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Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck ( March 20 , 1870 - March 9 , 1964 ) was a German general, the commander of the German East Africa Campaign in World War I , the only colonial campaign of that war where Germany remained undefeated. EARLY LIFE Born to a military family in Saarlouis , 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 participate in the Hottentot and Herero Wars 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 In 1914 , 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 Schnee . Schnee had insisted on neutrality for German East Africa.The governor based his position on the Congo Act of 1885 where the European colonial powers absurdly promised each other to keep their overseas possessions separate and neutral from European wars Lettow-Vorbeck promptly disregarded the governor, nominally his superior, and 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. Lettow-Vorbeck's plan for World War I was quite simple: knowing that East Africa would never be anything but a sideshow, he determined to tie down as many British troops as he possibly could; this would remove them from the Western Front , and in this way, might contribute to Germany's victory. Lettow-Vorbeck knew he could count on his highly motivated officers (their casualty rate were certainly proof of that).Hoyt, ''Guerilla'', p. 28 As a consequence of costly personnel losses, he afterwards avoided direct engagements with 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 ''Entente'' to divert manpower from the main theater in Europe. He gathered some 12,000 soldiers, most of them Askari, but all well-trained and well-disciplined. The Askari especially gained a reputation for their fighting skills and loyalty. Lettow-Vorbeck also served as a model commander earning the respect of all men alike. He realized the critical needs of guerrilla warfare in that he used everything available to him in matters of supply, he used the crew and artillery of the German cruiser '' SMS Königsberg '' (sunk in 1915 in the Rufiji 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, which would be the largest standard land artillery pieces used in the war. In March 1916, the British under Jan Smuts launched a formidable offensive with 45,000 men. 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 could be garrisoned for very long. He therefore raided south into . When he reached the Chambeshi River on the morning of 14 November , the British magistrate Hector Croad appeared under a white flag and delivered a message from the allied General Deventer informing him of the armistice. Lettow-Vorbeck immediately agreed a cease-fire at the spot now marked by the ' Von Lettow-Vorbeck Memorial ' in present-day Zambia. He was instructed by the British to march north to Abercorn (now Mbala ) to surrender his undefeated army, which he did there on November 23 . Gore-Browne, Sir Stewart (1954). "The Chambeshi Memorial". ''The Northern Rhodesia Journal'', 2 (5) pp 81-84 (1954). Retrieved 18 May 2007 His remaining army then consisted of 30 German officers, 125 German non-commissioned officers and other enlisted ranks and 1,168 Askaris.Haupt, ''Deutschlands Schutzgebiete in Übersee 1884-1918'', p. 154 POST-WAR CAREER AND LEGACY After the war, 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-Vorbeck returned home in January 1919 to a hero's welcome and promotion to major general, the last edict of the Kaiser; 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 1920 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. At the end of World War II he was destitute. His two sons, Rüdiger and Arnd had been killed in action with the German Army, his house in Bremen was destroyed by Allied bombs, and he depended for a time on food packages from Meinertzhagen and Smuts. With the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and economic recovery, he came to enjoy comfortable circumstances again, receiving government pensions for his military and parliamentary services. In 1953 he visited his other home, East Africa, where he was heartily welcomed by surviving Askaris and was received with courtesy and military honors by British colonial officials. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck was considered a daring yet prudent commander who showed uncanny ability to fight a guerilla war in an unfamiliar terrain. With few men and virtually no supplies, he tied down British forces ten to twenty times his own number. In the end, he remained undefeated, and having sidestepped the British forces, was marching to attack the Allies' Mines and railway in Katanga. He earned much respect from his Askari as well as white officers, friend and foe alike. The East African campaign then was essentially about a “modestly immense Allied army” that was engaged by “a midget German force led by an obscure Prussian officer who could have conducted post-graduate courses in irregular warfare tactics for Che Guevara , General Giap and other more celebrated but far less skilled guerilla fighters.”Miller, ''Battle for the Bundu'', p. ix Lettow-Vorbeck’s exploits in the African bush have come down “as the greatest single guerilla operation in history, and the most successful.”Hoyt, p. 229 One of his junior officers, Theodor Von Hippel , used his experience under Lettow-Vorbeck to be instrumental in forming the Brandenburgers , the Commando unit of the German Abwehr intelligence agency in World War II .LeFevre, ''Brandenburg Division'', pp. 17-29. In the year of von Lettow-Vorbeck’s death, 1964, half a century after he arrived at Dar es Salaam, the West German Bundestag voted to fund the back pay for the Askaris still alive. A temporary cashier’s office was set up in Mwanza on Lake Victoria. Of the three hundred old men who gathered only a handful could produce the certificates that von Lettow had given them in 1918. Others presented pieces of their old uniforms as proof of service. The German banker who had brought the money came up with an idea. As each claimant stepped forward, he was handed a broom and ordered in German to perform the manual of arms. Not one man failed the test. WORKS
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