Chambeshi Monument, World War I memorial plaque at Chambeshi River, Zambia

The Chambeshi Monument is a memorial stone pillar with commemorative plaques and a concrete platform positioned near the river crossing. A period cannon from the era stands nearby, completing the formal arrangement at this important waterway passage.

The monument marks where General von Lettow-Vorbeck learned of the Armistice on 14 November 1918 at 7:30 am, three days after the European ceasefire. District Commissioner Hector Croad delivered a telegram from General van Deventer ordering hostilities to end. The site commemorates the cessation of fighting, not the surrender, which took place at Abercorn on 23 November 1918. It was unveiled on 14 November 1953 as a National Monument of Northern Rhodesia.

The Bemba plaque ends with "Twapela umuchinshi kuli bonse abashipa abalwile mu nkondo iyi" — "We honour all brave soldiers who fought in this war." The English plaque names Hector Croad, then District Commissioner Kasama, who delivered the telegram under a white flag.

The memorial stands south of Kasama near the Great North Road, accessible via a path from the main highway after crossing Chambeshi Bridge. The path is straightforward to find and leads directly to the site.

The telegram that ended the fighting here was sent by South African General van Deventer and delivered under a white flag by Hector Croad, the Kasama District Commissioner. It ordered both sides to stop hostilities immediately, so the pillar marks a ceasefire, not a surrender. The formal surrender came later, at Abercorn (now Mbala), on 23 November 1918.