14/05/2026
German colonial troops of East Africa, the Schutztruppe (protection troops) take time out in the heat of the African sun, to clean their weapons.
The Schutztruppe used a range of weapons such as the Ma**er Jägerbüchse M1871 (G71) a light infantry version of the older 11mm rifle, which was the primary firearm for Askari troops in German East Africa. It was notoriously outdated and produced a large cloud of black-powder smoke when fired.
Another weapon used was the Gewehr 98 (G98) the standard-issue German military rifle firing smokeless 7.92mm ammunition from a 5-round magazine. Special Schutztruppe variants (like the kS 98) were produced for colonial forces with sporterised bent bolt handles.
There was also the Karabiner 98 (Kar98a/az) a shortened carbine version of the Gew98, highly favoured by mounted troops, artillery and NCOs in Kamerun and German East Africa.
The Gewehr 88 and M71/84 were used as supplementary or reserve weapons in the early years and in smaller colonies.
*Information shared courtesy of Axis History Forum on the link below:
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=106348&start=30
Illustration from the year 1894, digitally improved. Photo shared courtesy of Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group via Getty Images ~
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