My primary collecting area is German colonial coins and banknotes. I was drawn to them by the phenomenal story of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and his small band of German guerrillas in their former colony of German East Africa (roughly modern Tanzania) during WWI. Completely cut off from the homeland and surrounded by enemies, they successfully tied down many times their number of British, Indian, Boer, Belgian, Portuguese, and other allied troops throughout the war -- the only German force never to surrender. A key element of his success was successfully integrating his German and native troops, known as askari, appreciating that the Germans brought to the table their knowledge of modern war while their African subjects knew how to live, move, and fight in the bush.
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Come on over ... to The Dark Side!