Qualla: Battle of Zanzibar https://qualla.com/battle-of-zanzibar en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:26 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/k/y/g/v/battle-of-zanzibar-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Zanzibar https://qualla.com/battle-of-zanzibar Battle of Zanzibar: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-zanzibar/ Photo credit Walther Dobbertin, CC BY-SA 3.0 de. "Keep it up, lads, we're outclassed and done for; but damn them, and keep it up!" Lieutenant Richard Turner shouted these words from the deck of HMS Pegasus, both legs mangled by shrapnel, as German shells continued to slam into the anchored British cruiser. It was 20 September 1914, barely seven weeks into the First World War, and the fight unfolding in Zanzibar harbour was already hopeless. The German light cruiser SMS Konigsberg had come hunting, and she had found her prey immobile, outgunned, and utterly surprised.

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/y/g/v/battle-of-zanzibar-wp/kygv-battle-of-zanzibar-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Zanzibar: The Hunter and the Sitting Duck https://qualla.com/battle-of-zanzibar/ Photo credit Walther Dobbertin, CC BY-SA 3.0 de. The day before the attack, Commander Max Looff of SMS Konigsberg was coaling in the Rufiji River delta on the German East African coast when coast watchers brought word that a British warship had entered Zanzibar harbour. Looff saw opportunity. His ship, built in 1905 and armed w...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/y/g/v/battle-of-zanzibar-wp/kygv-battle-of-zanzibar-the-hunter-and-the-sitting-duck.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Zanzibar: Forty Minutes of Fire https://qualla.com/battle-of-zanzibar/ Photo credit Walther Dobbertin, CC BY-SA 3.0 de. Konigsberg entered from the southern approaches at dawn. She fired a few warning shots past Helmuth, which could neither stop the German cruiser nor raise an alarm in time. At a range of 9,000 yards, Konigsberg opened fire on Pegasus with full salvos. For twenty minutes, the Brit...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/y/g/v/battle-of-zanzibar-wp/kygv-battle-of-zanzibar-forty-minutes-of-fire.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Zanzibar: The Aftermath at Grave Island https://qualla.com/battle-of-zanzibar/ Photo credit Walther Dobbertin, CC BY-SA 3.0 de. The hospital ship Gascon and the merchant vessel SS Clan Macrae pulled survivors from the water. Twenty-four of the dead were buried in a mass grave at the naval cemetery on Grave Island in Zanzibar harbour. Fourteen others were interred in the town cemetery before being moved in...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/y/g/v/battle-of-zanzibar-wp/kygv-battle-of-zanzibar-the-aftermath-at-grave-island.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Zanzibar: The Predator Becomes Prey https://qualla.com/battle-of-zanzibar/ Photo credit Walther Dobbertin, CC BY-SA 3.0 de. Konigsberg's victory was clean but short-lived. One of her main engines failed shortly after the battle, and with the British watching Dar es Salaam, Looff had no choice but to retreat deep into the Rufiji River delta to await spare parts overland. The British discovered her hidi...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/y/g/v/battle-of-zanzibar-wp/kygv-battle-of-zanzibar-the-predator-becomes-prey.mp3 0:06 5 full