Paul Emil Von Lettow-Vorbeck
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Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964), also called the Lion of Africa (german: Löwe von Afrika), was a
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
in the
Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...
and the commander of its forces in the
German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...
campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...
. 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. Essentially undefeated in the field, Lettow-Vorbeck was the only German commander to successfully invade a part of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. His exploits in the campaign have been described by
Edwin Palmer Hoyt Edwin Palmer Hoyt (August 5, 1923 – July 29, 2005) was an American writer who specialized in military history. Until 1958, Hoyt worked in news media, after which he produced non-fiction works. Early life He was born in Portland, Oregon to the ...
as "the greatest single guerrilla operation in history, and the most successful".


Early life

Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck was son of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck (1832–1919) and Marie von Eisenhart-Rothe (1842–1919). He was born into the
Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
n minor nobility, while his father was stationed as an army officer at
Saarlouis Saarlouis (; french: link=no, Sarrelouis, ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located on t ...
in the
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n
Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. It ...
. He was educated in boarding schools in Berlin and joined the cadet corps at
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
and
Berlin-Lichterfelde Lichterfelde () is a locality in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin, Germany. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Steglitz, along with Steglitz and Lankwitz. Lichterfelde is home to institutions like the Berlin Botanical Gard ...
. In 1890, he was commissioned a ''
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
'' into the
Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...
. According to Robert Gaudi, "In ''Mein Leben'' 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 - the Kaiser, Crown Prince Friedrich, the "Man of Gold" Field Marshal Count von Moltke, 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
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
- the young women shivering in their off-the-shoulder dresses, the new officers in bright stiff uniforms - followed by the mad rush to catch the last train back to
Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...
barracks before the last roll call". 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
chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...
were not tolerated". Lt. von Lettow-Vorbeck was assigned to the Great German General Staff.


Military career

In 1900, Lettow-Vorbeck was posted to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
as a member of the international alliance forces to quell the
Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
. Although Lettow-Vorbeck was fascinated by the ancient history and elaborate courtesy of
Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
, 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. Beginning in 1904, Lettow-Vorbeck, now a captain, was assigned to
German Southwest Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
(now
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
), during the Herero insurrection and the subsequent genocide. Lettow-Vorbeck saw combat against the
Herero Herero may refer to: * Herero people, a people belonging to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today * Herero language, a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group) * Herero and Namaqua Genocide * Herero chat, a species of b ...
at the
Battle of Waterberg The Battle of Waterberg (Battle of Ohamakari) took place on August 11, 1904 at the Waterberg, German South West Africa (modern day Namibia), and was the decisive battle in the German campaign against the Herero. Armies The German Imperial For ...
, which he later called, "something rarely encountered in guerilla warfare, a chance to defeat them in a single operation." When the
Nama people Nama (in older sources also called Namaqua) are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. They traditionally speak the Nama language of the Khoe-Kwadi language family, although many Nama also speak Afrikaans. The Nama Peo ...
also rose against German rule under the leadership of Hendrik Witbooi, Lettow-Vorbeck remained in
German Southwest Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
in order to continue fighting. He played a major role in the pursuit of
Jacob Morenga Jacob Morenga, also Jakob, Jacobus, Marengo, and Marenga, known as the "black Napoleon", (1875 – 20 September 1907) was an important figure in Namibia, then the German colony of German South West Africa. He was chief leader in the insurrection ag ...
. During a 1906 gunfight against Morenga and his men, Lettow-Vorbeck suffered injuries to his left eye, which was left blind, and his chest. He was then evacuated to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
for treatment and recovery.
Leonard Mosley Leonard Oswald Mosley (11 February 1913 – June 1992) was a British journalist, historian, biographer and novelist. His works include five novels and biographies of General George Marshall, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, Orde Wingate, Walt D ...
would later write, however, "It was from these brilliant and fantastic Hottentots 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 ottentot guerilla leader Samuel Isaak 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 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". In 1907 Lettow-Vorbeck was promoted to Major and assigned to the staff of
XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...
at
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
,
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
. From March 1909 to January 1913, he was commanding officer of the marines of ''II. Seebataillon'' ("2nd Sea Battalion") at
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
,
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
. In October 1913, the Imperial German army promoted him to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed him to command the German colonial forces, known as the ''
Schutztruppe (, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned ...
'' (protectorate force), in
German Kamerun Kamerun was an African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon. Kamerun also included northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern p ...
(today's
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, plus a portion of present-day
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
). Before he could assume this command, however, his orders were changed and he was posted — with effect from 13 April 1914 — to
German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...
(Tanganyika, the mainland territory of present-day
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
). While travelling to his new assignment, Lettow-Vorbeck formed a lifelong friendship with Danish author
Karen Blixen Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...
(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
Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
was and stood for."


First World War

Lettow-Vorbeck's plan for the
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
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 Western Front, and in this way to contribute to the German war effort. In August 1914 Lettow-Vorbeck was the commander of a military garrison of 2,600 German nationals and 2,472 African soldiers in fourteen
Askari An askari (from Somali, Swahili and Arabic , , meaning "soldier" or "military", which also means "police" in the Somali language) was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa, particularly in the African G ...
field companies. Feeling the need to seize the initiative, he disregarded orders from Berlin and the colony's Governor,
Heinrich Schnee Heinrich Albert Schnee (Albert Hermann Heinrich Schnee; 4 February 1871 – 23 June 1949) was a German lawyer, colonial civil servant, politician, writer, and association official. He served as the last Governor of German East Africa. Early l ...
, who had attempted to achieve neutrality for German East Africa, relying on the Congo Act 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
Tanga Tanga may refer to: Places Burkina Faso * , a town in eastern Burkina Faso * Tanga, Sidéradougou, a village in western Burkina Faso * Tanga-Pela, a village in northern-central Burkina Faso Other places * Tanga, Tanzania, a city and port on th ...
. The attack began on 2 November 1914, and for the next four days the German forces fought the
Battle of Tanga The Battle of Tanga, sometimes also known as the Battle of the Bees, was the unsuccessful attack by the British Indian Expeditionary Force "B" under Major General A. E. Aitken to capture German East Africa (the mainland portion of present-day T ...
. 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 Jassin 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
Tom von Prince Tom von Prince (9 January 1866 – 4 November 1914) was a German East Africa Company military officer and plantation owner in German East Africa. He most notably, as a captain in the Schutztruppe, led the first action by German forces in East Afr ...
", whom he could not easily replace. Though casualties were high, Lettow insisted his commanders engage British forces, though they offered few enticing targets. This forced him to conduct raids into
British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Britai ...
(later
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
,
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
, and
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
), targeting forts, railways, and communications, still hoping to force the '' Entente'' to divert manpower from the main theatre of war in Europe. Realizing the critical needs of
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...
, he used everything available to him to keep his troops supplied. The ''
Schutztruppe (, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned ...
'' recruited new personnel and expanded its size to some 14,000 soldiers, most of them
Askari An askari (from Somali, Swahili and Arabic , , meaning "soldier" or "military", which also means "police" in the Somali language) was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa, particularly in the African G ...
s. Lettow-Vorbeck's fluency in the
Swahili language Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili ...
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,
"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."
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. In 1915, he gained the men and artillery of the German cruiser which had been scuttled in the
Rufiji River The Rufiji River lies entirely within Tanzania. It is also the largest and longest river in the country. The river is formed by the confluence of the Kilombero and Luwegu rivers. It is approximately long, with its source in southwestern Tanzania ...
delta. The cruiser had a capable crew under commander Max Looff, 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
General Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
and the Belgians under
Charles Tombeur Lieutenant General Charles Tombeur, 1st Baron of Tabora (4 May 1867 – 2 December 1947) was a Belgian military officer and colonial civil servant. As well as holding several major administrative positions in the Belgian Congo, he is particularly ...
launched an offensive with 45,000 men near
Tabora Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226,999. ...
. 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 Mahiwa 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 advantage in numbers of men. For the ''Schutztruppe'', 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 (''Generalmajor''). 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
Ruvuma River Ruvuma River, formerly also known as the Rovuma River, is a river in the African Great Lakes region. During the greater part of its course, it forms the border between Tanzania and Mozambique (in Mozambique known as ''Rio Rovuma''). The river is ...
into
Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colony. Portuguese Moz ...
. Having essentially cut their own supply lines, the ''Schutztruppe'' caravan became a nomadic tribe. On its first day across the river, the column attacked the newly replenished Portuguese garrison of Ngomano and solved its supply problems for the foreseeable future. The subsequent capture of a river steamer with a load of medical supplies, including
quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cr ...
, 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 capturing Namakura (
Namacurra Namacurra is a small town in um dos distrito da provincia da zambezia central Mozambique. Transport It lies on the former railway between Quelimane and Vila de Mocuba. See also * Railway stations in Mozambique Railway stations in Mozambiqu ...
in modern Mozambique) in July 1918. 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." 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, " ndoingeverything his social and economic reforms had accomplished." 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
Neu Moshi Moshi is a municipality and the capital of Kilimanjaro region in the north eastern Tanzania. As of 2017, the municipality has an estimated population of 201,150 and a population density of 3,409 persons per km2 .Uluguru Mountains The Uluguru mountains are a mountain range in eastern Tanzania, named after the Luguru tribe. The main portion of the Uluguru mountains is a ridge running roughly north-south and rising to altitude at its highest point. On the main Uluguru rang ...
, writing off famine in neighboring villages as a misfortune of war. 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 ''Kronborg'' arrived off Tanga at Manza Bay after a two-month journey from
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
, and was promptly attacked by the British cruiser HMS ''Hyacinth''. Fortunately for the Germans, ''Kronborg'' 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 ''Marie von Stettin'' arrived south of
Lindi Lindi is a historic southern Tanzanian coastal small city and regional capital of the Lindi Region located at the far end of Lindi Bay, on the Indian Ocean in southeastern Tanzania. The town is south of Dar es Salaam and north of Mtwara, ...
on 17 March 1916, its cargo of 1,500 tons was of only very modest help to Lettow-Vorbeck's forces. An attempt in November 1917 to resupply German forces by
Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
airship, an operation codenamed "the China Show", failed. The Zeppelin,
LZ 104 (L 59) Zeppelin LZ 104 (construction number, designated L 59 by the German Imperial Navy) and nicknamed ''Das Afrika-Schiff'' ("The Africa Ship"), was a World War I German dirigible. It is famous for having attempted a long-distance resupply missi ...
, 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
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, in a single uninterrupted flight from
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, where it received a message from the German Admiralty that its planned landing area in East Africa was no longer in Lettow-Vorbeck's hands. Its captain decided to turn back. The British later claimed the about-turn was a result of a fake radio message sent in German by British intelligence in Cairo stating that Lettow-Vorbeck had surrendered, but this has never been proven. By late September 1916, all of coastal German East Africa, including
Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
and the Central Railway, 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. 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 me," stated the Allied commander in pursuit, General Jan Smuts, whose new approach was subsequently not to fight the ''Schutztruppe'' 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. 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 the population, leaving it vulnerable to the
Spanish influenza The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
epidemic in 1919. 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:
"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
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
."
When the worldwide
Spanish influenza The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
epidemic swept into eastern Africa in 1918–1919, it struck down thousands of people.Farwell, p. 354. 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 forces. In the field when rations had to be reduced and supplies dwindled,
"It was a measure of the Askaris' loyalty to their commander that they accepted the cuts and did not desert en masse. Some did desert, of course... But the German Askaris were by far the most loyal as well as the most effective, and it all went back to… Lettow-Vorbeck's brand of discipline, which bound him and his German officers as much as his black soldiers".
There is a ''legend'' that Lettow-Vorbeck once lost his glass eye in the bush. When an ''askari'' 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 ''askari'' were doing their duty". On 28 September 1918, Lettow-Vorbeck again crossed the
Ruvuma River Ruvuma River, formerly also known as the Rovuma River, is a river in the African Great Lakes region. During the greater part of its course, it forms the border between Tanzania and Mozambique (in Mozambique known as ''Rio Rovuma''). The river is ...
and returned to German East Africa, with the British still in pursuit. He then turned west and raided
Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...
, evading an ambush that the British had prepared in German East Africa. On 13 November 1918, two days after the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
, he took the town of Kasama, which the British had evacuated, and continued heading south-west towards Katanga. When he reached the
Chambeshi River The Chambeshi (or Chambezi) River of northeastern Zambia is the most remote headstream of the Congo River (in length) and therefore it is considered the source of the Congo River. (However, by volume of water, the Lualaba River provides a greater ...
on the morning of 14 November, the British magistrate Hector Croad appeared under a white flag and delivered a message from South African General Jacob van Deventer, informing Lettow-Vorbeck of the Armistice. Lettow-Vorbeck agreed to a cease-fire at the spot now marked by the
Chambeshi Monument The Chambeshi Monument, in the Northern Province, Zambia, Northern Province of Zambia, also called the Chambeshi Memorial and the Lettow-Vorbeck Memorial, commemorates the final cessation of hostilities of the World War I, First World War, three ...
in present-day
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
. He was instructed by the British to march north to
Abercorn Abercorn (Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a p ...
to surrender his army, arriving there on 25 November.Gore-Browne, Sir Stewart (1954). "The Chambeshi Memorial".
''The Northern Rhodesia Journal'', 2 (5) pp. 81–84 (1954). Retrieved 18 May 2007.
The remains of his army at the time consisted of 30 German officers, 125 German non-commissioned officers and other enlisted ranks, 1,168
Askari An askari (from Somali, Swahili and Arabic , , meaning "soldier" or "military", which also means "police" in the Somali language) was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa, particularly in the African G ...
s, and some 3,500 porters. After hostilities ended, the British transferred the German POWs to
Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
for eventual repatriation. Lettow-Vorbeck made several efforts to secure an early release for his Askaris, who were in a
POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...
at
Tabora Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226,999. ...
. Before Lettow-Vorbeck was separated from his Askaris, one of them cried out,
"I have been asked to say this to you ''
Bwana This is a list of English language words that come from the Niger-Congo languages. It excludes placenames except where they have become common words. Bantu origin * banjo – probably Bantu ''mbanza'' *basenji – breed of dog from the Congo ...
'' 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 ''Bwana'' General, will we not?"
Robert Gaudi writes,
"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."


Post-war

Lettow-Vorbeck returned to Germany in early March 1919 to a hero's welcome. He led the veterans of the ''Schutztruppe'' in their tattered tropical uniforms on a victory parade through the
Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...
, which was decorated in their honour. He was the only German commander to successfully invade the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He remained in the
Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
despite attempts to involve him in the politics of the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
. Fourteen months after his return to Germany, Lettow-Vorbeck commanded the troops that ended the
Spartacist Uprising The Spartacist uprising (German: ), also known as the January uprising (), was a general strike and the accompanying armed struggles that took place in Berlin from 5 to 12 January 1919. It occurred in connection with the November Revolutio ...
in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
.Miller, p. 331 However, Lettow-Vorbeck then lost his commission in the Reichswehr in the summer of 1920 following his involvement in the
Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo the ...
. He subsequently worked in
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
as an import-export manager. In June 1926, Lettow-Vorbeck met
Richard Meinertzhagen Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, CBE, DSO (3 March 1878 – 17 June 1967) was a British soldier, intelligence officer, and ornithologist. He had a decorated military career spanning Africa and the Middle East. He was credited with creating and e ...
in Bremen, the British Intelligence Corps 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
Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
; 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.Farwell, p. 357. A similar oft-quoted claim states that Lettow-Vorbeck also apologised for the "ungentlemanly death" of the British hunter
Frederick Selous Frederick Courteney Selous, DSO (; 31 December 1851 – 4 January 1917) was a British explorer, officer, professional hunter, and conservationist, famous for his exploits in Southeast Africa. His real-life adventures inspired Sir Henry Rider ...
at the hands of one of his snipers; this claim, however, is not supported by any contemporary evidence.


Political career

In a review of the work on Lettow-Vorbeck by Uwe Schulte-Varendorff, historian Eckard Michels agrees with Schulte-Varendorff that Lettow-Vorbeck showed susceptibility to
far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
politics and
anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
. 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. Between May 1928 and July 1930, Lettow-Vorbeck served as a Reichstag deputy for the
monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...
German National People's Party The German National People's Party (german: Deutschnationale Volkspartei, DNVP) was a national-conservative party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major conservative and nationalist party in Wei ...
. He left the party in 1930, after
Alfred Hugenberg Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg (19 June 1865 – 12 March 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. An important figure in nationalist politics in Germany for the first few decades of the twentieth century, Hugenbe ...
became the party leader and drew it increasingly into the
far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
. Lettow-Vorbeck then joined the Conservative People's Party and ran for it in the election of 1930, where he gained the best result of the party in his electoral district of
Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
, but was not re-elected. He intensely "distrusted
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
and his movement," and approached his relative
Hans-Jürgen von Blumenthal Hans-Jürgen Graf von Blumenthal (23 February 1907 – 13 October 1944) was a German aristocrat and Army officer in the Second World War who was executed by the Nazi régime for his role in the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Bio ...
with an idea to form a coalition with ''
Der Stahlhelm ' (German, 'The Steel Helmet, League of Front-Line Soldiers'), commonly known as ''Der Stahlhelm'' ('The Steel Helmet'), was a German First World War veteran's organisation existing from 1918 to 1935. It was part of the "Black Reichswehr" and ...
'' against the Nazis. This resulted in the Vorbeck-Blumenthal Pact.


Nazi Germany

Later, when Hitler offered him the ambassadorship to the
Court of St James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...
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
Richard Meinertzhagen Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, CBE, DSO (3 March 1878 – 17 June 1967) was a British soldier, intelligence officer, and ornithologist. He had a decorated military career spanning Africa and the Middle East. He was credited with creating and e ...
during a visit to Berlin.Miller, p. 331 During the 1960s, Charles Miller asked the nephew of a ''Schutztruppe'' 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." After his blunt refusal, Lettow "was kept under continual surveillance" and his home office was searched. Thanks to his popularity among the
German people , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...
, 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. One of Lettow-Vorbeck's junior officers,
Theodor von Hippel Theodor-Gottlieb von Hippel (19 January 1890 – 1 January 1977)Immo Eberl, Helmut Marcon (1984): ''150 Jahre Promotion an der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Tübingen: Biographien der Doktoren, Ehrendoktoren und Habil ...
, used his experiences in East Africa to form the
Brandenburgers The Brandenburgers (german: Brandenburger) were members of the Brandenburg German special forces unit during World War II. Originally, the unit was formed by and operated as an extension of the military's intelligence organ, the '' Abwehr''. ...
, the commando unit of the
Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' (German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. A ...
, the German
military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
service during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.


''Die Stunde Null''

By the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, 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
Meinertzhagen Meinertzhagen may refer to: People * Annie Meinertzhagen (1889–1928), British ornithologist * Ian Meinertzhagen (born 1944), Canadian neurobiologist * Louis Meinertzhagen (1887–1941), British philatelist * Richard Meinertzhagen (1878–1967), ...
and Smuts. After the
postwar economic boom In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...
, however, he enjoyed comfortable circumstances again. In 1953 he visited
Dar-es-Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over ...
, where he was welcomed by surviving Askaris who greeted him with their old marching song ''Heia Safari!'' British colonial officials welcomed him with full military honours. As colonialism came to an end in Africa, several activists for the independence of
Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...
, 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
German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...
, Lettow-Vorbeck later recalled that he gave one of them, who later became a government official in independent
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
,
"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.'"
Lettow-Vorbeck was pleased by this answer, and laughed and slapped his knee when he told
Leonard Mosley Leonard Oswald Mosley (11 February 1913 – June 1992) was a British journalist, historian, biographer and novelist. His works include five novels and biographies of General George Marshall, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, Orde Wingate, Walt D ...
about the conversation.


Personal life

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), and Ursula (1927). Both his two sons, Rüdiger and Arnd von Lettow-Vorbeck, and his stepson Peter Wallroth, were killed in action serving in the ''
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
''.


Death

In 1964, eleven days before his 94th birthday, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck died in Hamburg. The West German government and the ''
Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...
'' flew in two former Askaris as state guests to attend the funeral. Several officers of the ''Bundeswehr'' were assigned as an honour guard, and West Germany's Minister of Defence,
Kai-Uwe von Hassel Kai-Uwe von Hassel (21 April 1913 – 8 May 1997) was a German politician from Schleswig-Holstein associated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein from 1954 to 1963, as Federal Minister ...
, gave the
eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a ...
, saying that the deceased, "was truly undefeated in the field". Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck was buried in Pronstorf,
Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
, in the graveyard of Vicelin Church.


Legacy

In the year of Lettow-Vorbeck's death, 1964, the West German ''
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
'' 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
Mwanza Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,182,000 in 2021, it is Tanzania's second largest cit ...
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 to step forward, was handed a broom, and was ordered in German to perform the
manual of arms A manual of arms was an instruction book for handling and using weapons in formation, whether in the field or on parade. Such manuals were especially important in the matchlock and flintlock eras, when loading and firing was a complex and lengthy ...
. Not one man failed the test. Four barracks of the Federal German Army, or ''Bundeswehr'', were once named in Lettow-Vorbeck's honour. They were situated at Leer,
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
-Jenfeld,
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, and
Bad Segeberg Bad Segeberg (; Low German: Sebarg) is a German town of 16,000 inhabitants, located in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, capital of the district (Kreis) Segeberg. It is situated approximately northeast of Hamburg, and west of Lübeck. It is famo ...
. Following the recent closure of 178 military installations, the only one remaining is the Lettow-Vorbeck-Kaserne in Leer,
East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...
. The former Hamburg-Jenfeld barracks houses the "Tanzania Park", a group of large
terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
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 Bismarck memorial at
Friedrichsruh Friedrichsruh () is a district in the municipality of Aumühle, Herzogtum Lauenburg district, Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany. Friedrichsruh manor is known as a residence of the princely House of Bismarck, mainly of Chancellor Otto von Bis ...
. In early 2010, the City Council of
Saarlouis Saarlouis (; french: link=no, Sarrelouis, ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located on t ...
renamed ''Von Lettow-Vorbeck-Straße'', mainly for Lettow-Vorbeck's involvement in the 1920
Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo the ...
. In
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, "Lettow-Vorbeck Straße" was renamed "
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
Straße". In
Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and to ...
,
Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...
,
Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...
, Halle,
Radolfzell Radolfzell am Bodensee is a town in Germany at the western end of Lake Constance approximately 18 km northwest of Konstanz. It is the third largest town, after Constance and Singen, in the district of Konstanz, in Baden-Württemberg. Rado ...
and
Graz, Austria Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...
there are still streets named after General von Lettow-Vorbeck. The
dryosaurid Dryosaurids were primitive iguanodonts. They are known from Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous rocks of Africa, Europe, and North America. Phylogeny Until recently many dryosaurids have been regarded as dubious ('' Callovosaurus'' and '' Kan ...
species ''
Dysalotosaurus ''Dysalotosaurus'' ("uncatchable lizard") is a genus of herbivorous iguanodontian dinosaur. It was a dryosaurid iguanodontian, and its fossils have been found in late Kimmeridgian-age rocks (Late Jurassic) of the Tendaguru Formation of Lindi Regi ...
lettowvorbecki'' was named after Lettow-Vorbeck.


Honours

He received the following orders and decorations: * : ** Officer of the
Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...
, with Crown ** Knight of the Order of the Prussian Crown, 3rd Class with Swords **
Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...
(military), ''4 November 1916''; with Oak Leaves, ''10 October 1917'' **
Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...
, 1st and 2nd class * : ** Knight of the
Military Order of Max Joseph The Military Order of Max Joseph (german: Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden) was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in t ...
** Knight of the Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords and Crown *
Ernestine duchies The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose numb ...
: Commander of the
Saxe-Ernestine House Order The Saxe-Ernestine House Order (german: link=yes, Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden)Hausorden
Herz ...
, 2nd Class * : Knight of the Order of the Württemberg Crown, with Golden Lions * : Knight of the
Order of St. Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...
, 3rd Class with Swords


In popular culture

Lettow-Vorbeck appears in a 1993 episode of the television series ''
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, North ...
''. The episode, which was titled "The Phantom Train of Doom", begins with
Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...
as an officer in the
Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...
during the First World War. Determined to destroy a ''Schutztruppe''
armoured train An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facili ...
, Indiana takes General von Lettow-Vorbeck (played by Tom Bell) hostage and attempts to return with him behind Allied lines. When the ''Schutztruppe'' tracks them down, Indy draws his revolver to shoot the general, but decides to let him go. The general magnanimously gives him a
compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
so Indiana can find his way back to his lines, and the two part as friends. Lettow-Vorbeck is the
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of ''The Ghosts of Africa'', a 1980
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
by Anglo-Canadian novelist
William Stevenson William Stevenson may refer to: Government and politics * Sir William Stevenson (colonial administrator) (1805–1863), Governor of Mauritius * William E. Stevenson (1820–1883), American politician, Governor of West Virginia * William Ernest St ...
about the East African Campaign which highlighted the long-distance resupply mission of the German rigid airship L 59. Lettow-Vorbeck also appears as a character in
Peter Høeg Peter Høeg (born 17 May 1957) is a Danish writer of fiction. He is best known for his novel '' Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow'' (1992). Early life Høeg was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Before becoming a writer, he worked variously as a sailor, ...
's short story, "Journey into a Dark Heart", which is the opening story in his 1990 collection, '' Tales of the Night''. In this story Høeg imagines Lettow-Vorbeck travelling through Africa by train at night accompanied by
Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
. Much of the history of Lettow-Vorbeck's war campaign in East Africa is detailed in the book ''Speak Swahili, Dammit!'' (2011) by James Penhaligon, as well as in a novel of the same year, ''The Bridge Builders'' (''Brobyggarna'' in Swedish) by
Jan Guillou Jan Oskar Sverre Lucien Henri Guillou (, ; born 17 January 1944) is a French-Swedish author and journalist. Guillou's fame in Sweden was established during his time as an investigative journalist, most notably in 1973 when he and co-reporter Pet ...
. A German film, ''Lettow-Vorbeck: Der deutsch-ostafrikanische Imperativ'', was produced in 1984. In the
grand strategy Grand strategy or high strategy is a state's strategy of how means can be used to advance and achieve national interests. Issues of grand strategy typically include the choice of primary versus secondary theaters in war, distribution of resource ...
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
''
Hearts of Iron IV ''Hearts of Iron IV'', also known as HOI4, is a grand strategy computer wargame developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. It was released worldwide on 6 June 2016. It is the sequel to 2009's '' Hearts of Iron ...
'', Lettow-Vorbeck is able to be recalled to service if Hitler is deposed and the German
monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
has been restored.


Works

*Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul Emil von, ''Heia Safari! Deutschlands Kampf in Ostafrika'' eia Safari! Germany's Campaign in East Africa Leipzig: Hase & Köhler. 1920. *Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul Emil von, ''Meine Erinnerungen aus Ostafrika''. Leipzig: Hase & Köhler, 1920. Published in Great Britain as ''My Reminiscences of East Africa''. London: Hurst & Blackett, Paternoster House, 1920. U.S. edition entitled ''East African Campaigns'' with an introduction by John Gunther. New York: Robert Speller & Sons, 1957
''My Reminiscences of East Africa'' at archive.org (English)(German)
*Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul Emil von, ''Mein Leben''. Biberach an der Riss: Koehlers Verlag. 1957. – ''My Life''. Loves Park, Illinois: Rilling Enterprises, 2012. First English translation.


See also

*
German colonial empire The German colonial empire (german: Deutsches Kolonialreich) constituted the overseas colonies, dependencies and territories of the German Empire. Unified in the early 1870s, the chancellor of this time period was Otto von Bismarck. Short-li ...
*
Hermann Detzner Hermann Philipp Detzner (16 October 1882 – 1 December 1970) was a German engineer and surveyor, who served as an officer in the German colonial security force (''Schutztruppe'') in ''Kamerun'' (Cameroon) and German New Guinea. He gained fame fo ...
*
Lettow Lettow was a by-name given to a few Pomeranian nobles from a noble family from Vorbeck who went to assist Algirdas and Vytautas, the Great Dukes of Lithuania, in the 14th century. ''Lettow'' meant " Lithuania" in the Saxon language, and it appear ...


References


Further reading

* . * Crowson, Thomas A. ''When Elephants clash. A critical analysis of Major General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck in the East African Theatre of the Great War''. (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Faculty of the US Army Command and General Staff College, Masterarbeit, 2003). Washington, DC: Storming Media, 2003. NTIS, Springfield, VA. 2003.
Microform Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original document size. F ...
-Edition. * Farwell, Byron. ''The Great War in Africa, 1914–1918''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1989, . * Ferguson, Niall. ''Empire. The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power''. New York: Basic Books. 2004. * Garfield, Brian. ''The Meinertzhagen Mystery''. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, Inc. 2007. * } * Haupt, Werner. ''Deutschlands Schutzgebiete in Übersee 1884–1918'' ermany's Overseas Protectorates 1884–1918 Friedberg: Podzun-Pallas Verlag. 1984. * . Note: This book is a study of Captain Max Looff and his crew of the light cruiser ''Königsberg''. 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 aul Emilvon Lettow-Vorbeck was concerned." Thus, all footnotes for "Hoyt" on this page refer to his book ''Guerilla''. See . * . * * Louis, Wm. Roger. ''Great Britain and Germany's Lost Colonies 1914–1919''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1967. * Michels, Eckart ''"Der Held von Deutsch-Ost-Afrika" Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Ein preussischer Kolonialoffizier'', Fredinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2008, . * Miller, Charles. ''Battle for the Bundu: The First World War in German East Africa''. London: Macdonald & Jane's, 1974; and New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. 1974. . * Mosley, Leonard. ''Duel for Kilimanjaro''. New York: Ballantine Books, 1963. * * Schulte-Varendorff, Uwe. ''Kolonialheld für Kaiser und Führer. General Lettow-Vorbeck – Eine Biographie'' olonial Hero for Kaiser and Führer. A General Lettow-Vorbeck Biography Berlin: Ch. Links Verlag, 2006. . * . * Stephenson, William. ''Der Löwe von Afrika. Der legendäre General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck und sein Kampf um Ostafrika'' he Lion of Africa. The legendary General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and his campaign for East Africa Munich: Goldmann, 1984. . * Strachan, Hew. ''The First World War 1914–1918''. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2001. . * Stratis, John C. ''A Case Study in Leadership. Colonel Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck''. Springfield, VA.: NTIS, 2002.
Microform Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original document size. F ...
-Edition. * Willmott, H. P. ''World War One''. London:
Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media co ...
. 2003.


External links


Biography of Lettow-Vorbeck at First World War.comBritish article from 1964
of the conclusion of Lettow-Vorbeck's campaign

* ttp://www.tokencoins.com/gea04a.htm Summary of Oberst Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's extraordinary military campaigns against the Allies* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul 1870 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel Colonial people of German East Africa East African Campaign (World War I) Französisches Gymnasium Berlin alumni Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) German Army generals of World War I German military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion German monarchists German National People's Party politicians German untitled nobility Kapp Putsch participants Lieutenant generals of the Reichswehr Major generals of Prussia Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic People from Saarlouis People from the Rhine Province Schutztruppe personnel Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph Recipients of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Military personnel from Saarland