German Schutztruppen Southwest Africa Uniform

jcmiller · Post by **jcmiller** » 16 Apr 2006 05:15

I am in the process of painting a German Schutztruppen soldier and I am confused on what color to paint the uniform. Some sites have the Schutztruppen soldiers in service in SW Africa wearing Khaki with blue piping and others have them wearing Field Grey with blue piping. Was one of them used in combat and the other just for parades and show? Any information of the subject would be a great help. Thanks in advance.

Regards,
James

Chris Dale · Post by **Chris Dale** » 16 Apr 2006 17:08

Hi James,
It's not an easy question....
The DSWA Schutztruppe wore three uniforms in action from 1896 onwards (before then other variations were worn). Does your figure have brerast pockets? And how many buttons down the front?

The first uniform was the Kord Waffenfrock, this was worn in cold weather. It was similar to the grey home uniform, but made of corduroy. The shade of corduroy was known as Mausgrau, a kind of grey/brown but in fact may have varied between grey/brown, grey and light khaki. This uniform had no breast pockets, eight white metal buttons down the front and Swedish style cuffs. The collar and cuffs were both blue, as was the piping down the front and the scalloped rear skirts. It had double white (or silver for officers) Litzen on the collar and cuffs.

The second uniform was the Khaki Waffenfrock, this was worn on hot weather. It was made of light khaki cloth, the shade was known as Sandgrau but wasn't very grey at all. It had six white metal butons, pleated patch pockets on breast and hips. It was piped in blue on the collars, front and plain cuffs. It had a plain rear.

The third uniform was the Kord Litewka. It was introduced in 1900 and partially replaced the Kord Waffenfrock which was finally officially discarded in 1913. Again it was made of Mausgrau corduroy (I've seen examples of it in a very pale khaki too). It was plain with no coloured coallr or cuffs, no piping or visible buttons down the front or on the four pockets.

To confuse the issue further hybrids between the Kord Waffenfrock and Kord Litewka have been sen in photos too. Some with buttons down the front but plain collars, some with no buttons but blue collars...

My website http://www.germancolonialuniforms.co.uk may be of help. There are no Kord Waffenfrocks illustrated there at the moment but if you go to "Peacetime Home Schutztruppe Uniforms" you will see the home uniform which was of the same design as the Kord Waffenfrock. If you go to "German Schutztruppe in South West Africa" you will see the Kahki Waffenfrock and Kord Litewka illustrated. If you scroll down the main page to "Militaria Photographs" you will find colour photos of a khaki Waffenfrock under "Schutztruppe Khaki Uniform" and colour photos of a Kord Litewka under "Swakopmund Museum Collection".

I hope this helps. Good luck with your project, please post photos of the figure when you've finished it.
Cheers
Chris

jcmiller · Post by **jcmiller** » 16 Apr 2006 22:25

Thanks Chris for the reply and information. This is a lot of help. I did not know the german colonial forces had so many variations in the field. I will definately post pics when done. Although it will be a while since I am swamped with work at the moment. The soldier is mounted on a camel. I thought the Schutztruppen did not use camels in southwest Africa until the Hottentot Revolt. Thanks again for all the info Chris.

Regards,
James

Karstenh83 · Post by **Karstenh83** » 17 Apr 2006 11:37

Hello James,

in my collection I found this nice one. It shows a coloured picture of a NCO in 1906.
I hope it will be a little help for you.

Best wishes

Karsten

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Chris Dale · Post by **Chris Dale** » 17 Apr 2006 14:26

Hi Karsten,
Thanks for posting that excellent photo of a DSWA trooper in his Kord Litewka.
Cheers
Chris

Peter H · Post by **Peter H** » 06 May 2006 06:56

Different range here.

From: http://www.ullsteinbild.de/

Chris Dale · Post by **Chris Dale** » 06 May 2006 11:34

Hi Peter,
That's a great photo to show the different styles of other ranks DSWA Schutztruppe uniform worn between 1900-15.
From Left to Right the uniforms are-
The Kord Waffenfrock
The Kord Litweka
Greatcoat
Khaki Waffenfrock (with Kord trousers)
Khaki Waffenfrock (with matching trousers and field cap).
Cheers
Chris

Chris Dale · Post by **Chris Dale** » 19 Jul 2006 14:39

I've put some new updates up at http://www.germancolonialuniforms.co.uk/
There's now three new pages covering the uniforms of the Schutztruppe for DSWA, from their formation until their final surrender. This should help answer the original question more fully.
Cheers
Chris