Siege of Apia
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Apia, or the Battle of Apia, occurred during the Second Samoan Civil War
in March 1899 at Apia. Samoa
n forces loyal to Prince
Tanu
were besieged by a larger force of Samoan rebels loyal to Mata'afa Iosefo
. Supporting Prince Tanu were landing parties from four British
and American
warships. Over the course of several days of fighting, the Samoan rebels were defeated.
were known as Mataafans or Mataafanites, they received support from Germany
. In January 1899, Prince Tanu was exiled by the Mataafans which provoked a response from the United States Navy
and the Royal Navy
. Rear Admiral
Albert Kautz
of the cruiser
arrived first on March 13 and held a meeting with the many different officials there. When no solution was agreed upon, a shore party was landed and the Mataafa's followers were ordered to leave Apia and go back to their villages. Instead of following this command, the Mataafans removed themselves from town but only to the outskirts where they started evicting the European and American population from their homes. Refugees started fleeing to Apia where they took up houses along the coast, under the protection of naval guns. The British cruiser and corvette
were deployed to Apia; sailors and marines from these two vessels were also landed for the protection of the town.
Guy Reginald Archer Gaunt of HMS Porpoise and Captain M. Perkins of the United States Marines. Though the British and Americans held their fire, the Samoans retreated after realizing that Apia's garrison
was on high alert and prepared for battle.
Just before 1:00 pm, rebel boats were spotted off Vaiusu and were thought to be making an attack on the Samoan refugees in the village of Mulinuu. At this time, Kautz was informed of the assault on the consulates so he gave the order to open fire on the boats and on the Mataafa's front line. All three of the British and American warships began bombarding the boats and the outskirts of Apia until 5:00 pm, when HMS Porpoise was detached alone to shell the Vaiusu and Vaimoso villages. Several boats were sunk that day and hundreds of shells expended. The Mataafans decided to attack the American held hotel the following night on March 15, during this assault, the Samoan rebels advanced hastily and temporarily captured a 7-pounder artillery piece before being repulsed by fire from both the garrison and the warships. One American sentry was killed along with three Britons, Samoan casualties are unknown. From then on until the end of the siege, the fighting took the form of sniping and skirmishing. Mataafa's army continued to occupy the outskirts of Apia and many of the surrounding villages. Thus the Allied force came to the conclusion that they had to combine their strength and attack the Mataafan's front line or where ever they were in large numbers. By engaging the rebels in a decisive action, they would be forced to abandon the siege.
On March 24, the cruiser HMS Tauranga
under Captain
Leslie Creery Stuart arrived at Apia, Captain Stuart then took command of British naval operations in Samoa. The final engagement occurred on March 30 when the British, American and Samoan loyalists marched south to confront Mataafa. Three miles south of Apia, the Allies under the command of Lieutenant Gault attacked and routed a large rebel force. Twenty-seven Mataafans were counted dead with a loss of three more Britons, one American sailor and one Samoan warrior, several others were wounded. After this the rebels retreated to their main stronghold of Vailele
, southeast of Apia. During the siege the German consulate was hit by shell fire and later it's occupants protested the American and British use of force in Samoa.
Vailele's fortifications. But when the expedition approached the town, a superior force of Mataafans ambushed and defeated them. On March 13, the rebels attacked the British and Samoan front line just outside of Vailele, in this battle the Matafaans were repulsed. On March 17, the Allies engaged at Vailele for a third and final time. British and Samoan loyalists, with aid from a small force of Americans, captured one of the two forts at Vailele but were forced to retreat soon after. During this action USS Philadelphia and the British warships bombarded the port.
The third battle at Vailele became the last significant engagement of the war, after, the Allies declared that so long as the Mataafans remain out of Apia, they would not take action against them. One more skirmish occurred on April 25 when the Mataafans attacked an American marine patrol outside of Apia but the rebels were driven off.
Second Samoan Civil War
The Second Samoan Civil War was a conflict that reached a head in 1898 when Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States were locked in dispute over who should have control over the Samoan island chain, located in the South Pacific Ocean...
in March 1899 at Apia. Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
n forces loyal to Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
Tanu
Tanu
Tanu may refer to:*Tanu, a Samoan prince who was allied with American and British forces during the Second Samoan Civil War*Tanu , an important historical village of the Haida people on the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada...
were besieged by a larger force of Samoan rebels loyal to Mata'afa Iosefo
Mata'afa Iosefo
Mata'afa Iosefo was a Paramount Chief of Samoa who was one of the three rival candidates for the kingship of Samoa during colonialism...
. Supporting Prince Tanu were landing parties from four British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
warships. Over the course of several days of fighting, the Samoan rebels were defeated.
Background
Followers of Mata'afa IosefoMata'afa Iosefo
Mata'afa Iosefo was a Paramount Chief of Samoa who was one of the three rival candidates for the kingship of Samoa during colonialism...
were known as Mataafans or Mataafanites, they received support from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In January 1899, Prince Tanu was exiled by the Mataafans which provoked a response from the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Albert Kautz
Albert Kautz
Albert Kautz was an American naval officer, born at Georgetown, Ohio. He graduated at the Naval Academy in 1861. In June, 1861, as commander of a prize brig, he was captured near Cape Hatteras, but was released on parole and proceeded to Washington, where he succeeded in negotiating the first...
of the cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
arrived first on March 13 and held a meeting with the many different officials there. When no solution was agreed upon, a shore party was landed and the Mataafa's followers were ordered to leave Apia and go back to their villages. Instead of following this command, the Mataafans removed themselves from town but only to the outskirts where they started evicting the European and American population from their homes. Refugees started fleeing to Apia where they took up houses along the coast, under the protection of naval guns. The British cruiser and corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
were deployed to Apia; sailors and marines from these two vessels were also landed for the protection of the town.
Siege
On March 15, Rear Admiral Kautz sent the Mataafa another message, this time he demanded that the Mataafans leave the outskirts of the town, this message was ignored and instead Mata'afa Iosefo increased the numbers of his men around Apia and attacked. The British and American commanders estimated that a total of over 4,000 rebel warriors armed with 2,500 rifles opposed them. Over the course of the siege there were about 260 British and American servicemen involved, fighting with about 2,000 friendly Samoan warriors. Apia referred to the main settlement which was surrounded by several nearby villages. The Americans held the Tivoli Hotel in Apia, which was used as their command post, sentries were also placed at the consulates which were fairly isolated according to reports and mostly surrounded by dense jungle. At 12:30 am, the Mataafans rushed the British and American consulates guarded by sailors and marines under LieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Guy Reginald Archer Gaunt of HMS Porpoise and Captain M. Perkins of the United States Marines. Though the British and Americans held their fire, the Samoans retreated after realizing that Apia's garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
was on high alert and prepared for battle.
Just before 1:00 pm, rebel boats were spotted off Vaiusu and were thought to be making an attack on the Samoan refugees in the village of Mulinuu. At this time, Kautz was informed of the assault on the consulates so he gave the order to open fire on the boats and on the Mataafa's front line. All three of the British and American warships began bombarding the boats and the outskirts of Apia until 5:00 pm, when HMS Porpoise was detached alone to shell the Vaiusu and Vaimoso villages. Several boats were sunk that day and hundreds of shells expended. The Mataafans decided to attack the American held hotel the following night on March 15, during this assault, the Samoan rebels advanced hastily and temporarily captured a 7-pounder artillery piece before being repulsed by fire from both the garrison and the warships. One American sentry was killed along with three Britons, Samoan casualties are unknown. From then on until the end of the siege, the fighting took the form of sniping and skirmishing. Mataafa's army continued to occupy the outskirts of Apia and many of the surrounding villages. Thus the Allied force came to the conclusion that they had to combine their strength and attack the Mataafan's front line or where ever they were in large numbers. By engaging the rebels in a decisive action, they would be forced to abandon the siege.
On March 24, the cruiser HMS Tauranga
HMS Phoenix
Sixteen vessels and two shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Phoenix, after the legendary phoenix bird.The earliest example of the use of HMS as an abbreviation is a reference to HMS Phoenix in 1789....
under Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Leslie Creery Stuart arrived at Apia, Captain Stuart then took command of British naval operations in Samoa. The final engagement occurred on March 30 when the British, American and Samoan loyalists marched south to confront Mataafa. Three miles south of Apia, the Allies under the command of Lieutenant Gault attacked and routed a large rebel force. Twenty-seven Mataafans were counted dead with a loss of three more Britons, one American sailor and one Samoan warrior, several others were wounded. After this the rebels retreated to their main stronghold of Vailele
Vailele
Vailele is a village situated on the central north coast of Upolu island in Samoa.Vailele is in the electoral constituency of Vaimauga East in the larger political district of Tuamasaga....
, southeast of Apia. During the siege the German consulate was hit by shell fire and later it's occupants protested the American and British use of force in Samoa.
Aftermath
After the siege of Apia, the Samoan loyalists, the British and the Americans began operations against Vailele. On April 1, an expedition of about 250 men proceeded to the settlement, supported by HMS Royalist. Two villages were burned along the way and the Royalist bombardedFirst Battle of Vailele
The First Battle of Vailele was fought during the Second Samoan Civil War in 1899. British, American and Samoan forces loyal to Prince Tanu were defeated by a superior force of Samoan rebels loyal to Mata'afa Iosefo...
Vailele's fortifications. But when the expedition approached the town, a superior force of Mataafans ambushed and defeated them. On March 13, the rebels attacked the British and Samoan front line just outside of Vailele, in this battle the Matafaans were repulsed. On March 17, the Allies engaged at Vailele for a third and final time. British and Samoan loyalists, with aid from a small force of Americans, captured one of the two forts at Vailele but were forced to retreat soon after. During this action USS Philadelphia and the British warships bombarded the port.
The third battle at Vailele became the last significant engagement of the war, after, the Allies declared that so long as the Mataafans remain out of Apia, they would not take action against them. One more skirmish occurred on April 25 when the Mataafans attacked an American marine patrol outside of Apia but the rebels were driven off.