Qualla: Battle of Kakamas https://qualla.com/battle-of-kakamas en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:25 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Battle of Kakamas https://qualla.com/battle-of-kakamas Battle of Kakamas: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-kakamas/ On February 4, 1915, while Europe was digging into the trenches that would define the Western Front for four years, a smaller and almost forgotten fight unfolded at the edge of the Kalahari. At Kakamas, a farming settlement on the Orange River in South Africa's Northern Cape, 205 German mounted riflemen with four artillery guns and four machine guns attacked South African forces guarding two river fords. The Germans needed those crossings. They did not get them.

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/6/y/s/battle-of-kakamas-wp/k6ys-battle-of-kakamas-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Kakamas: The War Comes South https://qualla.com/battle-of-kakamas/ The broader context was the South West Africa Campaign, one of the First World War's more obscure theaters. Germany controlled the territory that is now Namibia, and South Africa -- aligned with Britain -- was assembling a force to invade it. Colonel J. van Deventer had gathered ...

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/6/y/s/battle-of-kakamas-wp/k6ys-battle-of-kakamas-the-war-comes-south.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Kakamas: The Fight at the Fords https://qualla.com/battle-of-kakamas/ Ritter's force attacked under cover of their artillery, and the initial assault succeeded in capturing a small South African outpost at the ferry landing on the riverbank. But South African soldiers had positioned themselves between the German flanks, cutting off any further adva...

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/6/y/s/battle-of-kakamas-wp/k6ys-battle-of-kakamas-the-fight-at-the-fords.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Kakamas: Retreat Through the Night https://qualla.com/battle-of-kakamas/ The Germans did not break contact until 11 p.m., fighting a running withdrawal through the darkness of the Northern Cape scrubland. They reached Biesiespoort on February 5 and retreated across the border into German South West Africa. The cost was modest by the standards of the w...

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/6/y/s/battle-of-kakamas-wp/k6ys-battle-of-kakamas-retreat-through-the-night.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Kakamas: Van Deventer Moves North https://qualla.com/battle-of-kakamas/ Following the battle, van Deventer summoned the rest of his column from Upington, 80 kilometers away, crossed the Orange River, and began the slow advance into South West Africa that would eventually end German colonial rule in the territory. Van Deventer himself would go on to c...

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/6/y/s/battle-of-kakamas-wp/k6ys-battle-of-kakamas-van-deventer-moves-north.mp3 0:06 5 full Battle of Kakamas: A Memorial in the Cemetery https://qualla.com/battle-of-kakamas/ Today, just outside Kakamas in the town's cemetery, a memorial stands dedicated to the German soldiers who died in the battle. It is a quiet, modest marker in a quiet, modest town -- the kind of memorial that most travelers drive past without stopping. Kakamas itself has grown in...

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/6/y/s/battle-of-kakamas-wp/k6ys-battle-of-kakamas-a-memorial-in-the-cemetery.mp3 0:06 6 full