 The Allied West African Campaign of World War I reached Kamerun in 1914 . Douala fell on 17 September , and the Germans regrouped at Jaunde . Beti informants alerted Atangana as to the Allies ' progress , and as the loss of Jaunde seemed inevitable , Atangana prepared to escape with his masters . He and the chiefs under him gave their posts to weaker relatives so they could more easily take them back should the Germans return . They held out in Jaunde until 1 January 1916 , when troops of the British Army captured the town , and the German soldiers and missionaries fled into the forest . Atangana and 72 Ewondo and Bane chiefs , along with 14 – 20 @,@ 000 villagers ( mostly soldiers and their families ) , led them through . A Beti folk song , " Atangana Ntsama , the War Is Over " , tells of the retreat and shows the conflict between those Beti who supported Atangana and those who opposed him : 
