East Africa
The East African campaign in World War I started in German East Africa (GEA) and spread to portions of Portuguese Mozambique, Northern Rhodesia, British East Africa, the Uganda Protectorate, and the Belgian Congo. The strategy of the German colonial forces was to divert Allied forces from the Western Front to Africa, but this achieved only mixed results after 1916 and the Allied forces became composed almost entirely of South African, Indian, and other colonial troops. Black South African troops were not considered for European service as a matter of policy, while all Indian units had been withdrawn from the Western Front by the end of 1915. The campaign in Africa consumed considerable amounts of money and war material that could have gone to other fronts, and all but ended when the Germans entered Portuguese Mozambique and had to live off Portuguese supplies. After receiving word of the armistice on 14 November 1918 at 07:30 hours both sides waited for confirmation, with the Germans formally surrendering on 25 November.
