|
Uniforms of the Wissmanntruppe Askaris
1889-91
The askaris of the
Wissmanntruppe came from several different sources as did their
uniforms.
Sudanese Askari Uniforms
The askaris recruited from Anglo-Egyptian service in the
Sudan wore khaki tunics with a stand a fall collar, plain shoulder straps,
plain cuffs, no pockets and five brass buttons fastening the front.
They wore matching khaki trousers and dark blue/grey puttees with
brown leather boots. Their headdress consisted of a grey turban
wrapped around a red fez. The turban bore a brass imperial eagle on
the front.
Swahili Askari Uniforms
The Swahili askaris who had been previously formed by the
German East African Company wore a short sleeved white naval style uniform. It had
a broad square naval collar edged in the imperial colours. They wore
matching white trousers but no boots or puttees. Their headdress was
a red fez with a blue/black tassel.
Zulu Askari Uniforms
The Zulu askaris recruited in
Portuguese East Africa wore a naval style uniform very similar to
the Swahili askaris except in blue for parade and khaki for active
service. Again they wore a red fez with blue/black tassel, trousers
matching their tunics and no boots or puttees.
Rank Insignia
Askari NCOs wore one to four inverted chevrons to display their
rank (see NCO Rank
Insignia Page). Wissmanntruppe askaris used Ottoman NCO titles,
a tradition dating back to their original recruitment in the Sudan. Their
titles were- Ombasha/Gefrieter (with one stripe), Schausch/Unteroffizier (with
two stripes), Bet-Schausch/Sergeant (with three stripes) and
Sol/Feldwebel (with four stripes). These chevrons were worn in blue
on the upper left arm, although little standardisation seems
apparent in period photographs with some NCOs wearing their chevrons
on the lower or right arms. In 1890 the chevrons were officially
changed to red. Photographs of the original Sudanese askaris in
Cairo shows them wearing some form of cuff lace to indicate their
rank.
Equipment
Personal equipment usually consisted
of a large ammunition box worn at the front of a brown leather belt, sometimes worn with a
matching pouch at the back. Askaris would also have carried water
bottles, bread bags and blankets, although I have no information as
to their sources.
Weapons
The majority of the Wissmanntruppe were
armed with the Jägerbüsche 71 rifle and the S71/84
bayonet. Bayonet knots were not worn by the askaris.
Not all of the soldiers in the
Wissmanntruppe were this uniformly dressed however. One eyewitness
described some of them as, "(they) couldn't have looked less military, with
one man in a caftan, another in an Arab robe, yet another with the
remains of an earlier European uniform hanging off him, all in front
line service" (as quoted by R Schmidt in "German Schutztruppe
in East Africa 1889-1911" by E Nigmann, see
Book Reviews Page).
The Illustrations Figure 1 is based
on a photograph of a Sudanese Askari of the
Wissmanntruppe taken in Cairo, Egypt 1889 during their
recruitment by Leutnant Theremin. He
wears the khaki uniform with grey turban, dark/blue grey puttees and
brown boots as described above. This turban does not seem to have
the brass imperial eagle on the front. It is possible that this was
a later addition to the uniform. His equipment consists only of a
brown leather belt with a plain brass buckle. The Wissmanntruppe were supplied with the Jägerbüsche 71 rifle but this askari seems to carry a different
model, perhaps it is left over from his previous service in the
Anglo-Egyptian army and may have been replaced by the Jägerbüsche 71
rifle once in East Africa.This
askari also sports scarred cheeks, a traditional decoration among
certain Sudanese tribes. Such scars became the mark of the elite
Sudanese later in the Schutztruppe's history and were sometimes also
copied by non-Sudanese askaris.
Figure
2 is based on a photograph of a Sudanese Askari Senior NCO of the
Wissmanntruppe taken in Cairo, 1889. He wears the same uniform
was the previous figure from the same original illustration. His
rank as a senior NCO is implied by his
carrying of a sword (Senior African NCOs in the Wissmanntruppe were
entitled to carry a sword like an officer would, by the 1890's however this practice was
abandoned) and his chevron cuff insignia the colours or
detail of which cannot be easily made out in the original
photograph. Likewise, any shoulder strap insignia is also not clear
in the original photograph. African officers, Effendis, in the Wissmanntruppe
usually wore from one to three five-pointed metal stars on their
shoulder straps.
Numbers of junior officers were recruited in Egypt
to accompany the Sudanese askaris. These officers were from the same
remnants of the Anglo-Egyptian army as the other ranks. As well as
Sudanese they included various nationalities from across the Ottoman
world such as Egypt, Turkey, Armenia and Greece. While these
officers were useful in the short term to help smooth the passage to
German service they were eventually deemed unnecessary and were
gradually phased out.
Figure 3 is based on a
photograph of a Swahili Askari NCO taken in about 1889.
During the late 1880's the German East Africa Trading Company
recruited a small number of askaris from the German colony to
protect their trading interests. They wore a white naval style
uniform as described above and seen here. These Swahili askaris were
then incorporated (with the same uniforms) into the Wissmanntruppe
in 1889. This askari wears NCO rank insignia in the from of a single
blue inverted chevron on the upper left arm and carries an
entrenching tool in addition to his large box ammunition pouch. Even
in the early German colonial campaigns, entrenching was an important
part of the siege warfare that evolved. This askari carries a Mauser
71 carbine.
Figure 4 is
based on a photograph of a Zulu Askari of the
Wissmanntruppe taken in about 1889. He wears the blue naval
style uniform worn by Zulu askaris of the Wissmanntruppe on parade.
Although it may have been worn in action on occasion it was usually
replaced on active service by a khaki uniform of similar cut. It has
the same square collar edged in the imperial colours as the Swahili
askaris white uniform but in the original photograph upon which this
illustration is based four buttons fastening the front can clearly
be made out. The red fez worn by this askari is of a more conical
shape than usually seen. The shape, height and style of fezzes
varied considerably. This askari also wears a white shirt under his
naval top.
|
