Battle of Latema Nek The Battle of Latema Nek was a battle of the East African Campaign in World War I . After the Battle of Salaita , General Paul von Lettow - Vorbeck , commander of German forces in East Africa , reorganised the defences to the north of the colony in anticipation of another assault . The Salaita positions were abandoned , and German forces moved south to the Latema - Reata Hills - which stood on the route to Kahe . The new defences were manned on March 8 by Major Georg Kraut , who had commanded the German defence at Salaita , with 1 , 500 - 2000 Schutztruppe and German officers . Aside from the fact that there were now two hills to assault ( with the Nek between them ) , the problems facing General Wilfrid Malleson were similar to those at Salaita . The hills were covered by dense bush , which became thicker further up the hills . The plains around the hills provided no cover , meaning any attacking force would be subjected to murderous fire from above . The First Attack . The attack on Latema began on March 11 , 11 : 45am . Brigadier - General Malleson , fresh from defeat at Salaita , had at his disposal the 1st East African Brigade for the operation , consisting of : Malleson ordered his men into a frontal assault on Latema Hill . It was impossible for any diversionary flanking attack to take place due to the denseness of the terrain to the sides of the battlefield , especially to the south - which was covered by a swamp . The Baluchis and 3rd King ' s African Rifles were sent into the attack - holding the right and left respectively - with the Rhodesian Regiment held in reserve . This was the first action that the 3rd KAR had fought as a unit . The infantry was supported by artillery , which bombarded the German positions from a range of 3 , 000 yards . Before they could reach the enemy positions , however , the British were forced back by heavy rifle , machine gun and small - calibre artillery fire . As the attack floundered , British commander General Malleson asked to be relieved of his command due to serious illness . Theatre Commander Jan Smuts consented , and the able Brigadier - General Tighe was brought in as his replacement . At 2pm the attack was resumed across the open level ground but was held at about 1 , 000 yards from the German positions . The Second Attack . At 4pm the 5th South African Regiment arrived in reserve at Taveta . Newly appointed commander Brig . General Tighe ordered a second assault to begin at 5pm . This time the Rhodesians led the way with the King ' s African Rifles , the 130th Buluchis protecting the right flank . More reinforcements - the 9th and 5th Field Batteries - were sent immediately into action in support of the attack . The assaulting forces once again failed to reach their objective , suffering casualties which included the commander of the King ' s African Rifles , Lieutenant - Colonel B . R . Graham . A few isolated pockets of attackers reached the top during the gathering darkness , but were also eventually forced to retreat by German counter - attacks . To shore up the attacking units , Tighe ordered half of the 5th South African Regiment into the line . Despite the reinforcements the Entente troops were again forced to withdraw . Smuts responded by putting the 7th South African Regiment under Tighe ' s command . The 7th reached Tighe at roughly 8pm , and a new plan was drawn up . The two South African Regiments , who were the freshest troops available , would attack the Nek at night - with bayonets fixed . The Third Attack . The third and final wave set off at 9 : 15pm and straight away faced the same problems as the earlier attempts to take the Nek , compounded by the lack of light . The 5th Regiment led the assault , with the 7th slightly behind them . This time the South Africans managed to force their way up both hills until the enemy was left on the Nek itself - here the advance stalled . In the confusion of the darkness , large numbers of men became lost - they retreated back to their starting positions to join the 1st East African Brigade in reserve . At the same time men of the King ' s African Rifles and the Rhodesians , who had been separated from their units in previous attacks and were still on the hills , rejoined the attack . Lieutenant - Colonel Freeth ( with 18 men ) and Major Thompson ( with 170 men ) held onto the summits of Latema and Reata . Tighe was unable to follow the events of the battle and fearing heavy casualties and possible counterattack , ordered a withdrawal at 4 : 20am . However , as patrols reached the Nek to order the retreat , they found Freeth and Thompson in command of the heights and the Germans in full retreat . Smuts ordered the 8th South African Regiment to the field in order to consolidate the position . Following the battle the Germans retreated to Lake Kahe in order to prepare further defences . Freeth and Thompson were both awarded the Distinguished Service Order for their decisive roles in the engagement . General Tighe retained his command of the 2nd Division as Mallesons replacement .