Protection force for German East Africa

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Imperial Protection Force for German East Africa was the official name of the military formation that the German Empire maintained in its colony German East Africa .

During the First World War , the protection force on the East African theater of war successfully defended the colony against Entente troops . Outside the colony, it was able to hold its own until the end of the war.

Wissmann on a postcard from Tanga (1914), drawing by Themistocles von Eckenbrecher

The forerunner of the Wissmann troop

This is how the painter Rudolf Hellgrewe imagined a Sudanese company of the Wissmann troop.

The Schutztruppe was formed from 1891 onwards from the so-called Wissmann troop, which Reich Commissioner Hermann von Wissmann had set up in 1889 from German and African mercenaries in order to counter the resistance of the East African coastal population under the leadership of Buschiri bin Salim against the claims to power of the German-East African Society ( DOAG).

On behalf of the Reich government, Wissmann had initially recruited 61 German officers and NCOs in February 1889 and sent them on their way to Zanzibar . He himself made a stop in Egypt, where he recruited around 600 soldiers. Most of them came from Sudanese regiments of the Anglo-Egyptian army, which were just being disbanded at the time. The originally Ottoman rank designations were applied to them: Ombascha ( private ), Schausch (non-commissioned officer), Betschausch ( sergeant , Unterfeldwebel ), Sol ( sergeant ) and Effendi (officer). Overall, the Arabic term askari was used for the African soldiers . Also from the Ottoman tradition of Wissmann's mercenaries who came Tarbusch as part of the uniform.

A second group of African mercenaries in Wissmann's troops were 100 Zulu who had been recruited in southern Mozambique by Hans von Ramsay . In addition, a small group of East African Askaris who had previously been in the service of the DOAG was taken over.

Thus, a structure that was common in many colonial armies was created: “white” officers and NCOs commanded “colored” teams. Local NCOs added to the leadership without being equal to the German ranks. Wissmann had also recruited some former Egyptian-Ottoman officers who also had the Ottoman rank of Effendi , among them a Greek and an Armenian, who were nevertheless classified and paid as "colored". They were not considered to be superiors to German soldiers. Since the mere existence of "colored" officers was irritating in view of the racism among Germans, no employment or promotions to Effendi were made before the First World War. The existing Effendis remained active until the end of the respective service period. During the World War, promotions to Effendi were again pronounced.

The formation of the protection force

Representation of members of the East Africa Protection Force, from: Das kleine Buch vom Deutschen Heere (1901)

After the Reich took over the " protected area ", the Reich Law of March 22, 1891 established the protection force in German East Africa. The until then private Wissmann's group was taken over into this protection force and initially formed its core. At first it was subordinate to the Imperial Navy , but with the Protection Troops Act of 1896 it came under the supervision of the Imperial Colonial Office .

The following year, some units were selected as a police force and assigned directly to the local administration. In 1894/95 the police were separated from the protection force.

Initially, the East African armed forces consisted of 10 companies . The troops at that time comprised a little over 1,600 men, including 31 German officers and 42 NCOs , 12 "colored" officers and 50 NCOs as well as around 1,500 Askaris . There were also around 60 German officers and civil servants in the medical and administrative service.

Older weapons of the Prussian Army such as the Mauser Model 71 were issued to equip the Schutztruppe . It was only before and at the beginning of the First World War that new handguns came with the Gewehr 98 and the troops were equipped with machine guns and light field guns.

Wars in the colony

In wars against the Hehe (1891-1894) and against the tribes in the south of the colony during the so-called Maji-Maji uprising in 1905, the Schutztruppe enforced the German Empire's claims to power.

The Hehe War

Tropical landscape in German East Africa by Themistocles von Eckenbrecher , 1896, depiction of a war between the local population and German colonial troops

The Schutztruppe suffered its first defeat in the fight against the Hehe . The Hehe people in the highlands around Iringa expanded their sphere of influence since the 1860s. It had adopted the Zulu fighting style from the Sangu and was thus militarily superior to its neighbors. When the Germans began to take control of the coastal hinterland, they had to clash with that force. Since the colonial government saw the important caravan route from the coast to Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika in danger, the first commander of the protection force, Emil von Zelewski , set out to subdue the Hehe. In July 1891 he marched with his battalion of the Schutztruppe, consisting of three companies with 13 officers, 320 Askaris, 170 porters as well as machine guns and light field artillery, from the coast towards the southwest. Zelewski counted on a “ punitive expedition ”, took few precautionary measures and after reaching the Heheland on July 30th began shooting at and burning down villages. The Hehe under their chief Mkwawa gathered 3,000 fighters and awaited the protection force near the town of Lugalo (also: Rugaro). With Zelewski at the head, the column marched between the well-camouflaged Hehe, who wiped out the colonial force within ten minutes in the battle at Rugaro . The commander died among his people. Only four German officers and NCOs, two Effendis and 62 Askaris managed to escape.

This defeat was the prelude to a three-year bush war in which the protection force under the new commander Friedrich von Schele stormed the Boma Mkwawas with superior armament and more cautiously than the first time and covered the Heheland with the scorched earth tactic . Mkwawa was able to evade access for a long time until, on July 19, 1898, wounded and trapped, he was killed by one of his last warriors.

The Maji Maji uprising

In 1905 there was a broad revolt against German rule in the south of the colony. With their modern weapons technology, the Schutztruppe were able to repel the attacks of the local opponents who stormed machine-gun positions with muzzle-loaders, spears and arrows in the battle of Mahenge . 170 marines were sent from Germany to East Africa to reinforce the protection force . Furthermore, the protection force resorted to Rugaruga auxiliary troops from ethnic groups that did not take part in the uprising, such as the Wahehe and Wayao .

After the Maji Maji fighters switched to guerrilla tactics, the protection force covered the affected parts of the country with systematic destruction of villages and wells as well as the removal of cattle, burning of fields and food stores. This allowed the rebels to be starved and forced to give up. The resulting general famine cost many people their lives, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 dead.

Pre-war inventory of the East African protection force

Before the start of the First World War, the establishment plan of the protection force for German East Africa was as follows:
2 staff officers , 17 captains , 49 first lieutenants and lieutenants , 42 medical officers , 1 director's council, 2 director's secretaries, 1 paymaster , 8 underpayers, 4 chief fireworkers and fireworkers, 8 weapons masters , 60 NCOs, 66 medical NCOs and 2,472 African soldiers .

Depiction of a trumpeter by Richard Knötel
Cavalry of the Schutztruppe on zebras (1911)

The protection force was divided into 14 companies ; It also included a recruit depot, in which 154 askari were trained before the start of the war, and a signaling department.

Command structure of the protection force

The protection troops in the individual German colonies were under the command of the protection troops in Berlin. A commando was set up in each colony for German East Africa in Dar es Salaam. The governor had the supreme command of the protection force. The commander acted as military commander.

This structure was supposed to lead to conflicts during the war, as Governor Heinrich Schnee, referring to the Congo Act, hoped for the colony's neutrality, while the new commander, Lieutenant Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck , appointed shortly before the war on April 13, 1914, aimed to do so to bind many forces of the British enemy and inflict as much damage as possible on him. Lettow-Vorbeck finally prevailed.

Commanders of the protection force for German East Africa

In the first World War

For the course see main article First World War in East Africa

Changes in the protection force

Askari Company before the departure in World War I.
Askari Company on a war safari during World War I.
Askaris dig trenches during the First World War.

At the beginning of the war, the police units with their around 2200 Askaris and 60 German police officers and sergeants were placed under the protection force. In the first few months of the war there were also volunteer or conscripted Germans who lived in the colony or stayed here for visits at the beginning of the war. The latter included the retired Major General of the Saxon Army Kurt Wahle , who submitted to Lettow-Vorbeck and took on command tasks during the war. Marines from the unarmed survey ship SMS Möwe also submitted to the protection force under Corvette Captain Gustav Zimmer (1875–?). In 1915 the crew of the self-submerged small cruiser SMS Königsberg joined them. In addition, there were crew members of the two blockade breakers Marie and Rubens .

The marines temporarily formed their own units. For example, the "Seagull Command" was responsible for the operation of armed steamers and motor boats on Lake Tanganyika and Lake Kivu until 1916 .

In addition to Germans, the volunteers also included some members of the other Triple Alliance states , Italy and Austria-Hungary , as well as Boers who lived in the colony. Additional units were set up from the volunteers and reservists. In contrast to the Askaris “field companies”, these were called “rifle companies”. They were each assigned a few askaris who were used to instruct them in the bush warfare. After the battle of Tanga , Islamic volunteers from the coastal cities also volunteered. The so-called “Arab Company”, also called “Arab Corps”, was disbanded after a few battles - under its own green flag.

In the first months of the war, the German side also had a private German biplane , which was on the way to take part in air shows in Africa and was surprised by the start of the war in German East Africa in 1914. On one of the first reconnaissance flights, the machine was shot down and the pilot Bruno Büchner was wounded. The repaired aircraft crashed again during a test flight and was then no longer usable.

Overall, the number of Askaris in the Schutztruppe rose to over 13,000 by early 1916. Of them, around 2,850 deserted in the further course of the war. This contrasts with information that at least a third of 14,598 Askari deserted.

As in the Maji Maji uprising and other earlier campaigns, the protection force, like its British counterparts, used rugaruga on a case-by-case basis, i.e. irregular auxiliary troops from the African tribes equipped with simple weapons .

In addition to the soldiers and auxiliary troops, porters were deployed in large numbers . Their number exceeded that of soldiers many times over. At the height of their crew strength in 1916, the Schutztruppe had around 45,000 porters. When the Schutztruppe surrendered in 1918, there were 3,000 porters with the last 155 Europeans and 1,168 Askaris. While they were initially recruited, they were forced into this service as the war progressed. A total of around 200,000 carriers are likely to have been used on the German side during the war years. Their loss rates were very high due to harsh operating conditions, poor nutrition and a lack of medical care.

The fighting of the protection force

Askaris in combat during the First World War
Graves of German soldiers in German East Africa

In the early stages of the war, the military forces in East Africa were too weak on all sides for any major action. The East African protection force succeeded in seriously alarming the British enemy by attacking the Uganda railway . With the occupation of the Kenyan border town of Taveta a slight gain in prestige was achieved. In contrast, the British transported units of the Anglo-Indian colonial army to Mombasa and began an attack on the northeast of the colony in November 1914, which brought them defeats at Tanga , Longido on Kilimanjaro and Jassini on the coast. After that, the war was limited to further border battles because the British brought stronger forces into Kenya during 1915 for a major offensive that began in 1916.

Before the combined attack by the British from Kenya and Rhodesia and the Belgians from the Congo, the Schutztruppe evaded south and had to give up both the railway lines and the major cities of the colony by September 1916. Until November 1917 the Germans stayed in a constantly shrinking area in the impassable southeast of the colony. After heavy losses, Lettow-Vorbeck, who was promoted to colonel in 1916 and major general in November 1917 , left his wounded and unfit for marching behind and went with a small force of almost 1900 soldiers to Portuguese territory in Mozambique . Here, too, he was pursued by British units, but was able to replenish his supplies several times and evade decisive combat operations against stronger opponents.

On September 28, 1918, the approximately 1,500-strong Schutztruppe moved from Mozambique into southwestern German East Africa and marched towards the British colony of Northern Rhodesia . On November 1, 1918, the Schutztruppe moved to Northern Rhodesia, where they learned of the armistice on November 13, 1918 from a captured motorcyclist of the British troops who was carrying a cable about the armistice in Europe for the Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces. Negotiations between the German and British Commander-in-Chief in East Africa followed, and on November 25, 1918, the still 1,300-strong Schutztruppe laid down their arms after the armistice in Abercorn south of Lake Tanganyika .

Post-war situation

Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck with members of the protection forces returning home in Berlin, March 2, 1919
German war memorial in Iringa

In January 1919 the German members of the troops were shipped back to Europe from Dar es Salaam, where they were given a public reception in Berlin on March 2, 1919.

Lettow-Vorbeck and many of his remaining soldiers took part in the clashes in the young Weimar Republic. In 1919, the Schutztruppen Regiment No. 1 was set up from former members of the Schutztruppe, which was part of the so-called Marine Division u. a. was used in the brawn riots in Hamburg. Lettow-Vorbeck took an active part in the Kapp Putsch in 1920 , whereupon he was dismissed from the Reichswehr on October 20, 1920 with a characterization as Lieutenant General while retaining his pension entitlements and with the right to continue to wear his uniform.

In 1926 he enforced a pension for the African Askari, which was later continued to be paid by the Federal Republic of Germany . On August 27, 1939, the so-called Tannenberg Day , Hitler honored him by conferring the character of a general in the infantry . In 1953 he traveled again to East Africa and met with many of his former soldiers.

Movies

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Ostafrika  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Law regarding the Imperial Protection Force for German East Africa (1891)  - sources and full texts

To the Hehe War

To the First World War

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Julia Meerkatz: Black-White-Red over East Africa . LIT Verlag, Berlin / Hamburg / Münster 1997, ISBN 3-8258-2755-0 , p. 383 ff .; google books
  2. ↑ Julia Meerkatz: Black-White-Red over East Africa . LIT Verlag, Berlin / Hamburg / Münster 1997, ISBN 3-8258-2755-0 , pp. 5-8.
  3. ↑ Stefanie Michels: Total mobilization in Africa . In: Elise Julien, Arnd Bauerkämper: Hold on! War and Society in Comparison 1914–1918 . Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-525-36389-8 , page 244, view via google books; Mention of a Greek and an Armenian Effendi
  4. ↑ ranks . In: German Colonial Lexicon
  5. ↑ Details from Julia Meerkatz: Black-White-Red over East Africa . LIT Verlag, Berlin / Hamburg / Münster 1997, ISBN 3-8258-2755-0 , p. 7.
  6. ^ Morlang, p. 2.
  7. ↑ Gewald, p. 11, ascleiden.nl (PDF).
  8. ↑ Details and names at en: Hehe people
  9. ^ Winfried Speitkamp: German Colonial History . Reclam, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-15-017047-8 , p. 131.
  10. ↑ Sources at http://members.aol.com/haukehaien/aufstand.htm ( Memento from November 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Download manuscript note 252 (Work by Walter Nuhn: Flammen über Deutschost. Wilhelmshaven 1991, p. 157 and Karl -M. Seeberg: The Maji-Maji War against German colonial rule. Berlin 1989, p. 88)
  11. ↑ Protection troops . In: Deutsches Koloniallexikon , 1920
  12. ↑ Michael Pesek: Allah punish England! In: Die Zeit , No. 9/2004.
  13. ^ Posting November 28, 2007
  14. ^ John Iliffe : A Modern History of Tanganyika. P. 248 (Iliffe via google book search)
  15. ^ Heinrich Loth: History of Africa. From the beginning to the present. Part II: Africa under imperialist colonial rule and the formation of anti-colonial forces 1884–1945. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1976, p. 119.
  16. ^ Rugaruga . In: German Colonial Lexicon
  17. ^ John Iliffe: A Modern History of Tanganyika. P. 249 ff (Iliffe via google book search)
  18. ↑ cf. the detailed, well-documented discussion on history forum : Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck - hero with small mistakes? ( Memento of the original from October 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.geschichtsforum.de
  19. ↑ Sandra Maß: White Heroes, Black Warriors. On the history of colonial masculinity in Germany 1918–1964 . Böhlau, Cologne 2006, pp. 229–233.
  20. ↑ Tanja Bührer: The Imperial Protection Force for German East Africa: Colonial Security Policy and Transcultural Warfare, 1885 to 1918 . Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-486-70442-6 .