My Reminiscences of East Africa

by Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck

In April, 1915, we were surprised by the news of the arrival of a store-ship. When entering Mansa Bay, north of Tanga, she was chased and fired at by an English cruiser, and her captain had to run her aground. Although during the ensuing weeks we salved almost the whole of the valuable cargo, we found that unfortunately the cartridges had suffered severely from the sea-water. The powder and caps deteriorated more and more, and so the number of miss-fires increased. There was nothing for it but to break up the whole of the ammunition, clean the powder, and replace some of the caps by new ones. Luckily there were caps in the Colony, though of a different pattern; but for months all the Askari and carriers we could lay hands on were employed at Moshi from morning till night making ammunition. The serviceable cartridges we had left were kept exclusively for the machine-guns; of the re-made ammunition, that which gave about 20 per cent. of miss-fires was kept for action, while that giving a higher percentage was used for practice.

The arrival of the store-ship aroused tremendous enthusiasm, since it proved that communication between ourselves and home still existed. All of us listened with eagerness to the stories of the Captain, Lieutenant Christiansen, when he arrived at my Headquarters at New Moshi after his wound was healed. The terrific fighting at home, the spirit of self-sacrifice and boundless enterprise which inspired the deeds of the German troops, awakened a response in our hearts. Many who had been despondent now took courage once more, since they learned that what appears impossible can be achieved if effort is sustained by determination.

Another means of raising the spirit of the force was by promotion. Generally speaking, I could only make promotions to non-commissioned rank, and within the commissioned ranks; but the grant of a commission, which would in many cases have been well-deserved, was beyond my power. Each case was very carefully considered, so as to determine whether really good work had been done. In this way unmerited promotions, which ruin the spirit of the troops, were avoided. On the whole, however, we had to cultivate the moral factors less by rewards than by other means. Decorations for war service were practically unknown among us. It was not personal ambition to which we appealed; we sought to arouse and maintain a real sense of duty dictated by patriotism, and an evergrowing feeling of comradeship. Perhaps it was the very fact that this lasting and pure motive remained unsoiled by any other purpose that inspired Europeans and Askari with that endurance and energy which the Protective Force manifested until the end.

In the Kilima Njaro country the English were not inactive. From Oldorobo Mountain, seven and a half miles east of Taveta, which was held by a German detached post under an officer, an attack by two Indian Companies was reported by telephone one morning. Thereupon Captain Koehl and the Austrian Lieutenant Freiherr von Unterrichter at once marched off from Taveta; the two companies had become immobilized on the steep slopes of the mountain, and our people attacked them on both flanks with such vigour that they fled, leaving about twenty dead behind, while one machine-gun and 70,000 rounds fell into our hands. Other hostile expeditions were undertaken along the Tsavo River to the north-east side of Kilima Njaro; they were based on Mzima Camp on the Tsavo, which was strongly fortified and held by several companies. The patrol encounters that took place north-east of Kilima Njaro all ended in our favour; even the young Askari of the Rombo Detachment, which had a strength of sixty and was named after the mission on the Eastern Kilima Njaro, had unbounded faith in their commander, Lieutenant-Colonel von Bock, who was over sixty years old. I remember a wounded man who came from him to New Moshi, with a report for me, and refused to be attended to so as to lose no time in getting back to his commanding officer. In several fights, when the enemy occasionally amounted to two companies, these young troops were victorious, and it is a significant fact that among the English all manner of tales were current about these actions. The British Commander-in-Chief sent me a written complaint, saying that a German woman was taking part in them, and perpetrating inhuman cruelties, an idea which was, of course, without any foundation, and merely served to show the degree of nerves with which the enemy authorities had become afflicted.

Notwithstanding the great amount of booty taken at Tanga, it was evident that, as the war seemed likely to be prolonged, the stocks in the Colony would become exhausted. The natives at New Moshi began all of a sudden to wear silk: this was by no means a sign of special extravagance: the stocks of cotton clothing in the Indian shops were simply coming to an end. We had seriously to think of starting manufactures ourselves, in order to convert the abundant raw material into finished products. A curious existence now developed, reminding one of the industry of the Swiss family Robinson. Cotton fields existed in plenty. Popular books were hunted up, giving information about the forgotten arts of hand spinning and weaving; white and black women took to spinning by hand; at the missions and in private workshops spinning-wheels and looms were built. In this manner, in a short time, the first useful piece of cotton cloth was produced. After various trials, the most suitable dye was obtained from the root of a tree called Ndaa, which imparted a brownish-yellow colour, very inconspicuous both in the grass and in the bush, and therefore specially suitable for uniforms. The rubber gathered by the planters was vulcanized with sulphur, and we succeeded in producing efficient tyres for motors and bicycles. At Morogoro a few planters successfully produced a motor-fuel from cocos, known as trebol, which was like benzol, and was employed in the automobiles. As in former times, candles were made out of tallow and wax, both by private persons and by the troops, and also soap. Then again, the numerous factories on the plantations in the northern territories and on the Tanganyika Railway were adapted to produce various means of subsistence.

A particularly important item was the provision of foot-wear. The raw material was obtained from the plentiful skins of cattle and game; tanning materials from the mangroves on the coast. In peace time the missions had already made good boots; their activity was now further developed, while the troops also established tanneries and shoemakers’ shops on a larger scale. It is true some little time elapsed before the authorities complied with the urgent and inevitable demands of the troops in an adequate manner, and, in particular, before they placed at our disposal the buffalo-hides necessary for making sole-leather. So the old historic fight for the cow-hide revived again, mutatis mutandis, in East Africa. The first boots made in any quantity were turned out at Tanga. Although at first their shape needed improving, they at any rate protected the feet of our white and black troops when marching and patrolling in the thorn bush of the Pori. For the thorns that fall to the ground bore into the feet again and again. All the small beginnings of food-stuff production that had already existed on the plantations in time of peace were galvanized into more extensive activity by the war, and by the need of subsisting large masses. On several farms in the Kilima Njaro country butter and excellent cheese were produced in great quantities, and the slaughter-houses round about Wilhelmstal could hardly keep up with the demands for sausages and other smoked meats.

It was to be anticipated that quinine, which was so important for the health of the Europeans, would soon become exhausted, and that our requirements could not be met by capture alone. So it was a matter of great importance that we succeeded in producing good quinine tablets at the Amani Biological Institute in Usambara out of bark obtained in the North.

The provision of proper communications for ox-wagons and motors involved the construction of permanent bridges. Engineer Rentell, who had been called to the colours, built an arched bridge of stone and concrete, with a heavy pier, over the Kikafu torrent, west of New Moshi. During the rains, particularly in April, no wooden structure would have withstood the masses of water coming down the steep river-bed, which was nearly 70 feet deep.

These examples will suffice to show the stimulating influence of the war and its requirements on the economic life of the Colony.