Hat 8270 German Schutztruppe (1914-1918)

In the army of imperial Germany, the army serving in the colonies in Africa was called Schutztruppe. These units were formed in 1891, and the date of their dissolution is considered to be 1918. Structurally, they were subordinated to the civil governors of individual German colonies in Africa. Before the outbreak of World War I, there were three separate Schutztruppe commands operating in: German Cameroon, German East Africa and German South-West Africa. In 1914, these forces numbered approximately 5,500 people, and the largest organizational unit in them was a company with the strength of 160-200 people. The officers and non-commissioned officers were composed only of Germans, while the vast majority of privates were indigenous. It is worth adding that the Schutztruppe units were primarily infantry. They used horses or camels in improvised cavalry units to a marginal extent. Undoubtedly, the most famous officer in charge of the Schutztruppe troops was the later major general Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck , struggling with great successes on the ground German East Africa.