The Colonial Army (Schutztruppe) of the German Empire employed native troops--called askaris--led by German officers and NCOs. The highest concentration of such locally recruited troops was in German East Africa (now Tanzania). The first askaris in German East Africa were organized by the German East Africa Company around 1888. It was during the First World War, however, that the Askaris became the pride of the short-lived German empire. Please click here to see a video about the Askaris.
Askaris were harshly disciplined and well paid
Harshly disciplined--as were all German troops of that time--and well paid--askaris received double the pay of their British counterparts in the King's African Rifles, and received specialized training from German officers who were themselves subject to an extremely rigorous selection process. Before the onset of war in 1914, the basic Schutztruppe unit in Southeast Africa was the feldkompagnie comprised of seven or eight German officers and NCOs with around 160 askaris, including two machine gun teams. Such small independent commands were often supplemented by tribal irregulars or ruga-ruga.
The well-trained askaris in German East Africa commanded by Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck managed to resist numerically superior British, Portuguese and Belgian colonial forces from 1914 until the end of World War I in 1918.
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and his askaris' exploits in Africa during World War I
General von Lettow-Vorbeck is possibly the most successful guerrilla commander in military history. He and his native askaris are famous for their exploits in German East Africa during World War I. Lettow-Vorbeck was fluent in Swahili, which earned the respect and admiration of his African soldiers. Appointing black officers, he said with conviction, "we are all Africans here." Lettow-Vorbeck greatly admired his askaris, who displayed a fanatic loyalty in return. He treated them with fairness and shared their hardships.
Lettow-Vorbeck had no communication whatever with the German high command and had no expectation that Germany would send reinforcements or supplies. Thus he decided to use hit and run tactics to tie down a huge number of British troops in East Africa in order to prevent their fighting against Germany in Europe. He fought without a break for over four years and covered (mostly on foot) an area larger than the Eastern United States. No less than130 different generals went into action against him during the war. At times the Allied forces in the theater totaled over a hundred thousand; Lettow-Vorbeck never had more than twelve thousand troops at his disposal.
The Battle of Tanga, fought on the night of November 3, 1914, was the most famous battle of the first two years. Despite being outnumbered by more than 8 to 1, Lettow-Vorbeck repelled a British/Indian amphibious assault with devastating effect: over four thousand casualties were inflicted on the invader; only fifteen Germans and fifty-four askaris were killed.
To prepare for battle Lettow-Vorbeck blackened his face and, disguised as an African, reconnoitered between the lines. He used several creative devices--like camouflaging his men with leaves, making bandages out of bark, and crafting boots out of animal skin. Herds of cattle were collected which moved with the army. Large amounts of arms and ammunition were captured from the enemy to supply the troops. He never lost a battle in over four years of fighting.
Ben Aissa of Morroco
Kaiser Wilhelm II, emperor of Germany, arrived at the Morrocan capital of Tangiers in 1905. A young Moroccan man named Ben Aissa lead the Kaiser on horseback through the city. The then 18-year-old Aissa made a strong impression upon the Kaiser and in 1906 he was invited to Potsdam. Returning again to Potsdam in 1907, Ben Aissa was enrolled into the First Guard Foot Regiment as a standard bearer. His impressive height of 6' 2" played its part as well. By the year 1913 Ben Aissa was made an NCO in this famous regiment.
The First Guard Foot Regiment (1. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß) was an infantry regiment of the Royal Prussian Army that was formed in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. This regiment considered itself the "most noble regiment of Christendom." One of the traditions associated with the regiment was that all Prussian princes were appointed lieutenants in it upon their tenth birthday. Disbanded in 1919, the Infantry Regiment 9 Potsdam of the new Reichswehr felt that it was continuing its storied tradition.
In 1914 he remained with the replacement battalion of his regiment. Later he joined the Asian Corps and served on the Palastine front from 1917 to 1918. In December 1918, he returned to his regiment's depot at Potsdam. Demobilised in mid-1919, he then returned home to Tangiers after 12 years of service to the Kaiser and the Imperial Army.
Kwassi Bruce of Togo
Kwassi Bruce from Togo was a volunteer in the Schutztruppe and then spent a considerable period of time in Germany. He was a musician and lived in Germany during the Third Reich, when he lost his position and couldn't find any work. He suffered persecution in Nazi Germany, despite his war record. He wrote, "Even my participation in the [First] World War on the side of the Germans as a war volunteer as well as two years as a prisoner of war couldn't convince any employer to hire me."
Other Africans in the German Army
There were other Africans who served in the regular Imperial Army in Germany. Among them was Elo Sambo from Cameroon, who served as the kettle drummer in the band of the Leib Garde Hussar Regiment; he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class and later served in the 4th Cavalry Regiment of the Reichswehr. Another was Josef Mambow who was a kettle drummer in the Grenadier-zu-Pferd 3rd Dragoon Regiment. At least one former East African askari also served in the post-war Freikorps Lettow-Vorbeck as the General's personal driver during Germany's bitter revolutionary battles.
Sources
Interesting facts about the German colonies.
Boateng, Osei. "Black Germans do not exist." New African. May 2001.
Summary of Oberst Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's extraordinary military campaigns against the allies.
Eric Brothers - Eric Brothers' forthcoming book,The Berlin Ghetto, will be published by The History Press in the U.K. in 2012.
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