Battle of Tabkin Kwatto

Battle of Tabkin Kwatto
	Part of Jihad of Usman dan Fodio
Date	21 June 1804
Location	Lake Kwatto, Gobir13°29′10.4″N 4°45′19.2″E / 13.486222°N 4.755333°E
Result	Decisive Sokoto victory
Belligerents
Gobir; Kel Gress Tuaregs; Sullubawa Fulanis	Sokoto Caliphate; Agali and Adar Tuaregs
Commanders and leaders
Yunfa	Abdullahi dan Fodio; Ali Jedo; Muhammad Bello
Strength
1000+ infantry; large force of light cavalry; Tuareg camel corps; 100 heavy cavalry	light infantry of mostly archers; 20+ light cavalry
Casualties and losses
Heavy	Unknown
	Location within Nigeria

Battle of Tabkin Kwatto (lit. 'Battle of Lake Kwatto') was the first decisive battle in the Fulani War. Abdullahi Ibn Fodio and Umaru al Kammu engaged the numerically superior Gobir cavalry at Kwatto Lake near the Capital fort of Gobir; Alkalawa. The Fulani archers employed a square formation which they successfully defended against successive charges by the Gobir cavalry. After taking severe losses, the death of the commander of Gobir's Armoured Cavalry eventually sealed the fate of the Gobirawa.^[2]

Tabkin Kwatto is remembered as the turning point in the history of the Fulani War. The archer-foot lightly armed Fulani proved themselves effective against the well armed Hausa cavalry.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Smaldone, Joseph P. (1977). Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate: Historical and Sociological Perspectives. Internet Archive. Cambridge University Press. pp. 27–29. ISBN 978-0-521-21069-0.
^ Last, Murray (1967). The Sokoto Caliphate. Internet Archive. [New York] Humanities Press. pp. 30–40.

[smaldone-1977-1] Smaldone, Joseph P. (1977). Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate: Historical and Sociological Perspectives. Internet Archive. Cambridge University Press. pp. 27–29. ISBN 978-0-521-21069-0.

[2] Last, Murray (1967). The Sokoto Caliphate. Internet Archive. [New York] Humanities Press. pp. 30–40.

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