Customer Reviews

Mimi and Toutou's Big Adventure: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika

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At the outbreak of WWI, one strategy of the allies was to isolate and control German East Africa. Germany had had the foresight to place some armed boats on Lake Tanganyika, which effectively controlled all transportation in East Africa. The very peculiar British naval officer Geoffrey Spicer-Simpson was directed to take Mimi and Toutou, two forty-foot gunboats, overland from South Africa to the lake and defeat a fleet of German steamers. Spicer-Simpson went into battle wearing a skirt, was worshipped as a god by the Holo Holo tribe, entirely alienated his subordinates, and more or less succeeded in reducing the German naval presence through a combination of effective military action and slapstick. The events that transpired were eventually transmogrified into The African Queen (first the book by C.S. Forester, then the movie), though being significantly changed in the process. Highly entertaining analysis of a mostly forgotten episode in the Great War. Foden's mix of colorful characters, hubris, pluck, and idiocy is well worth reading.

For history buffs, this is a potentially enjoyable yarn about a forgotten little episode from the past, but in a poorly constructed book. Giles Foden covers the odd story of a World War I naval campaign on Lake Tanganyika in East Africa, as old colonial intrigues between the Germans and English spilled over into the Great War, and Africa became a very remote battleground between the imperial powers. Mimi and Toutou were two specially-made motorboats – which were built in England to be small and fast, as secret weapons against the large German warships that patrolled the lake. Under the command of the eccentric and delusional Geoffrey Spicer-Simson, a motley crew of conscripts hauled the two boats by rail and river, and on foot, all the way from South Africa in a quest that lasted several months. They finally engaged the Germans in a naval lake battle that had very little strategic significance, especially considering the logistical nightmare of setting up the scene.

This is the type of odd historical episode that can make for fun reading, and Foden does a fairly good job describing the bizarre bungling aspects of the campaign, as well as the weird eccentricities of Spicer-Simson and his crew. But Foden has merely constructed his narrative from broad chunks of information borrowed directly from earlier historians and biographers, especially one named Peter Shankland. And like everyone else who discusses this period in colonial Africa, Foden can't stop talking about Joseph Conrad. Alas, the story of the Lake Tanganyika campaign, while intriguing, just isn't momentous enough to be the subject of a substantial history, or even a medium-sized book like this. In that regard, Foden had to flesh things out with a completely inconsequential attempt to analyze the novel and film "The African Queen," which were partially inspired by this historical episode; followed by an awkwardly melancholy account of a present-day trip to the region. Through unsatisfactory writing and construction, this book gives an unsuccessful treatment to a historical episode that was quirky but not really very dramatic. [~doomsdayer520~]

Giles Foden's story of the World War I battle on Lake Tanganyika is mostly based on work by other authors. Most quoted is Peter Shankland (published in 1968) who interviewed many of the principles late in life, and Byron Farwell. In fact lengthy parts of both books are quoted to establish many of Foden's points. The problem is that he has very little new to say and therefore spends most of the first two hundred pages filling out the short and more to the point chapter that is in Farwell's book. He has little or no information from the German side.

The last forty pages are involved with discussing the background to the old Humphrey Bogart/Katherine Hepburn movie, "The African Queen" and how the story of the battle and a book by C.S. Forester, follow parts of the 'real' occurences. This and ten pages on his own trip back to the area, seem to be there to fill out the book, more than to inform.

Lastly, there are two "glaring" mistakes in the book from my point of view. When discussing the travel of the Naval African Expedition through the then Union of South Africa, he has them travel through Mafeking and then Johannesburg (J-Burg) on their way to Lake Tanganyika. Look on any map and you will see that J-Burg is south of Mafeking. Speaking of maps, on the one in the book of southern Africa, he has J-Burg placed where Mafeking is (on the South Africa, Botswana border); J-Burg is in the center of South Africa.

The Germans had several colonies in Africa. One of them German East Africa bordered Lake Tanganyika. On the Lake the Germans had established a Navy -- three ships.

Ships," well, the Kingami was 55 feet long. But it had already raided Bismarckburg and captured four machine-guns and ninety miles of telegraph wire. [This is hardly like what was going on in France at the time.]

Out to get them was the British Royal Navy - using a flotilla (of two) forty-foot gunboats, The HMS Mimi [French for Miaow (as in cat)] and the Toutou [Bow-wow]. Each was armed with two machine guns and a 3 Pounder (37 mm) cannon.

The intrepid crew - well Lt. Commander Spicer wasn't the oldest Lt. Commander in the Navy without reason, and the rest of the crew were shall we say consistent. There was fifty-something Sub-Lieutenant Tyrer, addicted to Worcester sauce as an aperitif. There was Chief Engineer Lieutenant Cross who knew almost nothing about engines.

This book reads better than most novels, and it's true.

Giles Foden's "Mimi and Toutou's Big Adventure" is an insightful look at the efforts of British forces to reclaim dominance on Lake Tanganyika in Central East Africa during World War I. While the storyline has an incredible amount of potential, the final product didn't really live up to my expectations. In a text that focused heavily on the development of historical characters as opposed to details of the vessels and military engagements, I found the characters somewhat shallow, as if the author had turned them into "caricatures." The story itself was somewhat anti-climactic, but that remains for the reader to discover. However, I will comment that the last several chapters of the text include a discussion of the production of the "African Queen," as well the author's journey on one of the German vessels serving on the lake and attempt to interview African locals. These chapters came across as an attempt to make a short story ... long.

The text is definitely worth the read, but wouldn't merit a permanent spot on your book shelf.

This book purports to be a history of a small part of the campaign in East African during WWI which provided the basis for Forrester's "The African Queen."
Make no mistake; Foden is no historian and this book is no history. Except for his trip to East Africa to better describe sunsets, terrain, flora and fauna, there is no indication that Foden did ANY primary research. He quotes extensively from other sources (at least 15% of the book is quotes) and "imagines" what people thought or felt. Fully a third of the book is filler: a long chapter on "The African Queen," and great quantities of frivolous detail to provide "color" and "background" for the story. The maps are rudimentary, omitting oft mentioned features and the crude drawings of the vessels involved are insulting. I found decent pictures of the vessels with a brief web search.
The book is redolent of old British Colonial chauvinism, castigating other colonial powers (Belgium, Germany) for what were common practices for ALL the Imperialists. There is also significant exaggeration of the importance of the sub-campaign, the might of the opposition and the fight against against greater odds faced by the expedition.
The campaign in East Africa is facinating, and well told in Farwell's excellent "The Great War in Africa, a book well worth reading. Foden's book, however is much ado about little, and is not worth the time or money. I would rate it "zero" if that were an option.

Eccentricity bordering on incompetence marked Geoffrey Spicer-Simson's service as a junior officer in the Royal Navy. A braggart and a liar, he had beached one ship, sank another in a collision, and witnessed the torpedoing of a gunboat under his command from a hotel where he was entertaining his wife and other women. Surviving two court martials, he was posted to an obscure position in the Admiralty's Intelligence Division where he languished without doing further harm in the days before the beginning of World War I. Fate was to smile upon him there when, for apparent lack of more reliable leaders, he was chosen to command the Naval African Expedition.
Far from the killing fields of western Europe, Lake Tanganyika would seem an unlikely stage for battle but, in the late colonial period, control of central Africa, with its resources and population was important both to Germany and the Allies. Germany controlled the lake by virtue of two steamers, the "Hedwig von Wissman" and the "Kingali." London decided to contest that control by bringing ships overland from South Africa and it fell to Spicer to accomplish that feat and to subsequently sink the German ships.
Despite formidable obstacles and its leader's very dubious record, the Expedition would prove successful. Foden, drawing upon a variety of published reminiscences and general accounts of the war in that region, provides an engaging account of that mission, which resulted in Spicer's elevation to god-like status among the natives who witnessed his victory. That would prove the height of his heroic accomplishment, however, for he would never be given an active command again.
Given Spicer's engaging but thoroughly bizarre character, this book's title seems somewhat beside the point. Yet it subtly enhances the portrait Foden has presented. The Royal Navy had rejected Spicer's original proposal that the motor launches he was to command be named "Cat" and "Dog." Why it accepted their designation as the "HMS Mimi" and "Toutou", those being French familiar terms for "meow-meow" and "bow-wow," goes unexplained but they were quite in keeping with their commander's enimatic character. In addition, Foden's title alludes to the plot of C.S. Forester's "The African Queen" and he devotes a chapter to paralles between the historical event and the novel for which it served as an inspiration.

Foden's book is an interesting tale well told made all the more interesting because it is a true story. It has all of the necessary elements: memorable (unusual) characters, heroic and strange deeds, an exotic setting and a link to world events. It is well documented and for cinema buffs the author includes a tie-in to the movie: 'The African Queen' which is loosly based on this story. A good read.

These days, with most people being unable to name their own state capital or the last five presidents, our collective grasp on history has become weak. Few, then, can be expected to know much about World War I, but even military buffs might not be aware of the campaigns that took place in Africa.

This book is a smallish relation of the Anglo-German struggle for control of Lake Tanganyika. At the outbreak of hostilities, the Germans had three steamships of varying sizes on the lake, some packing salvaged guns from the scuttled cruiser Konigsberg, which had been hammered by the British on the coast of East Africa. With control of the lake, the Germans could run around much of Africa without fear, because the Belgians in the Congo had no way to close with them and evidently the Brits coming up from South Africa were too fearful to go it alone.

At least partially at the urging of a big game hunter who was familiar with the region, the British Admiralty concocted a plan to send a pair of motor launches to the Cape and then have them dragged by oxen, steam tractor, train, and river boat many hundreds of miles northwards to the planned confrontation. In the grand English scheme of such things, they randomly selected the biggest foul-up they could find to head up the expedition.

This is a pretty interesting story of a skirt-wearing nutball leading a motley band of adventurers to transport the whimsically named Mimi and Toutou across half of Africa to end the German menace. (This threat was also the inspiration for the novel and movie "The African Queen"; the making of the latter is also covered in this book.) The tale is told competently enough, but would have benefited from some pictures. Also, the maps aren't too bad, but one of them kinda gives away the ending, which is a bit of a drag. If you wish to remain unspoiled, do NOT look at the second map.

My biggest complaint is that the author draws very heavily upon three primary and secondary sources, to the extent that you wonder what he's bringing to the table. He relies upon them so much that you have to ask why he's writing this up if these other versions covered everything so well. He does have a final chapter of his own travels in the region, which adds some fresh material, including the surprising fate of one of the combatants.

If you can find this cheap, it's not a bad read.

This book is a very interesting account of an obscure skirmish in the middle of Africa during World War I. As a historian, I am well aware that once you get out of the trenches of the European Fronts, a whole vista of interesting characters, situations and non standard solutions occurred. I have ready many accounts, many first hand accounts of these various exploits in distant parts of the world. This is one of the more bizarre and interesting of the lot.

Most people who will look at this book should be at least passingly familiar with Lawrence of Arabia. The characters in this book are equally compelling: the oldest lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy whose luck had run out but reprieved only because he was the only officer available; his stalwart friend the Doctor (their wives old school friends) who will come along as he really had nothing better to do and needed to "do his bit"; a couple of Scotsmen in kilts who think the adventure would be a lark; and crusty old hunters are just a few of the characters that pop out at you in this book.

The story is gripping and will keep the reader interested. It would make a great film. No embellishment or license would be needed as the story itself should be enough.