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Figure 1 is based on a
photograph of a German Colonial Official, Dr Heinrich Albert Schnee,
taken in German New Guinea in either 1899 or 1900 and is typical of the
appearance of German Officials and Police ("Polizeitruppe") Officers of
this period. He wears a
white tropical helmet possibly of private purchase without insignia. His
tropical khaki tunic has a standing collar, five buttons down the front, two hip
pockets and single breast pocket on the left side- very
similar to that worn by the East Asian Expeditionary Corps. Other photos
of Polizeitruppe officers around this period on the Marshalls and other islands
show the same style of tunic being worn. Schnee wears
a watch on a chain from his second button into his breast pocket. The trousers
are matching khaki but the shoes would match a white uniform better. He is armed with a hunting rifle and
in the original photograph is accompanied by several
Polizeitruppe dressed in sarongs and field caps all armed with the Jägerbüsche
'71 rifle (see New Guinea Polizeitruppe Page).
Dr Heinrich Albert Schnee
(1871-1949) started his career in the Foreign Office. He served as a colonial
official, as judge and deputy Governor in German New Guinea between 1899 and 1900 before
being transferred to Samoa and then back to the Colonial Office in Berlin. In
1912 he was appointed governor of German East Africa. Throughout the First World
War he argued with Lettow-Vorbeck, the commander of the Schutztruppe about
wartime policies and the general conduct of the war although they both
returned home after the war to heroes' welcomes. Schnee went on to write several
books on the German colonies and was president of the German Colonial League
which strove in vain to re-establish Germany's claim on the colonies. He was
killed in a car crash in Berlin in 1949.
Figure 2
is based on a
photograph of a German Polizeitruppe Officer on New Guinea taken during a
training exercise immediately prior to the Australian invasion of 1914. He wears
the white tropical tunic which was standard for German Polizeitruppe officers on New
Guinea and the smaller Pacific islands from about 1900 onwards. It was similar
in cut to the 1896 white and khaki uniforms of the Schutztruppe and
Polizeitruppe officers in Africa (see
1896 Schutztruppe Khaki Uniform Details Page), having a stand and fall
collar, six buttons down the front and four buttoned patch pockets- the upper
ones of which were pleated and slightly sloped inwards. The only difference from
Schutztruppe uniforms was that the Polizeitruppe uniforms had brass buttons
rather than white metal ones, no blue piping and different shoulder straps. The
details of Polizeitruppe shoulder straps and their ranks are still a mystery to
me. A similar khaki uniform may also have been worn by Polizeitruppe officers in
German New Guinea but has not so far been confirmed in photographs. This officer
wears khaki trousers either from issued stocks or personal purchase.
The tropical helmet worn here was
again standard wear for Polizeitruppe officers. Although they
can't be made out in the original photograph the tropical helmet would have had
a small brass imperial eagle above a small imperial cockade. Around the hatband
twisted cord in imperial colours or silver may have been worn but it is
difficult to be certain from the few photographs that exist and certainly some
helmets were worn without any cords around the hatband. A peaked field cap was
also authorised for Polizeitruppe officers, it was white with a black leather
peak, red (for Polizeitruppe) hatband and piping and a single small imperial
cockade.
In 1912 green was officially
authorised as the piping colour of New Guinea to be worn on peaked caps,
Südwester hats and as piping on the home uniforms, by members of the
Schutztruppe and Colonial Office (and therefore possibly also the Polizeitruppe)
attached to German New Guinea. It is doubtful that these new uniform details
were implemented on New Guinea before the First World War broke out and no
photographic evidence has so far emerged to prove otherwise.
Figure 3 is based on a
photograph of a German Polizeitruppe Officer, Polizeimeister Otto Beyer, taken on the Caroline Islands. Beyer is wearing the
regulation white tropical uniform
(white tropical helmet, white shirt and trousers), but without the tunic. This casual
approach to uniformity was common among officers of the New Guinea Polizeitruppe
and even more so on the smaller islands. While most Polizeitruppe officers in
New Guinea are seen in photos with their trousers worn loose over their shoes, Beyer is
wearing more practical leather boots and puttees. It is impossible to tell the
colour of the puttees from the original black and white photograph. I can only
speculate that they may have been of the same dark blue/grey colour as worn by
African Polizeitruppe officers of the early 1900's, although they may have been
obtained from any source and made from cloth any other darkish colour from
grey to brown.
Figure 4 is based on a
photograph of a German New Guinea Reservist called up to defend
the colony from an Australian invasion when the First World War broke out in
1914. Judging from period photographs the reservists had no regulation uniform
but all were common in that they wore some form of khaki uniform and slouch hat.
Some of the tunics were ill fitting, some had pockets some did not. To identify
themselves they wore green armbands or the imperial
cockade. From what little photographic evidence there is, the reservists do not
appear to have worn both the armbands and cockade together. Their equipment
usually consisted of one M1909 or M1895
ammunition pouch on a leather belt with an other ranks naval style belt buckle, as
also worn by the Polizeitruppe (see Belt Buckles
Details Page).
This reservist is typical in that he
wears a loose fitting khaki tunic without insignia or breast pockets. He wears a
slouch hat hat pinned up on the right hand side and green armbands on both arms.
His khaki trousers hang loose over his boots. The equipment worn consists of one
M1909 ammunition pouch and a leather belt with the naval belt buckle.
Figure 5 is based on a
photograph of another German New Guinea Reservist called up to defend the
colony in 1914. This particular reservist has a slouch hat pinned up with an
imperial cockade. In this case it is unusually
pinned up on the on the left side- the right side being the more common way to
pin up the side of the hat. He also wears a loose fitting
khaki tunic without insignia. This time the tunic has breast and hip pockets-
the tunics worn by the reservists seem to have differed greatly in these
details. The khaki trousers are worn tucked into leather gaiters worn over
leather boots. Unusually this reservist carries two ammunition pouches (of the
M1895 variety). The belt buckle is of the same naval style as the previous
figure.
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