Barracks:
The History Behind Those Names (Part 5a)
By
Dr.
Nowa Omoigui
nowa_o@yahoo.com
SEE
MAPS OF BURMA:
http://www.burmastar.org.uk/arakan_mountains.htm
http://www.burmastar.org.uk/burmamap1.htm
http://www.burmastar.org.uk/maungdaw.htm
Although it is not unheard of to find officers living among civilians in town, Nigerian soldiers are typically quartered in over 75 Barracks, Cantonments, Camps and Forts. The terms refer to temporary or permanent billets for troops of various size and complexity. Supposedly temporary billets go by the more commonly known nickname “Basha” which refers to a zinc or aluminum roofed shack. The word “Cantonment” is specifically derived from the word “Canton” which means “to quarter soldiers”. It has a more permanent connotation than the word “Barracks”. The word “Fort” comes from fortis, which means “strong”. Over the years, beginning as far back as ancient Roman and Greek times, strong defensive military points, usually located on Hills and other points of elevation, have been called alternative names like Bastion, Citadel, Acropolis, Fort, Fortress, Fortification, Redoubt, Strong point etc. In feudal England for example, a Castle was a typical military fortification, surrounded by moats or canals with draw-bridges etc. Forts became less popular with the end of the era of siege warfare and the advent of mobile warfare based on the principles of Fire and movement. In the quest to conquer the west all the way to the Pacific Ocean, American soldiers and Indian Scouts often had to build Forts to protect themselves from Native Indian Tribes defending their lands. Therefore, the curious concept of a “Fort” in modern Nigeria is far removed from the medieval historical context in which they originally got their names.
Nevertheless, for some reason, Nigeria has – in the last 12 years – classified some fairly conventional Army Barracks as “Forts” in the usual Nigerian practice of copying things from abroad without deep thought. The individual names of these various Barracks, Cantonments, Camps and ‘Forts’ fall into three categories:
1. Those named after the locations in which they are situated (i.e. the Town, City or local section of Town). Examples include Katsina, Keffi, Okitipupa, Calabar, Onitsha, Lafenwa (Abeokuta), Ekenwan (Benin), Makurdi, Abakpa (Enugu), Awkunanu (Enugu), Bama and Yola Barracks etc.; Ikeja (Lagos), Ojo (Lagos), Rukuba (Jos), Odogbo (Ibadan) Cantonments, etc; Bori Camp (Bori, Rivers State). The Bassawa Barracks in Zaria was originally named after Bassawa, a former slave village belonging to the Mallawa family of Zaria. The original village is a classical relic of traditional Hausa Architecture.
Comparatively speaking, this geographic method of naming barracks appears to be preferred in Kenya where Barracks go by such local names as Nairobi, Gilgil, Lanet, Mombasa, Isiolo, Nanyuki Barracks etc. all of which are the towns or surrounding villages in which they are located The Bombo, Gulu, Masindi, Magamaga and Makindye barracks in Uganda also appear to follow this model.
2. Those
named after military battles or campaigns or memorable locations or cultural
symbols of specific military theaters of war. Examples include Bonny Camp,
Abalti, Dodan, An, Myohaung, Arakan, Tego, Beho Beho, Marda, and Ashanti
Barracks in Lagos; Letmauk Barracks in Ibadan; Bukavu Barracks in Kano; Kotoko,
Dalet, Mogadishu, Colito and Kalapanzin Barracks in Kaduna; Chindit Barracks in
Zaria etc.
Comparatively speaking there is a Burma Camp in Ghana, Arakan Barracks in
Zambia, Kabrit (former Rhodesian SAS) Barracks in Harare, Zimbabwe - named after
the former Royal Air Force Base at Kabrit in the Suez Canal zone etc.
3.
Those named after individuals. These include Ribadu Cantonment in Kaduna; Adaka
Boro Barracks (Elele, Rivers State); Giwa and Maimalari Barracks (Borno); Fort
Nagwamatse (Kontagora, Niger State); Obienu Barracks (Bauchi, Bauchi State);
Ejoor Barracks (Effurun/Warri, Delta State); Camp Wu Bassey, Fort IBB (former
Fort Obasanjo), Sani Abacha, Yakubu Gowon, Aguiyi-Ironsi and Gado Nasko Barracks
(Abuja); etc.
Comparatively speaking Zimbabwe has the Cranborne, King George VI (KG6), Nkomo
and Pomona (Engineers) Barracks in Harare; Llewellin, Induna, and Imbizo
Barracks in Bulawayo. In Uganda, there used to be a Gaddafi Barracks at Jinja.
4. Those named after Brigades and other Army Formations. These include 31 Artillery Brigade Barracks, Minna, 33 Artillery Brigade Barracks, Bauchi etc.
Comparatively speaking Zimbabwe has the 1st Commando Regiment barracks in Harare, Three Brigade Barracks in Mutare, Four Brigade Barracks in Masvingo, Presidential Guard barracks at Dzivaresekwa etc. There is a Territorial Army Barracks in South Africa.
Let us delve a little more deeply into those names that commemorate individuals and military campaigns.
In the 19th century, under the guise of eradicating slavery, promoting Christianity and “lawful trade”, there were many “Ashanti campaigns” conducted by British and colonial troops against the Ashanti (Asante) Empire of modern Ghana. With the exception of cavalry, the Asante army had an excellent infantry structure including musketeers, bowmen, and spearsmen. They had scouts (Akwansraf); an advance Recce guard (Twaf); a main fighting force (Adonte); the imperial personal bodyguard (Gyas); a rear protection guard (Kyido); and two flanking wings, the left (Benku) and the right (Nif). They also had a medical corps (Esumankwaf).
In 1824, the 2nd West India Regiment, Royal African Corps and Royal Artillery were involved in the first of several wars with the Asante – in which British Governor Charles MacCarthy was killed. Two years later the British employed Congreve rockets to scatter an Asante attack on the coast, eventually forcing the peace treaty of 1831. In 1843, the British moved in to administer coastal Forts following which relations deteriorated and there was a further skirmish in 1863. From 1873-1874, the 2/23rd Regiment of Foot, 42nd Regiment of Foot, 2/Rifle Brigade, 1st West India Regiment, 2nd West India Regiment, Royal Artillery Royal Engineers and Royal Marine Light Infantry were involved in the second of the Ashanti wars. This was precipitated by the efforts of the Asantehene to protect access to the sea at Elmina – which failed. On March 14, 1874, the Treaty of Fomena was signed. However, from 1895-96, a third Ashanti Expedition was organized under Major-General Sir F. C. Scott against Asantehene Prempeh I King Prempeh I of the Asante, who had been accused of human sacrifice. It resulted in the exile of Asantehene Prempeh to the Seychelles Islands and declaration of a British protectorate over Ashanti Land. However, all was not lost. When the British attempted to gain control of the Asantehene's Golden Stool, symbol of Asante power and independence, the last of the Ashanti wars broke out and lasted from March 31 to December 25, 1900. It was mainly with the last Anglo-Asante war that “Nigeria” was involved, although elements of the Hausa Constabulary had fought in some of the previous battles.
In May 1900, the Northern Nigeria Regiment, West African Frontier Force was established by amalgamation of West African Field Force and Royal Niger Constabulary companies in Northern Nigeria. Later that year 1200 troops of the regiment under British Lt-Col. James Willcocks were sent to Ghana to partake in the Asante campaign. This is the war that finally broke the back of Asante independence.
The “ASHANTI BARRACKS” IN APAPA, LAGOS, and the “KOTOKO BARRACKS” IN KADUNA were named to commemorate Nigeria’s role in that colonial adventure. In 1948, Nigerian troops were again sent to Ghana to quell serious riots there.
The Nigeria Regiment, West African Frontier Force, was formed by amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria Regiments on January 1st 1914. During the First World War, supported by tens of thousands of carriers, nine (9) battalions of the Nigeria regiment (along with elements from Gold Coast, and Sierra-Leone) fought and distinguished themselves under British command at Douala, Garoua and Banyo in the Cameroons from 1914-16.
The Cameroons campaign was very difficult. Three columns crossed into Kamerun and were initially beaten back with heavy casualties. The northern wing advanced toward Mora, near Lake Chad. The middle wing went for Garoua. The southern wing made a thrust toward Nsanakang. After the failure of the initial overland assault from the west, a sea borne counter-thrust was made toward Douala, which was taken on September 27, 1914. Thereafter a difficult campaign was waged from south to north, inch by inch in bad weather in dense jungle and rolling savannah until Garoua fell in February 1916. It is said that when official military rations were low, Nigerian soldiers reacted by cultivating farms.
They went on to fight from 1916-18 at Behobeho and Nyangao in Tanganyika (East Africa) against the famous German guerilla warfare genius, Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck.
The “BEHO BEHO BARRACKS” IN APAPA, LAGOS was named to commemorate colonial Nigeria’s role during the East African Campaign in the First World War. In modern Tanzania, Beho Beho is a town near the famous Selous Game reserve, named after Captain Frederick Courtney Selous, a British hunter, soldier and naturalist who was killed by sniper fire in the Beho Beho area in 1917. Selous was as much a guerilla as Von Lettow and was later memorialized in Rhodesia with the name of the “Selous Scouts”, Rhodesia’s notorious counter-insurgency unit during the front-line wars of liberation in the seventies.
Thirty thousand Nigerians fought in World War 2. They saw action at Juba, Goluin, Marda Pass, Babile Gap, Bisidimo, Colito, Omo and Lechemti during the Abyssinian campaign in East Africa from 1940-41. The 12th African division in that theater consisted of the 1st South African Brigade Group, 22nd, 25th, 26th and 28th East African, 23rd Nigerian and 24th Gold Coast Brigades. The brunt of actual fighting beginning in Somaliland (Mogadishu) through to Ethiopia was borne by the 23rd Nigerian Brigade. Nigerian soldiers were right there with Orde Wingate when Emperor Haile Selassie was returned to power in Addis Ababa. The Nigerian and Gold Coast troops who fought in East Africa later joined the 82nd (West Africa) Division in Burma.
In Burma, from 1943-45, as part of the 81st and 82nd West African Divisions, the Nigeria regiment of the West African Frontier Force also fought in North Arakan, Kaladan, Mayu Valley, Myohaung, Arakan Beaches, Kangaw, Dalet and Tamandu and was a component of Chindit operations in 1944. The high point of the Nigerian regiment in Burma was the fall of Myohaung on January 24-25, 1945. Before independence, January 25 used to be celebrated annually in Nigeria as an official military day.
The
81st (West Africa) Division
The 81st (West Africa) Division was created in March 1943 in Nigeria under Major General C. G. Woolner, CB, MC. It consisted of the 3rd, 5th and 6th (West Africa) Brigades. The 3rd Brigade under Brigadier H. U
Richards comprised the 6th, 7th and 12th Nigerian Battalions. The 5th (West Africa) Brigade was entirely Ghanaian (Gold Coast). The 6th Brigade combined battalions from Nigeria, Gambia and Sierra Leone under Brigadier J. W. A. Hayes DSO.
Between August 14th and November 8th, 1943, various Brigades of the 81st Division arrived in Burma and concentrated at Chiringa, which thus became the West African Base and Rear Headquarters. Barely after arrival, with no animals or vehicles in support, the Division was “volunteered” by General Giffard, C-in-C Eastern Command, to advance independently of the main Arakan formation along the Kaladan River on the left, threatening the Japanese flank and their west-east lines of communication at Kanzauk Pass. General Slim regarded this area of operations as “the dangerous spot in Arakan”. The axis of advance meant the Africans would have to totally rely on air re-supply – the first time an entire unit of that size would be deployed under such circumstances. The 81st created a jeep track through 75 miles of jungle from Chiringa to Satpaung (nicknamed ‘West Africa Way’) and constructed airstrips along the Kaladan River. From a springpoint at Daletme, they thrust southwards against Japanese resistance toward Paletwa. As they neared Kyauktaw they began to threaten the Japanese right rear.
Perhaps as a result of prior positive experience with Nigerians under Orde Wingate in Ethiopia, the 3rd (Nigerian) Brigade of the 81st Division was transferred to the Special Forces Unit (Chindits) back on November 8th 1943 and was thus detached from its parent force. East African and Indian detachments replaced the Nigerian Brigade. Thus, in January 1944, during “Operation Thursday”, most Nigerian troops in the 81st were actually deployed with the legendary Chindits under Major General Orde Wingate – a long-range group of Special Forces trained to fight and survive deep behind enemy lines, supplied only by air. The 6th, 7th and 12th Nigerian regiments in the Thunder (3rd West African) Brigade were designated as Fortress or airfield Protection troops.
In the meantime, the remaining 4th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment, of the main 81st Division, seized Kyauktaw and Apaukwa. The Division was, however, later thrown back in confusion (after the Battle of Pagoda Hill on March 1st and 2nd) to an area near Taung Bazaar. This was caused by a determined Japanese counter-attack led by one Colonel (later Major General) Koba and lack of resolute command by 81st Div Commander Major General Woolner. In April 1944, the 81st Division was redeployed from the Kaladan valley across the Kaladan ranges into the Kalapanzin valley to fill a gap created by the deployment of the 7th Indian Division to the Imphal front. In August, there were wholesale changes in its command structure. In addition, its reconnaissance battalion, the 81st (West Africa) Reconnaissance Battalion of the West Africa Armoured Corps, which had been removed (along with the 3rd Nigerian Brigade) from its Order of Battle back in late 1943, was returned to the parent Division.
With the Monsoon rains over, the 81st Division, now under Major General Loftus-Tottenham, regained the offensive and advanced once again down the Kaladan Valley. By October 18, they had cleared Singpa and Mowdok. After a series of pitched battles in very difficult terrain, they crossed the Kaladan River on December 4th,, outflanking Kyauktaw and Thayettabin. The Divisional Reconnaissance Regiment (DRR) advanced towards Apaukwa and Kanzauk in support of the main Arakan offensive by the 25 Indian Division. Meanwhile, the 82nd West Africa Division advanced down the Kalapanzin Valley. On January 7, 1945, at Kanzauk, the DRR linked up with the 4th Brigade of the 82nd Division, which had crossed the range from Hzitwe. The 81st Divisional Reconnaissance Regiment thus came under the command of the 82nd West African Division for the final push to take the strategic Japanese Communication Center at Myohaung, the ancient capital of Arakan. This forced the Japanese to order a general retreat from the area, barely extricating themselves from isolation between Minbya and Kangaw. Elements of both West African divisions, under Maj. Gen. H.G. Stockwell (D.S.O.) joined elements of the Indian and British Divisions with supporting armour for the final assault on Mandalay and Rangoon, in order to drive the Japanese out of Burma.
At the end of March 1945, however, the 81st (West Africa) Division was withdrawn from Burma (to ease the strain on maintenance) and thus left for India. They had suffered 74 killed, 343 wounded and 21 missing in the Arakan campaign. Later on, in August 1944, the 3rd (West Africa/Nigerian) Brigade of the Chindits, under Brigadier A. H. Gillmore was also withdrawn from Burma. Brigadier P. M. Hughes later replaced Gillmore. They were re-united with the main 81st Division on March 20th, 1945 in India. As plans were being made for the Division to take part in the reconquest of Malaya (Operation Zipper), the Japanese surrendered. In May 1946, therefore, the 81st (West Africa) Division returned to Nigeria.
The
82nd (West Africa) Division
The 82nd West African Division, at various times under under Maj. Gen. H.G. Stockwell (D.S.O.), Maj. Gen. G. Mc. I.I. Scott-Bruce (O.B.E. M.C.) and Maj. Gen. C.R.A. Swynnerton (D.S.O.) was dispatched to India in July 1944, to join the XV corps as part of the " Fourteenth Army" under Slim.
On December 15, 1944 the 82nd Div captured Buthidaung and created a bridgehead on the east bank of the Kalapanzin. This allowed allied troops to control the Maungdaw-Buthidaung road and enabled the transportation of 650 river craft by road through tunnels to Buthidaung. These were needed for Indian operations east of the Mayu range.
From the Kalapanzin Valley, it moved down the Mayu Peninsula and then linked up with the 81st West African Division in the assault on Myohaung and subsequent operations. This division had six (6) Nigerian battalions, three (3) of whom were the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Nigerian Rifles of the 1st West African Brigade led by Brigadier C.R.A.Swynnerton (D.S.O.) and Brigadier. F.W. Clowes. The other three (3) were the 8th, 9th and 10th battalions Nigerian Rifles of the 4th West African Brigade led (at various times) by Brigadier. H. Gibbons (M.C.), Brig. A.H.G. Ricketts (O.B.E. D.S.O.) and Brigadier H.G. Stockwell (C.B.E. D.S.O.). The 2nd West African Brigade was comprised of Ghanaian troops.
After the fall of Myohaung, Kangaw, Ramree and Cheduba, the Japanese 54th Division were divided in two, around An and Taungup. In order to dissuade the Japanese 55th division from coming to the rescue, pressure had to be placed on the Taungup road. The 82nd Div was asked to cross the tough Mountain Hills of Dalet Chaung (dependent on air supply) in order to approach the An Pass from the North west direction while the 26th Division captured Ru-ywa. The 1st and 4th (Nigerian) Brigades suffered heavy casualties in breaking the routes open to Kaw and Kyweguseik in late February. The 4th Brigade even lost two of its commanding officers. However, by March, in coordination with Indian units, Dalet Chaung and the strategic supply base of Tamandu, were taken.
With Tamandu taken, the 82nd Division focused on An. The Gold Coast 2nd Brigade based at Letmauk became the focus of intense Japanese attacks, sustaining heavy casualties in the process. They only barely withdrew under covering fire from the 1st (Nigerian) Brigade. By sending long distance fighting patrols to harass the Japanese flanks the Nigerian unit was able to force a Japanese retreat and retake An on May 13, 1945.
It was mainly Nigerians of the 82nd Division that achieved the subsequent clearance of Japanese forces from the coastal belt of the south Arakan. In April, the Division, with the East African 22nd Brigade now under command, advanced south from Tamandu. By the end of May, Kindaungyyi, Taungup and Sandoway had been captured. The end was in sight.
Both the 81st and 82nd Divisions achieved their duties with excellence. Their casualties were the heaviest in the XV Corps under Christison. According to the Commonwealth Graves Commission, total numbers of lost, killed and wounded were 438 for the 81st (W.A.) Div and 2,085 for the 82nd (W.A.) Div. In addition to those buried in jungle tracts, many Nigerian graves remain in cemeteries of Burma like the Dalet Chaung near Tamandu and the Taukyan War Cemetery. Others are remembered at the War Memorial in Rangoon.
It is in commemoration of these heroic battles of the Second World War as well as various units, towns and villages in East Africa and Burma that DODAN, AN, MYOHAUNG, ARAKAN, MARDA BARRACKS IN LAGOS; LETMAUK BARRACKS IN IBADAN; DALET, MOGADISHU, COLITO AND KALAPANZIN BARRACKS IN KADUNA; AND THE CHINDIT BARRACKS IN ZARIA are named.
It is to be noted too that Nigerian Troops returned to Tanzania in 1964 for battalion support operations to replace British Troops that had intervened to put down a mutiny. One of the barracks they were based at in Tanzania was the Colito Barracks located in the town of Colito.
Shortly after Independence, Nigeria was invited to take part in UN peace-keeping operations in the Congo. On November 9, 1960, the 5 Queens Nigeria Regiment (5QNR), under the command of Lt. Col. JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi entrained in Kaduna and left for Kano from where they were airlifted by US Air Force Transport planes to the Congo.
On arrival, the 5QNR was deployed to Bukavu, capital of the Kivu province in eastern Congo.
In commemoration of the role of Nigerian units in ONUC, the BUKAVU BARRACKS IN KANO was named after Bukavu, the first Battalion HQ location of Nigerian operations in that country.
BONNY CAMP IN VICTORIA ISLAND, LAGOS commemorates the fall of Bonny on July 26/27, 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War. Supported by an 11-ship Naval Task Force under Captain Soroh and Commander Adelanwa, the Lagos Garrison Organization under then Lt. Col. Benjamin Adekunle took the town. Following a fierce bloody sea and land battle, Bonny fell to the 6th battalion with the 7th and 8th in support. Majors GS Jalo, A. Abubakar and A. Ochefu commanded the three battalions respectively. Company Commanders in the 6th Battalion included Captain MD Jega, Lts Zamani Lekwot and Mahmud Sani. Rehearsals for what was clearly going to be the first joint Army-Navy operation in Nigerian history – at night and at high tide - were carried out at Ikeja Barracks Gymnasium and at Tarkwa Bay Island near Lagos. Ships which took part in the operation included NNS Nigeria, NNS Ogoja, NNS Kaduna, NNS Sapele, NNS Benin, NNS Bonny, NNS Penelope, NNS Lokoja as well as two merchant ships, namely the Herbert Macaulay and Bode Thomas. A British Officer by the name Commander Roy reportedly assisted in preparations.
NNS Lokoja performed Troop Landings under command of Lt. Commander Hussaini Abdullahi. Lt. Commander Akin Aduwo commanded NNS Ogoja that gave chase to the NNS Ibadan, which had previously been hijacked to Biafra by Lt. Ebitu Ukiwe.
The original operational concept came from late Lt. Col. Joe Akahan, then Chief of Staff (Army). It aimed to block the entrance to the Port Harcourt channel and seize oil installations in the area. The plan was changed at the last minute because of bad weather, so troops were disembarked out of schedule. Nevertheless, it succeeded.
A Biafran counter-attack in December 1967 by the 52 Brigade under Colonel Ogbugo Kalu nearly succeeded in dislodging Federal Troops from Bonny Island. However, it collapsed due to an alleged personality clash between local commanders.
Nigerian Army historians say the Bonny Landing of July 1967 was a “masterpiece in the history of warfare in Africa”. Conceivably, that might explain why it is the only Civil War battle that has been commemorated (so far) by the naming of an important Military Barracks.
THOSE
NAMED AFTER INDIVIDUALS.