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Mimi and Toutou Go Forth
Mimi and Toutou Go Forth: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika | Giles Foden
2 posts | 1 read | 3 to read
At the start of World War One, German warships controlled Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa. The British had no naval craft at all upon 'Tanganjikasee', as the Germans called it. This mattered: it was the longest lake in the world and of great strategic advantage. In June 1915, a force of 28 men was despatched from Britain on a vast journey. Their orders were to take control of the lake. To reach it, they had to haul two motorboats with the unlikely names of Mimi and Toutou through the wilds of the Congo. The 28 were a strange bunch -- one was addicted to Worcester sauce, another was a former racing driver -- but the strangest of all of them was their skirt-wearing, tattoo-covered commander, Geoffrey Spicer-Simson. Whatever it took, even if it meant becoming the god of a local tribe, he was determined to cover himself in glory. But the Germans had a surprise in store for Spicer-Simson, in the shape of their secret 'supership' the Graf von Gotzen . . . Unearthing new German and African records, the prize-winning author of The Last King of Scotland retells this most unlikely of true-life tales with his customary narrative energy and style. Fitzcarraldo meets Heart of Darkness, this is rich, vivid and flashmanesque in its appeal - military history at its most absorbing and entertaining
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review
MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Mehso-so

This was about 3.5 stars for me. Very interesting history entertainingly told for the most part. The battle over Lake Tanganyika was partly won by an eccentric naval commander called Geoffrey Spicer-Simpson, who was successful in sinking one German ship with Mimi and Toutou, two motorboats, but then balked at what would have been an even bigger victory.

MommyWantsToReadHerBook Although Foden at least expresses a bit if disgust for the way the Africans were treated throughout this conquest, he still manages to be pretty patronising himself in his descriptions. 7y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook The info on how these events led to the book, which was made into a movie, The African Queen, was very interesting and humorous though. 7y
14 likes2 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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I decided to try this non-fiction suggestion from my sister as my next Kindle read and am really enjoying it so far. Trying to imagine people coping with the ridiculous man in charge of the operation to win Lake Tanganjika for the British is absolutely hilarious.

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