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Did You Know?

The Gamsberg Heliograph site, located on the Gamsberg mountain near Windhoek, Namibia, was used during the South West Africa Campaign of World War I in 1915. Heliographs were communication devices that used mirrors to reflect sunlight, sending Morse code signals over long distances. This site was part of a network of heliograph stations established by German colonial forces to coordinate military movements across the rugged terrain of German South West Africa. The Gamsberg, a prominent flat-topped mountain, provided an ideal vantage point for such signaling due to its elevation and clear line of sight to other stations. In 1915, South African forces under the Union of South Africa invaded the territory, and the heliograph network was used by the Germans to relay messages between garrisons and outposts. The site is now a historical landmark, reflecting the early 20th-century military communication technology used in the region.

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