darkest africa - schutztruppe

...colonial africa miniatures project...

Wissmanntruppe in East Africa
German multiracial colonial army, the so-called "Schutztruppe"

Wissmann realised that European troops not used to the conditions of tropical Africa would suffer multiple health problems and certainly could not endure long campaign marches. Sudanese soldiers were highly regarded at that time as mercenary troops and so he travelled to Egypt to find recruits for his new army. With the help of Egyptian and British authorities he soon succeeeded in hiring 600 Sudanese soldiers that had been released by the Egyptian army. A recruitment camp was established near Aden.

Truppe des Reichskommissariats 1889-1891

At the start of the campaign, the real Schutztruppe consisted of the following troops:

I. Germans
5 Officers (incl. medical and administrative staff)
7 Proviantmeister (supply officer)
56NCO's (including medical staff)

II: Turkish
2 Officers
20 Rank&File

III. Native troops
600 Sudanese askaris (organized into 6 companies)
30 Sudanese artillery staff
100 Zulus from Portuguese East Africa
80 locally recruited askaris
40 ship crews from Somalia

IV. Navale troops
In case of need, the Schutztruppe could be supported by a naval landing force of 200 German marines under captain Hirschberg from the ships Leipzig, Carola and Schwalbe.

The recruits were shipped together with their families to Dar-es-Salaam and Bagamoyo and became the core of the German multiracial colonial army in East Africa, the so-called "Schutztruppe". Initially the army was to be be called "Polizei-Truppe in Ostafrika", then "Deutschafrikanische Schutztruppe". Widely used was also the term "Wissmanntruppe" in the early years of the colony. (from "Arab Uprising in German East Africa 1888-90" by Holger Doebold)

That was the plan...

click to the links or the pics to see the galleries

Hermann von Wissmann

German Staff		German East Africa Co. Askaris

German Marines		Locale Askaris