Small War as Global War: Paul Von Lettow-Vorbeck’s Campaign in German East Africa, 1914-1918

Abstract

This article discusses Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, who commanded the Schutztruppe for German East Africa between 1914 and 1918, as a strategic thinker who clearly perceived the rupture that the First World War implied for colonial governance and the use of military violence. While local resistance to colonisation had been the predominant security concern before 1914, the globalisation of the First World War meant that many colonies became recruiting grounds for loyalist soldiers as well as battlefields in the clash of arms between colonial powers. Conversely, the possibility of anti-colonial rebellions presented a vulnerability for colonial powers that could have a global impact. Based on new archival material, this article shows how Lettow-Vorbeck recognised that small war had the potential to tip the scales in a global war and linked his efforts in German East Africa to the Imperial German strategic efforts to instigate global jihad against Entente colonial powers.