German East Africa Schutztruppe Officer's Straw Hat
This is a German East Africa (1885-1919) Schutztruppe officer's tropical hat. The hat is made of straw and features the imperial eagle cap badge of German East Africa on the front. Below the badge is the national cockade of Imperial Germany attached to a blue and white hat band. The hat band is tied into a bow on the left side.
German East Africa Campaign During World War I
Prior to World War I (1914-1918), Germany colonized several parts Africa not already claimed by other European powers. This included German East Africa, known as Tanganyika locally.1 The area encompassed modern day Rwanda, Burundi, and mainland Tanzania. British, Belgium, and Portuguese territories surrounded the colony.2 The governor of East Africa, Albert Heinrich Schnee, negotiated a pledge with his British counterpart to maintain neutrality during World War I. The military commander of East Africa, Colonel Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (1870-1964), wholly ignored this neutrality. He took the German Schutztruppe (colonial shock troops) and attacked the British Uganda Railway in August 1914.3 At the beginning of the war, the Schutztruppe consisted of 260 European troops, 2,472 Askaris (native African soldiers), 31 older light artillery pieces, and an international gendarmerie of 2,200 men.4
The first German attacks against British colonies were repelled by native troops, though some gains were made. The British Army responded by authorizing the conquest of German East Africa in the same month. This task was given to the British India Army, with 4,000 initial troops and another 8,000 sent later. In November 1914 these forces attacked the Germans despite being ill equipped. The attack was repelled and the British were forced to retreat. In January the British launched another attack that again resulted in German victory, though it was hard fought. This convinced Colonel Lettow-Vorbeck to take a defensive strategy in order to try and draw as many British troops into East Africa.5
Though the British blockaded East African ports, the Germans managed to stay well-supplied. No offense was taken during 1915, and by 1916 the British forces had a new commander, General Jan Smuts. Upon receiving more troops, General Smuts launched a massive campaign against the northern territories in East Africa. This was coordinated with other attacks by Belgian and other Allied forces. Though the attack took a large amount of territory, it failed to engage the full German force. Colonel Lettow-Vorbeck put up an expert defense, eventually halting the attacks on all fronts. Disease and heavy rain aided the Germans as well. Despite stopping the attack, Colonel Lettow-Vorbeck made an impressive orderly retreat to the south before British forces encircled him. Along the way, his forces destroyed railroads and other supply depots.6
Now on the run from British forces and growing short of supplies, Colonel Lettow-Vorbeck implemented a guerilla campaign by attacking weak forces while retreating from any major British offense. Staying one step ahead of the British, which were again reinforced, Colonel Lettow-Vorbeck kept his army on the move throughout 1917 and 1918. When the news of the armistice in Europe reached him, the German forces were engaged in Northern Rhodesia. Colonel Lettow-Vorbeck and his troops surrendered to the British on November 25 at the village of Abercorn. Although ending in German defeat, Lettow-Vorbeck's campaign was successful, forcing Britain to expend a large amount of men on an objective of no strategic importance. Though Germany lost all its colonial territory in the ensuing Treaty of Versailles, Colonel Lettow-Vorbeck was viewed as a hero in Germany.7
| Germany | World War I |
| Pith Helmet | 1880 — 1945 |
| HRC-78-0211 | |
