The First Sea Lord is pleased to report (he being no where near the action) that a perfectly successful seizure of the Port of Tanga on the eastern littoral of Africa has been effected. While Her Majesty's forces did suffer some loses, Sir Potiphar Gubbins, C.E. (Alan Welch) managed to completely fulfill his goals for the action. The previously captured ship HMS Rhino was recaptured from the renegade Musselmen and all of the hostages were freed. The East African Expeditionary Fleet, commanded by Gubbins, sailed into Tanga Harbor and made a brief stop at the Secretariat near the harbor entrance. The Egyptian garrison troops (may they rest in peace) joined the effort and fought valiantly to the last man in the attack upon the main town known as the "Suk Melindi". The advance up the harbor channel was complicated by the presence of the Moslem pilgrim fleet of dhows and other coastal craft which bolted for the open sea. While their presence in the waterway was discomfiting to the order of the advance, they were permitted to sail in order that the political situation not be further complicated. The upshot of this confusion was that portions of the fleet were delayed from attacking the town. Both the flagship, See Adler, with Gubbins aboard and the primary troopship, "Suakin" were delayed. Their firepower was sorely needed as the lighter elements f the fleet stormed the harbor unaided. The renegades had stripped the Rhino of her guns and had the mounted within a mud fort at the head of the channel. The first casualties were among the crew of the steam gig, "Nyasa", which was sunk, the surviving seamen swimming to the advancing heavily armed assault barge, "Fantassin". The small steam gunboat "Kingani" gave invaluable fire support during this a later portions of the action and somehow escaped the fighting nearly unharmed. The Fantassin, however, was severely pounded and her decks were swept by fire from the fort. As the Fantassin ground up onto the beach her armaments were largely to credit for silencing many of the Fort's guns. Her ramps went down and what was left of her Royal Marine landing force moved onto the beach while under heavy fire. It was almost miraculous that this small force found the fort's gate both open and undefended. The Marines burst in through the open gate and assended the stairs up towards the rear of the enemy's gun positions where they finished off the gunners. The renegades, realizing too late their failure to secure the fort, rushed troops to try to retake it. The gunners on the Kingani raked the base of the fort and eliminated the threat. The Royal Marines had the pleasure of taking the enemy's flag from the fort. The Fantassin, in the meantime, was sorely battered. Her entire complement of sailors had been killed or wounded and only one of the sailors from the Nyasa was still working the guns when the ship caught fire. Staying to the very end, the last remaining sailor dived back into the water and swam to the small tug, "Mombasa" which moved into to rescue him. As the Mombasa pulled the sailor aboard and headed away, the Fantassin exploded in a massive fireball which damaged the Mombasa below the waterline. The crew of the Mombasa was able to reach the shoreline before settling into the water. The intrepid seaman, who had fought so well and so bravely, stepped onto the beach to be greeted by members of Her Majesty's Royal Artillery. He had not received even a scratch. To everyone's amazement, due to the sodden and disheveled nature of the sailor's uniform, it was immediately discovered that the young man was actually a young girl! It has been revealed that the sailor is actually *Miss Gertrude Ederly. She has been awarded the Victoria Cross for her exploits and our gracious Queen has insisted that she receive her distinction at Buckingham Palace directly from Her Majesty. In closing, the troops landed and secured both the town and the fort. The intrepid members of the Royal Marines will all receive medals and their commander is to be knighted. Among the hostages was discovered the Captain of the Rhino who allowed his ship to be captured in the first place. He was immediately sacked and shipped back to his home at Jelly-on-Biscuits in Dorkshire. Upon landing, Sir Potiphar Gubbins, C.E. was given a rowsing welcome by the lads ashore with jovial calls such as, "And where the bloody hell has he been?" Potiphar Gubbins was played by Alan Welch of Durham, N.C. who was on a Thanksgiving weekend jaunt about the South. He hosts the Major General web site for Frere David Helber of Armadillo Flats, Texas. Bryant Williams, of Coble, Tennessee, played the part of the nefarious Sultan Bargash bin Said who had seized the Rhino that started this whole mess. Mike Pecollo, of Culleoka, Tn played the part of the late lamented captain of the Fantassin who rushed the harbor and seized the fort. Major Bill Harting, of Estill Springs, TN, played the part of The Right Reverend, Mr. Smedley Throckmorton, who somehow ended up leading the naval landing party and a Kikuyu war band as they moved up the beach and engaged the enemy's right flank. Steve McBee and Mike Randles played the part of the renegades who held the town and threatened the hostages -grrrr. Don Crownover commanded the gunboat Kingani as he protected the landing party. Thomas N. Cheek played the part of the gamer who had to work and only arrived for the finale. What a shame - he painted most of the figures! *This game was played on December 2, 2003 the day that the real Gertrude Ederly, first woman swimmer of the English Channel, passed away. The "miracle seaman" (who went from the Nyasa to the Fantassin and thence to the Mombasa only to be landed on the beach) was named so in her honor. Good on yer, Ms. Ederly. Back to Dispatch December 2003 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com