Siege of Toma

Warbox
conflict=Siege of Toma
partof=Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I
campaign=


caption=
date=September 13 – September 17, 1914
place=Toma, German New Guinea
result=Australian Victory
combatant1=flag|Australia
combatant2=flag|German Empire
commander1=flagicon|Australia Edward Fowell Martin
commander2=flagicon|German Empire Eduard Habar
strength1=200 soldiers
1 protected cruiser
strength2=40 Germans
110 Native Police
casualties1=none
casualties2=entire German force captured
notes=The Siege of Toma was a bloodless action lasting from September 14th to September 17 1914 where the German New Guinea government was forced to surrender after being surrounded. It was the last significant place of resistance in the territory.

Events

After their defeat at Bita Paka the remaining German militia retreated 19 miles to Toma, where they thought they would have time to recooperate before the Australians arrived. Unfortunately for the Germans, an advanced party of 200 Australians had followed them from Bita Paka and surrounded the town, occasionally bombarding it with their 12 pound field piece. The ship HMAS "Encounter" also arrived on the scene firing several shells at a ridge nearby. The German governor Eduard Habar knew his small force would eventually have to surrender but continued to hold out for several days hoping that the German East Asia Squadron would arrive to relieve them. Realising his hopes were futile, Dr. Habar made favorable terms with the Australians surrendering the colony.

Aftermath

With the government's surrender, nearly all of German New Guinea came under Australian control. The majority of the Germans living there were interned and later deported. After the fall of Toma, the only remaining German resistance in the colony besides the occasional merchant raider was Hermann Detzner and his band of twenty native police who did not surrender until the end of the war.

ee also

*Military history of Australia during World War I
*Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force

ources

http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/bitapaka.htmhttp://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9E0CE2D71538E633A25752C1A9649C946496D6CF
http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100416b.htm