The 1914 Force Publique Campaign in German East Africa

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the little-known 1914 campaign of the Belgian Force Publique against German East Africa. While World War I raged in Europe, colonial powers fought to conquer African territory. The Belgians, led by Colonel Tombeur, assembled a multi-ethnic army of Congolese askaris, many coerced or recruited from the Kasai and Katanga regions. They faced off against German Schutztruppe under von Lettow-Vorbeck near Lake Tanganyika and the Rusizi River. The episode covers the brutal logistics of moving troops through the Rift Valley, the failed Belgian offensive at Kigali, the role of the King's African Rifles, and the harsh consequences for forced porters. It also touches on the post-war division of German East Africa, giving Belgium Ruanda-Urundi as a League of Nations mandate. A forgotten front in the Great War, this campaign reshaped the borders of modern Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania. #ForcePublique #GermanEastAfrica #WWI #BelgianCongo #ColonialWarfare #LakeTanganyika #CharlesTombeur #Schutztruppe #vonLettowVorbeck #RusiziRiver #Kigali #RuandaUrundi #Belgium #Congo #Africa #History #FexingoHistory #WorldWarI Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo