GEN VON LETTOW-VORBECK

 Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964) was a General in the imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa. For four years, with a force that never exceeded about 14,000 (3,000 Germans and 11,000 Africans), he held in check a much larger force of 300,000 British, Belgian, and Portuguese troops. Essentially undefeated in the field, von Lettow-Vorbeck was the only German commander to successfully invade Imperial British soil during WWI. His exploits in the campaign have come down "as the greatest single guerrilla operation in history, and the most successful

He arrived in Dar es Salaam in January, 1914 unaware of the tasks ahead of him. Another war was taking place back at home in Europe, he understood well the fate of colonies and German possessions would be made in the battle fields of Europe. The East African campaign was just a subsidiary theatre of war and for him his presence here was have an influence on the great decision at home. His loyalty for German was unquestionable he knew In the Colony it was their duty, in case of universal war, to do all in their power for their country.

It was to be considered that the enemy would allow themselves to be held only if they were attacked, or at least threatened at sensitive points. Protection of the Colony could not be ensured even by  defensive tactics, since the total length of land frontier and coast-line it was necessary, not to split up our small available forces in local defence, but, on the contrary, to keep them together,to get the enemy by the throat and force him to employ his forces for self-defence. If this idea could be successfully carried out, they should at that time protect their coast and infinitely long land frontier in the most effective manner. In examining the question where to find a point so vital to the enemy as to afford us the prospect of a successful attack, or, at any rate, of a threat of such an attack, one thought at once of the frontier between German and British East Africa. Parallel with it, at a distance of a few marches, runs the main artery of the British territory, the Uganda Railway, an object which, with a length of quite 440 miles, was extremely difficult for the enemy to protect, and would, therefore, if effectively threatened, require a large part of his troops for the purpose.

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