Paul Léon Delwart (18 October 1874 – 19 August 1900) was a Belgian officer in the ''

Force Publique The ''Force Publique'' (, "Public Force"; nl, Openbare Weermacht) was a gendarmerie and military force in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885 (when the territory was known as the Congo Free State), through the period of ...

'' of the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

Early years

Paul Léon Delwart was born on 18 October 1874 in

Braine-le-Comte Braine-le-Comte (; nl, ’s-Gravenbrakel, ; wa, Brinne-e-Hinnot) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Braine-le-Comte had a total population of 21,649. The total area is whic ...

, Belgium, son of Léon Delwart and Carlotte Vandermies. He entered the Military School in 1894, and was made a second lieutenant on 18 December 1896. He was assigned to the first regiment of ''chasseurs à pied'' (

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

Congo service

In 1897 Delwart volunteered to serve in the ''Force Publique'' of the Congo Free State, and was accepted. He left Antwerp on 6 October 1897 and arrived in Boma on 30 October 1897. He was assigned as a sub-lieutenant of the ''Force Publique'' to the Rubi– Uele zone. He reached Djabir on 22 January 1898 and took command of the station. He developed

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...

and in June 1898 was forced to return to Boma. Delwart spent a few days in hospital, then joined the battery of Fort de Shinkakasa. However, his illness had not been cured and on 25 September 1898 he left for Europe. On 8 June 1899 Delwart left Antwerp again, with the rank of lieutenant. He arrived in Boma on 1 July 1899 and was assigned to command the special contingent of the ''Force Publique'' in

Orientale Province Orientale Province ( French: ''Province orientale'', "Eastern province") is one of the former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its predecessors the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. It went through a series of boundary ...

. He travelled to

Uvira Uvira is a city in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Uvira is a Roman Catholic diocese, a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bukavu. Geography It is located at the extreme north end of Lake Tanganyika. Kalundu is a lake ...

to take up his command, but developed

hematuria Hematuria or haematuria is defined as the presence of blood or red blood cells in the urine. “Gross hematuria” occurs when urine appears red, brown, or tea-colored due to the presence of blood. Hematuria may also be subtle and only detectable w ...

. Delwart died in Uvira on 19 August 1900.

Frederik-Valdemar Olsen Frederik-Valdemar Olsen (24 May 1877 – 19 November 1962) was a Danish soldier who became a general and commander in chief of the Belgian Congo ''Force Publique''. He was born into a poor family, joined the Danish army, then in 1898 volunteered t ...

replaced Delwart in Uvira as leader of the elite Belgian company in the Ruzizi–

Kivu Kivu was the name for a large "region" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko that bordered Lake Kivu. It included three "Sub-Regions" ("Sous-Régions" in French): Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu and Maniema, correspondin ...

region.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Delwart, Paul Léon 1874 births 1900 deaths Officers of the Force Publique Belgian expatriates Congo Free State people