Schutztruppe

The Schutztruppe ("protection force") was set up in German East Africa by a law of 1891, and in Kamerun and German South West Africa in 1895. It came under the Reich's colonial authorities rather than the Prussian army. In East Africa and Kamerun it consisted of field companies of African askaris with German officers and NCOs, in South West Africa of German soldiers; Togo had only a police force. In 1914 the East African Schutztruppe numbered about 2,500 askaris and a few hundred Europeans, and that of Kamerun about 1,600–1,900 men.

In South West Africa the Schutztruppe surrendered to the forces of the Union of South Africa on 9 July 1915, and in February 1916 its main body in Kamerun crossed into neutral Spanish Guinea. It fought longest in East Africa under Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck: reinforced with settlers, sailors and new askaris, for four years it tied down much larger British, Belgian and Portuguese forces. It laid down its arms only on 25 November 1918 at Abercorn in Northern Rhodesia, two weeks after the armistice in Europe.