Askari is an Arabic, Turkish, Somali, Persian and Swahili word meaning "soldier" (Arabic: عسكري ‘askarī). It was normally used to describe indigenous troops in East Africa and the Middle East serving in the armies of European colonial powers. 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.

German Empire

The German Colonial Army (Schutztruppe) of the German Empire employed native African troops with European officers and NCOs in its colonies. The main concentration of such locally recruited troops was in German East Africa (now Tanzania.) Originally drawn from Sudanese mercenaries, the German askaris were subsequently recruited from the Wahehe and Angoni tribal groups. 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. Prior to 1914 the basic Schutztruppe unit in East Africa was the feldkompanie comprising seven or eight German officers and NCOs with between 150 and 200 askaris - 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 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.

In 1952, decades after the end of World War I, the German government did recognize veteran pensions to the surviving Africans who served in that conflict. When a delegation was sent to Tanzania it was received by hundreds of old men with some knowledge of the German language but almost no viable proof of service. To sort out the genuine applicants they were given a broom handle to be held as a rifle and shouted drill instructions. The vast majority had not forgotten their training and as such were awarded the pension.

Italian Empire

The Italian army also employed native troops in Italian East Africa. 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. The Italian askaris fought in the First Italo–Ethiopian War, Italian-Turkish War, Second Italo-Abyssinian War and World War II (East African Campaign). 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". This was the equivalent of the better known Goumiers employed in French Morocco. Indigenous members of the Tropas Nomadas or desert police serving in the Spanish Sahara were also designated as "askaris".

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. 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".^[2]

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 term askari was also reported to have been used as a nickname by German soldiers in World War II to refer to Russian deserters or prisoners who volunteered to join SS units.

• 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. 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^[3].

See also

• Force Publique (Belgian Congo)
• Tirailleurs (French Africa)
• King's African Rifles (British East Africa)
• colonial troops
• Schutztruppe
• USS Askari (ARL-30)

References

• Comando Supremo
• African World War II Veterans
• Histoire de la Force Publique (History of the Force Publique) by Lieutenent-General Emile Janssens, Wasmael-Chalier of Namur in 1979