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for the first ten days of april 1917, colonel murray, commander of the Southern Rhodesian Column, assumed temporary command of the rnr, issuing orders directly to the unit’s company commanders. On 10 April, Major Addison was sent back to Salisbury to train recruits at the regiment’s new depot and Major Carbutt was placed in command of the battalion. Carbutt, who was born in the segregationist British colony of Natal, was a career official in the Rhodesian Native Affairs Department and had explored the remote forests of Matabeleland in 1898.1 In early April, there were still fears that the Germans would move southwest to threaten Northern Rhodesia and the rnr was involved in building footbridges over the Sira and Lupa rivers so forces could move in that direction.When Carbutt took over the battalion, it had just occupied an abandoned enemy entrenchment overlooking Lake Rukwa where the Germans had left behind several rnr prisoners who had been wounded at the Battle of St. Moritz. The rnr along with units of the King’s African Rifles remained at this camp, called Iwungu, for a week, but many men became sick because it was surrounded by low swampy ground that was perfect for malarial mosquitoes. Although the unit had just received thirty-five new recruits from Southern Rhodesia, it was seriously understrength with a total of just 235 men out of the usual five hundred. In turn, Murray attached a company of nrp under a Lieutenant Burton to the rnr to make it capable of fielding three rifle companies.2 chapter 8  Mpepo The Place of Winds 105 08_stapleton.qxd 2006/03/27 14:46 PM Page 105 Around the middle of April, the German force under Wintgens suddenly broke north and there was little time for Northey to shift his forces and supply routes in that direction. On the morning of 14 April, Murray’s column, including the rnr, hastily left the Iwungu camp and set out in pursuit of the Germans. First battalion kar were the advance guard, the nrp and bsap of the Southern Rhodesian Column were the main body, and the rnr constituted the rearguard with the supply carriers. Several thousand men moved in single file through swamps where the ground was covered “under anything from a few inches to two feet of water.”3 Since the rnr was at the end of a very long column , there were constant delays and it took them until 8:30pm, well after dark, to reach the fifteen miles to a new camp at Kasapi. On 16 April, the column came to the Lupa River which was so flooded that it took an entire day for First kar to cross. The rnr camped on the bank of the river where they awaited another supply convoy that arrived a week later, along with twenty-three replacements from the Salisbury depot. The pursuit was continued on 24 April when the column, still with the rnr as rearguard, took all day to cover seventeen miles of swamps and river crossings. However, when it became obvious that there were not enough rations to feed all the soldiers and carriers, the pursuit was once again delayed.4 The pursuit was continued on 29 April and through the first week of May. As usual for this operation, the rnr served as rearguard and escorted overburdened supply carriers through waist-deep swamps.After a few days and many miles, the ground became drier and the column eventually made camp at Guliliro, where the men were allowed the rare privilege of shooting some game to supplement their meagre diet of biscuits and rice. Supplies ran out very quickly because the Germans, who were well ahead of this column, were living off the land and collecting all the available food in the area. The march continued on 11 May and on 19 May, after linking up with several different supply columns, Murray’s force reached Kitunda which was over one hundred miles to the northeast of Lake Rukwa. The overall plan was now for Murray ’s column coming from the south and a Belgian force advancing from the northwest to push Wintgens against a long line of British and Indian units under Brigadier W.F.S. Edwards that were extended along the Tabora/Kilimatinde railway. Murray’s column, including the rnr, left Kitunda on 24 May and marched for four days northward. However, on 28 May General Northey ordered Murray’s column, which was just a day’s...

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