Forces from British Nigeria had attempted to move into German Kamerun from a number of points along the colony's northern border.

[6] A week following the British occupation of Nsanakong, at two o'clock in the morning on 6 September 1914, German forces surrounded the village.

They lost about 100 men which was equivalent to approximately half of their force during the battle, including eight of their eleven British officers.

This failed invasion, along with the failures of other Allied columns along Kamerun's northwestern border with Nigeria, forced the British to go on the defensive.

[3] German forces gained confidence as a result of this victory and patrols began to make intrusions into British Nigeria as far west as Yola.