Just before and during the First World War, another war was being waged in East Africa. As in Europe, the main protagonists, with thek respective allies, were the Germans and British.Though it was thousands of miles away, this sideshow was no less bitter. At stake lay the vast mineral reserves of East and Central Africa, plus access to valuable crops like cotton, tea, coffee and timber. Such was the value of the prize that in December 1914, The Times claimed that, had the great conflagration not erupted in Europe, Germany and Britain would surely have clashed over their interests in Africa.

The key to controlling the region was Lake Tanganyika, where the Germans-withsome foresight - had established a base, plus a small port, whence they deployed two large gunships. In an impressive feat of engineering, one of these ships was purpose-built in Germany, then disassembled and delivered to Tanganyika, where it was meticulously rebuilt. With these ships the Germans effectively controlled the major routes. On land the Germans were supposedly struggling, hampered by lack of supplies, but their commander, von Lettow, was giving an excellent account of himself, and his military skills were such that he kept the conflict going until late 1918. One of the reasons why von Lettow was so elusive in the early part of this war was that he cleverly interfaced with the cruiser Konigsberg, using it for supplies and for ferrying his men.

The Belgians already had extensive interests in the region, and von Lettow harried them mercilessly. It was important that his activities be stopped, but rather than send an experienced officer, in 1915 the Admiralty accepted the services of Commander Geoffrey Spicer Simpson, who at the time was relegated to a small office in a forgotten part of Whitehall.

While he had experience working in Africa and China, Spicer was a bizarre choice. He epitomised the worst aspects of the English middle class: he was snobbish, arrogant, loud, a congenital liar, braggart and a prig, with an annoying, nasal voice. He told tales so fantastic that even his friends found it hard not to laugh. Worse, his naval record was abysmal: he'd been court-martialled twice, he'd sunk a ship, needlessly damaged a submarine and run another ship aground. Somehow he persuaded the authorities to let him lead an expedition to Tanganyika to sink both the Konigsberg and the Hedwig von Wissmann and establish British sovereignty. There is a hint that his fellow officers may have connived at this - he was universally hated - but it's also true that in 1915 there was nobody else of any note available.

Yet this adventurer had guts, and his muscular frame was usually at the forefront of any action. Despite his unsuitability for the task, his utter incompetence and lack of military training, he had great determination and in his resplendent uniform he made an imposing figure. The effect, however, was spoiled by the fact that while in Africa he habitually wore a woman's skirt: "I design them myself, and my wife makes 'em up", he told astonished onlookers; even in battle, German gunners were nonplussed.

His brief was to sink the German boats, and to do this Spicer was given two wooden craft, little more than armed motorboats, which he had to transport to Africa.

This amazing trek is a fabulous read in its own right, but Spicer got his little boats (Mimi and TouTou) to the lake and in two strange battles managed to sink the pride of the German's African fleet. Not that Spicer had much to do with it - his staff remained bemused by his signals (in the first battle he used 'semaphore' but his gunner thought he was having fits; in the second battle, he refused to remove his cigarette holder from between his teeth so anything he said was totally incomprehensible). What tilted the balance were several huge slices of luck and sheer f oolhardiness, though the Germans contributed with an., uncharacteristic lack of preparation, followed by an inexplicable lapse in ruthlessness.

To cap it all, one German ship was holed when Spicer, unable to stop, accidentally rammed it, damaging his own vessel at the same time. Spicer's absurd little flotilla was ill-equipped, mismatched and barely seaworthy.

Perhaps the Germans suffered from overconfidence; coupled with the effect of first seeing Spicer through their binoculars, it might have led them to underestimate the ramshackle British force that was doggedly pursuing them around the lake. Whatever the reasons, Spicer won it decisively. The result was that local tribesmen came to regard him as a demi-god, and Spicer hammed it up outrageously. In contrast, a German Captain was so mortified to have been beaten by such a clown that he contemplated suicide.

Spicer's downfall came when he was told to link up with the military professionals sent in to finish the job. Asked to co-operate with Belgian land forces, his nincompoop behaviour and total lack of understanding of the issues at stake managed only to enrage them. Later he was seconded to a British military detachment, and having made a mess of that too, their contempt for him became so marked that he was delighted when he was invalided home with mental exhaustion. Although a lot of strange things took place, you could argue that this isn't strictly a fortean book, but it's wonderful nevertheless.