THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND ZAMBIA

Background

When Britain declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939, Northern Rhodesia found
itself even less prepared for battle than did the mother country. Throughout the thirties, the
protectorate, like all British East African territories, remained responsible for its own
defence, and the legislators at Lusaka refused to spend money on askari (soldiers).

In 1938 the Northern Rhodesian Regiment European Reserve was formed and attracted
volunteers from all walks of life. The following year, an African reserve was also formed, as
well as the Northern Rhodesia Defence Force, a poorly equipped European Home Guard.

But these efforts amounted to little, and when the Germans mobilised, Northern Rhodesia
still depended in the main on a single African battalion, numbering only 401 Africans,
commanded by 20 European officers and Non Commissioned Officers

Northern Rhodesia was however fortunate in the quality of its fighting men. More than one
quarter of the troops in the Northern Rhodesia Regiment (NRR) consisted of Bemba; next on
the list were Ila, followed by Ngoni and Chewa. For reasons why Africans enlisted in the
NRR, please refer to Chapter 2 of my PhD thesis.

Course of the War

At noon on 3 September 1939 news of the outbreak of the Second World War reached
Zambia (colonial Northern Rhodesia). Within two hours, the 1st Northern Rhodesia Regiment
(NRR) moved out from their camp at Bwana Mkubwa for an undisclosed destination in the
West. During the interwar period, plans had been made for the battalion to occupy a
previously reconnoitred position west of Chingola district on the Belgian Congo border road
should war break out in Europe. The regiment’s task was to prevent an enemy force from
attacking the vulnerable but valuable mineral-rich Copperbelt region. According to earlier
intelligence reports, an enemy force, presumably raised in the Portuguese territory of Angola,
was massing for a possible attack on the Copperbelt, the colony’s economic heartbeat. The
battalion was however recalled to Lusaka, the capital city, after three weeks of waiting
without any sign of enemy activity. There, preparations were immediately made for a long
trek north to be part of the East Africa Campaign of the war.

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Over the next six years, the NRR was expanded into eight battalions. This expansion into five
front line units – and establishing three other service groups is one of the greatest feats of any
British colony during the Second World War. Garrison units became part of the 96th
Independent Garrison Company which supplied the guard to the Headquarters of the East
Africa Command in Kenya. Zambian veterans served in East Africa, Somaliland,
Madagascar, Burma, India, and the Middle East. Four battalions however distinguished
themselves in active service at the war front. The 1st Battalion fought in both the Italian East
Africa and Burma campaigns; the 3rd Battalion was engaged in Madagascar and Burma;
while the 2nd and 4th Battalion also saw active service in the Madagascar campaign.

In early 1940, the 1st battalion of the NRR left for British Somaliland following threats from
Italian forces. There they took part in the defence of Tug Argan Gap where Axis machine
gunners and snipers attempted to hold up the enemy in unfamiliar rocky terrain. The
significance of this Gap to the prosecution of the war lay in the fact that it was the only land
gateway from the interior to the port of Berbera. Leaving Mombasa aboard the British Indian
ship Karanja on 11 May 1940, the 1st Battalion reached Berbera four days later. From there,
the men went to Tug Argan Gap. It was here that the troops from Zambia first took up
defensive positions alongside the 1st East Africa Light battery and a machine-gun company of
the Somaliland Camel Corps. The aim of this mission was to prevent the Axis from passing
through the Tug Argan Gap in order to reach Berbera and take over this vital port. Italy only
declared war on Britain and France on 10 June 1940 when they attacked Moyale. The allies
withdrew from the area on 4 July. The Zambian battalion left Somaliland for Aden on 16
August aboard H.M.S. Chantalla. From there they sailed to Yatta in Kenya where new
instructions awaited them. At Yatta Camp, men of the 1st NRR left for Ceylon on 10 March
1942 as part of the 21st Brigade.

The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th battalions (27th Northern Rhodesia Infantry Brigade) left for Madagascar
on 14 August 1942. Within four weeks of their arrival (end of September 1942), the whole
island capitulated and the Free-French government was restored. After the Madagacsar
campaign there arose the critical question as to whether the 27th Brigade should proceed to
the Far East as a unit. Fearing the small territory of Northern Rhodesia might receive heavy
casualties in Burma, military authorities decided against such a move. In September 1943,
therefore, the 27th Brigade was broken up. The 2nd Battalion left Madagascar for garrison
duties in Italian Somaliland; the 3rd Battalion eventually finished up in Burma, while the 4th

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Battalion went to Yatta, Kenya and early in 1944 moved with the 31st East African Brigade to
Somaliland.

The 1st NRR battalion spent much of 1943 under training in the jungle. In July 1944 certain
elements of the Brigade sailed from Colombo for Chittagong. When they eventually
disembarked at Chittagong, they proceeded northwards to Fenoa, a settler estate in the centre
of rice fields. The battalion remained only a few days in camp here, and then began to trek
into the hills. This movement ended some four months later in northern Burma, and then
south across the Chindwin River and beyond the Kalewa River, northwest of Mandalay. The
first major task of the battalion was to repair and maintain a nine-mile stretch of road just
outside Tamu, so that the rest of the Division could go through with their tanks, guns, and
transport. The battalion’s other tasks included repairing bridges which had been swept away
by swollen rivers, draining swamps and levelling the ground, reconstruction of telephone
lines, airstrips, and roads.

This fighting took place under the most appalling conditions, in mud and jungle, dirt and
monsoon rain, where tropical downpours often caused transport to bog down in sodden
ground whilst swollen rivers swept away bridges.

While the 1st Battalion was engaged in the last stages of these operations, the 3rd Battalion
disembarked at Chittagong in December 1944, subsequently moving down the Arakan river,
crossing the Irrawaddy, sweeping south towards Rangoon, and then turning north again in
pursuit of the retreating Japanese. By the time the news of Emperor Hirohito’s surrender
reached the troops, they were less than 100 miles away from the Thailand border. They
finally left the jungles of Burma in October 1945.

In December 1945, the 21st Brigade withdrew from the Mawchi Road. Their final task in the
Burma campaign was to provide guards for the vast dumps and depots in the Rangoon area.
In the immediate post-war period, petty pilfering was rife among poor locals, and far more
dangerous was the plundering by organised bands of armed robbers. During their sojourn as a
guard battalion, the 3rd NRR killed three such bandits, and arrested nearly 100 others for
major thefts.

Between the end of November 1945, and the end of April 1946, the NRR was back to its pre-
war footing of one battalion. The 8th battalion were disbanded on their return from Ethiopia in
1946. The 7th Battalion followed suit a few weeks later when they got back from Madagascar.

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The 2nd Battalion who had been assisting the Somali Scouts and the two Kings African Rifles
battalions to disarm tribesmen in Italian Somaliland, returned home by road in February
1946, and were disbanded soon after. The 4th Battalion merged with the 1st Battalion. The 5th
Battalion broke up on their return from the Middle East, while the 6th Battalion were
disbanded in 1946.

The 3rd Battalion, the last to leave the warfront, sailed from Rangoon in H.M.T. Cameronia in
March 1946. They disembarked at Mombasa and proceeded to Nairobi where, like the 1st
NRR, who had preceded them by a matter of three months, were accorded a great reception.
From there they travelled by road to Lusaka. Special parades were held to celebrate the return
of both battalions in Lusaka, and were officially received by the Governor at Government
House where reception was hosted in their honour. On 20 April 1946 the 3rd Battalion were
disbanded. Twenty-five members of this battalion killed in action in Burma are buried there.

Members of the NRR proudly took their places among empire troops in the Victory Parade in
London following the end of the war.

At the end of the hostilities, about 15,000 Africans had served in the NRR, most of who were
used for garrison duties, and a small proportion participated in active action. Ninety-eight
men were killed in the war, 171 suffered injuries whilst 300 other Africans died of various
other causes. Additionally, between 700-800 Europeans served in the military, of whom 40
lost their lives at the battle front.

Barracks

One way in which the war is remembered in Zambia through the country’s army barracks
which have been named after places where the NRR saw active war service during this war.
Thus, the country’s nine army barracks have the following names: Arakan, Burma, Chindwin,
Kohima, Tug Argan, Taung Up, Gondar, Mawlaik, and Kalewa. These names are mainly
from Asia and some from the horn of Africa where the NRR fought alongside Allied troops
as discussed above.

The Burma Barracks found in Lusaka are named after Burma (today’s Maynmar) where
several battalions of the NRR saw active duty against the spirited Japanese fighters.

Arakan barracks in Lusaka is also named after the Arakan River in Burma.

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Taungap Barracks in Mufulira is named after a town in Burma, Taungap or Toungup. The
town of Taungap is found in the Rakhine state in western Myanmar.

Mawalaik barracks is found in Kitwe. Like Kalewa barracks, this too, is named after a town
in Burma, Mawlaik.

Chindwin barracks in Kabwe is named after the famous Chindwin River where NRR troops
took part in the re-conquest of Burma from the invading Japanese in July 1944. The NRR set
base at Chittagong, an Indian base in preparation for the re-conquest of Burma from the
Japanese.

NRR troops displayed Japanese flags from the captured or killed Japanese soldiers on
“Hill852” in Kalewa. Kalewa is a town at the confluence of the Chindwin River and Myittha
River in Kale district, Sagaing region of north-western Burma. In remembrance of this hard-
won battle against the Japanese, a barrack in Ndola district was named Kalewa.

Tug Argan barracks in Ndola is named after a place in today’s Somalia where the 1 st NRR
went into battle with Italian forces in 1940. The fighting was very intense as the Italians
outnumbered British forces in the ratio of ten to one. The Battle of Tug Argan was fought
between forces of the British empire and Italy from 11 to 15 August 1940 in British
Somaliland. This battle ultimately determined the outcome of the conquest of British
Somaliland following the Italian invasion as well as the larger East African Campaign of the
war.

Kohima barrack in Kabwe is named after a town in India where the NRR fought the Japanese
in the “Battle of Kohima” from 4 April to 22 June 1944.

Lastly, there is Gondar barracks in Chipata district. Gondar, a fortified town, is located in the
Semien Gondar zone of the Amhara region in Ethiopia. It is north of Lake Tana on the Lesser
Angereb River and southwest of the Simien mountains. Until the mid-19th century, the town
was the capital of Ethiopia. During the war, Italian forces made their last stand there in
November 1941 following the fall of Addis Ababa to British forces six months earlier. The
area of Gondar was one of the main centres of activity of Italian guerrilla warfare against
British forces until 1943.

Effects of the War on Zambia

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At the end of the war, Britain became the most indebted country in Europe. This state of
affairs had a negative effect on her relationship with her colonies - She began to let go of her
colonies as they were seen to be a burden on her purse. The change of heart regarding
Northern Rhodesia and other colonies was also in line with post-war reconstruction and
industrialisation underway in Europe after the war. The war impacted on Northern Rhodesia
in the following way:

1. The economy was boosted due to increased copper production. The metal was used in
Europe in the manufacture of shells and catridges. Britain found herself fortunate in
controlling a major supply of copper within her empire.

2. In addition Northern Rhodesia expanded production of other minerals such as zinc and
lead. Vanadium also began to be mined as it was a useful metal in the manufacture of steel
for armoured vehicles. Additionally, a substantial amount of cobalt was turned out. In 1943
two small mica mines in Northern Rhodesia producing mica of high quality opened. The
metal was in great demand for the manufacture of valves in oxygen masks used in bombers.

3. The war stimulated the country’s incipient (developing/embryonic) secondary industries,

4. Stimulated the production of local products such as rubber, iron, strings, beeswax, leather,
etc. Many of these commodities were previously obtained from the Far East, but the Allied
nations could no longer do so due to the defeat of Allied-owned colonies by Japan in the
region. The focus then shifted to African colonies such as Zambia to produce these items.

4. The war led to an increase in food production in Northern Rhodesia. Since the war was
dependent on the supply of food, fighting abroad acted as a stimulus to the farmer at home. In
1937 Northern Rhodesia managed to produce 437,000 bags of maize of which 242,000 was
derived from European farmers and the rest from Africans. The success of agriculture helped
to keep the wheels of industry turning.

o A Food Production Committee was set up and advised farmers on how to expand their
acreage. During this same period, the govt initiated a number of schemes aimed at
boasting peasant production.

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 o One of these was the African Farming Improvement Scheme (AFIS) which started in
the Southern Province in 1947. The following year, the African Peasant Farming
Scheme began in Fort Jameson district.

o At the same time Labour Corps were started in 1942. Through this programme, the
govt conscripted African labour for settler farmers. This policy was copied from
Kenya and Tanganyika where a similar programme existed. Those drafted on the
programme were compelled to serve for two months at normal rates of pay.

o In 1942, the govt also began to provide guaranteed minimum prices for wheat and
maize over a period of three years. This led to a phenomenal increase in production.

o Loans now became available to cultivators, and Department of Agriculture Inspectors

o Additionally, oxen or machinery (ploughs and tractors) now became widespread

o Resettlement of peasant farmers from congested reserves also began.

o Cooperative societies were also formed to help in the marketing of African peasant
produce.

5. The war led to a severe shortage of white labour. This in turn greatly strengthened the
bargaining position of the European Mine Workers’ Union. The European miners, many of
them young men fresh from the Rand, argued that now was the time to stand out for their
pay- this was the right time to get a pay rise rather than wait for a time of peace, slump and
unemployment. Besides, the cost of living had gone up. As a result, they went on strike in
March 1940, first at Mufulira, then Nkana. In the end they won a pay rise.

6. The European strike made a deep impression on African miners, some of them apparently
teased by their European supervisors for lacking guts in standing up for their rights. As a
result, African miners went on strike as well in 1940. In its investigation of the causes of this
strike, the Forster Commission of Inquiry found that wages for African workers were lower
in terms of real value in 1940 than during the period of mine construction.

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7. Development planning began in the country, the first plan being the Ten Year
Development Plan, 1947-1957. The plan budgeted for expenditure amounting to £13m.

8. Formation of trade unions for African workers. Before the war, African workers were not
allowed to form trade unions.

9. Settler politics took a new twist vis a vis the creation of the Central African Federation.
Settlers, especially in Southern Rhodesia, revived this scheme mainly because of the new
status of the Copperbelt which had changed as a result of the increased copper production.
Thus Northern Rhodesia was seen as a key area in the success of the federation.

10. Stimulated the rise of African nationalism— the war and settler politics in turn affected
Africans who were slowly becoming more and more interested in the affairs outside their
ethnic areas. The government itself helped to make Africans more conscious of wider issues
by launching an extensive propaganda campaign to fight indifference and apathy with regard
to the war, which remained widespread amongst Africans. This propaganda was in the form
of leaflets, radio broadcasts, cinema shows, and vernacular newspapers. Ironically, as
Rosaleen Smyth noted, the war news and propaganda hastened the emergence of an African
political voice.