Remembrance Day: A Time to Honour the Black soldiers of WWⅠ
Remembrance Day has historically been absent of recognition to the Black soldiers who also bravely served in WWⅠ between 1914 to 1919. From East Africa to Harlem, we honour their selfless contributions.
African Soldiers In WWⅠ
Two million Africans were involved in WWⅠ, and at least a million died. The “war to end all wars” was unprecedented in terms of its carnage and catastrophe. Almost every corner of the globe was involved in some form.
WWⅠ in East Africa & the Askari
On August 8th 1914, in an effort by the British to seize the German colonies, (German East Africa, German South-West Africa, Togoland and Cameroon) bombed the shores of Dar-es-Salaam bringing the war to the continent. It then spread across multiple territories, including German East Africa (Tanzania), British East Africa (Kenya), Uganda, Belgian Congo, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Nyasaland (Malawi), and Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique).
The East African campaign was considerably different from the European trenches. Here, the conflict was considered guerrilla warfare, with soldiers facing not only enemy combatants but also disease and sickness such as Malaria and dysentery which proved to be in more deadly than combat.
The Germans had approximately 200,000 bearers or carriers, who carried their food, ammunition and weapons, they were known as the "faithful askari", which is the Swahili word for soldier. The askari were treated as if disposable, they were dumped and left to die if they either became ill or wounded. They would have to carry loads double their weight for miles with hardly any food or water. Whilst the askari were serving the Germans, their fields were left to plunder leading to devastation and the starvation of their people.
The British had approximately 150,000 troops which included South Africans, Kenyans and Nigerians. They acted mostly as porters and suffered inhumane treatment, it is believed that 45,000 of the dead came from Kenya alone. The conflict in East Africa finally concluded on November 25, 1918, with the surrender of German forces in Northern Rhodesia.
Caribbean Soldiers in WWⅠ
In 1915, due to the pressures of the war, King George allowed the colonies to take part, in October of that year, the British West Indies Regiment was established. As they were not considered equal to Europeans, laws prevented them from actually fighting, they instead served as porters, dug trenches, carried weapons, ammunition, and built roads etc..
16,000 men and women from the Caribbean, mostly from Jamaica, voluntarily enlisted to help the British. They proudly considered themselves to be British and wanted to help the Mother Country. It is estimated that about 1,200 died and more than 2,500 wounded. Less than 100 loyal service men and women received medals or proper recognition.
Harlem Hellfighters
The Harlem Hellfighters were formally known as the 369th Infantry Regiment. They were an all-Black unit that served with distinction during WWⅠ who faced discrimination at home but found respect and recognition on the battlefields of France.
They spent 191 days in combat, which was longer than any other American unit in the war. They remarkably never lost a trench to the enemy or a man to capture. These soldiers were so hardcore, it was apparently the German forces who named them "Hellfighters".
In one instance of sheer bravery, Private Henry Johnson and Private Needham Roberts, became national heroes after fighting off an entire German patrol, despite being severely wounded and out of ammunition. The French government awarded the Croix de Guerre to 171 individual members
