Naulila Incident

Naulila Incident
Part of German campaign in Angola
Date 19 October 1914 Location Naulila, Portuguese Angola Result Portuguese victory
Belligerents
First Portuguese Republic Portuguese West Africa	German Empire German South West Africa
Commanders and leaders
Manuel Álvares Sereno	Hans Schultze-Jena † Alexander Lösch † Kurt Röder † Carl Jensen (POW) Andreas † Hugo †
Strength
1 patrol Unknown number of men	6 men
Casualties and losses
None reported	5 killed 1 captured

The Naulila Incident was a violent confrontation between Portuguese forces and a German delegation on October 19, 1914, near Naulila in southern Angola. This incident later led to the German attack on Naulila, on December 18.

Background

On October 17, 1914, during the early stages of World War I, a small German delegation led by Dr. Hans Schultze-Jena crossed into Angola from German South West Africa without notifying Portuguese authorities. The delegation included two German officers, two native attendants, and a Danish interpreter. Their stated mission was to pursue a deserter, but they also sought to negotiate food supplies and the transport of German mail, which had been blocked by British forces. Portugal, although officially neutral, had declared martial law in southern Angola, restricting German movement and ordering the disarmament of any foreign troops entering its territory.

On October 18, the German delegation encountered a Portuguese patrol commanded by Lieutenant Manuel Álvares Sereno near Naulila. Despite initial tension, the two groups camped together overnight. The following morning, Schultze-Jena agreed to accompany the Portuguese patrol to Naulila to meet the local administrator but grew suspicious of Portuguese intentions.

Incident

On October 19, at Naulila, the Germans discovered that the Portuguese administrator was absent. Schultze-Jena, believing he was being lured into a trap, attempted to return to his camp with his group, refusing Portuguese orders to disarm. Tensions escalated when Schultze-Jena reportedly aimed his carbine at Álvares Sereno, who was unarmed, while another German officer drew a pistol. Álvares Sereno ordered his men to open fire, resulting in the deaths of Schultze-Jena, two other German officers, and their two attendants. The interpreter, Carl Jensen, was captured and held by the Portuguese until November 1919.

Aftermath

The incident caused outrage in German South West Africa, where it was viewed as a deliberate Portuguese ambush. German authorities and media condemned the killings, referring to the deceased as the "five murdered at Naulila” (German: der fünf Ermordeten von Naulila). The event grew tensions between Portugal and Germany, leading to a German retaliatory attack on Naulila on December 18, 1914, known as the Battle of Naulila.

A Portuguese inquiry into the incident concluded that Álvares Sereno acted in self defense. This assessment was later supported by the International Tribunal of Lausanne in 1928, which ruled that Sereno's actions were justified given the perceived threat posed by the armed Germans.

Bibliography

• Matias, Diogo (2010). "As operações militares de manutenção do Império Português em África: Uma visão sobre as tácticas usadas na perspectiva da doutrina actual" (PDF).