{{Infobox military conflict | conflict = Battle of Kano | image = | caption = | partof = the [[Pacification of Northern Nigeria]] | date = 3 February 1903 | place = [[Kano (city)|Kano]], [[Northern Nigeria]] | result = British victory | combatant1 = [[File:Flag_of_the_Sokoto_Caliphate.svg|20px]] [[Sokoto Caliphate]] *[[File:Unconfirmed Kano Flag.svg|20px]] [[Kano Emirate]] | combatant2 = {{flagicon|United Kingdom|size=20px}} [[British Empire]] *[[File:Flag_of_the_Northern_Nigeria_Protectorate_(1900–1914).svg|20px]] [[Protectorate of Northern Nigeria]] | commander1 = [[File:Unconfirmed Kano Flag.svg|20px]] [[Madakin Kano]] | commander2 = {{flagicon|UKGBI}} [[Thomas Morland]] | strength1 = 300 cavalry<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ikime|first1=Obaro|title=Fall of Nigeria|date=1977|publisher=Heinemann|isbn=0435941402}}</ref> | strength2 = 100 cavalry<br>800 Infantry (rank and file) | casualties2 = 70 killed or wounded | casualties1 = Unknown }} {{Campaignbox British conquest of the Sokoto Caliphate}}
The '''Battle of Kano''' was an important military engagement fought between the [[British Empire]] and the [[Sokoto Caliphate]] and their vassal state, the [[Kano Emirate]]. The battle took place in what is now [[Northern Nigeria]].
==Background== In 1899, [[Frederick Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard|Lord Lugard]] had proclaimed a British protectorate over much of the Sokoto Caliphate. with the failure of numerous diplomatic overtures to the Caliph, in 1900 a military campaign was launched to subdue the caliphate.
The British pacification campaign termed the Kano-Sokoto Expedition set off from [[Zaria]] at the end of January 1903 under the command of Colonel [[Thomas Morland]], heading up a force of British officers and N.C.O.s and 800 African rank and file. Apart from a company of mounted infantry and a few gunners, the whole force consisted of infantry. They were supported, however, by four 75-mm. mountain guns, which could if necessary be dismantled and transported by porters, and by six machine guns.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68724440|title=Capture of Kano|newspaper=West Gippsland Gazette|location=Warragul, Victoria|date=19 May 1903 |accessdate=27 August 2015 |page=6|edition=Morning|publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
==Battle== {{related|[[Adamawa Wars]]}} After sporadic fighting outside the walls of the fort, the British managed to penetrate the defensive parameters of the capital. Kano was mostly left defenseless at the time. The emir, [[Aliyu Babba]], was away with its large contingent of cavalry for the autumn campaign at [[Sokoto (city)|Sokoto]]. Madakin Kano, a local noble, rallied whatever troops there were still in the city to defend it. Despite his efforts, the British successfully took over the city after heavy fight wherein the defenders sustained 70 casualties.
== Aftermath == News of the British capture of Kano in February 1903 sent the Emir's cavalry in a long march to retake the city in the decisive [[Battle of Kwatarkwashi]].
== Gallery == Images of the battlefield. <gallery> Kano Conquest.jpg|British Army during Kano Conquest Kano Conquest 04.jpg|British Army during Kano Conquest Kano Conquest 03.jpg|British Army during Kano Conquest Conquest of Kano 2.jpg|Kano army Conquest of Kano.jpg|Kano army </gallery>
==See also== *[[Battle of Kwatarkwashi]]
==References== {{reflist}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1903|Kano 1903]] [[Category:20th-century military history of the United Kingdom|Kano 1903]] [[Category:Battles involving the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Northern Nigeria Protectorate]] [[Category:History of Kano]] [[Category:1903 in Nigeria]] [[Category:Kano Emirate]] [[Category:Military history of the Sokoto Caliphate|Kano]]