Dedicated to my wife who supports my return to writing, my creativity, and my desire to entertain people.

Chapter 52: In His Majesty's Service - Part 1

…March 1914…

While life in the jungle for the Clayton's was hard but relatively free of extreme danger, despite the extraordinary snake attack, the rest of the human world outside of the land of the Mangani was far more dangerous, and about to explode. The last several times home, Tarzan and Jane became well aware of the mounting tensions between the nations, and some of their closest advisers recommended against the latest trip back to Africa, especially the cruise past Morocco, where the Zaian rebellion was not yet quelled, despite thousands of French troops occupying the protectorate since the Treaty of Fez in 1912, and the fear of piracy still lingered off both the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. Morocco had been in turmoil between world powers since 1905, with the German Kaiser himself visiting the country to stir up trouble against France with opposing forces in Morocco who did not like the French occupiers. French General Lyautey had a very difficult 'peace' to manage, and it seemed like there was another confrontation every day.

Tarzan was no mere bystander to the rampant nationalism and arms races across Europe, Balkans, and the Near East that were now spreading to their imperial colonies. Clayton Industries was heavily engaged in the British arms buildup, and Tarzan himself had used his increasingly global connections with international businessmen to help English diplomacy. Clayton Industries had doubled in size and wealth since the rightful Count had returned to assume leadership of the companies and holdings. Human or animal, Tarzan seemed to make friends and connections with anyone anywhere. And he instilled extreme loyalty with people he could trust.

The Clayton family made their weekly swing past the treehouse mansion to check for messages on the Wireless. Jack deftly cranked up the Wireless, while his father peddled the generator to recharge the nearly spent batteries. In this time of crisis, they left the Wireless on between visits, but only in a low power receive mode only. Jane just watched, as Lily played with a spare code key, trying to match what her brother was doing. It seemed the next generation was better with advanced technology than their parents. They reviewed the messages recorded on paper punch tape - a device installed a couple of years ago. Tarzan examined the Morse code patterns on the paper tape seriously, but nothing seemed unusual. There were a string of normal greetings and news items, including some reports on the state of the family businesses for Tarzan and Archimedes, a few belated wedding anniversary greetings from their celebration on Valentine's Day, the latest news for Jane about Faith's latest foal born over Christmas, plus some notes on repairs on the estates. But while they were in communication with the outside world, new messages appeared.

One message came in directly to the Clayton's African Wireless as they sat. The code key clattered.

"This message is for Count Jonathan Clayton, Lord of Greystoke."

The Count said, "Korak, I better take this," and they switched places. Korak was well muscled for a boy, and he peddled effortlessly. He loved when his father called him Korak.

Tarzan tapped out the words in Morse Code, "This is he. Who is inquiring?"

"This is Colonel Armand Jacot, Deputy Commander of the French Forces in Morocco under General Lyautey," came the reply quickly.

Tarzan always was unsettled when he got messages from the military. The world was on the brink of war, and the family already knew they dared not go back to England now that they were here until things settled down. All it would take was a spark to set off a continental firestorm whose flames would spread everywhere.

The hostility of German-Austrian Empire the Clayton/Porter family had experienced years ago with Archimedes being stopped on the high seas off the Togoland coast was growing worse. The Germans and Austrians just needed an excuse for accelerating their expansionist desires. The English, French, and Russians were all signing mutual support alliance treaties to combat the Germans and their Balkan and Ottoman Empire allies, who reportedly had recently concluded a War Council for plans to carve up Europe. There were rumblings that the Americans would eventually get drawn into the growing turmoil in Europe, despite their extreme isolationist policies - who had no stronger advocate than President Woodrow Wilson. Jane worried for her cousin, who could be recalled as a Colonel in the U.S. Army, something he willingly walked away from years ago as a cavalry leader. Modern warfare was going to be ghastly different from a horse charge across the plains with sabers drawn.

The telegraph rattled again, "I am a friend of Admiral D'Arnot, who was recently reinstated in the French Navy at our request. Philippe said you could help us."

Jane was adamant, and demanded, "No, Jonathan! You are not going to go to any fight. Not even if Philippe asks you. This coming war does not need to involve you or this family."

Tarzan was calm but firm with his wife, who was trembling at the thought of her Jonathan going to war, "Your father served the Crown. And he told us he would again if only he could. And your cousin served the Americans' Army, too. Don't forget that we are surrounded by German territory here in Africa – Togoland to the west and Kamerun to the east. If war comes to Europe it will spread here too. The Germans want to expand their empire everywhere, especially to get raw materials to feed their war machine. We all know every country has garrisons in their colonies to keep this fragile peace. If I need to be in His Majesty King George's service to protect Nigeria, I must."

Jane fumed but knew all the stubborn men in her life were right, crossing her arms in anger, "I know dear, but it doesn't mean I have to like any of it."

Although Tarzan was not happy with D'Arnot's decision to accept the French Navy commission and temporarily step down as head of Clayton Shipping with Captain Sewell taking over, the Count knew that duty to country to prepare for war had to prevail, especially with the vile threat posed by German Kaiser Wilhelm II. The impact of his title was not lost on anyone – it was the Germanic translation of 'Caesar', with all the implications in that title of oppressive Germanic domination over freedom loving countries of Western Europe and the U.S. So Tarzan let D'Arnot serve France and dedicated Clayton Shipping merchant marine line to logistics and resupply with his French and American shipping partners.

Two of Tarzan's transatlantic shipping line transports and another from a French shipping line had been lost to unknown causes, well south of the iceberg lanes in the Atlantic. There were swirling rumors of the invention of some kind of German secret undersea superweapon that could not be defended against, but there were never any survivors to witness the incidents. Otherwise, Clayton's ships and all other shipping companies continued their accelerated schedules because of the arms buildup. The Zaian conflict had required enormous resupply efforts from France into Morocco to support the conflict, and armed escorts were needed to defend against piracy and hijacking. The German Navy shadowed the French and their English allies' logistics efforts, causing a lot of anxiety. So Philippe and his sailors were all too eager to help the effort with sacrifice to self for France. The English Crown and French Republic was paying Clayton Shipping a lucrative sum to provide the heightened logistics services, though Tarzan would have done the task just for love of country.

Tarzan felt a little helpless in their isolated paradise of the Mangani, even connected by Wireless. He wanted to do something actively, even over Jane's rare objections to his plans. Both Jane and Tarzan were anxious for Jacot's next communiqué.

The message finally came. It was a shock, because it was being transmitted in the phonetic Mangani tongue that Tarzan and Jane had developed with Archimedes and Philippe as a code, not in English or French, so as to be undecipherable by any monitoring Germans or their allies. Or any competing corporations. A hand full of Tarzan's most trusted advisers knew the Mangani code language.

In the ape's language, the Morse code words tapped out, "Count Clayton. We truly need your help."

"Who's translating that?" asked Jane, reading the words in Mangani on the tape for which there was no previously written language.

Tarzan postulated, "I don't know, but I'll bet Philippe is right there in the French Army Headquarters communications room with him. The garrison is on the Atlantic coast right next to the French naval base and port in Casablanca.

Tarzan sighed, gripped Jane's worried hand, and started tapping, also in Mangani, "I will do what you ask and board the next ship from Nigeria to England."

The response was fast and terse, "No. It is too dangerous to travel unarmed by sea. There are random detainments for extended periods."

They knew firsthand about that. The message continued in the Mangani code, "Without an armed escort you'd never make it past the German Navy patrolling coast of Togoland. There are no French or British warships in your part of Africa now. There are continued reports of ships randomly disappearing without a trace. We still don't know why."

"Now there's a Colonel I respect already," Jane smiled thinly to her husband.

Jacot's message continued, but in addition to using Mangani, he used code words for real country names so anyone listening would never guess, "The Germans in Togoland are believed to be getting ready to mount an offensive against British Nigeria whenever the war begins. We must be prepared. It is only a matter of time. When the main war erupts it will spill over here in Africa fast. The Germans need the raw materials in their colonies to fight the war. We French are asking for your help there in-country. We will be ready to mount an offensive by moving a platoon of specially trained jungle forces from here in Morocco by cruiser to our colony Dahomey. Our special forces would be joined by the regular British garrison in Gold Coast and strike Lome - the capital of Togoland. An English strike eastward into Togoland from the Gold Coast and westward from our special forces in Dahomey will end the conflict swiftly. The Germans will be caught in a pincer move and unable to send forces through Nigeria to Kamerun."

Tarzan and Jane looked at each other very seriously. They both realized that this was a brilliant move to protect Nigeria and the land of the Mangani. Jane nodded her head at Tarzan in support of this action. Jack and Lily remained silent in this very serious adult business. Archimedes paid close attention to the activity, but this was strictly between Tarzan and Jane and his family. He already knew what the right choice had to be. His wife wasn't happy when he went to fight the Boer War either.

Tarzan knew that almost the entirety of western Africa was French-owned, dotted with a few English, German, Spanish, and Belgian holdings along the coast. The Frenchmen, with Tarzan's knowledge of the jungle, could move with impunity and safety in their own territories, even though it was faster by ship, with few hostile coasts with navies to slow them down.

Tarzan was grateful that by conversing in Mangani, these war plans indecipherable to any listening Germans. The Germans had a commercially run Wireless in Kamina, in the extremely isolated northern part of Togoland, thought to be well protected by the jungle. It was no secret that the commercial aspects of the Wireless were a cover for their military operations not only in Togoland, but was also a radio relay from Berlin to Kamerun and German Southwest Africa.

What the Germans considered Togoland was flanked by the English colony of Nigeria and French colony of Dahomey on the east and another more established English Colony of the Gold Coast immediately to the west. The English-French-Russian Alliance had the Germans boxed in, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be a fight. Kamerun, located on the vast southeast border of Nigeria, was a much bigger German territory that was resource-rich, and was believed to have many more troops than in Togoland. They had to stop the hostilities here if war erupted in Europe. Tarzan already knew British forces were aligned on the Nigerian/Kamerun border. His troop transport ships had taken them there.

Jane had a huge sigh and her eyes watered, "It appears, dear, that we are right in the bulls eye of the African conflict. I know you have to do this."

The couple held hands and kissed.

"Mom?" asked Jack anxiously.

"Daddy?" inquired Lily, worried about her dad.

Jane held her offspring closely, "It's like this, children. Countries are about to fight a war and the lands in which they live here in Africa will be fighting each, and we and our Mangani family are in great danger unless Daddy helps the French and British soldiers and sailors win the war."

Both children, in reading history books with their parents and their tutors, knew the horror of what can happen in war.

Tarzan reassured Lily and Jack, "I must help my friends. I will be safe. I promise."

The children, still worried but trusting, hugged their father.

Tarzan sighed, and tapped out the answer the request, "I will fight with you, but you must know that I don't use guns."

The short reply came back quickly, "We are not asking you to."

Tarzan raised an eyebrow, and responded hurriedly, "Then what are you asking of me?"

The Colonel's answer was swift, "You have special talents and deep knowledge of jungle fighting to enhance our forces. We are asking you to stop the German offensive before it ever begins. As Admiral D'Arnot says, 'in only the way that the Lord of the Jungle can'. When we arrive in Dahomey, we will station the troops there, be ready to move west, and I will meet you in the east Nigerian Council city to meet in private to describe your mission before we rejoin the French forces and move against the Germans. We cannot explain the plans any further over the wireless."

Tarzan sat back in his chair, and unconsciously let out a slow whistle, which attracted a whole flock of birds to the Wireless room's window, wondering what the Lord of the Jungle wanted of them. He apologized for disturbing the birds, and shooed them away. Jane had a look of extreme concern.

"Under cover, Jonathan?" Jane fretted.

"It is what I do best."

"I am so frightened. But I am going with you," she asserted.

Tarzan gave her a deadly serious look, "Absolutely not. You are staying here with the children family and with your dad to defend our homeland. You are a fighter, but you must see to it that the family is protected on the home front."

She reluctantly agreed, "Yes dear. I understand. If the Germans got through, they would slaughter our family without me."

Jacot's next transmission was coming in furiously over the clacking of the telegraph key, "We will join you in Nigeria about a month. We leave Casablanca by D'Arnot's cruiser, avoiding a terrible trek through the desert and jungle, cruise around into the Dahomey coastal port of Porto Novo to be prepared. We have a special role for you. So do not, repeat do not engage the Germans until we meet up with you. Philippe and I will meet you personally at the Nigerian Council's village with a small escort."

The village was a far cry from the mud and thatch huts of years ago. With the British colonization of Nigeria it was an eclectic mix of formal English and natural Nigerian society. The bay had a proper wharf and docks courtesy of Clayton Shipping, and had become a hub of seaborne transportation. And a tempting target for takeover by the German who had no such facilities in Togoland for a springboard into trade deeper into Africa. Dahomey was small and though a French territory, it was only a corridor for the German military forces to invade with little resistance into Nigeria. That is why they had to be stopped in Togoland.

Tarzan typed, "I understand and await your arrival."

Philippe, sitting next to Jacot, took a heavy breath, continued to use code key, and gave an ominous projection, one that they all already knew, and completely in code words for the real country names, lest the Germans figure out the messages, "If the Germans attack, they will come right through the land of the Mangani to get to Nigeria and to the Belgian Congo. We suspect they want to take Dahomey, Nigeria, and link it with their colony Kamerun to create a almost impenetrable continuous German colony denying the French and British ports for hundreds of miles. If they are successful, they could extend their reach all the way south to their Southwest Africa territory."

Tarzan and Jane, and to some extent Jack, understood the implications of these words of warning. The thought of continuous German held African territories for thousands of miles from western Africa to nearly the tip of southern Africa, controlling all the resources in between to keep their war effort going against the European allies, was chilling.

They signed off. In less than a month by sea they'd meet in Nigeria. In late April 1914 they would all be ready to march on Togoland.

Tarzan told his family wearily, "The war has come to the jungle. It is a sad day for all of us. The Germans' ability to lay waste to the jungle with their war machines will make the threat by the oil men seem like a Sunday picnic on the Thames."

It was a chilling thought to have the Germans marching through and taking over Nigeria, including the land of the Mangani. They would not revere their land the way the Nigerians did, and likely lay waste to their land and destroy their treehouse estate. There were so many memories there. The Germans had a scorched earth philosophy in taking over enemy lands and started over.

…Kamina, German Togoland…

"Here's something, Gunter," noted a grizzled, middle-aged German man, with salt and pepper hair, a heavy girth, and many days growth of beard.

"What is it, Karl-Heinz?" asked a thinner man, clad in jungle wear. His hair was all mostly blond, and his stubble matched with a bristle brush mustache. His skin was ruddy and wrinkled from years in the jungle.

Karl-Heinz showed Gunter a hand written German translation of the portion of the message in French, "A communiqué from the Moroccan Deputy Commander to English Count Clayton, the shipping magnate, the informal ambassador to the Nigerian Council of Chiefs, and owner of a vast Nigerian estate."

"Do we really need to get involved in all this?" asked Gunter.

Karl-Heinz sighed, "I hate the coming battle. Were businessmen first, not warriors. We're supposed to be running this wireless station for making trades and deals, not supporting the Kaiser and his African expansion."

"Shhh. Someone will hear you," warned Gunter.

Karl-Heinz retorted, "I'm sorry. I don't like this. Our trade business will disappear if there is war here in Africa. How long can we exist with no profits? Especially with your taste for schnapps?"

"Well we get paid by the word by the German Army to run this Wireless communications post, Karl-Heinz," Gunter scoffed, "Did you get all of their message?"

They examined the rest of the long exchange of messages.

Gunter noted, "It's all gibberish."

Karl-Heinz stated, "In the jungle, gibberish usually means something to the natives."

Gunter explained, "I know Igbo and Oyo and most of the other Nigerian languages. This isn't any of them."

"Then find someone who owes us a favor who does," Karl-Heinz sneered.

Gunter rolled his eyes, "Since when are we getting paid for espionage?"

Karl-Heinz explained, "If we break this code then we can negotiate a special fee with the Army, especially if it prevents a surprise attack from the Brits and the French. Everyone in Germany knows how aggressive they are and that they'll attack first."

"That is why you are the brains of this operation," Karl-Heinz, complimented Gunter.

…

…Casablanca, Morocco…

Armand sat back from the key and turned to his friend Admiral Philippe D'Arnot, "The Count is a good man. I am sorry to drag him into this."

Philippe answered, "But I told you, Armand. He has to. His special skills will make the action against the Germans a success. He will take down that Wireless and tower while your men and the British engage the Germans all over Togoland. They will be too busy fighting you and the British to defend the Wireless station. When it falls, they'll be cut off from Berlin, so we can be assured of taking Kamerun, and secure Western Africa and its resources. German Southwest Africa will be isolated and it will fall too. Berlin will lose contact with their Navy along the western coastlines of Africa. The British forces in Tanganyika and Kenya have their own battle plans with German East Africa. The Germans will have no more raw materials after we win the Battle of Africa. What Tarzan does in Kamina to take down the Wireless is absolutely critical."

Armand warned, "But if we fail, the Germans will have all the resources for thousands of miles."

"We cannot permit ourselves to fail," Philippe stated with steely resolve.

"It's a good thing we found out that the German regulars are mostly in the other colonies. The paramilitary police forces of Togoland are not an army. It will be easier to defeat them. Especially special forces."

They sat silently for a few moments, with the weight of their responsibilities sinking in.

Philippe said, "Well, tomorrow we leave. I need to make sure my sailors are getting your people loaded. I know we've loaded nearly everything. The soldiers can travel lightly in the morning."

"Thanks for your preparedness, Admiral," praised Armand, raising a glass of wine in his friend's honor.

"You should spend a good night with your wife, Armand. It could be a year before we return," grinned Philippe.

"It could be never, Philippe. This is going to be a war will be the likes of which the world has never seen."

"Then leave her with something to always remember you while you are gone, Armand. Or if we never come back."

"I already have a daughter, my friend," smiled the Colonel.

"Every man needs a son that he will be known by, Armand," stated the Admiral in deadly earnest seriousness.

"I know, Philippe. I will try to do so. You know that only the Creator can make that choice. We've been thinking of this for awhile, actually, and tonight is a good night, so she said to me this morning."

"Have a wonderful night, Armand."

…

Author's Notes: So now we start my story of Tarzan's role in the western Africa campaigns of World War 1. All the history that's been presented so far is correct including the French General. Yes, there were significant conflicts between the Germans, English in French in three far-flung parts of Africa in the German colonies. While there is actually an ERB novel on his role in World War 1 in German East Africa and British colonies there, I took a different tack. Whereas ERB's original novel is mostly fiction, I am attempting to put Tarzan directly into the real early conflict in the French and British defeat of the Germans in Togoland. The timelines will be the same. The Zaian conflict in Morocco pitting German and French backed combatants really happened and is crucial to the next disturbing chapter. An interesting fact is that as soon as WW 1 erupted in Europe, the Western Africa battles started within days of what happened in Sarajevo with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, and I will be true to that actual history. And I am about to combine this story with another important story about Jack, again taken from ERB canon in another separate novel, but retold and intrinsically linked into this story. You'll recognize it as it happens, and hope you will like the retelling of that story. Need a hint? I already planted a plot bunny a long time ago with a vision of Tarzan and Jane as childhood lovers at the same time Jane had her vision of a feral son running in the jungle. There is another future couple in this story already. And although the modern spelling of the German colony is Cameroon, it was Kamerun then.

The Moroccan port city of Casablanca being the base for French forces is fiction, but in honor of the recent passing of Lauren Bacall, Bogart's lover and real life wife. Although Ingrid Bergman was Bogie's lover in the epic 'Casablanca' movie. I had picked another Moroccan Atlantic port for the coming action. I know. It's a stretch. But humor me.

The use of the Mangani language as code for Tarzan and the French forces is a tribute to the 'Navajo code talkers' of World War 2, who have all but perished, who played an important role in thwarting the Japanese. This time the aural-only language of the Mangani instead of the Navajo will confound the Germans.

Gunter and Karl-Heinz? My OCs, but based on and a tribute the two ERB canon Russian antagonists of Tarzan – Nikolas Rokoff and Alexis Paulvitch. The reason for the name and nationality change? Simple. The Russians were allies of the French and British in WW1. They are unscrupulous businessmen running some shady trade company, but getting a steady income being the contractors running the Marconi Wireless services for civilians and military in Kamina, Togoland. The Wireless radiotelegraph in Kamina was real and essential to the final battle for Togoland. Gunter and Karl-Heinz' role becomes increasingly sinister. And will be the instigators of another use of ERB canon later on. Awww c'mon, I can't tell you everything right now!