Uniforms of the German
Officers and NCOs in the Togo Polizeitruppe
I have so far been unable to find any information or clear
photographs of the uniforms worn by German officers in command of
the first Togo Polizeitruppe in the late 1880s. They would probably have worn similar
uniforms to the first Polizeitruppe officers in Cameroon and
New Guinea- mostly a variety
of privately purchased white and khaki tunics with white tropical
helmets, probably worn without insignia except possibly for a small
imperial cockade on the headgear. Peaked caps were white with a red
hatband and piping, again with a small imperial cockade on the
front.
From the mid 1890's onwards the Polizeitruppe
officers of all colonies began to wear a standardised uniform. They
wore a white tropical tunic based on the Schutztruppe 1896 tunic but
without the blue piping. It had a stand and fall collar, four buttoned
pleated patch pockets (the breast ones of which were slightly sloped
inwards) with six brass buttons down the front each bearing the imperial
crown. Privately purchased
tunics often had slight variations such as higher standing collars and
omitting the hip pockets. Matching white trousers were
usually worn loose over brown leather shoes. Headgear consisted of a
white tropical helmet with a small brass imperial eagle above a small
imperial cockade worn at the front and a black/silver/red twisted cord
around the hatband or a white peaked cap with a black leather peak, red
hatband and piping and a small imperial cockade at
the front. On active service a matching khaki uniform was worn, along
with a khaki tropical helmet or a khaki cover worn over the white
helmet. It appears from photographs that officers and NCOs sometimes
wore a combination of the white and khaki uniforms and that mounted
officers and NCOs may
have worn corduroy riding breeches. In 1912 yellow was authorised as the
facing colour for Togo (for shoulder straps and hatbands and piping on
field caps) but was probably not
widely issued before 1914. A photograph in
"Imperial German Uniforms and Equipment Vol 3" by J Somers (see
Book Reviews Page)
shows a Togo Polizeitruppe Officers white tunic with yellow piping
around the collar, front and Swedish style cuffs each with two
horizontal buttons. No similar tunics have yet been seen in period
photographs and this may have been a privately tailored exception to the
rule.
The rank insignia of
German NCOs and and officers in the Polizeitruppe of all colonies was
worn on the shoulder straps on a red backing (possibly yellow on some
uniforms after 1912). The exact insignia for
each rank is still a mystery to me, please email me here if you have any
information to help on this topic.
Uniforms of German Army Officers
Seconded to Togo
As Togo had no Schutztruppe, an officer from the
regular German army was posted there to oversee the training of the
Polizeitruppe in military matters and to lead them in action if
necessary. The same principal was applied in New Guinea, also being
a colony without Schutztruppe. These officers
wore Schutztruppe or privately purchased tropical uniforms without
Schutztruppe blue piping and insignia but with the insignia of their
home units, of which they were still active members (unlike the
Schutztruppe officers and NCOs who were released from their previous
regular army regiments upon being transferred to the colonial
force).
Uniforms of the German Reservists in Togo
German reservists called up
to defend the colony in 1914 were used to officer the expanded African
Polizeitruppe and also formed into
a company between 100 and 200 strong. This unit was known as the "Europäer-Kompanie"
and was withdrawn to defend the radio station at Kamina but saw no action before
the surrender of Togo. I have seen no photographs of them during the short
campaign but they presumably wore a mixture of non-regulation khaki uniforms,
slouch hats and tropical helmets similar to those worn by the reservists in
East
Africa, Cameroon and
New Guinea.
Figure 1 is based on a
photograph
of a Togo Police Officer. He wears the white uniform and tropical helmet
as described above.
Figure 2 is based on a
photograph
of a Togo Police Officer. He wears the white uniform and peaked cap as described above.
Figure 3 is based on a
photograph
of a Togo Police Officer taken during a training exercise. He wears the
khaki uniform worn by officers and NCOs on active duty and a white
tropical helmet as described above. This helmet may have been worn
with a khaki cover in action. His trousers are tucked into brown
leather gaiters and ankle boots.
Figure 4 is based on a
photograph of Oberleutnant der Reserve Valentin von Massow, a
German army officer seconded to Togo probably taken around 1898.
Von Massow wears a
privately tailored khaki uniform based closely on the
Schutztruppe design but with a higher standing collar and scalloped
pocket flaps and without the Schutztruppe's blue piping. His
shoulder straps are those of a Prussian army officer, made of silver
braid with black threads (probably with a brass numeral "4" and the
red piping of von Massow's home regiment- the 4th Prussian
Cuirassiers- although these details cannot be verified from the
original photograph upon which this illustration is based) and with
the single rank pip of an Oberleutnant (see
Officers Rank Insignia Page). His buttons would likewise
have probably been brass with a Prussian eagle on them as worn by
his home regiment. On his left breast he wears what appears to be a
Prussian Order of the Red Eagle medal with swords. He wears a
privately purchased khaki tropical helmet with a dark hatband and a small imperial
cockade above a small Prussian (black/white/black) cockade in the
style of the regular army (the Polizeitruppe and Schutztruppe did not wear state
cockades). In the original photograph upon which this illustration
is based, von Massow is seen only from the waist up and so details
of his belt, trousers or boots cannot be known. On campaign he would
probably have worn gaiters and ankle boots, possibly with riding
breeches and a pistol holster hung from his belt. The belt would
probably either have been a plain leather privately purchased item
or perhaps his home regiment's white and black horizontally striped
officers belt (see Belt Buckle Details Page).
Oberleutnant der Reserve
Valentin von Massow originally served in the 4th Prussian
Cuirassier Regiment
("Kürassier-Regiment von Driesen (Westfälisches) Nr.4").
As a reserve officer he was seconded to Togo from April 1896 to July
1898. While in Togo he wrote several studies of both his military
activities and also on geography and agriculture in the colony. He
also led an expedition of 91 Polizeitruppe soldiers against the
Dagbon tribe, defeating 5,000 of them and their tribal allies at the
Battle of Adibo in September 1896- the largest battle fought in Togo
in colonial times.
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