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Today on Military History Sunday, we will talk about the Battle of Adibo (1896). The battle was fought between the Germans and the Kingdom of Dagbang in a town called Adibo, about 16km from Yendi.
Some background. The German Togoland had been established in 1884, comprising present day Togo and present day Ghana’s Volta and Oti regions. Both the Germans and the British had eyes on annexing the Kingdom.
Ya-Na Andani II (1876-1899), King of Dagbang, was resistant to German attempts to spread their influence over his territory. This prompted the German Schutztruppe (colonial troops) and their Askari (African units) to march to deal with the Dagbang army.
There are different accounts of the battle but what I think is not in dispute is that the Dagbamba warriors vastly outnumbered the Germans but the Germans had much better firearms.
Estimates range from 4500-7000 Dagbamba and 100-372 German soldiers. The Germans were armed with breechloader rifles with a much better range and the ability to fire multiple shots before reloading. The Dagbamba were armed with muzzle-loading rifles and bows.
The result of the battle was a defeat for the Dagbang army, as the disparity in weapons technology proved to be the decider. The Dagbang army retreated. The Germans marched on to Yendi, looted the town and then razed it to the ground.
The defeat allowed the Germans to annex the Eastern part of the Dagbang Kingdom, including Yendi. The Western part was controlled by the British. The Kingdom would not be reunited until after World War I when the region became a British protectorate.
Sources and further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adibo
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Dagbon-Recalling-History-the-Battle-of-Adibo-76953
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Dagbon-Recalling-History-the-Battle-of-Adibo-Part-2-84184
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Dagbon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adibo
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Dagbon-Recalling-History-the-Battle-of-Adibo-76953
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Dagbon-Recalling-History-the-Battle-of-Adibo-Part-2-84184
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Dagbon
Special thanks to @wunpini_fm for teaching me to use “Dagbang” and “Dagbamba” rather than “Dagbon” and “Dagomba”. Also thanks to @JesseBrite and @jerryblinxxx for the inspiration for this episode.
