Before official declaration of war between Germany

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 and Portugal

Portuguese First Republic

The Portuguese First Republic spans a complex 16 year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the period of constitutional monarchy marked by the 5 October 1910 revolution and the 28 May coup d'état of 1926...

 (March 1915), German and Portuguese troops clashed several times on the border between German South West Africa and Portuguese Angola. The Germans won these clashes and were ready to take over southern Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

 when the successful British campaign out of South Africa

South-West Africa Campaign

The South-West Africa Campaign was the conquest and occupation of German South West Africa, now called Namibia, by forces from the Union of South Africa acting on behalf of the British Imperial Government at the beginning of the First World War.-Background:...

 defeated them before Portuguese control collapsed completely.

From 1911 until July 1914 German and British Empires secretly negotiated about possible dismemberment of Portuguese Angola; in such a case most of the land would fall into the hands of Germans. Angola-Bund founded in 1912 was the German organization promoting the takeover.

Even before World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

started (September 1914) Portuguese government sent reinforcement to the southern border of Angola. After the war broke out the border between German South West Africa and Angola was rermained open. The Germans hoped they will be able to supply food and possibly even arms through it. However the Portuguese colonial government was rather hostile and tried to stop all the trade. A few German nationals in Angola were interned.

External links

• Chronology of Events in the Defense of the Portuguese African Colonies, 1914 - 1920 (in Portuguese)
• German border incursions into Portuguese Angola prior to the First World War by Paul Southern, 2007 (requires subscription)