General Paul von Lettow Vorbeck

06/09/2026

Schutztruppe officer reenactment at Military Odyssey 2026 ☀️

Military Odyssey: 31st Aug 2026
German Schutztruppe Officer - German Colonial Empire group

05/09/2026

German colonial atlas with yearbook of the colonies and protectorates of the German Empire dated 1906.

On its way in the post! Will scan and share the maps as soon as I can.

03/09/2026

Album of the German colonies from 1906 ☀️

03/09/2026

War diary, First World War, for Saturday 23 December 1916:

German soldiers in East Africa advancing against British troops.

African Fronts
East Africa: The NRFF (1,900 soldiers with 6 guns) advances from Lupembe against Captain Langenn’s troops towards Mkapira, where they arrive on 16 January 1917 without managing to encircle the enemy.

Eastern Front
Romania – Battle of Rimnicu Sarat (until 27 December): Falkenhayn’s 10 divisions capture the town on 27 December, along with 10,000 prisoners of war, 2 guns and 58 machine guns.

Middle East
Sinai – Skirmish at Magdhaba: Chauvel’s mounted ANZAC Division and the Camel Corps stormed five Turkish redoubts, taking 1,282 prisoners of war and 4 guns at the cost of 146 men.

Photo and text shared courtesy of weltkrieg2.de. Read more on the link below:
https://www.weltkrieg2.de/12-1916-dezember-1916-ktb/

Thank you for sharing, Jia! 👍🏻

01/09/2026

Record group
Bild 105 - Nachlass Walther Dobbertin
Inventory information (BASYS-Invenio)
Signature
Bild 105-DOA4016
Archive title
Deutsch-Ostafrika (DOA), Rufiji-Delta.- Gefechtsstand, Geschütz-Stellung der Schutztruppe, ca. 1914 / 1915
Date
1914/1915 ca.
Photographer
Dobbertin, Walther
Source
Bundesarchiv
Classification
Be 651 {Schutztruppe, Askari; GND=4291533-8}
Colours: Cristiano Campos

01/09/2026

Maxim machine guns workshop.

Cristiano came across two photos of an armament workshop featuring several Maxim machine guns. He colourised one of the photos, and worked colourising on it section by section. During the colourisation process, he encountered a rare surprise: in the second photo, he discovered that one of the men was a Waffenmeister (armourer)—something he had already suspected and was able to confirm after enhancing the black-and-white image.

Note on illustration: Waffenschmiede (weapon smiths) in the workshop, German East Africa (DOA). Workers/soldiers at a forge, metal workshop, with machine guns. Illustrated above is a Waffenmeister (armourer) Colourisation by Cristiano Campos.

Bild 105-DOA6734
Original title
In der Werkshütte
Archive title
Deutsch-Ostafrika (DOA).- Arbeiter / Soldaten in einer Schmiede / Schlosserei mit Maschinengewehren
Date
1914/1917 ca.
Bild 105-DOA5037
Original title
Waffenschmiede
Archive title
Deutsch-Ostafrika (DOA).- Arbeiter / Soldaten in einer Schmiede / Schlosserei mit Maschinengewehren

01/09/2026

Hangman Peters, one of the key founders of German East Africa

Carl Peters in official colonial uniform. Peters was an African explorer, and one of the founders of the German East Africa Company, which set up business in East Africa.

The presence of the German East Africa Company in this region, disrupted the lucrative local Arab and African slave trade. Germans instinctively opposed slavery, and soon there was open conflict, with Arab slave traders rebelling against the German company.

This conflict induced Bismarck to send out a military officer Hermann von Wissmann, to raise a German protection force to crush the rebellion. These events brought about the creation of the German colony of East Africa.

Peters was instrumental in creating a German presence in East Africa, which ultimately brought about the German colony of East Africa. Yet he is also known for his brutality being known as "Hangman Peters."

Learn more on the life and times of Carl Peters in the link below:
https://www.passport-collector.com/german-east-africa-colony-1885-carl-peters/

01/09/2026

Wishing all members a good week ahead!

Illustrated is Askari of the German East African colonial armed forces. The German colony of East Africa exised from 1885 till 1918.

History of German East Africa on the link below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_East_Africa