Battle of Banjo During the Battle of Banjo or Battle of Banyo , British forces besieged German forces entrenched on the Banjo mountain from 4 to 6 November 1915 during the Kamerun campaign of the First World War . By 6 November much of the German force had deserted , while the rest surrendered . The battle resulted in victory for the Allies and breakdown of German resistance in northern Kamerun . Background . Following the outbreak of war between Britain and Germany in the summer of 1914 , British forces in neighboring Nigeria mounted an attack on the German forts at Garua in northern Kamerun . After failing to take the forts and suffering heavy casualties at the First Battle of Garua , British forces in the border regions adopted a defensive strategy . The German commander at Garua , Von Crailsheim gained confidence and mounted a raid across the border which was repulsed at the Battle of Gurin in April 1915 . Following the German defeat , Captain Adolf Schipper led the wounded German soldiers to the fort at Banjo to the south . The German raid stimulated retaliation from the British commander in the area , Hugh Cunliffe who went on to finally capture the forts at Garua at the Second Battle of Garua . In July , Cunliffe went on to win the Battle of Ngaundere further south . Due to heavy rains however , Cunliffe chose to take part in the Siege of Mora instead of make an advance southward to the German base at Jaunde . Because of an improvement in weather conditions , Cunliffe resumed his push south in October . On 22 October , the town of Bamenda was occupied by Cunliffe ' s forces . British forces occupied the village Banjo on 24 October . On 3 November the column occupied the town of Tibati , approximately 90 kilometers southwest of Ngaundere . The German fort on a hill near the town of Banjo was near to the border with Nigeria and was the last German stronghold in northern Kamerun that stood between Cunliffe and Jaunde . The fort was situated atop a mountain with steep slopes but a relatively flat summit . A number of boulders were located on the slopes of the mountain . In preparation for the battle , German forces built approximately 300 sangars between these boulders and constructed numerous entrenchments on the slopes of the hill . Under the command of Captain Adolf Schipper , the fort had prepared itself for a long siege like the ones seen at Mora and Garua . Before the battle took place , the garrison had even prepared the top of the mountain for agricultural cultivation . By October 1915 the fort was protected by 23 European officers and approximately 200 native Askaris . Battle . While British forces had occupied the town of Banjo since late October , fighting did not start until an attempt was made to capture the fort . On the morning of 4 November , a British company under Captain Bowyer - Smijth launched an assault on the German defenses with the support of three artillery pieces that had been brought . Due to dense fog , the British force was able to surprise the German defenders . During the conflict that ensued , Bowyer - Smijth was killed in action near the summit along with others from his company , which retreated back down the mountain . That night five British companies attempted another assault on the hill . The Germans were able to hold off the attack through the bombardment of the oncoming infantry with dynamite . On 5 November , British forces remained positioned on the slopes of the hill approximately 100 meters from the summit . At this time the three British artillery pieces began to run out of ammunition . By that evening however , more had arrived which enabled another assault on the fort . On the night of 5 November , during a thunderstorm , the final attack was made . When Nigerian troops finally reached the summit , fighting at close quarters ensued that cost both sides heavy casualties . During the battle , much of the German garrison had deserted while those that remained surrendered by the morning of 6 November 1914 . The German commander , Captain Adolf Schipper , was killed during the battle along with approximately 27 other German soldiers . British losses included around 50 killed . Aftermath . Following the battle , British forces were able to capture most of the German deserters . When the British occupied the fort at Banjo they found it to be a considerably strong position with sufficient ammunition and supplies for further resistance . On the summit the Germans had pigs , sheep and 226 cattle . The British victory at Banjo meant that German resistance in northern Kamerun was virtually over . The forces of Cunliffe in the north were now able to come into contact with those of Dobell , in the southwest . The capture of the German fort here allowed for a second assault on Jaunde and the German escape to the neutral Spanish colony of Rio Muni .