Battle of Zanzibar The Battle of Zanzibar was fought between the " Kaiserliche Marine " and the Royal Navy during the First World War . The German cruiser had been taking on coal in the delta of the Rufiji River when her crew were told that a British cruiser — , which had been part of the Royal Navy ' s Cape Squadron sent to counter " Koningsberg " — had put in at Zanzibar for repairs . " Konigsberg " ′ s captain — Commander Max Looff — decided to attack " Pegasus " while she was in port . On 20 September 1914 , " Konigsberg " sailed past the picket ship at the entrance to Zanzibar harbour . " Helmuth " was unable to warn " Pegasus " of " Konigsberg " ′ s approach , with the result that when " Koningsberg " opened fire she took " Pegasus " entirely by surprise . As a result , " Pegasus " suffered heavy damage before she was even able to return fire . " Konigsberg " ′ s guns out - ranged those on " Pegasus " , which was consequently unable to damage her opponent . The one - sided battle ended in a German victory , " Pegasus " sank later that day , having lost 38 crew dead . Background . Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War , on 19 September 1914 , Commander Max Looff of the light cruiser SMS " Konigsberg " was coaling in the Rufuji Delta , when he learned from coast watcher s that a British warship had entered Zanzibar harbour . Looff assumed the cruiser at Zanzibar was either or HMS " Pegasus " and ordered an immediate attack . As " Konigsberg " had been recently resupplied , she was prepared for battle . " Konigsberg " left on the afternoon tide for her run to Zanzibar . The protected cruiser " Pegasus " , under the command of Captain John Ingles , had just left the company of HMS " Astraea " and for repairs at Zanzibar to her boilers and engines . Also at Zanzibar , the British had armed the captured German tug HMS " Helmuth " with a 3 - pounder gun and posted her as a picket ship at the entrance of the harbor . " Konigsberg " had been built in 1905 and was armed with ten guns , ten pieces and two torpedo tube s . " Pegasus " — a " Pelorus " - class protected cruiser built in 1897 — was armed with eight guns , eight 3 - pounders and two 18 - inch torpedo tubes . Her complement consisted of 234 officers and men . Battle . At dawn on 20 September , " Königsberg " entered the southern end of the Zanzibar approaches and sailed past the picket ship " Helmuth " , firing a few warning shots as she passed . " Helmuth " could neither stop the " Königsberg " from entering the harbour nor even warn " Pegasus " of the German cruiser ′ s approach . Once " Koningsberg " came within of " Pegasus " , she began firing salvo s . " Pegasus " sat at anchor in Zanzibar Harbour , preparing steam and at that moment , was helpless . For about 20 minutes while " Königsberg " fired , " Pegasus " remained stationary . " Pegasus " did raise the White Ensign and began firing , but her shells splashed into the water well short of " Koningsberg " . The light cruiser slowly continued forward and fired until the range had closed to within . One of the first British sailors wounded was gunnery officer Lieutenant Richard Turner , who suffered both of his legs being mangled by shrapnel . Despite his injuries , Turner rallied his men , telling them ; " " Keep it up , lads , we ’ re outclassed and done for ; but damn them , and keep it up ! " " The British continued their futile fight for around 20 minutes more , taking additional hits from " Konigsberg " , the majority landing on " Pegasus " ′ deck . Her ensign was shot away during the fight . Also , because the Germans were always at least beyond the range of " Pegasus " ′ guns , no British rounds struck " Königsberg " . " Pegasus " became holed near her waterline and began taking on water . All hope of defeating the Germans having gone , Ingles struck his colors and gave the order to abandon ship . " Pegasus " later sank . After " Konigsberg " had finished with " Pegasus " , she fired a few parting shots at " Helmuth " , whose crew managed to abandon ship before one of the German cruiser ' s salvos struck the tug . With a clear German victory , " Königsberg " turned around and headed back for the Rufiji Delta . Aftermath . The Royal Navy ′ s losses were " Pegasus " sunk and " Helmuth " damaged . Thirty - eight British sailors on " Pegasus " had died ; another 55 sailors were wounded , most of whom had been top - side when hit . Staff Surgeon Alfred J . Hewitt was on the deck of " Pegasus " from the beginning to the end of the battle , aiding wounded sailors and marines . Captain Ingles later recognized Hewitt ′ s courageous behavior in a report on the action . Although " Helmuth " had taken a hit from " Konigsberg " , the damage to the tug was relatively minor and her crew managed to reboard her after " Konigsberg " had sailed off . Only one man on board " Helmuth " died , a non - enlisted native working in the engine room . The hospital ship and the Scottish ship SS " Clan Macrae " rescued the survivors of " Pegasus " . Twenty - four of the British sailors that died in the battle were buried in a mass grave in the naval cemetery on Grave island , Zanzibar , while 14 others were laid to rest at the town ' s cemetery before being moved in 1971 to the Dar es Salaam war cemetery . The British salvaged six of " Pegasus " ′ guns from the wreck and later used them in the East African land campaign . Although " Konigsberg " had suffered no hits or casualties , Looff ′ s plans to continue the offensive were soon cut short . One of her main engines failed . The British were watching the port of Dar es Salaam so she had to return to the Rufiji River delta to await the overland transport of spare parts . The British soon discovered " Koningsberg " ′ s location and blockaded her . They damaged her beyond repair in the Battle of Rufiji Delta when they were able to bring up the monitor s and .