Askari is an Arabic, Turkish, Somali, Persian and Swahili word meaning "soldier" (Arabic: عسكري ‘askarī). Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Swahili (called Kiswahili in the language itself is the First language of the Swahili people (Waswahili who inhabit several large stretches Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language It was normally used to describe indigenous troops in East Africa and the Middle East serving in the armies of European colonial powers. East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. The designation can however also describe police, gendarmerie and security guards. [1]
During the period of European rule in East Africa locally recruited askari soldiers were employed by the Italian, British, Portuguese, German and Belgian colonial forces. They played a crucial role in the initial conquest of the various colonial possessions and subsequently served as garrison and internal security forces. During both World Wars askari units served outside the boundaries of their colonies of origin.
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British Empire
The British Imperial British East African Company raised units of askari from amongst the Swahili, Sudanese and Somali peoples. There was no official uniform, nor standardised weaponry. Many of the askaris campaigned in their native dress. Officers wore civilian clothes. From 1895 the British askaris were organised into a regular, uniformed force called the East African Rifles, later part of the King's African Rifles[2]
German Empire
The German Colonial Army (Schutztruppe) of the German Empire employed native African troops with European officers and NCOs in its colonies. The King's African Rifles (KAR was a multi- Battalion British colonial Regiment raised from the various British possessions in East Africa The Schutztruppe ( protection troops) was the African colonial armed force of Imperial Germany from the late 1800s to 1918 when Germany The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification A non-commissioned officer (sometimes noncommissioned officer) also known as an NCO or Noncom, is an enlisted member of an Armed force The main concentration of such locally recruited troops was in German East Africa (now Tanzania. German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika was a German Colony in East Africa, including what is now Burundi, Rwanda and Tanganyika Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya ) Formed in 1881 after the transfer of the Wissmanntruppe (raised in 1889 to suppress the Abushiri) to German imperial control. Although the First Askaris' formed in East Africa were by DAOG (Deutsche Ost-Afrika Gesellschaft, German East Africa Company) in about 1888. Originally drawn from Sudanese mercenaries, the German askaris were subsequently recruited from the Wahehe and Angoni tribal groups. The Hehe ani gever (Swahili collective Wahehe) are an ethnic and linguistic group based in Iringa Region in south-central Tanzania. They were harshly disciplined (as all German troops of that time) but well paid (on a scale twice that of their British counterparts in the King's African Rifles) and highly trained by German cadres who were themselves subject to a rigorous selection process. The King's African Rifles (KAR was a multi- Battalion British colonial Regiment raised from the various British possessions in East Africa Prior to 1914 the basic Schutztruppe unit in East Africa was the feldkompagnie comprising seven or eight German officers and NCOs with between 150 and 200 askaris (usually 160) - including two machine gun teams. Such small independent commands were often supplemented by tribal irregulars or ruga-ruga.
They were successfully used in German East Africa where 11,000 askaris, porters and their European officers commanded by Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck managed to resist numerically superior British, Portuguese and Belgian colonial forces until the end of World War I in 1918. Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck ( March 20, 1870 - March 9, 1964) was a German General, the commander of the German World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All
The Weimar Republic provided pension payments to the German Askaris. The term Weimar Republic ( ˈvaɪmarɐ repuˈbliːk is used by historians to signify the democratic and Republican period of Germany from 1919 to 1933 Due to interruptions during the worldwide depression and World War II, the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) voted in 1964 to fund the back pay of the askaris still alive. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The West German embassy at Dar es Salaam identified approximately 350 ex-askaris and set up a temporary cashiers office at Mwanza on Lake Victoria. Only a few claimants could produce the certificates given to them in 1918; others provided pieces of their old uniforms as proof of service. The German banker who had brought the money came up with an idea: as each claimant stepped forward he was handed a broom and ordered in German to perform the manual of arms. Not one of them failed the test. [3]
Nazi Germany
During WWII, Germans used the term Askari for Soviet deserters or prisoners who switched sides and collaborated with them. [2] [3] [4]
Italian Empire
The Italian army also employed native troops in Italian East Africa. Italian East Africa ( Italian: Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI was a short-lived (1936-1941 Italian Colony in Africa consisting of These forces comprised infantry, cavalry and some light artillery units. They were recruited initially from Eritreans and subsequently Somalis, with Italian officers and some NCOs. Eritrea () ( Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya) officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in Somalis ( Soomaaliyeed, الصوماليون are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The Italian askaris fought in the First Italo–Ethiopian War, Italian-Turkish War, Second Italo-Abyssinian War and World War II (East African Campaign). The First Italo–Ethiopian War was fought between Italy and Ethiopia in 1895-1896 The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War (also known in Italy as guerra di Libia, "the Libyan war" and in Turkey as Trablusgarp Savaşı) was fought See also First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Second Italo–Abyssinian War (also referred to as the Second Italo-Ethiopian War) was a The East African Campaign refers to the battles fought in East Africa during World War II. Out of a total of 256,000 Italian troops serving in Italian East Africa in 1940, about 182,000 were recruited from Eritrea, Somalia and the recently occupied (1935-36) Ethiopia. In January 1941, British Commonwealth forces invaded Ethiopia and the majority of the newly recruited Ethiopian askaris serving with the Italian Army in East Africa deserted. Most of the Eritrean askaris remained loyal until the Italian surrender four months later.
Spanish Colonies
As noted above "askari" was normally a designation used in East Africa. Exceptionally though, the term "askari" was also used by the Spanish colonial government in North-West Africa, in respect not of their regular Moroccan troops (see regulares), but a locally recruited gendarmerie force raised in Spanish Morocco in 1913 and known as the "Mehal-la Jalifianas". Regulares (Spanish for "Regulars" officially called the Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas) was the name commonly used to designate the volunteer Infantry This was the equivalent of the better known Goumiers employed in French Morocco. Goumier is a term used for Moroccan soldiers who served in auxiliary units attached to the French Army, between 1908 and 1956 Indigenous members of the Tropas Nomadas or desert police serving in the Spanish Sahara were also designated as "askaris". The Tropas Nómadas ( Nomad Troops were an auxiliary regiment to the colonial army in Spanish Sahara (today Western Sahara) from The Sahara (الصحراء الكبرى aṣ-ṣaḥrā´ al-kubra, "The Great Desert" is the world's largest hot Desert and the world's second largest
Iraq War
Ugandan private security guards for American installations in Iraq are also designated as askari. Guards were to receive $1,000 monthly salary and an $80,000 bonus if shot, but many have complained that the money was not paid or unfair fees assessed. The guards work for recruiting agencies such as Askar Security Services, which are hired by Beowulf International, a receiving company in Iraq, which subcontracts their services to EOD Technologies, an American company hired by the U.S. Department of Defense to provide security guards for Camp Victory in Baghdad. The United States Department of Defense ( DOD or DoD) is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government Camp Victory is the primary component of the Victory Base Complex (VBC which occupies the area surrounding the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous A Beowulf representative said that 400 of the workers "had impressed the US Army with their skill and experience", but complained that some of the workers lacked police or security experience and "didn't even know how to hold a gun". At least eleven other Ugandan recruiters include Dresak International and Connect Financial Services. [4]
Other uses
- In apartheid South Africa, Askari was the term given to guerrillas who were captured by the South African army and 'turned' or converted into spies or soldiers for the apartheid regime. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
- Askari can also mean "spear bearer".
- Older bull elephants which break away from the herd often form the nucleus of "bachelor herds" with one or a number of younger males. Elephants ( family: Elephantidae) are large land Mammals of the order Proboscidea. These younger males are referred to as 'askari' (both for singular elephants and groups of elephants).
- Askari are a minor class of creature in the African/tropical-themed Mirage and Visions (and later Time Spiral) expansion sets of the collectable card game Magic: The Gathering[5]. Mirage was the fifteenth Magic The Gathering set and ninth expert level set released in October 1996. Visions was the sixteenth Magic The Gathering set and tenth expert level set released in February 1997. Time Spiral is a Magic The Gathering expansion set released October 6 2006 Collectible card games (CCGs also called trading card games (TCGs or customizable card games (CCGs are played using specially designed sets of cards This article is somewhat over-complete Please do not add significant new content without first discussing it on the talk page
See also
- Force Publique (Belgian Congo)
- Tirailleurs (French Africa)
- King's African Rifles (British East Africa)
- colonial troops
- Schutztruppe
- USS Askari (ARL-30)
References
- ^ [1] | Kamusi Project
- ^ Amies of the 19thC East Africa Chris Peer, Foundry books 2003
- ^ Miller, Charles. Tirailleur literally means a Sharpshooter in French from tir - target The King's African Rifles (KAR was a multi- Battalion British colonial Regiment raised from the various British possessions in East Africa Colonial troops or colonial army refers to various military units recruited from or used as garrison troops in colonial territories The Schutztruppe ( protection troops) was the African colonial armed force of Imperial Germany from the late 1800s to 1918 when Germany History Originally laid down as LST-1131 on 8 December 1944 at Seneca Illinois by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, she was launched on 2 March Battle for the Bundu: The First World War in German East Africa. London: Macdonald & Jane's, 1974; and New York: MacMillan Publishing Co. , Inc. 1974, p. 333. ISBN 0025849301
- ^ Uganda: Askaris in Iraq Ripped Off (2007-08-12). Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid
- ^ Gatherer search. Wizards Of The Coast. Retrieved on 2007-07-05. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England.
- Comando Supremo
- African World War II Veterans
- Histoire de la Force Publique (History of the Force Publique) by Lieutenant-General Emile Janssens, Wasmael-Chalier of Namur in 1979
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