| Paul Von Lettow-vorbeck |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT PAUL EMIL VON LETTOW-VORBECK | |
| 1870 births | |
| 1964 deaths | |
| people from saarland | |
| german military personnel of world war i | |
| german generals | |
| recipients of the pour le mérite military class | |
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EARLY LIFE Born to a military family in Saarlouis , von Lettow-Vorbeck studied military science as an artillery officer. He was posted to China in 1900 to quell the Boxer Rebellion . Afterwards, he was posted to German South-West Africa (now Namibia ) to put down the Hottentot and Herero Rebellion between 1904 and 1908 . He suffered an injury to his left eye and was forced to recuperate in South Africa , earning the friendship of Jan Smuts , against whom he would fight in World War I. He was the commander of the II. Seebataillon of the Kaiserliche Marine-Infanterie (German Marines) from January 1909 until January 1913 . He also commanded the German colonial forces known as the Schutztruppe in Cameroon . 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 Expatriate Tom Von Prince , whom he could not easily replace. 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 Germany's victory. As a consequence of costly personnel losses, 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. 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. Despite his efforts, the British still held an overwhelming manpower advantage, and he had no illusions that any territory he might capture he could garrison for very long. 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 . POST-WAR CAREER AND LEGACY After the war, von Lettow-Vorbeck organized efforts to repatriate German soldiers and POWs and to ensure the equal treatment of Africans. He also met Sir Richard Meinertzhagen , the British Intelligence Officer with whom he fought a personal war during the conflict. Thereafter, Lettow returned home in January 1919 to a hero's welcome and promotion to major general, the last edict of the Kaiser; von Lettow-Vorbeck's Schutztruppe was the only German Army allowed a victory parade through the Brandenburg Gate for World War I, as not only did he never surrender, but frequently won against great odds, and became the only German commander to successfully invade British territory in World War I. He soon became a right-wing activist who participated in the chaotic politics of the Weimar Republic . Following strikes and arrests, he served in the Reichstag from 1929 to 1930 . As member of the German Nationals , he opposed the Nazis , who upon inception of power had tried to use him and his legend for their cause (curiously, considering the implications to the Nazi's skewed racial ideology). In 1938, 68 years of age, he did not oppose being named a ''general for special purposes'', but was not recalled into service. After 1945, he resigned completely from public life, with only a 1959 visit to his other home, East Africa, where he received a hearty welcome from his surviving Askaris. Smuts, along with former South African and British officers, arranged for a small pension to be paid to Lettow-Vorbeck until his death. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck was a daring yet prudent commander who showed uncanny ability to fight a guerilla war in an unfamiliar terrain. With limited men and virtually no supplies, he tied down British forces ten to twenty times his own number. He could not have done more for the Imperial German cause. In the end, he still remained undefeated, only to surrender after learning of Germany's defeat by capturing a British messenger carrying news of the Armistice. He earned much respect from his Askaris as well as white officers, friend and foe alike. He ranks as one of the greatest generals of the 20th century and one of the all time greatest masters of guerrilla warfare. One of his junior officers, Theodore Von Hippel , used his experience under von Lettow-Vorbeck to form the Brandenburgers , the Commando unit of the German Abwehr intelligence agency in World War II . Upon his death in Germany, the government decided to distribute a sum of money to his veteran Askaris in Tanzania. If the veterans could correctly respond to German marching orders, they were allocated the stipend. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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