The Battle of Zanzibar was fought between the Kaiserliche Marine and the Royal Navy during the First World War. The German cruiser SMS Konigsberg had been taking on coal in the delta of the Rufiji River when her crew were told that a British cruiser—HMS Pegasus, which had been part of the Royal Navy's Cape Squadron sent to counter Koningsberg—had put in at Zanzibar for repairs. Konigsberg′s captain—Commander Max Looff—decided to attack Pegasus while she was in port.