While the Schutztruppe were the backbone of the German field
force, they were certainly not the only German infantry fighting in the Herero
War. Marines and Sailors were crucial participants. It was sailors who
assaulted the Herero Main Line at Liewenberg, fighting against ambushing
Hereros concealed behind nearly impregnable rock. It was Marines who saved the
Schutztruppe Reconnaissance Detachment from total annihilation at Owikokorero,
where the Hereros killed 64%
of the officers and 50% of the men. It was Marines
who not only fought off mounted Hereros at Okaharui, but also pursued those
mounted Hereros for more than a kilometer while the Marines were on foot! (thus
in The Herero War scenario book, the Marines are the only foot troops that can charge routed mounted troops).
There’s confusion on the part of many, however, on who the Marines were. Partly it’s due to language. Since “Marine” in German means “navy” or “naval”, some people mistakenly think that there WERE no German Marines. They think that the word “Marine” must be referring to sailors and naval landing parties. Not true!
SAILORS
A)
There were sailors who would form a naval landing party or landing corps (Landungskorps)
during a colonial war or expedition. These sailors served on a ship - operating
the ship and its weapons - but in an emergency would be sent ashore to fight on
land temporarily. When the Herero War began the gunboat SMS “Habicht” (His
Majesty’s Ship “Hawk”) was in Cape Town, South Africa for maintenance. It was
sent to German South-West Africa and a 55-man Landungskorps was formed. The
Landungskorps HMS “Habicht” (reinforced with artillery, a small mounted
Schutztruppe force, and other troops) fought against the Herero forces in the
boulder hill country.
So
if you see a reference to “Landungskorps”, those are sailors in a naval landing
party. The sailors will be discussed more fully in Part II.
MARINES
B)
In addition to the Landungskorps temporarily serving as infantry, the German
Navy had a force specifically dedicated to the role of fighting on land. These
men were specially trained as infantry. In fact, by 1895 they no longer were
even based on warships. They were permanently organized into four Seebataillons
(“Sea Battalions”).
The
troops were called Seesoldaten (“Sea soldiers”) and fought in the Herero War
organized in Marine-Infanterie-Kompagnien
or “Naval Infantry Companies”.
“Sea soldiers” or “naval infantry” specially trained and organized for
ground combat are what Americans, British, Dutch, etc. call Marines.
When
the Herero War broke out in January 1904, Berlin immediately ordered the
mobilization of a Schutztruppe reinforcement group and a Marine-Expeditionskorps
(literally “Naval Expeditionary Corps” but more properly translated as “Marine
Expeditionary Corps”). The Marine-Expeditionskorps
consisted of Seesoldaten selected from the I. and III. Seebataillons. These
Marines were formed into four companies (the 1st, 2nd, 3rd,
and 4th Marine-Infanterie-Kompagnien). An artillery Abteilung (i.e., “detachment”) of
eight Maschinenkanonen
(“Machine cannon”) was also part of the Expeditionskorps. Major Franz Georg
von Glasenapp, leader of the II. Seebataillon, was assigned command of the Marine-Expeditionskorps.
The
Marine and Schutztruppe reinforcements began arriving in German South-West
Africa in February. The Marines served in three different Abteilungen
(“detachments”) during the Herero War:
(1)
The Ostabteilung (or “East Detachment”) was a predominantly Marine force,
consisting of the 1st and 4th Marine-Infanterie-Kompagnien and a
Schutztruppe Kompagnie; it was commanded by Major von Glasenapp. It was the
Marines of the Ostabteilung who fought at Owikokorero and Okaharui.
(2)
The 2nd Marine-Infanterie-Kompagnie
served with the Westabteilung (“West Detachment”), a predominantly Schutztruppe
force. The Marine Infantry and a Marine-operated Maschinenkanone fought alongside
Schutztruppe on the threatened northern flank during the desperate battle of
Otijinamaparero.
(3)
The 3rd Marine-Infanterie-Kompagnie
was part of the Hauptabteilung (“Main Detachment”). There were five
Schutztruppe Kompagnien in the Hauptabteilung, plus a Witboi Abteilung and a
Bastard Abteilung
(these detachments were both African infantry allied with the Germans). Since
the Marines were such a small part of the Hauptabteilung, they did not have
much of an independent identity in it.