Dahomey expedition (1892-4), French imperial venture typical of much of the scramble for Africa. Worsening relations between expansionist France and the warlike Fon of the West African kingdom of Dahomey came to a head in 1890 when the French seized Cotonou. Further clashes followed, culminating in a French punitive expedition in 1892. The Fon fielded a standing army of 4, 000, half of whom were the fierce ‘Amazons’ (see gender), equipped with repeating rifles and artillery recently acquired from German traders, augmented by approximately 8, 000 levies. France despatched 2, 000 troops under Col Alfred-Amedée Dodds, an experienced Marine of Gambian paternal origin. Instead of marching overland against the Fon capital of Abomey, he sailed up the Ouémé river and struck from this unexpected quarter on 4 October.
The Fon way of war—probing for weakness and then launching a raid or an assault on a lightly held outpost—failed against Dodds's methodical advance. Their traditional tactic of a surprise dawn attack was repeatedly foiled by well-deployed sentries and by disciplined French fire power. In defence, the Fon tendency to fire high meant that many of their positions fell to the bayonet. They could only have beaten the French if they had caught them off guard, and Dodds did not commit the cardinal error of underestimating his enemy. The Fon army was destroyed, with perhaps 5, 000 killed against French losses of only 77. With the survivors weakened by smallpox and hunger, King Behanzin sued for peace, but his failure to comply with Dodds' demands led the latter to continue his advance on Abomey, which he captured on 18 November. Behanzin fled north to reorganize his forces, and Dodds declared him deposed before outbreaks of disease forced the French back to the coast.
Further Fon overtures in spring 1893 were met by unacceptable demands for the removal of Behanzin, which would deprive the kingdom of its spiritual and political independence. Dodds re-formed his force and marched north in September, cordoning off the frontiers to block the fugitive Behanzin's escape. Meanwhile captive Fon dignitaries, hoping to secure a French withdrawal, suggested Behanzin's brother Goutchile (later renamed Agoli-Agbo) as a puppet king. He was appointed in January 1894, shortly before Behanzin's capture. The rump kingdom finally lost even its notional independence in 1900.
Bibliography
- Porch, Douglas, The French Foreign Legion (London, 1991).
- Ross, David, ‘Dahomey’, in West African Resistance (New York, 1971)
— Dominick Donald
