Chapter 138: The Battle of Lake Nakivali
July 3, 1868.
While the East African colonial government was preparing for war, the remaining four countries led by Buganda were also on the move, constantly deploying troops and conscripting large armies at the borders.
At this time, Buganda was the most powerful state in the Great Lakes region aside from the East African colony, and its king, Mutesa I, was quite accomplished.
Buganda had once been a vassal of the powerful northern kingdom of Bunyoro, but as Bunyoro—like most old empires—began declining in the 19th century, Buganda rose to replace Bunyoro's former role. Around the same time, the Kingdom of Toro also split off from the Bunyoro Empire.
Interestingly, both Buganda and Toro were founded by members of Bunyoro's royal family—though Buganda had separated four or five centuries earlier, whereas Toro was established in the 19th century when the reigning king's eldest son rebelled.
Though Bunyoro suffered many blows, it did not vanish; the Gitara Kingdom is its direct successor. Meanwhile, the Ankole Kingdom has been an ancient realm for hundreds of years.
That's the basic background of the four northern states, showing how their relationships somewhat resemble those among European nations. Whether they get along or not hasn't stopped their nobles from interacting.
Before the rise of the East African colony, Buganda already had a standing army of more than six thousand men plus a navy of three hundred ships. In other words, Buganda was quite strong, deserving its reputation as hegemon of the Great Lakes region. Moreover, Mutesa I was highly confident—under his leadership in recent years, Buganda had gone from victory to victory.
Not only did it fully replace the Bunyoro Empire, bringing Buganda to its zenith, but it also robustly resisted the Eastern Bantu incursion. Although that invasion weakened the kingdom, it greatly boosted Mutesa I's prestige.
Under such a powerful monarch, the Bugandan people were naturally eager for battle, believing their ruler could solve anything.
At the same time, Mutesa I had considerable foresight, knowing a good deal about North Africa, especially Egypt. Late in his reign, he even invited British and French influences to counterbalance the power of the Arab church.
Hence, Mutesa I was not ignorant of this "new neighbor," the East African colony. However, his men were unable to penetrate East Africa, so they could only make observations from their border (the West Kenya District). Next, the war East Africa waged on Burundi and other countries convinced him that this colony had come with ill intentions.
Never before had the northwestern states faced such a mighty foe. Over the past few centuries, every war they fought focused on conquest: seizing the opponent's population and assets—an essential resource in Africa's backward productive conditions. Now, clearly the East African colony wanted territory, not people, leaving the northwestern states no room to maneuver. Rwanda and Igara had already fled to Central Africa.
But Mutesa I was unafraid of the East African colony; he had fought his way to the throne through bloodshed. One victory after another had left him brimming with confidence. He had weathered dire situations before, so war did not frighten him.
In answer to the East African challenge, Mutesa I actively rallied the other three countries, forming a Four-Nation Alliance. He served as its leader, and pooled their resources to build an army of thirty thousand, split into two routes for a decisive clash with the colony.
Over twenty thousand were stationed on the southern front, and more than ten thousand on the eastern front. To balance each country's interests, Mutesa placed Buganda's troops mainly on the east line, while the southern front was manned jointly by the four allied states.
In truth, Toro and Gitara had their own little agendas, since they didn't directly border the colony and thus didn't go all in. The Ankole Kingdom, facing the East African threat head-on, mobilized the entire nation to assist Buganda, so the brunt of the fighting would fall on Buganda and Ankole.
Mutesa I fully recognized Toro's and Gitara's wariness, so he kept a reserve force of over ten thousand in the rear to guard against any surprises.
On July 4, after more than a month of rest, the East African army was on the move again. This time they had prepared for war from both the east and the south. The southern front was still led by Yarman, and the eastern front by Felix.
Mutesa I personally led the main allied force. His eldest son temporarily managed all national affairs. This time, the East African colony did not directly charge into the four states' territories. With Rwanda's and Igara's example, the colony first issued a message saying, in essence, "You don't have much time left; learn from Rwanda and Igara if you want to retreat with your lives. If you insist on being stubborn, we won't be merciful."
"Don't say we didn't warn you," basically. But these four states in the north, unlike devastated Rwanda and Igara, still had solid foundations. They naturally refused to yield.
Mutesa I replied by having someone carry a message to the colony: let them fight as warriors; the victor takes all, the loser is finished.
Straightforward and bold, so there was nothing more to discuss. As for a "warrior's fight," the East African colony retorted that they were no "warriors"; they simply had guns and intended to bully.
On July 6, both main armies clashed on the southern shore of Lake Nakivali. Mutesa I personally led the allied forces in an attack on the East African troops.
With Mutesa I at their head, the alliance's morale soared as they charged like a tide against the colony. Soldiers had tattoos, faces smeared with bright dyes, braided hair, simple shields, and spears, brandishing them fiercely. The elite wore battle robes, armed with curved blades and carrying bows on their backs, following Mutesa I closely into battle.
The East African commander waited calmly, firing only when the enemy stepped into range, then systematically lined up and shot them down. There was little sophistication in the fighting; it boiled down to overwhelming the natives' inferior weapons and equipment. With ample ammunition stockpiled in advance, the colony fired at will.
By three o'clock that afternoon, the fight ended.
No one knew where Mutesa I or the allied nobles had gone—only the field lay covered in native corpses. For the East African colony, cleaning up the battlefield was a pain.
This was the largest battle the colony had fought so far in the northwest, leaving more than ten thousand native bodies. The colony couldn't simply leave them lying around. Lacking fuel, they couldn't burn them immediately, so large amounts of straw and firewood had to be shipped in, and trenches dug on all sides for on-site burial, with both methods used over two or three days of hard work.
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