Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck

General Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck (March 20, 1870 - March 9, 1964) was the commander of the German East Africa campaign in World War I, the only colonial campaign of that war where Germany remained undefeated.

World War I career

In 1914, von Lettow-Vorbeck was appointed the commander of the small German garrison of 3000 soldiers and twelve Askari companies in German East Africa, modern-day Tanzania. With the beginning of the war in August, knowing the need to seize initiative, he ignored orders from Berlin and the colony's governor Dr. Heinrich von Schnee. He promptly prepared to repel an amphibious assault on the city of Tanga, where between November 2 and 5 of 1914, he fought one of his greatest battles. He then assembled his men and almost nonexistent supplies to attack the British railways in East Africa. He scored a second victory over the British at Jassin on January 18, 1915. While these victories gave him badly-needed modern rifles and other supplies, as well as critical boost to the morale of his men, von Lettow-Vorbeck also lost numerous experienced men in these pitched battles, among them the English expatriot Tom von Prince, whom he could not easily replace.

Related Topics:
1914 - Askari - Tanzania - Heinrich von Schnee - Tanga - Greatest battles - Jassin - January 18 - 1915 - English - Expatriot - Tom von Prince

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Von Lettow-Vorbeck's plan for World War I was quite simple: knowing that East Africa would never be anything but a sideshow, von Lettow-Vorbeck determined to tie down as many British troops as he possibly could; this would remove them from the European front, and in this way, might contribute to German's victory.

Related Topics:
European - Front

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As a consequence of his early defeats, he afterwards avoided direct engagements with the British soldiers, instead directing his men to engage in guerrilla raids into the British provinces of Kenya and Rhodesia, targeting British forts, railways and communications -- all with the goal of forcing the enemy to divert manpower from the main theatre in Europe. He gathered some 12,000 soldiers, most of them Askari, but all well-trained and well-disciplined. The Askari especially gained reputation for their fighting skills and loyalty. He too served as a model commander earning the respect of all men alike. He realized the critical needs of guerrilla warfare in that he salvaged the wreck of the German cruiser SMS Königsberg (sunk in 1916 in the Rufigi River delta) which had a capable crew under commander Max Looff, as well as its numerous guns, which were converted into artillery pieces for the land fighting.

Related Topics:
Kenya - Rhodesia - SMS Königsberg - Rufigi River - Max Looff - Artillery

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In March 1916, the British under Jan Smuts launched a formidable offensive with 45,000 men. Von Lettow-Vorbeck patiently used climate and terrain as his allies while his troops fought the British on his terms and to his advantage. The British, however, kept on adding more troops and forcing Lettow to yield territory. Nevertheless, he inflicted several costly defeats on the British, including one at Mahiwa in October 1917 where he lost 100 men and the British 1600.

Related Topics:
March 1916 - Mahiwa - October 1917

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Despite his efforts, the British inevitably seemed to win the overall war. He therefore raided south into Portuguese Mozambique where he gained men and supplies from attacking Portuguese garrisons. He reentered German East Africa in August 1918, only to turn west and attack Rhodesia which he raided, thus evading a trap the British had prepared for him in German East Africa. He won another victory at the principal city of Kasama on November 13, two days after the armistice. When the rumours of German surrender proved true, Lettow surrendered his undefeated army at Abercorn in present-day Zambia on November 23.

Related Topics:
Portuguese - Mozambique - August 1918 - November 13 - Zambia - November 23

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