Alhaji Grunshi: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Togo Campaign WWI New York Times August 1915.png|right|upright|thumb|Togoland in 1914]] |
[[File:Togo Campaign WWI New York Times August 1915.png|right|upright|thumb|Togoland in 1914]] |
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Following the declaration of war, troops of the [[Ghana Regiment|Gold Coast Regiment]] entered Togoland from the British Gold Coast and advanced on the capital, [[Lomé]].<ref name="Times 1940" /> An advance patrol of the Gold Coast Regiment encountered the German-led police force on 7 August 1914 at a factory in [[Nuatja]], near Lomé, and the police force opened fire on the patrol.<ref name="Times 1940" /> |
Following the declaration of war, troops of the [[Ghana Regiment|Gold Coast Regiment]] entered Togoland from the British Gold Coast and advanced on the capital, [[Lomé]].<ref name="Times 1940" /> An advance patrol of the Gold Coast Regiment encountered the German-led police force on 7 August 1914 at a factory in [[Nuatja]], near Lomé, and the police force opened fire on the patrol.<ref name="Times 1940" /> Alhaji Grunshi returned fire,<ref>{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=J. Lee|title=Forgotten Patriot: a life of Alfred, Viscount Milner of St. James's and Cape Town, 1854-1925|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press|location=Madison, NJ|date=2007|page=311|isbn=0838641210}}</ref> the first soldier in British service to fire a shot in the war.<ref name="Times 1940" /> On 8 August 1914 the commander of the police, Hauptmann Pfaeler, was shot after climbing a tree to get a better view of the Gold Coast Regiment, and resistance collapsed. German technicians destroyed the Kamina transmitters on 24 August, and Togoland surrendered to the British and French on 26 August 1914. |
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Grunshi survived the war, having fought in three African campaigns,<ref name="Times 1940" /> and as a [[Lance Corporal]] was [[Mentioned in Despatches]] on 5 March 1918.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30560|supp=yes|startpage=2881|endpage=2891|date=1918-03-05}}</ref> On 13 March 1919, now a [[Sergeant]], he was awarded the [[Military Medal]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31227|startpage=3415|endpage=3454|date=1919-03-11|accessdate=2010-02-14}}</ref> |
Grunshi survived the war, having fought in three African campaigns,<ref name="Times 1940" /> and as a [[Lance Corporal]] was [[Mentioned in Despatches]] on 5 March 1918.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30560|supp=yes|startpage=2881|endpage=2891|date=1918-03-05}}</ref> On 13 March 1919, now a [[Sergeant]], he was awarded the [[Military Medal]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31227|startpage=3415|endpage=3454|date=1919-03-11|accessdate=2010-02-14}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 13:57, 15 February 2010
RSM Alhaji Grunshi DCM MM was the first soldier in British service to fire a shot in the First World War.[1][2][3]
Germany's West African colony of Togoland was isolated from the rest of the German Empire, with the British Gold Coast to the west and French Dahomey to the west. Following the declaration of war by the British Empire on 3 August 1914, the colony was completely cut off from reinforcement. With no German military presence in Togoland in 1914, the colony was defenceless other than a police force of 660 Togolese police officers serving under 10 German sergeants.[4]
Although containing few resources of value to Germany, Togoland was strategically vital to the defense of Germany's overseas empire, with the powerful Kamina radio transmitters near Atakpamé the only radio link between Germany and its colonies of German Southwest Africa and German East Africa, as well as the only means of radio communication between Germany and shipping in the South Atlantic.[5]
Following the declaration of war, troops of the Gold Coast Regiment entered Togoland from the British Gold Coast and advanced on the capital, Lomé.[3] An advance patrol of the Gold Coast Regiment encountered the German-led police force on 7 August 1914 at a factory in Nuatja, near Lomé, and the police force opened fire on the patrol.[3] Alhaji Grunshi returned fire,[6] the first soldier in British service to fire a shot in the war.[3] On 8 August 1914 the commander of the police, Hauptmann Pfaeler, was shot after climbing a tree to get a better view of the Gold Coast Regiment, and resistance collapsed. German technicians destroyed the Kamina transmitters on 24 August, and Togoland surrendered to the British and French on 26 August 1914.
Grunshi survived the war, having fought in three African campaigns,[3] and as a Lance Corporal was Mentioned in Despatches on 5 March 1918.[7] On 13 March 1919, now a Sergeant, he was awarded the Military Medal.[8]
See also
- Edward Thomas (British Army soldier), fired the first British shot on the Western Front in France, 22 August 1914.
References
- ^ William Hickey (Tom Driberg) (1941-02-25). "They Can't Sink This". Daily Express. p. 4.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Strachan, Hew (2003). The First World War: To Arms. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 495. ISBN 0199261911.
- ^ a b c d e "The Gold Coast Mobilized, A Proud Record: The case of Sergeant Grunshi". News. The Times. No. 48572. London. 1940-03-25. col G, p. 7. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
- ^ Haupt, Werner (1984). Deutschlands Schutzgebiete in Übersee 1884-1918 (in German). Friedburg: Podzun-Pallas. p. 82. ISBN 3790902047.
- ^ Rankin, Nicholas (2009). A Genius for Deception: How Cunning Helped the British Win Two World Wars. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 15. ISBN 019538704X.
- ^ Thompson, J. Lee (2007). Forgotten Patriot: a life of Alfred, Viscount Milner of St. James's and Cape Town, 1854-1925. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 311. ISBN 0838641210.
- ^ "No. 30560". The London Gazette (invalid
|supp=(help)). 1918-03-05. - ^ "No. 31227". The London Gazette. 1919-03-11.