Tanga

The somnolent town of Tanga, once the main settlement on this part of the coast, is today a sleepy backwater with genteelly crumbling white buildings, a busy port, a strong Indian influence, and a colonial-era bathing club. But beneath this tranquil present lies a dramatic history – Tanga was the site of the semi-farcical ‘battle of the bees’, a First World War engagement in which British troops landed on the beaches here in an attempt to take the town, but found a well-prepared defence force waiting under the leadership of German commander Von Lettow-Vorbeck. The fighting, in thick bush south of the town, quickly turned to jungle skirmishing, with combat frequently interrupted by swarms of angry bees, hence the battle's nickname.