In the annals of the First Great War, whilst the Western Front remains etched in collective memory as the theatre of blood and mud, a lesser-known saga unfurled on the vast canvas of Africa. It was here that the sun never set on the British Empire, and it was here that the drums of war would beat once more.

With Europe's great powers ensnaring the globe with colonies and protectorates, the fates of Europe and Africa became inextricably intertwined. The onset of the war in 1914 rapidly transformed Africa from a colonial playground into a strategic battleground. For Britain, the campaign was driven by the imperative to secure imperial assets, challenge German colonial ambitions, and eliminate the threat posed by wireless stations that could communicate with the German High Seas Fleet.

The primary antagonist for the British was German East Africa, today's Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. In command for the Germans stood the indomitable Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, a man who would gain legendary status for his guerilla warfare tactics. Opposing him, the British forces were initially led by General Horace Smith-Dorrien, though the task would eventually fall upon General Jan Smuts, South African statesman and soldier, who brought with him the might of the South African Defence Force.

The war in Africa was defined less by trench warfare and more by gruelling marches, sporadic engagements, and the omnipresent adversaries: disease and nature. The Battle of Tanga (2-5 November 1914), often termed the "Battle of the Bees", exemplifies the unexpected challenges of this theatre. British forces, believing victory would be swift, encountered not only stout German resistance but also a swarm of angry bees. The battle ended in a disheartening British defeat.

Yet, the tides of conflict ebbed and flowed. In the shadows of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Battle of Salaita Hill (12 February 1916) raged, marking the commencement of General Smuts' offensive into German East Africa. Although a tactical German victory, the strategic initiative remained with the British. By the end of 1916, through a combination of force and attrition, the British had managed to reclaim the majority of German East Africa.

But von Lettow-Vorbeck, the elusive “Lion of Africa”, remained undefeated, conducting a guerrilla campaign that tied down significant British resources. His forces, though dwindling, kept the Allies on the chase, drawing them deep into the hinterlands, until the war's very end in 1918.

When the armistice was signed on 11th November 1918, Lettow-Vorbeck's force, reduced to 155 Europeans and 1,168 Askaris, marched into Abercorn in Northern Rhodesia and laid down their arms, undefeated in the field.

In retrospect, the African campaign was a costly sideshow in terms of the wider conflict, but its implications were immense for the continent. Empires had been reshaped, and the seeds for future struggles for independence had been sown. As with so many chapters of that global conflagration, the echoes of battles in the African plains and jungles would reverberate long after the guns fell silent.