June 15th, 1953 - The Battle of Aberdare Forest

Conflict: Mau Mau Rebellion

Combatants: British vs. Mau Mau

Location: Kenya

Outcome: British victory

In January of 1953, Mau Mau tribesman rose in rebellion against the colonial rule of the British in Kenya. The leader of the Mau Mau, Jomo Kenyatta, was imprisoned. Years of guerrilla warfare ensued, with abuses on both sides. On June 15th of 1953, British troops engaged and killed 125 Mau Mau in the Aberdare Forest.

British Troops conducting a patrol during the Mau Mau Rebellion by an unknown photographer

Point of Interest:

• The majority of the fighting had ended by 1955 after the death of some 10,000 Kenyan rebels.

• Jomo Kenyatta was released in 1959, became the leader of the political independence party and was elected prime minister in 1963. Kenya became independent Commonwealth nation in December of the same year.

Jomo Kenyatta 1966-06-15 by an unknown photographer

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Sources:

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.