Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
(20.03.1870 - 09.03.1964)
place of birth:  Saarlouis, Rheinpreußen  (Rhenish Prussia)
Königreich Preußen:  Kdr Schutztruppe,  Generalmajor


Prussian colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck commanded the German East African (Tanzania) Colonial Forces during the Great War. He was the son of General der Infanterie Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, of noble Pomerian ancestory, and his wife Marie Eisenhart-Rothe. Young Paul launched his military career as an 11-year old cadet in the Potsdam Corps. Later he studied military science as an artillery officer. Following the Great War, Lettow-Vorbeck married Martha Wallroth in 1919.

In German East Africa, Lettow-Vorbeck's troops grew from 215 to 3,000 German soldiers, and from 2,540 up to 12,000 Askari natives. His troops initially saw success against their British-led counterparts in November 1914 as they repelled an assault on the port of Tanga (modern-day Tanzania). By 1916, his skirmishes against the British lead him to abandon conventional warfare, and he thus became one of the most gifted and successful leaders of guerilla tactics. His opponents in the field even referred to him as the "African Hindenburg."  Lettow-Vorbeck was awarded the Pour le Merite in 1916. He ended up being the last German commander to surrender during the War, returning home to Germany in January 1919 as a hero. He retired at the end of the war at the rank of Generalmajor but was later awarded the brevet rank of General der Infanterie (charakter) on 27 August 1939 for Tannenberg Remembrance Day. He immediately was incorporated into the command structure of the post-War Reichswehr. Although Lettow-Vorbeck was essentially right-wing in his politics, he opposed the Nazis and tried to organize a conservative opposition to Hitler. He later spent an impoverished retirement in Hamburg, where he died on 9 March 1964. General von Lettow-Vorbeck was interred in Pronsdorf, Schleswig-Holstein.

	Generalmajor	29.10.1917
	China-Denkmünze	Ostasiatisches Expeditionskorps  1900-01
	DSW-Afrika Medaille	Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1895-1915
	Kolonial-Denkmünze	Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Ostafrika 1891-1918
	Pour le Mérite	04.11.1916   (Eichenlaub:  10.10.1917)
	Militär-St-Heinrich	presented:  30.01.1920  Ritter