Kaiserliche Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika (DSWA): Imperial Schutztruppe for German South West Africa (GSWA)
KAISERLICHE SCHUTZTRUPPE FÜR DEUTSCH-SÜDWESTAFRIKA (DSWA): IMPERIAL SCHUTZTRUPPE FOR GERMAN SOUTH WEST AFRICA (GSWA)
Compiled by Wolfgang Witschas
Introduction
Kaiserliche Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika (DSWA) or “Imperial Schutztruppe for German South West Africa” was the official name of the military formation that maintained the Imperial German rule in its colony of German South West Africa (GSWA). The formal establishment of the Schutztruppe for German South West Africa was carried out by the Reich Law of 09 June 1895. The support of these troops was the responsibility of the respective protectorates (Reich Law on the Income and Expenses of the Protected Areas of 30 March 1892, RGBl. p. 369).
The Schutztruppe are held responsible for numerous atrocities in the Herero and Nama uprising in 1904. During World War I, the Schutztruppe was defeated by the military of the Union of South Africa in 1915. DSWA/GSWA was a German colony from 24 April 1884 to October 1919.
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The Schutztruppe was until 1896 subordinate to the “Reichmarineamt” (Imperial Navy) and from 1896 to the “Koloniale Abteilung des Auswärtigenampt”, and the “Reichskollegiumamt” (Colonial Department of the Foreign Office and the Imperial Overseeing Board) since its founding in 1907.
Deutsch Südwest Afrika (DSWA): German South West Africa (GSWA)
History
On 16 November 1882, a German merchant from Bremen, Adolf Lüderitz, requested protection for a station that he planned to build in South West Africa, from Chancellor Bismarck. Once this was granted, his employee, Heinrich Vogelsang, purchased land from a native chief and established a settlement at Angra Pequena which was renamed Lüderitz. Heinrich Vogelsang acquired the bay of Angra Pequena and five miles of hinterland for the Bremen tobacconist Adolf Lüderitz on 01 May 1883 from the Nama people in Bethanie.
On 24 April1884 Bismarck telegraphed the German consul in Cape Town that “Lüderitzland [de] is under the protection of the German Empire” to deter possible encroachment by other European powers.
Between October 1888 and July 1889, during a dispute between the Nama Chief Witbooi and the Herero, there had been an expulsion of the German Commissariat and an interruption of German sovereignty in Okahandja. The German Colonial Society engaged Hauptmann Curt von François to provide security to the territory. In June 1889 he arrived with 21 soldiers, eight staff from the Imperial German Army and 13 volunteers, at the British-held enclave of Walvis Bay.
Structure and Composition of the Schutztruppe for DSWA
The Schutztruppe in DSWA/GSWA was structured into 12 companies of mounted infantry totalling around 2,000 men by July 1914, was primarily composed of Germans, but also included some Africans and Boers who had enlisted. The 7th Company, stationed in the northern desert area of the colony, was mounted on imported camels. A single unit, called the Baster Company of non-local Africans was raised and deployed. Relations between the German administration and the natives in this colony had deteriorated to the point that few local Africans were recruited; however, some Boers enlisted in the Schutztruppe due to their desire to establish a sovereign Afrikander nation independent from British control.
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The colonial forces for German South West Africa consisted of volunteers from the imperial army and navy (including some Austrians), but essentially consisted of members of German regiments. Before their deployment to Africa these troops were prepared for their special tasks and future environment. Such a training base was at Karlsruhe. Because of the often humid conditions in the upper Rhine valley of the Grand Duchy of Baden, the area provided some early acclimatization.
The structure of the DSWA forces was as follows:
DSWA/GSWA Command at Windhuk (modern Windhoek) consisted of headquarters, administration and legal (judge advocate), medical corps, surveying and mapping units.
Northern District Command: Windhuk
• 1st Company: Regenstein (in the Auas Mountains south of Windhuk and Seeis east of Windhuk)
• 4th Company: Okanjande (15 km South from Otjiwarongo, Namibia)
• 6th Company: Outjo and Otavi
• 2nd Battery: Johann-Albrechts-Höhe
• Transport platoon 1: Karibib
• Office for provisions: Karibib
• Horse depot: Okawayo
• Artillery and train depot: Windhuk
• Military hospital “Lazaret” and medical depot: Windhuk
• Clothing depot: Windhuk
• Local headquarters: Windhuk
• Local headquarters and quartermaster: Swakopmund
Southern district command: Keetmanshoop
• 2nd Company: Ukamas (east of Karasburg near the RSA border)
• 3rd Company: Kanus (is a small village in southern Namibia approximately 170 km west of Keetmanshoop)
• 5th Company: Chamis (Farm near the C14 road between Maltahöhe and Bethanie) and Churutabis (Churutabis is located about 70 miles south of the town of Keetmanshoop)
• 7th and 8th Company (camel cavalry), military hospital: Gochas and Arahoab (Kalahari)
• 1st Battery: Narubis (settlement on the B1 road from Keetmanshoop to Karasburg
• 3rd Battery: Gibeon
• Transport platoon 2: Keetmanshoop
• Artillery and train depot: Keetmanshoop
• Military hospital and medical depot: Keetmanshoop
• Clothing depot: Keetmanshoop
• Office for provisions: Keetmanshoop
• Garrison administration: Keetmanshoop
• Horse depot: Aus
• Camel stud farm: Kalkfontein (now Karasburg)
• Local headquarters and quartermaster: Lüderitz
Schutztruppe artillery at Westenfeld, Arandis, near Swakopmund
At the outbreak of World War I the force had a total strength of 91 officers, 22 physicians, 9 veterinarians, 59 civilian administrators, ammunition technicians, 342 NCOs and 1,444 German other ranks for a total of 1,967 personnel.
Tasks and conduct
The Schutztruppe’s main task was to maintain law and order and control over the native population. However, they often employed brutal tactics, including scorched earth strategies and massacres. The Schutztruppe was also involved in several wars, including the Herero and Nama Genocide, which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
First World War
The news about the start of World War l reached German South West Africa on 02 August 1914 via radio telegraphy. The information was transmitted from the Nauen transmitter station near Berlin via a relay station in Kamina Funkstation and Lomé Funkstation in German Togoland, West Africa, to the radio station in Windhoek and Swakopmund.
South Africa’s SWA Campaign
Google:/https://wikepedia.org/wiki/German, _Soith_West_Africa
After the start of the war, South African troops opened hostilities with an assault on the Ramansdrift police station on 13 September 1914. German settlers were transported to concentration camps near Pretoria and later in Pietermaritzburg. Because of the overwhelming numerical superiority of the South African troops, the German Schutztruppe, along with groups of Afrikaner volunteers fighting in the Maritz rebellion on the German side, offered opposition only as a delaying tactic. On 09 July 1915, Victor Franke, the last commander of the Schutztruppe, capitulated near Khorab.
Disbandment
The Schutztruppe was disbanded in 1919, after Germany lost its colonies following World War I. The force’s legacy remains controversial, with many criticizing its brutal tactics and role in perpetuating colonialism and genocide.
References
Google:/https://de.m.wikepedia.org/wiki/Schutztruppe
Google:/https://wikepedia.org/wiki/Schutztruppe_f%C3%BCr_Deutsch-S%C3BCwestafrika
Google:/https://wikepefia.org/wiki/German, _South_West_Africa
