244 WAR : CAMPAIGNING IN EAST AFRICA 



The Germans, as I have mentioned, had made 

 their headquarters at Chaluwe, taking scant 

 notice of the column moving around them ; but 

 I have no doubt they had plenty of natives watch- 

 ing and reporting on all our movements. The 

 people about there were particularly enthusiastic 

 towards the enemy forces, providing them with 

 abundance of food, for which the Germans paid in 

 captured Portuguese cloth. 



After our columns had moved eastwards, it 

 being apparently taken for granted that Von 

 Lettow's next move would be either towards 

 Mozambique and our main communications, or 

 towards Barapata (Antonio Annes) on the coast, 

 the German leader quickly marched straight back 

 in a north-westerly direction without meeting any 

 opposition. Continuing in the same direction, he 

 repassed near the big boma of Ille, sacked and 

 destroyed by his men on the trip down, and still 

 pushing on, attacked and drove our troops out of 

 their position at Nammeroe. A peculiar and un- 

 lucky similarity of names marks the three places 

 where we had these reverses. On receipt of the 

 news that the enemy had broken back, Colonel 

 Gifford acted promptly, marching his force by 

 long stages to Alto Moloque, and keeping a line 

 north of the enemy's route. I had again picked 

 up the column, and now had instructions to work 

 across, keeping more to the south of the column. 

 This would enable me to cut, farther on, all the 

 different valleys running north towards the Inagu 



