Mimi and Toutou Go Forth: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika - Giles Foden

Hilarious, but true

Foden's novels - The Last King of Scotland, Ladysmith, and Zanzibar - have always been backed by a lot of research and local knowledge of Africa. This book, whose excellent research is backed by the author's personal visits to the area, is also set in Africa, and is a straight historical account of an episode in the First World War which is little known today, but disguised elements of which would figure in C.S.Forester's novel The African Queen and in the film of the same title.

Lake Tanganyika - its length of 410 miles making it the longest fresh-water lake in the world - then formed the border between German East Africa to the East and Belgian Congo and Northern Rhodesia to the West and South. (There are admirable maps of the region in the book.) In 1915 the British knew that the Germans had a 67-ton warship on the Lake, but did not know that there were on it two other German warships, one of 45 tons, the other a huge 1200 tonner. The British had nothing. The Admiralty decided to put their own warships - two small motor-boats called Mimi and Toutou (French for `miaow' and `bow-wow', although the Admiralty, having rejected the commander's suggestion of `Cat' and `Dog', did not know that), of 8 tons each - on the Lake. Because Africans spying for the Germans would spot ships being built near the Lake, these boats were carried in cradles on board of a larger ship from Tilbury to Cape Town; then, still in their cradles, loaded onto the railway running north from the Cape. This railway line was not continuous to the Lake, and for part of the journey the boats had to be moved along short stretches of river, but for most of its journey through the Congo - 146 miles - they had to be dragged overland - indeed over mountains - by locomotives, teams of oxen, and gangs of African labourers who had previously blazed a trail through the terrain. They covered the 2,500 miles from the Cape to Albertville on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in 101 days. And all along the way African tom-toms spread the news from tribe to tribe. It reached the Germans, but they did not initially give it much credence, being more interested in some Belgian ships that were being constructed near the Western shore of the Lake.

The Admiralty put in charge of this operation the untruthfully boastful, vain, irascible, pompously authoritarian but hitherto ineffectual Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson, who, after a couple of courts martial, had been demoted to a desk-job in the Admiralty. The operation was after all a side-show - it was the time of Gallipoli - and the Admiralty didn't know what else to do with the man. Spicer had some odd habits: though he was a stickler for smart uniforms, in the hot weather in Africa he wore a skirt; he had a full-body tattoo; and he antagonized everybody: the men serving under him as well as the allied Belgian officers he met on the way. Some members of Spicer's crew were pretty odd also; but there were among them sufficient men, notably a Lieutenant Wainwright, who showed not only great endurance but enormous ingenuity in overcoming the many obstacles on the way to the Lake. Spicer naturally claimed the credit for their every achievement.

The journey was astonishing enough; even more so is the story of how the two of the three big German ships were either captured or sunk. The Belgians were now able to take the German headquarters on the West side of the Lake (I would have liked a fuller account of this operation) and the remaining, largest of the German ships, denied a harbour, was scuttled. It was raised after the war, and Foden would be aboard of it on his exploratory journeys on the Lake.

Spicer's victories over the Germans had so impressed the local Africans that they began to reverence him as a god and not only put up statues to him which bore a good likeness (including his tattoos) but sprinkled them with offerings - to the dismay of the local Catholic missionaries. That should have done nothing to reduce Spicer's self-esteem, but in fact, after his second victory, he had refused to run any more risks, and the subsequent successful operation by the Belgians and by Rhodesian land forces at the southern end of the Lake tipped him into such a depression that he was invalided home. There he returned to his old desk job, and was never given a command again. However, he soon bounced back. He was encouraged no doubt by being decorated both by the British and the Belgians; and he gave several lecture about the expedition which certainly lost nothing in the telling.

The whole story was well characterized at one stage by a Belgian officer: `You English have a genius for amateurism. That's what makes you so dangerous. It's always pretty obvious what professionals are going to do, but who but amateurs could have dreamed up an expedition like this?' Foden tells the story with quiet wit, but one can't help feeling that underneath the eccentricities and boastfulness of Spicer there was, at least until his collapse at the end, a quality of determination which contributed to bringing this adventure, against all the odds, to a successful conclusion.

OK but ends a bit disjointedly

This is a fascinating study of one of the more obscure aspects of Britain's WW1 campaign. It is an entertaining read describing how a Biritsh expeditionary force led by a commander considered a liability by every other section of the military somehow led his men to complete their objectives, and ultimately to wrest control of Lake Tanganyiki from Germany. The main character, Spicer, is like a comic book Captain Mainwaring, constantly boasting of his hunting and military exploits despite evidence to the contrary, and is eventually recalled to Britain after falling out with Britain's Belgian allies. The actual story of Mimi and Toutou (Spicer's two boats) is well written and engrossing but the book flags badly at the end with an over lengthy chapter on the film "African Queen", which was partly based on the story of Mimi & Toutou, and a tour of the region by the author, both of which would have been better served by a separate book. Still, an easy read and very entertaining.

One of the most unlikely war stories you will ever read!

This book charts the progress of a Naval expedition dispatched during WW1 to wrest control of Lake Tanganyika from the Germans. The Germans had the largest flotilla of gunboats on the lake which afforded them easy movement of troops and supplies whilst denying these benefits to the opposing British and Belgians. The expedition consisted of two motor launches sent from London commanded by a singular officer.

So much for the bald detail, the officer in question (Spicer-Simson) was a true eccentric but given the task ahead that was probably an advantage. The ML's were shipped to South Africa and then moved to the lake by rail, overland through jungle and over mountain and by river. Spicer-Simson and his men overcame all sorts of obstacles (some self inflicted) to reach their goal and amazingly fight and beat the Germans! The book captures the almost unreal nature of most of the journey, the obstacles faced and overcome, the bordering on madness obsessivness and eccentricities (often wore a skirt) of Spicer-Simson and the battles on the lake with a superb eye for detail and entertaining narrative style. It's sometimes hard to believe that the expedition was ever mounted and reading the book it's even harder to believe it was a success and in large part to Spicer-Simson's unfailing self-belief. How many officers in the RN have unwittingly started their own religion?!

At the end of the book there's a surprise postscript which neatly finishes of the story and connects it to the present day.

In short, buy this book, you won't regret it (you also might not belive it but it's all true!)

Mimi and Tou Tou Go Forth

This book covers one of the most obscure yet vital actions of WW1, the battle for control of lake Tanganyika in central Africa. At the outbreak of the war the Germans controlled the lake by virtue of being the only power with an armed vessel on it. This book tells the story of the organisation of the naval expedition organised by the British to take control of the lake. The officer in command of the expedition was one Spicer-Simson and his highly eccentric character and actions are well brought out in the narrative. The book is written in an entertaining style with many annecdotes and much detail from eye witness accounts. The story of the expedition is traced from it's starting point in London, via an ocean voyage to South Africa and the overland to the lake. Once at the lake the actions with the German vessels are well described as are the subsequent events. There is also an interesting postscript of the author's travels in Africa whilst researching the book.
One fault with the book is that there are no photographs although there are some rather nice drawings at the start of each chapter. Photos (which do exist) would have been nice. The other thing that grates slightly is that the book reads a little like a novel in places but this is only a minor niggle. Overall an interesting an entertaining book on an overlooked subject.

Hilarious, but true

Foden's novels - The Last King of Scotland, Ladysmith, and Zanzibar - have always been backed by a lot of research and local knowledge of Africa. This book, whose excellent research is backed by the author's personal visits to the area, is also set in Africa, and is a straight historical account of an episode in the First World War which is little known today, but disguised elements of which would figure in C.S.Forester's novel The African Queen and in the film of the same title.

Lake Tanganyika - its length of 410 miles making it the longest fresh-water lake in the world - then formed the border between German East Africa to the East and Belgian Congo and Northern Rhodesia to the West and South. (There are admirable maps of the region in the book.) In 1915 the British knew that the Germans had a 67-ton warship on the Lake, but did not know that there were on it two other German warships, one of 45 tons, the other a huge 1200 tonner. The British had nothing. The Admiralty decided to put their own warships - two small motor-boats called Mimi and Toutou (French for `miaow' and `bow-wow', although the Admiralty, having rejected the commander's suggestion of `Cat' and `Dog', did not know that), of 8 tons each - on the Lake. Because Africans spying for the Germans would spot ships being built near the Lake, these boats were carried in cradles on board of a larger ship from Tilbury to Cape Town; then, still in their cradles, loaded onto the railway running north from the Cape. This railway line was not continuous to the Lake, and for part of the journey the boats had to be moved along short stretches of river, but for most of its journey through the Congo - 146 miles - they had to be dragged overland - indeed over mountains - by locomotives, teams of oxen, and gangs of African labourers who had previously blazed a trail through the terrain. They covered the 2,500 miles from the Cape to Albertville on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in 101 days. And all along the way African tom-toms spread the news from tribe to tribe. It reached the Germans, but they did not initially give it much credence, being more interested in some Belgian ships that were being constructed near the Western shore of the Lake.

The Admiralty put in charge of this operation the untruthfully boastful, vain, irascible, pompously authoritarian but hitherto ineffectual Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson, who, after a couple of courts martial, had been demoted to a desk-job in the Admiralty. The operation was after all a side-show - it was the time of Gallipoli - and the Admiralty didn't know what else to do with the man. Spicer had some odd habits: though he was a stickler for smart uniforms, in the hot weather in Africa he wore a skirt; he had a full-body tattoo; and he antagonized everybody: the men serving under him as well as the allied Belgian officers he met on the way. Some members of Spicer's crew were pretty odd also; but there were among them sufficient men, notably a Lieutenant Wainwright, who showed not only great endurance but enormous ingenuity in overcoming the many obstacles on the way to the Lake. Spicer naturally claimed the credit for their every achievement.

The journey was astonishing enough; even more so is the story of how the two of the three big German ships were either captured or sunk. The Belgians were now able to take the German headquarters on the West side of the Lake (I would have liked a fuller account of this operation) and the remaining, largest of the German ships, denied a harbour, was scuttled. It was raised after the war, and Foden would be aboard of it on his exploratory journeys on the Lake.

Spicer's victories over the Germans had so impressed the local Africans that they began to reverence him as a god and not only put up statues to him which bore a good likeness (including his tattoos) but sprinkled them with offerings - to the dismay of the local Catholic missionaries. That should have done nothing to reduce Spicer's self-esteem, but in fact, after his second victory, he had refused to run any more risks, and the subsequent successful operation by the Belgians and by Rhodesian land forces at the southern end of the Lake tipped him into such a depression that he was invalided home. There he returned to his old desk job, and was never given a command again. However, he soon bounced back. He was encouraged no doubt by being decorated both by the British and the Belgians; and he gave several lecture about the expedition which certainly lost nothing in the telling.

The whole story was well characterized at one stage by a Belgian officer: `You English have a genius for amateurism. That's what makes you so dangerous. It's always pretty obvious what professionals are going to do, but who but amateurs could have dreamed up an expedition like this?' Foden tells the story with quiet wit, but one can't help feeling that underneath the eccentricities and boastfulness of Spicer there was, at least until his collapse at the end, a quality of determination which contributed to bringing this adventure, against all the odds, to a successful conclusion.

OK but ends a bit disjointedly

This is a fascinating study of one of the more obscure aspects of Britain's WW1 campaign. It is an entertaining read describing how a Biritsh expeditionary force led by a commander considered a liability by every other section of the military somehow led his men to complete their objectives, and ultimately to wrest control of Lake Tanganyiki from Germany. The main character, Spicer, is like a comic book Captain Mainwaring, constantly boasting of his hunting and military exploits despite evidence to the contrary, and is eventually recalled to Britain after falling out with Britain's Belgian allies. The actual story of Mimi and Toutou (Spicer's two boats) is well written and engrossing but the book flags badly at the end with an over lengthy chapter on the film "African Queen", which was partly based on the story of Mimi & Toutou, and a tour of the region by the author, both of which would have been better served by a separate book. Still, an easy read and very entertaining.

One of the most unlikely war stories you will ever read!

This book charts the progress of a Naval expedition dispatched during WW1 to wrest control of Lake Tanganyika from the Germans. The Germans had the largest flotilla of gunboats on the lake which afforded them easy movement of troops and supplies whilst denying these benefits to the opposing British and Belgians. The expedition consisted of two motor launches sent from London commanded by a singular officer.

So much for the bald detail, the officer in question (Spicer-Simson) was a true eccentric but given the task ahead that was probably an advantage. The ML's were shipped to South Africa and then moved to the lake by rail, overland through jungle and over mountain and by river. Spicer-Simson and his men overcame all sorts of obstacles (some self inflicted) to reach their goal and amazingly fight and beat the Germans! The book captures the almost unreal nature of most of the journey, the obstacles faced and overcome, the bordering on madness obsessivness and eccentricities (often wore a skirt) of Spicer-Simson and the battles on the lake with a superb eye for detail and entertaining narrative style. It's sometimes hard to believe that the expedition was ever mounted and reading the book it's even harder to believe it was a success and in large part to Spicer-Simson's unfailing self-belief. How many officers in the RN have unwittingly started their own religion?!

At the end of the book there's a surprise postscript which neatly finishes of the story and connects it to the present day.

In short, buy this book, you won't regret it (you also might not belive it but it's all true!)

Mimi and Tou Tou Go Forth

This book covers one of the most obscure yet vital actions of WW1, the battle for control of lake Tanganyika in central Africa. At the outbreak of the war the Germans controlled the lake by virtue of being the only power with an armed vessel on it. This book tells the story of the organisation of the naval expedition organised by the British to take control of the lake. The officer in command of the expedition was one Spicer-Simson and his highly eccentric character and actions are well brought out in the narrative. The book is written in an entertaining style with many annecdotes and much detail from eye witness accounts. The story of the expedition is traced from it's starting point in London, via an ocean voyage to South Africa and the overland to the lake. Once at the lake the actions with the German vessels are well described as are the subsequent events. There is also an interesting postscript of the author's travels in Africa whilst researching the book.
One fault with the book is that there are no photographs although there are some rather nice drawings at the start of each chapter. Photos (which do exist) would have been nice. The other thing that grates slightly is that the book reads a little like a novel in places but this is only a minor niggle. Overall an interesting an entertaining book on an overlooked subject.

Hilarious, but true

Foden's novels - The Last King of Scotland, Ladysmith, and Zanzibar - have always been backed by a lot of research and local knowledge of Africa. This book, whose excellent research is backed by the author's personal visits to the area, is also set in Africa, and is a straight historical account of an episode in the First World War which is little known today, but disguised elements of which would figure in C.S.Forester's novel The African Queen and in the film of the same title.

Lake Tanganyika - its length of 410 miles making it the longest fresh-water lake in the world - then formed the border between German East Africa to the East and Belgian Congo and Northern Rhodesia to the West and South. (There are admirable maps of the region in the book.) In 1915 the British knew that the Germans had a 67-ton warship on the Lake, but did not know that there were on it two other German warships, one of 45 tons, the other a huge 1200 tonner. The British had nothing. The Admiralty decided to put their own warships - two small motor-boats called Mimi and Toutou (French for `miaow' and `bow-wow', although the Admiralty, having rejected the commander's suggestion of `Cat' and `Dog', did not know that), of 8 tons each - on the Lake. Because Africans spying for the Germans would spot ships being built near the Lake, these boats were carried in cradles on board of a larger ship from Tilbury to Cape Town; then, still in their cradles, loaded onto the railway running north from the Cape. This railway line was not continuous to the Lake, and for part of the journey the boats had to be moved along short stretches of river, but for most of its journey through the Congo - 146 miles - they had to be dragged overland - indeed over mountains - by locomotives, teams of oxen, and gangs of African labourers who had previously blazed a trail through the terrain. They covered the 2,500 miles from the Cape to Albertville on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in 101 days. And all along the way African tom-toms spread the news from tribe to tribe. It reached the Germans, but they did not initially give it much credence, being more interested in some Belgian ships that were being constructed near the Western shore of the Lake.

The Admiralty put in charge of this operation the untruthfully boastful, vain, irascible, pompously authoritarian but hitherto ineffectual Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson, who, after a couple of courts martial, had been demoted to a desk-job in the Admiralty. The operation was after all a side-show - it was the time of Gallipoli - and the Admiralty didn't know what else to do with the man. Spicer had some odd habits: though he was a stickler for smart uniforms, in the hot weather in Africa he wore a skirt; he had a full-body tattoo; and he antagonized everybody: the men serving under him as well as the allied Belgian officers he met on the way. Some members of Spicer's crew were pretty odd also; but there were among them sufficient men, notably a Lieutenant Wainwright, who showed not only great endurance but enormous ingenuity in overcoming the many obstacles on the way to the Lake. Spicer naturally claimed the credit for their every achievement.

The journey was astonishing enough; even more so is the story of how the two of the three big German ships were either captured or sunk. The Belgians were now able to take the German headquarters on the West side of the Lake (I would have liked a fuller account of this operation) and the remaining, largest of the German ships, denied a harbour, was scuttled. It was raised after the war, and Foden would be aboard of it on his exploratory journeys on the Lake.

Spicer's victories over the Germans had so impressed the local Africans that they began to reverence him as a god and not only put up statues to him which bore a good likeness (including his tattoos) but sprinkled them with offerings - to the dismay of the local Catholic missionaries. That should have done nothing to reduce Spicer's self-esteem, but in fact, after his second victory, he had refused to run any more risks, and the subsequent successful operation by the Belgians and by Rhodesian land forces at the southern end of the Lake tipped him into such a depression that he was invalided home. There he returned to his old desk job, and was never given a command again. However, he soon bounced back. He was encouraged no doubt by being decorated both by the British and the Belgians; and he gave several lecture about the expedition which certainly lost nothing in the telling.

The whole story was well characterized at one stage by a Belgian officer: `You English have a genius for amateurism. That's what makes you so dangerous. It's always pretty obvious what professionals are going to do, but who but amateurs could have dreamed up an expedition like this?' Foden tells the story with quiet wit, but one can't help feeling that underneath the eccentricities and boastfulness of Spicer there was, at least until his collapse at the end, a quality of determination which contributed to bringing this adventure, against all the odds, to a successful conclusion.

OK but ends a bit disjointedly

This is a fascinating study of one of the more obscure aspects of Britain's WW1 campaign. It is an entertaining read describing how a Biritsh expeditionary force led by a commander considered a liability by every other section of the military somehow led his men to complete their objectives, and ultimately to wrest control of Lake Tanganyiki from Germany. The main character, Spicer, is like a comic book Captain Mainwaring, constantly boasting of his hunting and military exploits despite evidence to the contrary, and is eventually recalled to Britain after falling out with Britain's Belgian allies. The actual story of Mimi and Toutou (Spicer's two boats) is well written and engrossing but the book flags badly at the end with an over lengthy chapter on the film "African Queen", which was partly based on the story of Mimi & Toutou, and a tour of the region by the author, both of which would have been better served by a separate book. Still, an easy read and very entertaining.

One of the most unlikely war stories you will ever read!

This book charts the progress of a Naval expedition dispatched during WW1 to wrest control of Lake Tanganyika from the Germans. The Germans had the largest flotilla of gunboats on the lake which afforded them easy movement of troops and supplies whilst denying these benefits to the opposing British and Belgians. The expedition consisted of two motor launches sent from London commanded by a singular officer.

So much for the bald detail, the officer in question (Spicer-Simson) was a true eccentric but given the task ahead that was probably an advantage. The ML's were shipped to South Africa and then moved to the lake by rail, overland through jungle and over mountain and by river. Spicer-Simson and his men overcame all sorts of obstacles (some self inflicted) to reach their goal and amazingly fight and beat the Germans! The book captures the almost unreal nature of most of the journey, the obstacles faced and overcome, the bordering on madness obsessivness and eccentricities (often wore a skirt) of Spicer-Simson and the battles on the lake with a superb eye for detail and entertaining narrative style. It's sometimes hard to believe that the expedition was ever mounted and reading the book it's even harder to believe it was a success and in large part to Spicer-Simson's unfailing self-belief. How many officers in the RN have unwittingly started their own religion?!

At the end of the book there's a surprise postscript which neatly finishes of the story and connects it to the present day.

In short, buy this book, you won't regret it (you also might not belive it but it's all true!)

Mimi and Tou Tou Go Forth

This book covers one of the most obscure yet vital actions of WW1, the battle for control of lake Tanganyika in central Africa. At the outbreak of the war the Germans controlled the lake by virtue of being the only power with an armed vessel on it. This book tells the story of the organisation of the naval expedition organised by the British to take control of the lake. The officer in command of the expedition was one Spicer-Simson and his highly eccentric character and actions are well brought out in the narrative. The book is written in an entertaining style with many annecdotes and much detail from eye witness accounts. The story of the expedition is traced from it's starting point in London, via an ocean voyage to South Africa and the overland to the lake. Once at the lake the actions with the German vessels are well described as are the subsequent events. There is also an interesting postscript of the author's travels in Africa whilst researching the book.
One fault with the book is that there are no photographs although there are some rather nice drawings at the start of each chapter. Photos (which do exist) would have been nice. The other thing that grates slightly is that the book reads a little like a novel in places but this is only a minor niggle. Overall an interesting an entertaining book on an overlooked subject.

Hilarious, but true

Foden's novels - The Last King of Scotland, Ladysmith, and Zanzibar - have always been backed by a lot of research and local knowledge of Africa. This book, whose excellent research is backed by the author's personal visits to the area, is also set in Africa, and is a straight historical account of an episode in the First World War which is little known today, but disguised elements of which would figure in C.S.Forester's novel The African Queen and in the film of the same title.

Lake Tanganyika - its length of 410 miles making it the longest fresh-water lake in the world - then formed the border between German East Africa to the East and Belgian Congo and Northern Rhodesia to the West and South. (There are admirable maps of the region in the book.) In 1915 the British knew that the Germans had a 67-ton warship on the Lake, but did not know that there were on it two other German warships, one of 45 tons, the other a huge 1200 tonner. The British had nothing. The Admiralty decided to put their own warships - two small motor-boats called Mimi and Toutou (French for `miaow' and `bow-wow', although the Admiralty, having rejected the commander's suggestion of `Cat' and `Dog', did not know that), of 8 tons each - on the Lake. Because Africans spying for the Germans would spot ships being built near the Lake, these boats were carried in cradles on board of a larger ship from Tilbury to Cape Town; then, still in their cradles, loaded onto the railway running north from the Cape. This railway line was not continuous to the Lake, and for part of the journey the boats had to be moved along short stretches of river, but for most of its journey through the Congo - 146 miles - they had to be dragged overland - indeed over mountains - by locomotives, teams of oxen, and gangs of African labourers who had previously blazed a trail through the terrain. They covered the 2,500 miles from the Cape to Albertville on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in 101 days. And all along the way African tom-toms spread the news from tribe to tribe. It reached the Germans, but they did not initially give it much credence, being more interested in some Belgian ships that were being constructed near the Western shore of the Lake.

The Admiralty put in charge of this operation the untruthfully boastful, vain, irascible, pompously authoritarian but hitherto ineffectual Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson, who, after a couple of courts martial, had been demoted to a desk-job in the Admiralty. The operation was after all a side-show - it was the time of Gallipoli - and the Admiralty didn't know what else to do with the man. Spicer had some odd habits: though he was a stickler for smart uniforms, in the hot weather in Africa he wore a skirt; he had a full-body tattoo; and he antagonized everybody: the men serving under him as well as the allied Belgian officers he met on the way. Some members of Spicer's crew were pretty odd also; but there were among them sufficient men, notably a Lieutenant Wainwright, who showed not only great endurance but enormous ingenuity in overcoming the many obstacles on the way to the Lake. Spicer naturally claimed the credit for their every achievement.

The journey was astonishing enough; even more so is the story of how the two of the three big German ships were either captured or sunk. The Belgians were now able to take the German headquarters on the West side of the Lake (I would have liked a fuller account of this operation) and the remaining, largest of the German ships, denied a harbour, was scuttled. It was raised after the war, and Foden would be aboard of it on his exploratory journeys on the Lake.

Spicer's victories over the Germans had so impressed the local Africans that they began to reverence him as a god and not only put up statues to him which bore a good likeness (including his tattoos) but sprinkled them with offerings - to the dismay of the local Catholic missionaries. That should have done nothing to reduce Spicer's self-esteem, but in fact, after his second victory, he had refused to run any more risks, and the subsequent successful operation by the Belgians and by Rhodesian land forces at the southern end of the Lake tipped him into such a depression that he was invalided home. There he returned to his old desk job, and was never given a command again. However, he soon bounced back. He was encouraged no doubt by being decorated both by the British and the Belgians; and he gave several lecture about the expedition which certainly lost nothing in the telling.

The whole story was well characterized at one stage by a Belgian officer: `You English have a genius for amateurism. That's what makes you so dangerous. It's always pretty obvious what professionals are going to do, but who but amateurs could have dreamed up an expedition like this?' Foden tells the story with quiet wit, but one can't help feeling that underneath the eccentricities and boastfulness of Spicer there was, at least until his collapse at the end, a quality of determination which contributed to bringing this adventure, against all the odds, to a successful conclusion.

OK but ends a bit disjointedly

This is a fascinating study of one of the more obscure aspects of Britain's WW1 campaign. It is an entertaining read describing how a Biritsh expeditionary force led by a commander considered a liability by every other section of the military somehow led his men to complete their objectives, and ultimately to wrest control of Lake Tanganyiki from Germany. The main character, Spicer, is like a comic book Captain Mainwaring, constantly boasting of his hunting and military exploits despite evidence to the contrary, and is eventually recalled to Britain after falling out with Britain's Belgian allies. The actual story of Mimi and Toutou (Spicer's two boats) is well written and engrossing but the book flags badly at the end with an over lengthy chapter on the film "African Queen", which was partly based on the story of Mimi & Toutou, and a tour of the region by the author, both of which would have been better served by a separate book. Still, an easy read and very entertaining.

One of the most unlikely war stories you will ever read!

This book charts the progress of a Naval expedition dispatched during WW1 to wrest control of Lake Tanganyika from the Germans. The Germans had the largest flotilla of gunboats on the lake which afforded them easy movement of troops and supplies whilst denying these benefits to the opposing British and Belgians. The expedition consisted of two motor launches sent from London commanded by a singular officer.

So much for the bald detail, the officer in question (Spicer-Simson) was a true eccentric but given the task ahead that was probably an advantage. The ML's were shipped to South Africa and then moved to the lake by rail, overland through jungle and over mountain and by river. Spicer-Simson and his men overcame all sorts of obstacles (some self inflicted) to reach their goal and amazingly fight and beat the Germans! The book captures the almost unreal nature of most of the journey, the obstacles faced and overcome, the bordering on madness obsessivness and eccentricities (often wore a skirt) of Spicer-Simson and the battles on the lake with a superb eye for detail and entertaining narrative style. It's sometimes hard to believe that the expedition was ever mounted and reading the book it's even harder to believe it was a success and in large part to Spicer-Simson's unfailing self-belief. How many officers in the RN have unwittingly started their own religion?!

At the end of the book there's a surprise postscript which neatly finishes of the story and connects it to the present day.

In short, buy this book, you won't regret it (you also might not belive it but it's all true!)

Mimi and Tou Tou Go Forth

This book covers one of the most obscure yet vital actions of WW1, the battle for control of lake Tanganyika in central Africa. At the outbreak of the war the Germans controlled the lake by virtue of being the only power with an armed vessel on it. This book tells the story of the organisation of the naval expedition organised by the British to take control of the lake. The officer in command of the expedition was one Spicer-Simson and his highly eccentric character and actions are well brought out in the narrative. The book is written in an entertaining style with many annecdotes and much detail from eye witness accounts. The story of the expedition is traced from it's starting point in London, via an ocean voyage to South Africa and the overland to the lake. Once at the lake the actions with the German vessels are well described as are the subsequent events. There is also an interesting postscript of the author's travels in Africa whilst researching the book.
One fault with the book is that there are no photographs although there are some rather nice drawings at the start of each chapter. Photos (which do exist) would have been nice. The other thing that grates slightly is that the book reads a little like a novel in places but this is only a minor niggle. Overall an interesting an entertaining book on an overlooked subject.

Hilarious, but true

Foden's novels - The Last King of Scotland, Ladysmith, and Zanzibar - have always been backed by a lot of research and local knowledge of Africa. This book, whose excellent research is backed by the author's personal visits to the area, is also set in Africa, and is a straight historical account of an episode in the First World War which is little known today, but disguised elements of which would figure in C.S.Forester's novel The African Queen and in the film of the same title.

Lake Tanganyika - its length of 410 miles making it the longest fresh-water lake in the world - then formed the border between German East Africa to the East and Belgian Congo and Northern Rhodesia to the West and South. (There are admirable maps of the region in the book.) In 1915 the British knew that the Germans had a 67-ton warship on the Lake, but did not know that there were on it two other German warships, one of 45 tons, the other a huge 1200 tonner. The British had nothing. The Admiralty decided to put their own warships - two small motor-boats called Mimi and Toutou (French for `miaow' and `bow-wow', although the Admiralty, having rejected the commander's suggestion of `Cat' and `Dog', did not know that), of 8 tons each - on the Lake. Because Africans spying for the Germans would spot ships being built near the Lake, these boats were carried in cradles on board of a larger ship from Tilbury to Cape Town; then, still in their cradles, loaded onto the railway running north from the Cape. This railway line was not continuous to the Lake, and for part of the journey the boats had to be moved along short stretches of river, but for most of its journey through the Congo - 146 miles - they had to be dragged overland - indeed over mountains - by locomotives, teams of oxen, and gangs of African labourers who had previously blazed a trail through the terrain. They covered the 2,500 miles from the Cape to Albertville on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in 101 days. And all along the way African tom-toms spread the news from tribe to tribe. It reached the Germans, but they did not initially give it much credence, being more interested in some Belgian ships that were being constructed near the Western shore of the Lake.

The Admiralty put in charge of this operation the untruthfully boastful, vain, irascible, pompously authoritarian but hitherto ineffectual Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson, who, after a couple of courts martial, had been demoted to a desk-job in the Admiralty. The operation was after all a side-show - it was the time of Gallipoli - and the Admiralty didn't know what else to do with the man. Spicer had some odd habits: though he was a stickler for smart uniforms, in the hot weather in Africa he wore a skirt; he had a full-body tattoo; and he antagonized everybody: the men serving under him as well as the allied Belgian officers he met on the way. Some members of Spicer's crew were pretty odd also; but there were among them sufficient men, notably a Lieutenant Wainwright, who showed not only great endurance but enormous ingenuity in overcoming the many obstacles on the way to the Lake. Spicer naturally claimed the credit for their every achievement.

The journey was astonishing enough; even more so is the story of how the two of the three big German ships were either captured or sunk. The Belgians were now able to take the German headquarters on the West side of the Lake (I would have liked a fuller account of this operation) and the remaining, largest of the German ships, denied a harbour, was scuttled. It was raised after the war, and Foden would be aboard of it on his exploratory journeys on the Lake.

Spicer's victories over the Germans had so impressed the local Africans that they began to reverence him as a god and not only put up statues to him which bore a good likeness (including his tattoos) but sprinkled them with offerings - to the dismay of the local Catholic missionaries. That should have done nothing to reduce Spicer's self-esteem, but in fact, after his second victory, he had refused to run any more risks, and the subsequent successful operation by the Belgians and by Rhodesian land forces at the southern end of the Lake tipped him into such a depression that he was invalided home. There he returned to his old desk job, and was never given a command again. However, he soon bounced back. He was encouraged no doubt by being decorated both by the British and the Belgians; and he gave several lecture about the expedition which certainly lost nothing in the telling.

The whole story was well characterized at one stage by a Belgian officer: `You English have a genius for amateurism. That's what makes you so dangerous. It's always pretty obvious what professionals are going to do, but who but amateurs could have dreamed up an expedition like this?' Foden tells the story with quiet wit, but one can't help feeling that underneath the eccentricities and boastfulness of Spicer there was, at least until his collapse at the end, a quality of determination which contributed to bringing this adventure, against all the odds, to a successful conclusion.

OK but ends a bit disjointedly

This is a fascinating study of one of the more obscure aspects of Britain's WW1 campaign. It is an entertaining read describing how a Biritsh expeditionary force led by a commander considered a liability by every other section of the military somehow led his men to complete their objectives, and ultimately to wrest control of Lake Tanganyiki from Germany. The main character, Spicer, is like a comic book Captain Mainwaring, constantly boasting of his hunting and military exploits despite evidence to the contrary, and is eventually recalled to Britain after falling out with Britain's Belgian allies. The actual story of Mimi and Toutou (Spicer's two boats) is well written and engrossing but the book flags badly at the end with an over lengthy chapter on the film "African Queen", which was partly based on the story of Mimi & Toutou, and a tour of the region by the author, both of which would have been better served by a separate book. Still, an easy read and very entertaining.

One of the most unlikely war stories you will ever read!

This book charts the progress of a Naval expedition dispatched during WW1 to wrest control of Lake Tanganyika from the Germans. The Germans had the largest flotilla of gunboats on the lake which afforded them easy movement of troops and supplies whilst denying these benefits to the opposing British and Belgians. The expedition consisted of two motor launches sent from London commanded by a singular officer.

So much for the bald detail, the officer in question (Spicer-Simson) was a true eccentric but given the task ahead that was probably an advantage. The ML's were shipped to South Africa and then moved to the lake by rail, overland through jungle and over mountain and by river. Spicer-Simson and his men overcame all sorts of obstacles (some self inflicted) to reach their goal and amazingly fight and beat the Germans! The book captures the almost unreal nature of most of the journey, the obstacles faced and overcome, the bordering on madness obsessivness and eccentricities (often wore a skirt) of Spicer-Simson and the battles on the lake with a superb eye for detail and entertaining narrative style. It's sometimes hard to believe that the expedition was ever mounted and reading the book it's even harder to believe it was a success and in large part to Spicer-Simson's unfailing self-belief. How many officers in the RN have unwittingly started their own religion?!

At the end of the book there's a surprise postscript which neatly finishes of the story and connects it to the present day.

In short, buy this book, you won't regret it (you also might not belive it but it's all true!)

Mimi and Tou Tou Go Forth

This book covers one of the most obscure yet vital actions of WW1, the battle for control of lake Tanganyika in central Africa. At the outbreak of the war the Germans controlled the lake by virtue of being the only power with an armed vessel on it. This book tells the story of the organisation of the naval expedition organised by the British to take control of the lake. The officer in command of the expedition was one Spicer-Simson and his highly eccentric character and actions are well brought out in the narrative. The book is written in an entertaining style with many annecdotes and much detail from eye witness accounts. The story of the expedition is traced from it's starting point in London, via an ocean voyage to South Africa and the overland to the lake. Once at the lake the actions with the German vessels are well described as are the subsequent events. There is also an interesting postscript of the author's travels in Africa whilst researching the book.
One fault with the book is that there are no photographs although there are some rather nice drawings at the start of each chapter. Photos (which do exist) would have been nice. The other thing that grates slightly is that the book reads a little like a novel in places but this is only a minor niggle. Overall an interesting an entertaining book on an overlooked subject.

Hilarious, but true

Foden's novels - The Last King of Scotland, Ladysmith, and Zanzibar - have always been backed by a lot of research and local knowledge of Africa. This book, whose excellent research is backed by the author's personal visits to the area, is also set in Africa, and is a straight historical account of an episode in the First World War which is little known today, but disguised elements of which would figure in C.S.Forester's novel The African Queen and in the film of the same title.

Lake Tanganyika - its length of 410 miles making it the longest fresh-water lake in the world - then formed the border between German East Africa to the East and Belgian Congo and Northern Rhodesia to the West and South. (There are admirable maps of the region in the book.) In 1915 the British knew that the Germans had a 67-ton warship on the Lake, but did not know that there were on it two other German warships, one of 45 tons, the other a huge 1200 tonner. The British had nothing. The Admiralty decided to put their own warships - two small motor-boats called Mimi and Toutou (French for `miaow' and `bow-wow', although the Admiralty, having rejected the commander's suggestion of `Cat' and `Dog', did not know that), of 8 tons each - on the Lake. Because Africans spying for the Germans would spot ships being built near the Lake, these boats were carried in cradles on board of a larger ship from Tilbury to Cape Town; then, still in their cradles, loaded onto the railway running north from the Cape. This railway line was not continuous to the Lake, and for part of the journey the boats had to be moved along short stretches of river, but for most of its journey through the Congo - 146 miles - they had to be dragged overland - indeed over mountains - by locomotives, teams of oxen, and gangs of African labourers who had previously blazed a trail through the terrain. They covered the 2,500 miles from the Cape to Albertville on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in 101 days. And all along the way African tom-toms spread the news from tribe to tribe. It reached the Germans, but they did not initially give it much credence, being more interested in some Belgian ships that were being constructed near the Western shore of the Lake.

The Admiralty put in charge of this operation the untruthfully boastful, vain, irascible, pompously authoritarian but hitherto ineffectual Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson, who, after a couple of courts martial, had been demoted to a desk-job in the Admiralty. The operation was after all a side-show - it was the time of Gallipoli - and the Admiralty didn't know what else to do with the man. Spicer had some odd habits: though he was a stickler for smart uniforms, in the hot weather in Africa he wore a skirt; he had a full-body tattoo; and he antagonized everybody: the men serving under him as well as the allied Belgian officers he met on the way. Some members of Spicer's crew were pretty odd also; but there were among them sufficient men, notably a Lieutenant Wainwright, who showed not only great endurance but enormous ingenuity in overcoming the many obstacles on the way to the Lake. Spicer naturally claimed the credit for their every achievement.

The journey was astonishing enough; even more so is the story of how the two of the three big German ships were either captured or sunk. The Belgians were now able to take the German headquarters on the West side of the Lake (I would have liked a fuller account of this operation) and the remaining, largest of the German ships, denied a harbour, was scuttled. It was raised after the war, and Foden would be aboard of it on his exploratory journeys on the Lake.

Spicer's victories over the Germans had so impressed the local Africans that they began to reverence him as a god and not only put up statues to him which bore a good likeness (including his tattoos) but sprinkled them with offerings - to the dismay of the local Catholic missionaries. That should have done nothing to reduce Spicer's self-esteem, but in fact, after his second victory, he had refused to run any more risks, and the subsequent successful operation by the Belgians and by Rhodesian land forces at the southern end of the Lake tipped him into such a depression that he was invalided home. There he returned to his old desk job, and was never given a command again. However, he soon bounced back. He was encouraged no doubt by being decorated both by the British and the Belgians; and he gave several lecture about the expedition which certainly lost nothing in the telling.

The whole story was well characterized at one stage by a Belgian officer: `You English have a genius for amateurism. That's what makes you so dangerous. It's always pretty obvious what professionals are going to do, but who but amateurs could have dreamed up an expedition like this?' Foden tells the story with quiet wit, but one can't help feeling that underneath the eccentricities and boastfulness of Spicer there was, at least until his collapse at the end, a quality of determination which contributed to bringing this adventure, against all the odds, to a successful conclusion.

OK but ends a bit disjointedly

This is a fascinating study of one of the more obscure aspects of Britain's WW1 campaign. It is an entertaining read describing how a Biritsh expeditionary force led by a commander considered a liability by every other section of the military somehow led his men to complete their objectives, and ultimately to wrest control of Lake Tanganyiki from Germany. The main character, Spicer, is like a comic book Captain Mainwaring, constantly boasting of his hunting and military exploits despite evidence to the contrary, and is eventually recalled to Britain after falling out with Britain's Belgian allies. The actual story of Mimi and Toutou (Spicer's two boats) is well written and engrossing but the book flags badly at the end with an over lengthy chapter on the film "African Queen", which was partly based on the story of Mimi & Toutou, and a tour of the region by the author, both of which would have been better served by a separate book. Still, an easy read and very entertaining.

One of the most unlikely war stories you will ever read!

This book charts the progress of a Naval expedition dispatched during WW1 to wrest control of Lake Tanganyika from the Germans. The Germans had the largest flotilla of gunboats on the lake which afforded them easy movement of troops and supplies whilst denying these benefits to the opposing British and Belgians. The expedition consisted of two motor launches sent from London commanded by a singular officer.

So much for the bald detail, the officer in question (Spicer-Simson) was a true eccentric but given the task ahead that was probably an advantage. The ML's were shipped to South Africa and then moved to the lake by rail, overland through jungle and over mountain and by river. Spicer-Simson and his men overcame all sorts of obstacles (some self inflicted) to reach their goal and amazingly fight and beat the Germans! The book captures the almost unreal nature of most of the journey, the obstacles faced and overcome, the bordering on madness obsessivness and eccentricities (often wore a skirt) of Spicer-Simson and the battles on the lake with a superb eye for detail and entertaining narrative style. It's sometimes hard to believe that the expedition was ever mounted and reading the book it's even harder to believe it was a success and in large part to Spicer-Simson's unfailing self-belief. How many officers in the RN have unwittingly started their own religion?!

At the end of the book there's a surprise postscript which neatly finishes of the story and connects it to the present day.

In short, buy this book, you won't regret it (you also might not belive it but it's all true!)

Mimi and Tou Tou Go Forth

This book covers one of the most obscure yet vital actions of WW1, the battle for control of lake Tanganyika in central Africa. At the outbreak of the war the Germans controlled the lake by virtue of being the only power with an armed vessel on it. This book tells the story of the organisation of the naval expedition organised by the British to take control of the lake. The officer in command of the expedition was one Spicer-Simson and his highly eccentric character and actions are well brought out in the narrative. The book is written in an entertaining style with many annecdotes and much detail from eye witness accounts. The story of the expedition is traced from it's starting point in London, via an ocean voyage to South Africa and the overland to the lake. Once at the lake the actions with the German vessels are well described as are the subsequent events. There is also an interesting postscript of the author's travels in Africa whilst researching the book.
One fault with the book is that there are no photographs although there are some rather nice drawings at the start of each chapter. Photos (which do exist) would have been nice. The other thing that grates slightly is that the book reads a little like a novel in places but this is only a minor niggle. Overall an interesting an entertaining book on an overlooked subject.