Remembering African Gunners of World War 2
Many thousands of African soldiers served with British, Indian and other forces during World War Two. Thousands of these served with the artillery – East and West African. African artillery units defended African ports, airfields and lines of communication of strategic importance to the Allied war effort. Several served in the conquest of Italian East Africa and the liberation of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Others served overseas: in the occupation of Madagascar; the defence of Ceylon; and against the Japanese in Burma. From a starting point near zero in 1939, numerous artillery regiments and batteries of all types were formed, equipped and trained, reaching a peak in 1943-1944.
This web site is an attempt to document the story of the East and West African artillery. Based on war diaries and other official documents, the unit histories have been pieced together and are presented here. General histories of the coast defence, field and anti-aircraft artillery of both East and West Africa have been prepared from the same sources.
The unit histories are listed in the menus to the right of every screen, grouped appropriately as either East or West African and as to type: coast defence; field; anti-aircraft.
The general histories include a general survey of development and experience:
Remembering African Gunners of World War 2 – East and West African Artillery
There are also individual commentaries on development, deployment and eventual rundown of the African artillery, for each major arm: coast defence; field artillery; anti-aircraft:
East African Artillery
Coast Artillery Defence of East Africa
The Anti-Aircraft Defence of East Africa
West African Artillery
The Coast Artillery Defence of West Africa
West African Field Artillery
The Anti-Aircraft Defence of West Africa
14 September 2025