Askari
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Askari is an Arabic, 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.
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[edit] German Empire
The German Colonial Army (Schutztruppe) of the German Empire employed native African troops with European officers and NCOs in its colonies. 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 the British, Portuguese and Belgian colonial forces until the end of World War I in 1918. After the end of the War significant numbers of German askaris joined the King's African Rifles.[citation needed]
[edit] 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 European officers and 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.
[edit] 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".
[edit] 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 used by SS soldiers in WWII to refer to Russian deserters who joined the ranks of the SS by volunteering. The reference for this usage is the book "The Sunflower" by Simon Wiesenthal.[citation needed]
"Askari" also means spear bearer. Although they no longer carry spears into battle they still fulfill the role of guardsmen.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
- Hasan al Askari
- Force Publique (Belgian Congo)
- Tirailleurs (French Africa)
- King's African Rifles (British East Africa)
- colonial troops
- Schutztruppe