1 00:00:26,426 --> 00:00:28,417 Central Africa. 1915. 2 00:00:36,202 --> 00:00:39,069 A small band of British soldiers marches through the jungle 3 00:00:40,974 --> 00:00:42,669 on a bizarre and secret mission. 4 00:00:50,850 --> 00:00:54,115 In Europe, the first World War has become a murderous stalemate... 5 00:00:54,487 --> 00:00:58,355 but the clash of kings and empires reaches far beyond Flanders - 6 00:01:03,129 --> 00:01:07,657 to a pivotal naval battle for control of the Great Lakes of Africa. 7 00:01:11,938 --> 00:01:13,838 In command of the British expedition is Lt. 8 00:01:13,973 --> 00:01:17,602 - Commander Geoffrey Basil Spicer- Simson... an officer 9 00:01:17,744 --> 00:01:26,083 whom the fates of war will label a hero, a madman, and a god. 10 00:01:55,715 --> 00:01:57,307 June 1915. 11 00:02:01,821 --> 00:02:04,119 Under the guidance of South African John Lee, 12 00:02:04,457 --> 00:02:07,119 400 African labourers are hacking a highway 13 00:02:07,193 --> 00:02:08,626 through the unbroken rain forest 14 00:02:13,733 --> 00:02:17,066 - 150 miles of manual labour in the tropical heat. 15 00:02:24,811 --> 00:02:31,774 Lee's bush road leads across jungles through swamps and over mountains 16 00:02:31,918 --> 00:02:33,146 to the Great Lakes of Africa 17 00:02:36,289 --> 00:02:38,757 - Tanganyika, Victoria, Nyasa. 18 00:02:41,594 --> 00:02:43,619 Two already are in British hands 19 00:02:43,763 --> 00:02:46,323 - but Tanganyika is the jewel of the German empire 20 00:02:51,137 --> 00:02:53,105 - a prize that London desperately needs 21 00:02:53,239 --> 00:02:55,264 to turn the tide of the African war. 22 00:02:59,646 --> 00:03:01,341 420 miles in length, 23 00:03:01,481 --> 00:03:05,247 It is a vital lifeline needed to arm and supply a jungle army. 24 00:03:05,885 --> 00:03:07,352 Whoever controls the lake, 25 00:03:07,487 --> 00:03:09,352 controls the surrounding territories. 26 00:03:15,094 --> 00:03:16,925 One man rules her waters. 27 00:03:17,864 --> 00:03:20,697 Kapitan Gustav Zimmer of the Imperial German Navy 28 00:03:20,900 --> 00:03:23,869 commands a powerful marine unit of 150 men 29 00:03:27,307 --> 00:03:29,775 - his fleet of three heavily-armed gunboats 30 00:03:29,909 --> 00:03:32,901 has obliterated the puny armada of the Belgian Congo 31 00:03:38,451 --> 00:03:39,975 ...- to win the battle for Central Africa, 32 00:03:40,119 --> 00:03:42,178 Zimmer's navy must be defeated. 33 00:03:48,962 --> 00:03:50,657 Yet for the job of destroying him, 34 00:03:50,997 --> 00:03:53,557 the Royal Navy selects a former military surveyor 35 00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:55,600 who has never led a brigade into battle. 36 00:03:58,137 --> 00:04:00,731 Lt. -Commander Geoffrey Basil Spicer-Simson 37 00:04:01,341 --> 00:04:05,004 is an old Africa hand who has spent the first year of the war 38 00:04:05,144 --> 00:04:06,270 behind a desk in London. 39 00:04:18,791 --> 00:04:22,352 Then chance, not choice, gives him an opportunity for greatness. 40 00:04:27,100 --> 00:04:28,431 "Why did we go to Tanganyika? 41 00:04:31,738 --> 00:04:33,706 Because the Germans with four ships on the Lake 42 00:04:34,107 --> 00:04:35,540 - were commanding the lake, 43 00:04:36,609 --> 00:04:38,975 and by means of these steamers were able to supply their troops 44 00:04:39,112 --> 00:04:41,842 on the frontiers with provisions and munitions. 45 00:04:44,017 --> 00:04:45,780 It was important that this should be stopped." 46 00:04:49,455 --> 00:04:51,480 Spicer's orders are almost surreal 47 00:04:51,924 --> 00:04:54,119 - London wants him to tote his own toy navy 48 00:04:54,260 --> 00:04:55,818 from England to Central Africa 49 00:05:00,867 --> 00:05:02,459 a pair of 40-foot motorboats 50 00:05:02,769 --> 00:05:04,669 - to be dismantled and freighted to Cape Town 51 00:05:08,341 --> 00:05:10,866 - then tugged overland by steam tractor to the Congo 52 00:05:11,611 --> 00:05:13,738 - a trek of over nine thousand miles 53 00:05:17,583 --> 00:05:19,847 - with Zimmer's gunships waiting at the other end. 54 00:05:27,827 --> 00:05:29,522 Spicer assembles the team. 55 00:05:33,266 --> 00:05:35,257 Former architect of the Rhodesian railway, 56 00:05:35,601 --> 00:05:37,159 paddy Wainwright is the chief engineer 57 00:05:41,107 --> 00:05:42,335 - I'm tropical disease specialist, 58 00:05:42,475 --> 00:05:44,841 Dr. Hother Hanschell, will be the Medical officer. 59 00:05:47,980 --> 00:05:49,413 As a casual friend of Spicer's, 60 00:05:49,549 --> 00:05:52,712 Dr. Hanschell Knows Spicer is not your average leader. 61 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,079 "Spicer-Simson was a vain man worthy of ridicule and on occasion, 62 00:05:58,224 --> 00:05:59,885 great admiration at the same time. 63 00:06:02,795 --> 00:06:03,989 This paradox was only possible 64 00:06:04,130 --> 00:06:07,566 because of the very nature of Spicer-Simson's own behaviour, 65 00:06:08,334 --> 00:06:10,029 which was quite often bizarre." 66 00:06:11,471 --> 00:06:13,132 28 men will make the journey - 67 00:06:14,907 --> 00:06:17,034 they are gunners, mechanics, and engineers 68 00:06:19,278 --> 00:06:21,712 - not one has ever served under Spicer. 69 00:06:24,650 --> 00:06:27,642 The plan to take Tanganyika from the Germans is a simple one. 70 00:06:28,721 --> 00:06:31,383 Get to Tanganyika, and destroy the German fleet 71 00:06:31,524 --> 00:06:33,048 by stealth and surprise. 72 00:06:35,261 --> 00:06:37,729 But their own warships are converted supply boats. 73 00:06:39,999 --> 00:06:42,058 "The two boats taken to Africa by the expedition were... 74 00:06:42,168 --> 00:06:43,897 not at all suitable as they were, 75 00:06:44,871 --> 00:06:46,862 but they were the only ones obtainable at the time. 76 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:49,801 My orders were to get away at once." 77 00:06:53,579 --> 00:06:57,481 Spicer gives his mahogany warships names befitting pleasure boats 78 00:07:01,154 --> 00:07:03,452 - HMS Mimi and Toutou are quick 79 00:07:03,723 --> 00:07:05,520 - top speed, 20 miles per hour. 80 00:07:09,729 --> 00:07:11,253 Spicer tests them on the Thames 81 00:07:14,767 --> 00:07:17,361 and has a 3 pound Hotchkiss gun mounted in the fore 82 00:07:20,173 --> 00:07:21,834 and a.303 Maxim in the rear. 83 00:07:30,917 --> 00:07:33,044 June 15, 1915. 84 00:07:33,586 --> 00:07:34,211 Stage one. 85 00:07:36,556 --> 00:07:38,649 The Naval Africa Expedition leaves England 86 00:07:38,791 --> 00:07:41,885 on a 6,100 mile voyage for the Cape Colony. 87 00:07:53,906 --> 00:07:57,307 While Spicer and his men enjoy a placid southbound cruise, 88 00:07:57,710 --> 00:08:00,804 John Lee's army of African tribesmen hacks its way north. 89 00:08:17,330 --> 00:08:20,094 By early July, at Cape Town in British South Africa, 90 00:08:21,634 --> 00:08:24,228 the caravan transfers from ship to train. 91 00:08:28,074 --> 00:08:30,042 July 19, 1915. 92 00:08:33,379 --> 00:08:34,277 Stage Two. 93 00:08:37,750 --> 00:08:40,514 The entire expedition consisting of men, boats 94 00:08:40,653 --> 00:08:44,282 and hundreds of boxes of supplies are moved north by rail. 95 00:08:51,898 --> 00:08:53,798 At Fungurume, in the Belgian Congo, 96 00:08:53,933 --> 00:08:55,059 they will meet up with Lee. 97 00:09:02,174 --> 00:09:05,473 Two thousand, seven hundred miles of European-built railways 98 00:09:05,611 --> 00:09:07,772 pierce the heart of a colonized continent. 99 00:09:17,056 --> 00:09:17,784 After two weeks, 100 00:09:19,058 --> 00:09:22,425 Spicer and his men reach the village of Fungurume as expected. 101 00:09:22,929 --> 00:09:23,725 Morale is high. 102 00:09:49,789 --> 00:09:53,850 But then, just as his expedition is about to begin its overland odyssey, 103 00:09:57,930 --> 00:10:00,364 Spicer fires the man who blazed the trail. 104 00:10:10,543 --> 00:10:14,035 He dismisses John Lee, and offers no explanation to his men. 105 00:10:21,020 --> 00:10:23,887 He alone will lead his men across the burning plains 106 00:10:26,792 --> 00:10:29,022 - into a jungle few Europeans have crossed 107 00:10:29,161 --> 00:10:30,958 since the days of Stanley and Livingstone. 108 00:10:36,702 --> 00:10:38,829 To prepare the boats for their waterless voyage, 109 00:10:38,971 --> 00:10:41,496 engineer Wainwright orders them stripped of all fittings 110 00:10:45,578 --> 00:10:48,672 - propellers dismounted... the axles of the carrying wagons 111 00:10:48,814 --> 00:10:52,181 reinforced to carry the eight and a half-ton loads. 112 00:11:00,059 --> 00:11:01,924 While final preparations are being made, 113 00:11:03,796 --> 00:11:07,288 a critical member of the team arrives by a rather odd means. 114 00:11:08,434 --> 00:11:12,666 Ex-policeman, Arthur Dudley has pedalled 200 miles overjungle trails 115 00:11:12,805 --> 00:11:13,863 to reach the expedition. 116 00:11:14,607 --> 00:11:15,198 His role, 117 00:11:15,341 --> 00:11:19,072 to organize and lead the African labourers transporting the supplies. 118 00:11:24,717 --> 00:11:26,207 "Dudley was Royal Navy Reserve. 119 00:11:27,019 --> 00:11:28,384 He'd served in the Boer War, 120 00:11:28,521 --> 00:11:31,115 now he was fooling about in Rhodesia doing transport work 121 00:11:31,557 --> 00:11:33,991 But he was capable, just the sort of fellow for that. 122 00:11:34,894 --> 00:11:35,883 Just enough sea Knowledge 123 00:11:36,362 --> 00:11:38,387 and just enough military training to manage well." 124 00:11:47,173 --> 00:11:48,435 Two months after leaving London, 125 00:11:48,841 --> 00:11:51,742 Spicer's navy-on-wheels is joined by the steam engines 126 00:11:51,877 --> 00:11:53,538 that will pull the boats through the forest. 127 00:11:57,149 --> 00:11:59,174 The tractors are built for level country furrows 128 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,614 - but ahead of them lie some of Africa's most forbidding peaks. 129 00:12:44,263 --> 00:12:46,527 But this strange caravan is being shadowed 130 00:12:46,665 --> 00:12:48,428 by Zimmer's African spies - 131 00:12:49,769 --> 00:12:54,365 "we Knew that the English intended to challenge 132 00:12:54,507 --> 00:12:55,872 our supremacy of the lake. 133 00:12:59,145 --> 00:13:01,613 We also Knew that the Belgians were building a boat. 134 00:13:02,214 --> 00:13:05,183 Where they were building, or wanted to build, was unKnown." 135 00:13:10,189 --> 00:13:14,057 If Spicer and his men make it to Lake Tanganyika, Zimmer vows, 136 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,658 they will not leave Africa alive. 137 00:13:25,905 --> 00:13:27,873 August 18, 1915. 138 00:13:30,209 --> 00:13:31,141 Stage Three. 139 00:13:31,811 --> 00:13:35,076 150 miles of some of the least forgiving terrain 140 00:13:35,214 --> 00:13:37,239 on Earth await the British troopers 141 00:13:39,718 --> 00:13:42,414 - a wild land of disease and sudden death. 142 00:13:48,727 --> 00:13:51,890 At first light, Geoffrey Spicer leads his men out of camp. 143 00:13:57,136 --> 00:13:59,434 "There were no roads such as we call roads in this country, 144 00:14:00,673 --> 00:14:02,732 and except for about 25 miles 145 00:14:02,875 --> 00:14:05,935 the whole route ran through the thick African forest." 146 00:14:16,522 --> 00:14:18,854 The dry season will last only a few more weeks 147 00:14:20,826 --> 00:14:22,259 - then the autumn rains will come 148 00:14:29,101 --> 00:14:30,534 - if mud swallows the tractors, 149 00:14:30,669 --> 00:14:33,297 Spicer's mission... and his only shot at glory - 150 00:14:33,439 --> 00:14:35,236 will be over before it begins. 151 00:14:39,178 --> 00:14:40,702 The steam tractors are in the lead, 152 00:14:44,783 --> 00:14:46,944 each hauling one of Spicer's little ships, 153 00:14:47,119 --> 00:14:50,088 and ten tons of wood for the insatiable engines. 154 00:14:53,125 --> 00:14:55,252 Four hundred Africans... men and women 155 00:14:55,961 --> 00:14:58,953 - carry water, food, ammunition, medicine 156 00:15:02,668 --> 00:15:04,966 - a procession that stretches for nearly two miles. 157 00:15:14,380 --> 00:15:16,314 On the first day, at the first river crossing, 158 00:15:16,715 --> 00:15:19,240 Mimi and her tractor nearly tumble into the current. 159 00:15:23,422 --> 00:15:25,447 It is the first test of Spicer's leadership. 160 00:15:33,565 --> 00:15:37,228 Undaunted, Spicer has chief engineer Wainwright come up with a plan. 161 00:15:38,404 --> 00:15:41,532 Wainwright has more trees cut, reinforces the bridge, 162 00:15:41,974 --> 00:15:43,635 and the convoy plods forward. 163 00:15:45,477 --> 00:15:47,570 "The work was completed at 2:30 p.m. 164 00:15:47,713 --> 00:15:48,941 And the trailers were towed across 165 00:15:49,114 --> 00:15:50,672 and a start was made along the road at 3. 166 00:15:51,984 --> 00:15:53,542 Good progress was made along the road 167 00:15:54,119 --> 00:15:56,383 and at 6 p.m. A camp was formed for the night." 168 00:15:59,959 --> 00:16:04,396 Spicer Knows there are more than 140 rivers and gorges still to cross. 169 00:16:06,532 --> 00:16:09,865 The path they are following continues uphill for 60 miles, 170 00:16:12,671 --> 00:16:18,473 then they reach the Mitumba Mountains, a 6,400 foot range. 171 00:16:26,518 --> 00:16:31,512 Day by day, mile by mile, the former desk officer grows more confident 172 00:16:32,124 --> 00:16:36,652 - his boasts more outrageous... the men love him. 173 00:16:37,896 --> 00:16:39,727 "...he appealed immensely to the ratings... 174 00:16:40,232 --> 00:16:43,690 They all appreciate a commanding officer who's a bit mad, eccentric. 175 00:16:45,738 --> 00:16:47,831 And he was obviously mad. 176 00:16:48,307 --> 00:16:49,467 Therefore he was marvellous. 177 00:17:01,286 --> 00:17:03,686 "I'd say he could not refrain from telling absurd stories 178 00:17:03,822 --> 00:17:05,915 about his prowess at shooting the lions he'd shot, 179 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,492 although I'd never heard of any lions in Gambia." 180 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,534 The caravan survives on the skill of its African hunters, 181 00:17:26,979 --> 00:17:28,947 living off wild buck and guinea fowl. 182 00:17:32,651 --> 00:17:33,174 As for water, 183 00:17:33,352 --> 00:17:36,651 Hanschell and a team of Africans find the nearest water source. 184 00:17:42,094 --> 00:17:43,925 Much of the water is for the steam tractors. 185 00:17:48,767 --> 00:17:50,667 The rest is filtered, boiled, 186 00:17:50,803 --> 00:17:53,829 then filtered twice more and used for tea, cooking 187 00:17:53,972 --> 00:17:55,837 and the next day's water rations. 188 00:18:13,292 --> 00:18:16,455 The steam engines are insatiable consumers of water and firewood 189 00:18:17,729 --> 00:18:20,527 - advance parties prepare storage caches of lumber. 190 00:18:24,403 --> 00:18:28,066 "The journey through the Bush was divided up into three 50-mile stages, 191 00:18:30,075 --> 00:18:31,940 and at the end of each stage was built a depot 192 00:18:32,077 --> 00:18:34,375 to keep the sun off the provisions and ammunition." 193 00:18:49,695 --> 00:18:52,061 The Englishmen, many of them new to Africa, 194 00:18:52,164 --> 00:18:53,859 fear lions and crocodiles, 195 00:18:55,634 --> 00:18:58,194 but Doctor Hanschell's duty is keeping the men healthy 196 00:18:59,271 --> 00:19:01,603 in a region plagued by unseen killers. 197 00:19:11,083 --> 00:19:13,142 "One very valuable thing was the paymaster. 198 00:19:14,586 --> 00:19:16,713 He began to get some boils on his shoulders, 199 00:19:16,855 --> 00:19:19,722 and out of the boils popped worms, big maggots rather. 200 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:21,917 The men all saw this, I showed it, 201 00:19:22,060 --> 00:19:24,927 and I said, 'Now see, here you are going through a country 202 00:19:25,063 --> 00:19:28,726 where the danger's from insects, not from wild animals but insects. 203 00:19:29,234 --> 00:19:30,030 You see what they can do." 204 00:19:47,986 --> 00:19:51,717 >From the spies, crude telegraph lines convey fragments of news 205 00:19:51,857 --> 00:19:52,846 to Kapitan Zimmer 206 00:19:54,293 --> 00:19:56,784 - he believes that Spicer has come to help the Belgians 207 00:19:56,929 --> 00:19:59,056 build new warships at Lake Tanganyika... 208 00:20:00,532 --> 00:20:03,865 "Around Lukuga and south of there by Kalemie 209 00:20:04,002 --> 00:20:06,732 there seemed to be only defensive building going on." 210 00:20:13,445 --> 00:20:16,073 But, about Mimi and Toutou , Zimmer Knows nothing. 211 00:20:20,686 --> 00:20:22,210 While the confident Germans wait, 212 00:20:22,354 --> 00:20:25,915 the English plod on... one agonizing mile at a time. 213 00:20:28,627 --> 00:20:31,061 "Three and a quarter miles a day was the average for the boats. 214 00:20:31,530 --> 00:20:32,724 Occasionally we did rather more, 215 00:20:33,098 --> 00:20:36,158 and on one occasion we covered 14 and 3/4 miles, 216 00:20:36,835 --> 00:20:38,564 but there were many days 217 00:20:38,704 --> 00:20:40,467 when we were lucky if we did a mile and a half. 218 00:20:41,306 --> 00:20:43,604 One day, we did only three-quarters of a mile." 219 00:20:54,886 --> 00:20:58,879 By late August, Spicer Knows he needs help 220 00:20:59,024 --> 00:21:00,423 if he is to outrun the rains. 221 00:21:08,166 --> 00:21:09,929 At a village called Mwenda Makosi, 222 00:21:10,102 --> 00:21:12,900 the British commandeer 42 oxen to help 223 00:21:13,105 --> 00:21:14,936 drag the boats up the Mitumba Range. 224 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:29,087 When the rains begin, 225 00:21:29,187 --> 00:21:31,087 they will turn the plains into a quagmire 226 00:21:31,456 --> 00:21:34,084 too shallow for ships, too muddy for wheels. 227 00:21:44,169 --> 00:21:46,467 Until then, heat is the deadliest enemy 228 00:21:47,005 --> 00:21:48,700 - the thirst for water is unquenchable 229 00:21:49,308 --> 00:21:51,538 - water for the engines... water for the oxen... 230 00:21:52,244 --> 00:21:54,144 a few cupfulls a day for the men. 231 00:22:05,957 --> 00:22:08,585 Then, in early September... a sudden storm of fire. 232 00:22:12,698 --> 00:22:14,666 Spicer has his men create a fire break 233 00:22:22,374 --> 00:22:24,433 He then orders that the precious mahogany boats 234 00:22:24,576 --> 00:22:26,476 must be pretected from flying embers. 235 00:22:30,515 --> 00:22:33,143 For Doctor Hanshell, it is a day of sheer terror. 236 00:22:34,353 --> 00:22:36,116 "...we nearly lost the whole thing by fire... 237 00:22:37,122 --> 00:22:40,091 Here was this war train bearing down on us at a terrific rate. 238 00:22:40,826 --> 00:22:46,355 We'd burnt off, we set fire to it, only just in time, just in time, 239 00:22:46,498 --> 00:22:49,228 we moved the guns, the wagons and everything onto the burnt place, 240 00:22:49,668 --> 00:22:52,660 and the thing stopped... it was so damn near it came." 241 00:23:08,854 --> 00:23:11,516 In the weeks that follow, the oxen prove their worth. 242 00:23:27,606 --> 00:23:30,769 "The top of the plateau was reached on September 8, 1915, 243 00:23:31,109 --> 00:23:33,907 and this was a very triumphant moment for the expedition, 244 00:23:34,379 --> 00:23:37,280 for there were some who had said that it was impossible to get there. 245 00:23:40,318 --> 00:23:42,149 Our difficulties were by no means at an end, 246 00:23:42,654 --> 00:23:44,918 for on the downward trek from this point to Sankisia 247 00:23:45,123 --> 00:23:47,114 there was some risky work to be done 248 00:23:47,259 --> 00:23:49,727 in lowering the boats down the sharp spurs of the mountain..." 249 00:23:54,533 --> 00:23:56,524 They are still weeks away from the combat zone. 250 00:24:06,278 --> 00:24:10,078 Using 42 oxen, 2 road locomotives, and hundreds of men, 251 00:24:11,716 --> 00:24:14,116 the expedition struggles to get down the mountain. 252 00:24:18,824 --> 00:24:19,848 "On more than one occassion 253 00:24:19,991 --> 00:24:22,425 the wheels of the boats dropped into ant-bear holes. 254 00:24:23,161 --> 00:24:25,925 The only way to get out was to fill up the hole with logs, 255 00:24:26,364 --> 00:24:28,958 gradually jacking the boat up until it reached the level. 256 00:24:32,904 --> 00:24:35,771 It was only by good luck that they received no damage." 257 00:24:46,952 --> 00:24:48,146 "There is a great deal of thunder 258 00:24:48,587 --> 00:24:50,612 and it appears the rains are not far away. 259 00:24:51,356 --> 00:24:53,620 The journey now, has become a race to get to the railway 260 00:24:53,758 --> 00:24:56,454 before the rains brake and the roads become impassable." 261 00:25:10,542 --> 00:25:13,909 Finally, the land is level, but the dangers remain deadly. 262 00:25:14,679 --> 00:25:16,340 This is the country of the tse tse fly 263 00:25:19,150 --> 00:25:22,847 - carrier of the sleeping sicKness that kills both men and beasts... 264 00:25:27,292 --> 00:25:28,520 villages are nearly deserted 265 00:25:29,127 --> 00:25:30,754 - the ghost towns of central Africa. 266 00:25:39,971 --> 00:25:43,338 No rain falls... this is a dreadful blessing - 267 00:25:46,011 --> 00:25:47,706 drought scorches the plains. 268 00:25:50,115 --> 00:25:52,606 "At one point the traction engines came to a standstill 269 00:25:52,751 --> 00:25:53,274 for want of water, 270 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:57,145 and the members of the expedition were getting only half a pint a day." 271 00:26:00,292 --> 00:26:04,353 Lt-Commander Spicer offers local women a bolt of coloured cloth 272 00:26:04,496 --> 00:26:06,760 if they will trek eight miles to the nearest well 273 00:26:12,737 --> 00:26:16,537 - hundreds accept the bargain, and the convoy moves on. 274 00:26:23,848 --> 00:26:26,214 For the first time since he tested them on the Thames, 275 00:26:26,518 --> 00:26:29,578 Geoffrey Spicer's two-boat flotilla reaches water deep enough 276 00:26:29,721 --> 00:26:30,688 to sail upon 277 00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:39,296 - Mimi and Toutou are reassembled and lowered into the Lualaba River. 278 00:26:45,804 --> 00:26:47,499 October 1, 1915. 279 00:26:49,140 --> 00:26:49,902 Stage Four. 280 00:26:55,146 --> 00:26:58,604 They will float, or drag their boats, 200 miles downstream 281 00:26:59,751 --> 00:27:02,083 - strange apparitions to the resident wildlife. 282 00:27:05,757 --> 00:27:08,282 "Progress on the river is very slow. 283 00:27:09,327 --> 00:27:11,761 I think Mimi and Tou-Tou hold the record for grounding, 284 00:27:13,965 --> 00:27:16,900 as on october 7 they were aground 14 times 285 00:27:17,068 --> 00:27:17,727 in twelve miles." 286 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:32,211 Even on water, Spicer's flotilla manages barely ten miles a day 287 00:27:33,818 --> 00:27:35,342 - then, at the rail depot at Kabalo, 288 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:36,778 Mimi and Toutou must be 289 00:27:36,921 --> 00:27:39,583 - packaged safely for another journey by rail. 290 00:27:46,231 --> 00:27:48,597 October 22, 1915. 291 00:27:49,768 --> 00:27:50,894 Stage Five. 292 00:27:58,543 --> 00:28:00,602 The final phase of the long odyssey 293 00:28:02,013 --> 00:28:06,507 - 173 miles across precarious trestles and crumbling bridges 294 00:28:06,818 --> 00:28:09,184 - to the Belgian shores of Lake Tanganyika. 295 00:28:15,927 --> 00:28:18,760 Spicer rivals are already preparing their reception 296 00:28:19,431 --> 00:28:23,026 - Gustav Zimmer has followed every mile of Spicer's incredible trek, 297 00:28:23,368 --> 00:28:25,529 still unaware of the unlikely cargo. 298 00:28:26,571 --> 00:28:27,731 "...the effort to find out more 299 00:28:27,872 --> 00:28:32,172 about the area around Lukuga and Kalemie was resumed in earnest. 300 00:28:32,510 --> 00:28:34,501 ...we took down a lot of telegraph wires, 301 00:28:34,779 --> 00:28:36,644 and blew up telegraph stations. 302 00:28:39,918 --> 00:28:42,182 As soon as the British reach their final destination, 303 00:28:42,587 --> 00:28:45,488 he will send his gunboats to destroy Geoffrey Spicer 304 00:28:46,157 --> 00:28:47,954 and his half-mad dreams. 305 00:28:54,799 --> 00:28:57,063 October 28, 1915. 306 00:29:00,105 --> 00:29:02,869 After four months and over 9,000 miles of travel, 307 00:29:03,308 --> 00:29:06,334 the unlikely odyssey of Lt. -Commander Geoffrey Spicer 308 00:29:06,644 --> 00:29:11,411 reaches the blue heart of Africa... Lake Tanganyika. 309 00:29:15,854 --> 00:29:18,015 Finally, he has reached his battleground. 310 00:29:20,558 --> 00:29:22,423 At Kalemie on the western shoreline, 311 00:29:23,762 --> 00:29:26,322 a defensive network of guns, troop quarters, 312 00:29:26,464 --> 00:29:30,025 and shipbuilding facilities guards the back door of the Belgian Congo. 313 00:29:34,572 --> 00:29:37,803 For their British allies, the Belgians have prepared simple dwellings 314 00:29:40,812 --> 00:29:43,406 - Spicer claims the largest to be his headquarters... 315 00:29:43,748 --> 00:29:45,648 and hoists the banner of the Royal Navy 316 00:29:46,117 --> 00:29:48,415 - an emblem of his growing lust for power. 317 00:30:05,804 --> 00:30:07,795 Kalemie has guns, but no harbour. 318 00:30:10,742 --> 00:30:12,300 To protect his boats from the Germans, 319 00:30:12,443 --> 00:30:15,241 Spicer insists the Belgians construct a harbour. 320 00:30:21,386 --> 00:30:23,946 "The decision to build the port was come to owing to the facts 321 00:30:24,088 --> 00:30:26,648 that it is impossible to operate without a defended port, 322 00:30:28,693 --> 00:30:30,251 and the existing defences at Kalemie 323 00:30:30,395 --> 00:30:32,260 will amply protect the port selected. 324 00:30:40,705 --> 00:30:42,468 Hundreds of tons of rock are blasted 325 00:30:42,607 --> 00:30:45,337 and positioned into the crocodile-infested waters 326 00:30:47,011 --> 00:30:48,410 to create an arced jetty. 327 00:30:54,819 --> 00:30:57,845 Atop the rocks, traintracks and a launching slip are lain 328 00:30:58,223 --> 00:31:00,623 which will allow Spicer to slide his miniature Navy 329 00:31:00,758 --> 00:31:02,316 into the lake in minutes. 330 00:31:07,732 --> 00:31:09,495 While the jetty is taking shape, 331 00:31:09,634 --> 00:31:12,626 the Belgians give Spicer the details of the 3 German ships 332 00:31:12,770 --> 00:31:13,600 he must destroy. 333 00:31:18,142 --> 00:31:20,372 The smallest German vessel is the Kingani. 334 00:31:22,747 --> 00:31:25,113 At 55 feet long and 12 feet wide, 335 00:31:25,483 --> 00:31:28,475 she is far larger and better armed than Mimi or Toutou. 336 00:31:31,956 --> 00:31:33,719 Her compatriot, the Hedwig von Wissmann, 337 00:31:34,158 --> 00:31:35,785 is even larger, but slower. 338 00:31:40,498 --> 00:31:43,661 Carrying two powerful guns and a crew of 22 sailors, 339 00:31:43,835 --> 00:31:45,962 she has room for 200 extra troops. 340 00:31:52,176 --> 00:31:53,973 The Graf von Gotzen dwarfs them all. 341 00:31:56,614 --> 00:31:58,104 An 800 ton monster, 342 00:31:58,216 --> 00:32:01,413 she is over 20 times the size of the British speedboats. 343 00:32:07,358 --> 00:32:09,826 Her massive guns can blast Spicer's boats 344 00:32:09,961 --> 00:32:11,485 to oblivion with one shell. 345 00:32:14,132 --> 00:32:16,692 The little British boats are seriously outmanned, 346 00:32:16,834 --> 00:32:18,699 outgunned and outsized. 347 00:32:21,339 --> 00:32:22,829 To tilt the balance of power, 348 00:32:22,974 --> 00:32:26,432 Spicer plots a surprise attack to capture the Kingani 349 00:32:31,416 --> 00:32:33,111 - it is an audacious plan... 350 00:32:33,418 --> 00:32:36,148 for a desk officer who has never led a combat mission. 351 00:33:05,783 --> 00:33:06,374 Across the lake, 352 00:33:06,517 --> 00:33:09,486 Gustav Zimmer plans his own strategy of strength. 353 00:33:13,324 --> 00:33:16,782 "...we learned from intercepted Belgian telegram communications 354 00:33:16,928 --> 00:33:19,123 that they were looking for a building location... 355 00:33:23,501 --> 00:33:26,902 As soon as it was practical, the reconnaissance work began." 356 00:33:34,846 --> 00:33:36,643 December 1, 1915. 357 00:33:39,283 --> 00:33:43,982 German Lieutenants Walter Rosenthal and Job odebrecht 358 00:33:44,122 --> 00:33:46,454 embark on a stealthy mission of reconnaisance. 359 00:33:47,959 --> 00:33:49,483 In four successive evenings, 360 00:33:49,627 --> 00:33:53,085 the two ships slip in under darKness, snapping off night 361 00:33:53,231 --> 00:33:54,357 exposures of the harbour. 362 00:34:01,906 --> 00:34:02,634 The next evening, 363 00:34:02,774 --> 00:34:06,301 Lt. Rosenthal risks his life in a daring solo mission. 364 00:34:10,081 --> 00:34:11,309 "He wanted to swim ashore, 365 00:34:11,449 --> 00:34:15,078 to find out more about the drydock and the building of the new ship, 366 00:34:15,553 --> 00:34:18,283 despite the danger of crashing waves and crocodiles... 367 00:34:18,956 --> 00:34:21,652 he reached the drydock, took notice of two boats, 368 00:34:21,793 --> 00:34:24,261 then swam back to the designated meeting place." 369 00:34:30,134 --> 00:34:33,661 But a panicky German officer orders the Kingani to leave without him. 370 00:34:35,106 --> 00:34:38,405 Rosenthal is forced to hide out on the Allied side of the lake. 371 00:34:55,193 --> 00:34:57,491 At daybreak, abandoned in enemy waters, 372 00:34:57,728 --> 00:34:59,195 Rosenthal is taken prisoner 373 00:35:08,072 --> 00:35:10,734 - Zimmer is still ignorant of Spicer's Jungle Navy. 374 00:35:23,321 --> 00:35:25,186 Mid-December, the rains come 375 00:35:33,564 --> 00:35:34,496 - work is impossible - 376 00:35:38,503 --> 00:35:40,164 all they can do is wait. 377 00:35:44,942 --> 00:35:46,933 "We are having heavy rains almost daily, 378 00:35:47,178 --> 00:35:49,908 and one or two members of the expedition on an average, 379 00:35:50,181 --> 00:35:52,581 are always down with slight attacks of fever." 380 00:36:02,793 --> 00:36:06,593 On December 23, Spicer decides it is time to go to war. 381 00:36:13,070 --> 00:36:16,801 Far from his desk in London, Africa has freed Spicer's spirit. 382 00:36:17,542 --> 00:36:19,737 His battle dress reflects his liberation. 383 00:36:24,182 --> 00:36:27,640 "...to the amazement of the crew and to the Belgians and the natives, 384 00:36:27,885 --> 00:36:28,749 he didn't wear shorts, 385 00:36:29,353 --> 00:36:33,050 he wore a little, tiny little khaki skirt with. Pleats in it." 386 00:36:37,161 --> 00:36:39,061 Spicer and Britain need allies 387 00:36:39,597 --> 00:36:42,725 - the men of the Ba Holo Holo nation see the eccenttic white man 388 00:36:42,867 --> 00:36:43,834 as a natural chief. 389 00:36:49,207 --> 00:36:49,832 Christmas Eve. 390 00:36:51,809 --> 00:36:53,367 The mahogany gunboats undergo 391 00:36:53,511 --> 00:36:55,877 their first trial runs on African waters. 392 00:37:26,677 --> 00:37:28,110 "On Christmas Day we took a rest, 393 00:37:29,780 --> 00:37:32,613 and it being the first time the whole expedition had been together, 394 00:37:32,917 --> 00:37:34,282 we had a big celebration. 395 00:37:48,799 --> 00:37:51,097 December 26, 1915. 396 00:37:52,703 --> 00:37:53,897 The Germans come to fight. 397 00:37:54,772 --> 00:37:57,798 Spicer is reading prayers when an enemy ship is sighted. 398 00:38:06,484 --> 00:38:08,349 Spicer ignores the enemy's approach 399 00:38:16,193 --> 00:38:19,287 - he alone will decide when his private war will commence. 400 00:38:22,333 --> 00:38:25,791 "I finished prayers and then sent off the hands to get ready." 401 00:38:45,756 --> 00:38:48,486 Doctor Hanshell and other non-combatants head to the cliffs 402 00:38:48,626 --> 00:38:52,687 to watch the battle as if it was a cricket match. 403 00:38:54,098 --> 00:38:57,534 "...The paymaster and I and the petty officer Murphy and so on, 404 00:38:57,935 --> 00:38:59,368 we had a grandstand view of it. 405 00:39:00,004 --> 00:39:01,938 It all happened right under our eyes." 406 00:39:03,808 --> 00:39:05,207 At 11:25 a.m., 407 00:39:05,509 --> 00:39:08,239 Spicer and his fleet set off in pursuit of the enemy. 408 00:39:08,846 --> 00:39:13,510 Spicer is in the Mimi and Lieutenant Dudley 409 00:39:13,651 --> 00:39:14,640 - without his bicycle... 410 00:39:16,420 --> 00:39:17,785 is at the helm of the Toutou. 411 00:39:20,257 --> 00:39:23,090 Spicer's plan is to sneak in behind the Kingani, 412 00:39:23,227 --> 00:39:24,888 and attack her from both sides. 413 00:39:27,331 --> 00:39:30,027 The Kingani can only fire on them with her bow guns. 414 00:39:31,635 --> 00:39:33,330 Kapitan Zimmer has sent the Kingani 415 00:39:33,471 --> 00:39:35,530 to blow up the Belgian harbour installation. 416 00:39:36,707 --> 00:39:40,040 But instead, is confronted by Spicer's entire navy. 417 00:39:41,512 --> 00:39:42,877 "She was well inside the bay 418 00:39:43,080 --> 00:39:46,049 before she was aware of the existence of the British boats on the Lake 419 00:39:47,084 --> 00:39:49,552 ...and the Mimi and Toutou rapidly overhauled her 420 00:39:49,687 --> 00:39:50,676 and opened fire." 421 00:40:32,763 --> 00:40:35,459 "An early shot from one of our guns carried away her mast, 422 00:40:36,133 --> 00:40:38,101 and she got several hits below the water line." 423 00:40:45,743 --> 00:40:49,144 In the ensuing half hour, eleven enemy sailors are rounded up. 424 00:41:00,658 --> 00:41:03,422 Lt. Dudley takes control of the captured Kingani, 425 00:41:03,661 --> 00:41:06,596 and brings her and the captured survivors back to base. 426 00:41:17,174 --> 00:41:20,905 At Kalemie, Spicer is showered with sand... a traditional gesture 427 00:41:21,111 --> 00:41:23,978 that confirms his mastery of the earth he stands on. 428 00:41:34,458 --> 00:41:37,484 Three German sailors are buried with military dignity. 429 00:41:38,762 --> 00:41:40,787 The British have suffered no casualties 430 00:41:45,569 --> 00:41:48,732 - but the battle for the blue heart of Africa has barely begun. 431 00:41:57,548 --> 00:41:58,913 In London, he was ignored, 432 00:41:59,316 --> 00:42:02,683 but at Lake Tanganyika, Geoffrey Spicer is hailed as a hero 433 00:42:02,820 --> 00:42:04,913 for his brilliant ambush of the Kingani. 434 00:42:08,759 --> 00:42:11,057 He must now repair his damaged prize. 435 00:42:12,129 --> 00:42:15,826 British and Belgian engineers patch up the Kingani's 11 holes, 436 00:42:15,966 --> 00:42:18,366 and refit her with a larger 12-pounder gun. 437 00:42:23,874 --> 00:42:27,105 When they are finished, Spicer re-christens the German gunboat 438 00:42:27,244 --> 00:42:30,873 as if she were a French poodle, naming her HMS Fifi. 439 00:42:40,024 --> 00:42:41,616 With a bolstered sense of confidence, 440 00:42:41,759 --> 00:42:45,456 Spicer's behaviour becomes more outrageous, more bizarre. 441 00:42:51,569 --> 00:42:54,504 Twice a week, he performs a ceremonial public bath, 442 00:42:54,638 --> 00:42:56,663 complete with cigarettes and vermouth 443 00:43:07,151 --> 00:43:09,745 - his body is decorated with symbolic tattoos... 444 00:43:11,388 --> 00:43:13,618 Spicer's men suspect he has gone mad... 445 00:43:19,530 --> 00:43:22,795 but the Ba holo holo warriors understand the white man's message 446 00:43:24,835 --> 00:43:27,167 - they call him "bwana chifungatumbo" 447 00:43:31,108 --> 00:43:32,234 - Lord of the Loincloth... 448 00:43:48,359 --> 00:43:50,520 February 8, 1916. 449 00:43:55,366 --> 00:43:57,425 ". We got information from native spies 450 00:43:57,568 --> 00:44:01,095 that the Kingani had been sunk by a new coastal artillery battery. 451 00:44:01,839 --> 00:44:03,830 I decided to check into this myself 452 00:44:03,974 --> 00:44:07,432 and sent along the Gotzen, the Hedwig von Wissmann, 453 00:44:07,778 --> 00:44:08,767 and a smaller boat." 454 00:44:09,647 --> 00:44:13,105 The Germans still do not Know the Royal Navy has invaded the Lake. 455 00:44:14,084 --> 00:44:17,247 "...The Hedwig von Wissmann was to get to the Belgian coast 456 00:44:17,388 --> 00:44:20,323 in the early morning and enquire about the position 457 00:44:20,457 --> 00:44:21,219 from friendly spies, 458 00:44:22,192 --> 00:44:24,057 then head back to Cape Kungwe 459 00:44:24,328 --> 00:44:26,888 where she would meet with the Gotzen at around noon 460 00:44:27,097 --> 00:44:27,859 on February 9th." 461 00:44:29,566 --> 00:44:32,592 Then together, Zimmer and odebrecht will attack the harbour. 462 00:44:47,117 --> 00:44:49,813 At dawn on February 9, the dance begins, 463 00:44:50,187 --> 00:44:52,678 with control of Central Africa at stake. 464 00:44:55,959 --> 00:44:57,449 It is a humid, hazy morning 465 00:44:57,895 --> 00:45:00,455 - distant vessels shimmer like mirages in the heat. 466 00:45:04,368 --> 00:45:06,893 Through the haze, Spicer spots the Germans. 467 00:45:41,138 --> 00:45:44,073 Spicer leads the attack in his new flagship, the Fifi 468 00:45:45,776 --> 00:45:47,835 - chief engineer Wainwright takes the speedier, 469 00:45:47,978 --> 00:45:49,309 more maneuverable Mimi. 470 00:45:51,815 --> 00:45:52,577 "...the weather conditions 471 00:45:52,716 --> 00:45:55,082 made the estimation of distance very difficult... 472 00:45:56,987 --> 00:45:59,581 and until the enemy closed to within 5000 yards, 473 00:45:59,923 --> 00:46:03,689 he appeared to be a dark blob suspended above the horizon." 474 00:46:14,772 --> 00:46:15,670 For more than an hour, 475 00:46:15,806 --> 00:46:19,071 Spicer's shells fall short of the fleeing German ship 476 00:46:21,545 --> 00:46:23,172 - but the Mimi cuts off her escape... 477 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:25,710 and forces the Germans to turn and fight. 478 00:46:31,655 --> 00:46:34,351 As if protected from death by his magic tattoos, 479 00:46:34,525 --> 00:46:37,187 the Lord of the Loincloth refuses to take cover. 480 00:46:53,210 --> 00:46:56,839 The battle of Lake Tanganyika lasts 90 furious minutes. 481 00:46:57,681 --> 00:46:59,410 Hemmed in by Wainwright in the Mimi, 482 00:46:59,550 --> 00:47:03,247 Spicer's cannon blasts a fatal wound in the Wissmann's engine room. 483 00:47:10,928 --> 00:47:14,022 "In a few minutes the Hedwig von Wissmann burst into flames, 484 00:47:14,097 --> 00:47:17,032 and finally she up-ended and went down." 485 00:47:25,943 --> 00:47:26,875 >From among the wreckage, 486 00:47:27,077 --> 00:47:29,238 Spicer retrieves the German battle flag. 487 00:47:31,915 --> 00:47:34,941 The first enemy banner captured in combat... anywhere - 488 00:47:35,285 --> 00:47:37,344 in the most deadly war in human history. 489 00:47:40,190 --> 00:47:42,681 Twenty-one Germans survive the explosion 490 00:47:44,394 --> 00:47:48,660 - seven others are killed... Again, there is not a single British casualty - 491 00:47:49,533 --> 00:47:52,730 now, only one target remains... the Gotzen - 492 00:47:54,204 --> 00:47:57,332 the mightiest of all warships on this deadly inland sea. 493 00:48:11,054 --> 00:48:13,750 To the Ba holo holo people, the sinking of the Wissmann 494 00:48:13,891 --> 00:48:17,383 confirms Geofrey Spicer's status as an indestructible warrior... 495 00:48:23,734 --> 00:48:26,862 a man whose magic places him in the realm of the gods. 496 00:48:37,848 --> 00:48:39,406 For miles up and down the Lake, 497 00:48:39,549 --> 00:48:42,712 elaborate clay fetishes are shaped in Spicer's image. 498 00:48:48,926 --> 00:48:51,326 "And clay and wood images grew up all around the place. 499 00:48:52,095 --> 00:48:54,859 The helmet and the beard and the jupe and the bare arms 500 00:48:54,998 --> 00:48:56,761 with scratches on to make the tatooing. 501 00:48:57,567 --> 00:48:59,660 He was the great Bwana Ikuba." 502 00:49:03,540 --> 00:49:05,064 At the peak of his powers, 503 00:49:05,976 --> 00:49:09,241 Spicer is told that his war against Zimmer is over 504 00:49:10,280 --> 00:49:14,444 - the allies will import a new weapon... aeroplanes... 505 00:49:15,352 --> 00:49:17,582 to destroy the Gozten from the sky. 506 00:49:19,823 --> 00:49:21,256 June, 1916. 507 00:49:23,961 --> 00:49:27,397 Allied seaplanes launch a barrage of bombings on Kigoma. 508 00:49:31,068 --> 00:49:33,366 Zimmer decides to scuttle his flagship. 509 00:49:36,173 --> 00:49:38,368 "It was hard for us to blow up our last ships, 510 00:49:38,742 --> 00:49:41,040 but they could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands, 511 00:49:41,678 --> 00:49:43,908 for they would have construed it as a kind of victory. 512 00:49:45,315 --> 00:49:47,180 We conceded to the stronger force, 513 00:49:47,784 --> 00:49:51,049 but our willingness to serve and our enthusiasm was not broken." 514 00:49:54,524 --> 00:49:57,357 Germany's dreams of an African empire are shattered 515 00:49:58,929 --> 00:50:02,194 - thwarted by an unlikely hero and his jungle navy. 516 00:50:11,508 --> 00:50:13,840 After almost another year of protecting the Lake, 517 00:50:14,177 --> 00:50:16,702 Spicer and his men are ordered back to England. 518 00:50:18,382 --> 00:50:20,145 His warships left behind. 519 00:50:24,855 --> 00:50:28,188 The British Naval Africa Expedition is a total success. 520 00:50:31,161 --> 00:50:32,719 Its military objective attained, 521 00:50:35,732 --> 00:50:38,394 its men back home, unharmed. 522 00:50:42,839 --> 00:50:46,502 He has led his men on a bizarre, nearly impossible mission, 523 00:50:47,077 --> 00:50:49,545 a small step on the long road to history. 524 00:50:52,015 --> 00:50:54,415 He is awarded the Distinguished Service order 525 00:50:55,952 --> 00:51:00,685 and 15 others including Henschell, Wainwright 526 00:51:01,958 --> 00:51:04,518 and Dudley are also honoured. 527 00:51:09,433 --> 00:51:11,162 After the awards and the ceremonies 528 00:51:12,536 --> 00:51:17,530 the Lord of the Loincloth returns to the same desk he left in 1915. 529 00:51:20,210 --> 00:51:22,678 As a warrior his duty is done. 530 00:51:41,298 --> 00:51:43,391 "...the expedition was the smallest ever sent out 531 00:51:44,401 --> 00:51:46,562 - there being only twenty-eight men all told. 532 00:51:47,704 --> 00:51:49,171 And it was the only expedition 533 00:51:49,306 --> 00:51:51,274 that had come back without a single casualty."