First Battle of Vailele
Part of the Samoan Civil War
Date18 December 1888
Location
Vailele
Result Mata'afaite victory
Belligerents
 German Empire Mata'afaite Samoans
Casualties and losses

16-30[1] marines killed 40 wounded (14 later died from there wounds)[2]


Total 56-70 killed or wounded[3]		 unknown 10-13 killed or wounded confirmed

The First Battle of Vailele occurred on 18 December 1888 at the German plantation of Vailele as part of the First Samoan Civil War.[4] About 150 sailors from SMS Olga, SMS Eber and SMS Adler landed 80 marines near Apia to confront the Mata'afas rebels while the rest sailed along the coast on longboats. The Germans expected Government troops from Tamasese to reinforce them, however none had come. In the ensuing fighting, the Germans lost 16 marines and sailors in battle and 40 wounded; at least 14 died from their wounds, other sources claim that 30 were killed in total aswell as the 40 wounded.[5] almost 70% of their force. They fled to the coast where they were rescued by the longboats. Soon after German plantations and property in Vailele were all plundered and burnt down. [6][2][1]

A memorial for the Germans killed at the battle was erected in a ceremony presided over by the commander of the unprotected cruiser Sperber.[7]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 "TALES OF TIME - The Samoan War you didn't know about — thecoconet.tv - The world's largest hub of Pacific Island content.uu". www.thecoconet.tv. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  2. 1 2 "Native War in Samoa: Germans engaged in the fight". Samoa Times. 20 December 1888. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  3. ↑ Klein, John. "Papers relating to Samoa (1870-1890)". natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  4. ↑ Krämer, p. 299
  5. ↑ https://www.thecoconet.tv/coco-docos/tales-of-time/tales-of-time-the-samoan-war-you-didnt-know/
  6. ↑ "German Colonial Uniforms". www.german colonial uniforms.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  7. ↑ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 178

References

  • Krämer, Augustine (1994). The Samoa Islands: An Outline of a Monograph With Particular Consideration of German Samoa: Constitution, Pedigrees and Traditions. Vol. I. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824822196.
  • Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe (Volume 7). Ratingen, DE: Mundus Verlag. ASIN B003VHSRKE.
  • Hempestall, Peter L.; Mochida, Paula Tanaka (2005) The Lost Man: Wilhelm Solf in German History. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 3447051345
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