Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck

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on Lake Victoria. Of the 350 former soldiers who gathered, only a handful could produce the certificates that Lettow-Vorbeck had given them in 1918. Others presented pieces of their old uniforms as proof of service. The German banker who had brought the money then had an idea: each claimant was asked

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epidemic swept into eastern Africa in 1918–1919, it struck down thousands of people. The weakened state of many native Africans, resulting from the war, made them especially susceptible. Lettow-Vorbeck was greatly respected by his white officers, non-commissioned officers and Askaris, and even Allied

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His actions were described as "a campaign of supreme ruthlessness where a small, well trained force extorted supplies from civilians to whom it felt no responsibility...it was the climax of Africa's exploitation". Lettow-Vorbeck's tactics led to a famine that killed thousands of Africans and weakened

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Lettow-Vorbeck and his caravan of Europeans, Askaris, porters, women, and children marched on, deliberately bypassing the tribal homelands of the native soldiers in an effort to prevent desertions. They traversed difficult territory. "Swamps and jungles ... what a dismal prospect there is in front of

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was captured and brought in for questioning, it was von Lettow who conducted the interrogations... His questions were how to live off a country which offers no apparent sustenance, how to run in conditions when most men barely have the strength to walk, how to condition the body to go without food or

4579:. The main sources are German admiralty records and published accounts by crew members. The book is listed here for reference only, since, as the author explains, he "had gotten off the track as far as von Lettow-Vorbeck was concerned." Thus, all footnotes for "Hoyt" on this page refer to his book 875:

in October 1917, where he inflicted 2,700 casualties on the British. Lettow-Vorbeck himself lost 519 men killed, wounded, or missing while also running critically low on ammunition, forcing him to withdraw. The British would proceed to recover their losses and continue to hold an overwhelming

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Lettow-Vorbeck considered his first obligation as a military commander that to his army, over the objections of Governor Heinrich Schnee. The governor regarded war as the worst possible calamity to befall German East Africa, " everything his social and economic reforms had accomplished."

919:, satisfied some of its medical needs as well. For almost a year Lettow-Vorbeck's men had lived off whatever was available, mainly provisions captured from the British and Portuguese; they had replaced their old rifles with new equipment and acquired machine guns and mortars after 1513:" ..a good talking to. I told him not to despise the White people and not to humiliate them for the mistakes they made. 'We only repudiate the small men, father,' he replied, 'When the White Man is big enough, as you were big enough, we continue to respect him.'" 984:

Little aid from Germany could penetrate the British naval blockade to alleviate the enormous supply deficiencies facing Lettow-Vorbeck's men in the area, and only two ships succeeded in running the blockade and reaching the colony. On 14 April 1915, the freighter

1071:"Behind us we leave destroyed fields, ransacked magazines and, for the immediate future, starvation. We are no longer the agents of culture, our track is marked by death, plundered and evacuated villages, just like the progress of our own and enemy armies in the 1028:, intended also as a morale-booster to the beleaguered East African troops, was designed to be dismembered on arrival and all its parts cannibalised as spares for the troops - the canvas of its hull used for tents, for example. The airship reached the 1066:

In a book published in 1919, Ludwig Deppe, a doctor of medicine who campaigned with Lettow-Vorbeck and who had formerly headed the hospital at Tanga, lamented the tragedy that German forces had imposed on East Africa in their war with the Allies:

410:. For four years, with a force of about 14,000 (3,000 Germans and 11,000 Africans), he held in check a much larger force of 300,000 British, Indian, Belgian, and Portuguese troops. He is known for never being defeated or captured in battle. 703:(also known by her pen name of Isak Dinesen), who was travelling aboard the same liner. Decades later, she recalled that, "He belonged to the olden days, and I have never met another German who has given me so strong an impression of what 759:

on 19 January 1915. These victories allowed the Germans to capture much needed rifles and other supplies, in addition to boosting the troops' morale. Lettow-Vorbeck also lost many experienced men, however, including the "splendid Captain

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The war in East Africa set off a chain of events with devastating results for the natives and their German overlords. The invasions caused interruptions throughout the colony, so that the land no longer "basked in a climate of plenty."

871:. Lettow-Vorbeck used the climate and terrain to his advantage, engaging the British on his terms. British reinforcements forced Lettow-Vorbeck to yield territory. Continuing his resistance, Lettow-Vorbeck fought a crucial battle at 829:

The historian Michael von Herff says the loyalty of Askaris during the campaign was due to them having formed a military caste within the colonial structure, which had largely separated itself from its members' tribal roots.

1358:. Eckard Michels also writes, however, that Lettow-Vorbeck did not seek publicity out of opportunism or greed and only morphed into a public figure because of the society at the time's desire for a reminder of bygone times. 3525:

A state of war had existed since 9 March 1916 between Germany and Portugal: when neutral Portugal complied with a British demand to confiscate German ships interned in Portuguese ports, Germany reacted by declaring war on

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was scuttled by her captain to avoid a coal fire after repeated hits were scored by the British cruiser, and the ship settled in shallow water. Nearly the entire cargo could then be salvaged. However, when the steamer

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Colonel with whom he had fought a battle of wits until December 1916, when Meinertzhagen was invalided. Three years later, Lettow-Vorbeck accepted an invitation to London where he met face-to-face for the first time

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von Lettow writes nostalgically of his decade as a junior officer in the Kaiser's Imperial Army: there were Dawn inspections in the biting cold, regimental maneuvers, glimpses of the luminaries of the day –

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After his return from Africa, Lettow-Vorbeck married Martha Wallroth (1884–1953) in 1919. They had two sons and two daughters: Rüdiger (1921–1940), Arnd (1922–1941), Heloise (1923-2018), and Ursula (1927).

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General. Where do you go now? Where you go, we will go with you! And if this is not the time, then wait until my son grows up to be a warrior and he will take my place and go with you. We will go with the

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was relatively simple: knowing that East Africa would only be a sideshow to other theatres of war, he was determined to tie down as many British troops as he could. He intended to keep them away from the

3439:. After being orphaned, Prince and his sister had been educated in England. Later, his mother's family brought him to Germany, where he and Lettow-Vorbeck were classmates at the Kassel Military Academy ( 747:

of 1885, by which the European colonial powers had promised to keep their overseas possessions neutral in any European wars. He thus prepared to repel a major British amphibious assault on the city of

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to surrender his army, arriving there on 25 November. The remains of his army at the time consisted of 30 German officers, 125 German non-commissioned officers and other enlisted ranks, 1,168

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Lettow-Vorbeck's strategy, meanwhile, held central giving ground and escaping confrontations with Allied forces. He had thus established food depots along his intended line of march from

1239:"To a man, the Askaris stepped forward, ready to follow the commander to the ends of the Earth. But von Lettow held them back with a gesture and kept on marching. His war was over now." 570:, he intensely disliked fighting against guerrillas and considered the war detrimental to the discipline of the German Army. He returned to the German General Staff from China in 1901. 641:

water, and most important of all, how to become so much a part, so absorbed into an unfriendly wilderness that survival is possible as the snakes and land crabs and lizards survive".

880:, this was serious, for there were no reserves with which to replenish their ranks. After news of the battle reached Germany, however, Lettow-Vorbeck was promoted to major-general ( 821:

apparently earned the respect and admiration of his African soldiers. He appointed black officers and reportedly stated that "we are all Africans here". In one historian's opinion,

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relief sculptures of Lettow-Vorbeck and his Askari soldiers, now closed to the public. Another sculpture of Lettow-Vorbeck and the Askaris is on display at Mühlenteich, near the

1047:, was under British control. The west of the colony was meanwhile occupied by Belgian forces. In December 1917, the German colony was officially declared an Allied protectorate. 4405:. (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Faculty of the US Army Command and General Staff College, Masterarbeit, 2003). Washington, DC: Storming Media, 2003. NTIS, Springfield, VA. 2003. 968: 5075: 887: 523:

Lettow-Vorbeck later wrote, "I recall an older officer scolding a younger one because he failed to ask a young woman who was without a partner to dance. Offenses against

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at all, but to go after their food supply. When the end of the campaign eventually came, Smuts was in London and General J. L. van Deventer commanded East Africa.

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Though casualties were high, Lettow insisted his commanders engage British forces, though they offered few enticing targets. This forced him to conduct raids into

512:, who was Germany's greatest military strategist, and others. There were drinking parties with fellow officers, card games till all hours, and splendid dances in 1434:

officer, "I understand that von Lettow told Hitler to go fuck himself." The nephew responded, "That's right, except that I don't think he put it that politely."

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Lettow-Vorbeck thus withdrew to the south, with his troops on half rations and the British in pursuit. On 25 November 1917, his advance column waded across the

755:. Lettow-Vorbeck then assembled his men and their scant supplies to attack the British railways in East Africa. He scored a second victory over the British at 1501:, who were all the sons of Lettow-Vorbeck's Askaris, came to seek his advice. As there had been violence against the White population in the former colony of 5080: 3516:

Hoyt, p. 175; on a comparison chart this rank was equivalent to brigadier general in the British or American armies: i.e., the lowest general-officer rank.

4985: 859:, and its artillery pieces, converted to land use, became the largest standard guns used in the East African Theatre. In March 1916 British forces under 4598: 5040: 4084:

Gaudi, Robert (13 January 2017). Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.).

1478:, Lettow-Vorbeck was destitute. His house in Bremen had been destroyed by Allied bombs, and he depended for a time on food packages from his friends 670:. In October 1913, the Imperial German army promoted him to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed him to command the German colonial forces, known as the 5020: 4462:

Gaudi, Robert (1 January 2017), Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.),

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in 1935, he "declined with frigid hauteur"; the suggestion for the nomination as ambassador to the Court of St James had come from retired Colonel

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Great War poster of Lettow-Vorbeck leading African soldiers. Above: "Colonial Warriors' Donation"; below a facsimile of Lettow-Vorbeck's signature

5005: 1327:; the two men formed a lasting friendship. When Smuts died in 1950, Lettow-Vorbeck sent his widow a letter expressing his sympathy for her loss. 4176: 1602:

voted to give back-dated pay to all surviving Askaris from the German forces of the First World War. A temporary cashier's office was set up in

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and solved its supply problems for the foreseeable future. The subsequent capture of a river steamer with a load of medical supplies, including

5065: 1140: 825:"It is probable that no white commander of the era had so keen an appreciation of the African's worth not only as a fighting man but as a man." 637: 4279: 1437:

After his blunt refusal, Lettow "was kept under continual surveillance" and his home office was searched. Thanks to his popularity among the

619:. During a 1906 gunfight against Morenga and his men, Lettow-Vorbeck suffered injuries to his left eye, which was left blind, and his chest. 5050: 5045: 4990: 2115: 1862: 17: 1222: 735:

In August 1914 Lettow-Vorbeck was the commander of a military garrison of 2,600 German nationals and 2,472 African soldiers in fourteen

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returned it to him and enquired why the colonel had removed it, Lettow-Vorbeck replied that "he had placed it there to watch that the

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that Lettow-Vorbeck learned the Bushcraft that was to prove of such value to him in his war against the British in East Africa. When

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When Elephants clash. A critical analysis of Major General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck in the East African Theatre of the Great War

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When Elephants Clash: A Critical Analysis of Major General Paul Emil Von Lettow-Vorbeck in the East African Theater of the Great War

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Article 17 of the Armistice did not require his "surrender" but simply "evacuation of all German forces operating in East Africa."

1441:, he was promoted to the rank of General for Special Purposes in 1938, at the age of 68, but was never recalled to active service. 1381: 1903:

tracks them down, Indy draws his revolver to shoot the general, but decides to let him go. The general magnanimously gives him a

688:). Before he could assume this command, however, his orders were changed and he was posted — with effect from 13 April 1914 — to 4937: 4713: 1402: 600:, which he later called, "something rarely encountered in guerrilla warfare, a chance to defeat them in a single operation." 1291:. However, Lettow-Vorbeck then lost his commission in the Reichswehr in the summer of 1920 following his involvement in the 4955: 4615: 1551:

In 1964, eleven days before his 94th birthday, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck died in Hamburg. The West German government and the

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A similar oft-quoted claim states that Lettow-Vorbeck also apologised for the "ungentlemanly death" of the British hunter

3830:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 3729: 3496:

They Walk Through The Fire Like The Blondest German – African Soldiers Serving the Kaiser in German East Africa 1888–1918

3370:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 3300:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 3230:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 3151:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 3068:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2998:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2928:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2858:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2775:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2705:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2635:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2565:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2495:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2425:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2352:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2282:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 2212:. In Held, Ivan; Ball, Christine; Hudson, Jeanne-Marie; Lee, Benjamin; Claire, Claire; Colgan, Tom; Hwang, Cindy (eds.). 1923: 1319: 1205:

for eventual repatriation. Lettow-Vorbeck made several efforts to secure an early release for his Askaris, who were in a

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field companies. Feeling the need to seize the initiative, he disregarded orders from Berlin and the colony's Governor,

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me," stated the Allied commander in pursuit, General Jan Smuts, whose new approach was subsequently not to fight the

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about the East African Campaign which highlighted the long-distance resupply mission of the German rigid airship

1147:, informing Lettow-Vorbeck of the Armistice. Lettow-Vorbeck agreed to a cease-fire at the spot now marked by the 1123:, evading an ambush that the British had prepared in German East Africa. On 13 November 1918, two days after the 608: 214: 1505:, Lettow-Vorbeck later recalled that he gave one of them, who later became a government official in independent 4980: 1793: 833: 453: 3455:— the wild one — from his Askaris. He was killed at Tanga on 4 November 1914. Gaudi 2017, pp. 35, 145–148, 200 3443:). Prince eventually settled in the Usambara region of German East Africa. He was recalled to active duty as 1690: 1302: 1124: 505: 4637: 3451:(rifle companies composed mainly of the sons of German settlers). Prince's exploits earned him the nickname 1397: 1787: 1745: 1385: 1144: 509: 5010: 4951: 4172: 1362: 729: 586: 1960:. In this story Høeg imagines Lettow-Vorbeck travelling through Africa by train at night accompanied by 1334:

at the hands of one of his snipers; this claim, however, is not supported by any contemporary evidence.

959: 4815:, Ballantine's illustrated history of the violent century: Campaign book, vol. XX (2nd ed.), 2192: 1826: 1572:, saying that the deceased, "was truly undefeated in the field". Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck was buried in 1256:

Lettow-Vorbeck returned to Germany in early March 1919 to a hero's welcome. He led the veterans of the

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While travelling to his new assignment, Lettow-Vorbeck formed a lifelong friendship with Danish author

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and returned to German East Africa, with the British still in pursuit. He then turned west and raided

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on 17 March 1916, its cargo of 1,500 tons was of only very modest help to Lettow-Vorbeck's forces.

645: 547: 222: 4584: 1283:. Fourteen months after his return to Germany, Lettow-Vorbeck commanded the troops that ended the 845: 43: 4941: 1810: 1427: 1044: 633: 612: 574: 316: 1954:'s short story, "Journey into a Dark Heart", which is the opening story in his 1990 collection, 1933:

The many bureaucratic absurdities of the British campaign against General von Lettow-Vorbeck in

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Lettow-Vorbeck surrendering his forces to the British at Abercorn, as drawn by an African artist

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Summary of Oberst Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's extraordinary military campaigns against the Allies

4755: 4242: 2078: 1738: 1419: 751:. The attack began on 2 November 1914, and for the next four days the German forces fought the 4847:

Der Löwe von Afrika. Der legendäre General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck und sein Kampf um Ostafrika

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Both his two sons, Rüdiger and Arnd von Lettow-Vorbeck, and his stepson Peter Wallroth, were

1479: 1457: 1423: 1315: 1181:, also called the Chambeshi Memorial and the Lettow-Vorbeck Memorial, commemorates the final 904: 796: 559: 3447:(captain) and given command of the Askaris of the 13th Field Company and of the 7th and 8th 1967:

Much of the history of Lettow-Vorbeck's war campaign in East Africa is detailed in the book

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caravan became a completely independent unit. On its first day across the river, the column

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agrees with Schulte-Varendorff that Lettow-Vorbeck did not directly show susceptibility to

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to divert manpower from the main theatre of war in Europe. Realizing the critical needs of

531: 501: 489: 400: 158: 4706:"Der Held von Deutsch-Ost-Afrika" Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Ein preußischer Kolonialoffizier 1490:, where he was welcomed by surviving Askaris who greeted him with their old marching song 1307: 566:. Although Lettow-Vorbeck was fascinated by the ancient history and elaborate courtesy of 8: 4199: 2025: 2019: 1517:

Lettow-Vorbeck was pleased by this answer, and laughed and slapped his knee when he told

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Empire. The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power

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