Khaki Foxes: The East Afrika Korps

Small wars demand resolute and outstanding leadership properly directed by intelligence, resourcefulness, and ingenuity. The operation of the German General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck in East Africa during the First World War illustrate how ascendancy is possible even when campaigns are fought over greater distance and against numerically stronger opponents. Lettow-Vorbeck utilised movement, speed and terrain to get the better of the enemy. Despite inferiority in numbers, Lettow-Vorbeck's forces often dominated combat situations. Masters of patrolling, the German forces deployed raiding detachments that worked around the enemy's rear, disrupting logistics and communications. From the onset of the conflict, Lettow-Vorbeck had a clear perception of what was required of his army: to economize the forces to last out a long conflict and to commit to guerilla warfare.