line and occupying ground thoroughly foraged by the Herero, the Germans could not immediately pursue. While signaling to Berlin a complete victory and subsequent pursuit, Trotha began to move his force westward toward the railroad.
The Germans had won a tactical victory by driving the Herero from Waterberg, but had failed in their intentions to end the Herero Wars with a decisive battle. Trotha soon thereafter ordered the pursuit of the Herero eastward into the desert, intending to prevent Herero reorganization by depriving them of pastureland and watering holes. This campaign caused most of the deaths of Herero people during the Revolt, and resulted in the notorious extermination order of October 2, 1904.[6]
On 2 October, von Trotha issued the infamous extermination order: "Any Herero found within the German borders with or without a gun, with or without cattle, will be shot".[7]
While most Herero escaped the battle, their retreat led to the near extinction of their people in an act ofgenocide. Many of the refugee Hereros died of thirst and exhaustion during their trek through the desert. German patrols later found skeletons around holes 8–16 m (25–50 ft) deep dug in a vain attempt to find water. Tens of thousands of the Herero died of thirst, starvation, or disease. Those who attempted surrender were summarily shot. After Trotha's extermination order was countermanded by Berlin, captured survivors were sent to aconcentration camp at Shark Island.
Despite extensive German patrols and a large bounty offered for his capture,Samuel Maharero and about 1,000 of his men managed to cross theKalahari Desert into theBechuanaland Protectorate. The British offered the Hererosasylum under the condition that they would not continue their revolt on British soil.
The site of the battle is today located withinWaterberg Plateau Park. A military graveyard exists where the German soldiers who perished in the Battle of Waterberg are buried.
