They wore the Landespolizei Südwester hat with small imperial cockade at the front and yellow metal imperial crown holding up the folded right hand side. Their tunic was from the 1907 Landespolizei dark khaki uniform but without the rank insignia or green collar and shoulder straps. Like the Landespolizei they are seen in period photographs wearing khaki riding breeches with brown leather gaiters and short boots, though some men wore puttees rather than gaiters. Their personal equipment was also from Landespolizei stock and included the Landespolizei Sam Brown belt with eight ammunition pouches.

Any uniform appearance was however not possible during their expedition. For the journey across the Persian desert the mission all wore local tribal clothing for practical reasons and to disguise themselves as much as possible.

When the mission crossed the Afghan border they stopped to rest and recuperate while messengers were sent to the Emir in Kabul requesting an audience. Here the Germans discarded their Persian clothing and proudly put their Landespolizei uniforms back on. The Emir then sent cordial greetings to the mission along with new clothing tailored in Afghanistan to replace some that had been worn out on the journey across the Persian desert.

Landespolizei Südwester
Note the Imperial Crown on the right hand side and the Imperial cockade at the front
(See Südwester Details Page)
Photo © Doppler Collection

Figure 1- German Diplomatic Officer, Afghan Mission, Afghanistan 1915
This illustration is based on a photograph of Leutnant Werner von Hentig, the leader of the German diplomatic mission. He wears his white uniform as an officer in the 3rd East Prussian Cuirassiers ("Kürassier-Regiment 'Graf Wrangel' (Ostpreußisches) Nr.3") which he kept packed and pristine throughout the journey to Afghanistan. The uniform is white with light blue piping, collar and Swedish style cuffs. The polished steel Cuirassier helmet with a yellow metal spike and Prussian eagle was standard for his regiment. He wears privately purchased short riding boots rather than the Cuirassier long boots and his horse has a locally acquired blanket along with his riding saddle.

Figure 2- German Officer, Afghan Mission, Afghanistan 1915
This illustration is based on a photograph of Kapitänleutnant d.R Kurt Wagner wearing the South West African Landespolizei 1907 Dark Khaki Uniform with Südwester hat (note the Imperial crown badge holding up the right hand side of the brim). He wears khaki corduroy riding breeches and field grey puttees with marching boots. He is armed with a shotgun or hunting rifle, possibly privately purchased and two pistols, one of which is a naval issue long pistol. The bandolier is also Landespolizei stock.

Figure 3- German Trooper, Afghan Mission, Afghanistan 1915
This illustration is based on a photograph of Niedermayer's orderly, Hans Jakob. He wears the 1907 Landespolizei uniform with the cuffs rolled up and the Landespolizei Südwester hat (note the cockade on the front). He wears khaki or dark khaki trousers rolled up. He may be wearing locally purchased sandals but does not appear to have German riding boots or gaiters. He carries a Gew 98 rifle and the Landespolizei ammunition bandolier. Note the two water bottles on his saddle and the water bag below, the local blanket and the generally well laden horse equipment.

Figure 4- Pathan NCO, Afghan Mission, Afghanistan 1915
This illustration is based on a photograph of Feldwebel Jemadar Mirmast, one the Pathan volunteers on the Afghan Mission. He wears the Landespolizei tunic which judging from the few period photographs available, replaced their original East African Askari uniforms. His trousers are khaki and patched, they may from his original Askari issue. He along with other Pathans in the original photograph wears a white turban. He appears to have no rank insignia but carries a pistol on a lanyard. He also has the Landespolizei ammunition bandolier, brown leather belt and carries the shoulder straps of a small backpack.

Figure 6- Ottoman Army Officer, Afghan Mission, Mesopotamia 1915
This illustration is based on a photograph of Captain ("Yuzbashi") Kâzım Orbay, the representative of the Ottoman Sultan on the Afghan Mission. He wears little of his uniform so as to attract less attention to the mission on their journey across Mesopotamia and Persia. He has a red fez, which could be military or not, a civilian shirt and waistcoat, which may be knitted wool. His trousers are his Ottoman army riding breeches but he wears them with local sandals rather than military boots

Biographies of Members of the Afghan Mission

German Leadership
Oskar Niedermayer (1885-1948) joined the 10th Bavarian Artillery Regiment in 1905. After his initial military service, he travelled India and Persia where he immersed himself in studying the languages, geography and natural history of the regions. He returned to Germany shortly before the outbreak of the First World War and served in his original regiment on the Western Front. While their he applied for an overseas mission. With his experience of Asian culture he was deemed the ideal candidate to lead the military aspect of the Afghan Mission of 1915-16. During the expedition he clashed with the diplomatic leader von Hentig over policy issues. However Niedermayer's determination and caution got them to Kabul through the hazardous journey. After the failure of the mission to entice the Emir of Afghanistan to wage war on British India Niedermayer and Hentig made their separate ways back home. Niedermayer took the route back through Persia and the Ottoman Empire. Upon his return to Germany in 1918 he awarded the highest Bavarian military award, the Military Order of Max Joseph along with the title Ritter von Niedermayer for his efforts and went back to the Western Front as an Artillery officer (now promoted to Hauptmann). After the war he served in the Freikorps Epp against communists in Munich. In the 1930s he served as a military attaché to the Soviet Union. During the Second World War he commanded a Division of the "Ost-Legion" made up of Russian Asians but was arrested for defeatism in 1944 after making pessimistic comments about the War. Heinrich Himmler personally wrote in his support at his trial. After the war he was arrested by the Soviets and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment. He died of tuberculosis in a Russian prison in 1948.

Werner Otto von Hentig, German Diplomatic Leader of the Expedition (1886-1984) was a Leutnant in the 3rd East Prussian Cuirassiers ("Kürassier-Regiment 'Graf Wrangel' (Ostpreußisches) Nr.3")who had also studied law in Germany and France and qualified a degree in international law from Bonn University. He then served in the diplomatic corps in as a military attaché in Peking and Constantinople and then as legation secretary in Tehran, where he learned Persian. When the First World War broke out he served with his regiment on the Eastern Front where he was wounded in the First Battle of the Mausurian Lakes. In March 1915 he was recalled to Berlin to head the diplomatic side of the Afghan Mission. He presented the Kaiser's letter to the Emir personally but to no avail. After the failure of the mission he travelled across the Pamir Mountains with a small group (including his Pathan cook Seyed Achmed, Walther Röhr, the Hungarian/Rumanian Jossip Janosch, and a Persian Mule attendant Afgher) to China. From there he boarded a ship to Hawaii where he gave himself up to the as yet neutral American authorities. They repatriated him to Germany where he was awarded the House Order of Hohenzollern by Kaiser Wilhelm II in person. He was considered for the Pour-le-Mérite but it was not eventually awarded. He remained in the diplomatic corps for the rest of his career serving in Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria, Columbia and the United States of America. In the 1950s he was West German Ambassador to Indonesia.

Indian Nationalist Leaders
Raja (Kumar) Mahendra Pratap, Leader of the Indian Nationalists (1886-1979) was born into an Indian Princely family in Uttar Pradesh in Northern India. He was the visionary founder of his own religion, the Society of the Servants of the Powerless and their Great School of Love to which he donated his palace and half his fortune. He believed strongly in Indian Independence and the rights of the common man. In 1907 he travelled the world visiting London, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo and the United States of America. When the First World War broke out he travelled to Berlin via Switzerland for an audience with Kaiser Wilhelm II, who awarded him the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, second class and pledged support for Pratap's Mission to Afghanistan. On the way to Kabul, he had meetings with the exiled Khedive of Egypt in Vienna and Enver Pascha, the Ottoman Defence Minister who both also gave their support to Pratap. In Kabul he met with the Emir who for unexplained reasons did not like him. Nevertheless, with the Emir's support Pratap set up the Indian Provisional Government in Kabul with himself as President. Eventually the British put pressure on the Emir of Afghanistan to disband the provisional government which he did. Pratap then went to Russia, where he met with Lenin and later Tokyo where he spent the Second World War supporting the cause of Indian Independence. He finally returned to India in 1946 and later was elected to the Indian Parliament as an independent candidate.

Chempakaraman Pillai (1891–1934) was a Tamil from Southern India who had been partially educated in Austria. On the Outbreak of the First World War he formed the Pro-India Committee in Switzerland, but later merged with other Indian nationalists in Germany into the Indian Independence Committee. He took part in the Afghan Mission and the set up of the Provisional Indian Government in exile. Himself taking the role of Foreign Minister. After the war he remained in Germany to further the cause of Indian Nationalism. After falling foul of the Nazi regime Pillai died in 1934, with some suspecting food poisoning on Hitler's orders. His widow finally managed to get his ashes back in a free India in 1966.

Ubaidullah Sindhi (1872-1944) was a Sikh but converted to Islam. He was a noted nationalist leader involved in the Pan-Islamic movement and the Deobandi Islamic School. When the First World War broke out he was involved in the Silk Letter Conspiracy to encourage foreign support for an Indian Rebellion while Britain was busy fighting a war on the Western Front. Sindhi's role in this was to travel from India to Kabul to enlist the support of the Afghan Emir. He was already in Kabul when the Niedermayer-Hentig Mission arrived. Along with the other Indian nationalists he formed the Provisional Indian Government in exile, in which he was the Home Minister. Another Deobandi leader, Maulavi Bashir was the Minister for War. After the war Sindhi travelled through Russia and Turkey before settling to spend fourteen years studying Islam in Saudi Arabia.

Representative of the Ottoman Sultan
Kâzım Orbay (1887-1964) graduated from the Ottoman Imperial School of Military Engineering and joined the Ottoman army in 1904 as an artillery lieutenant. In 1908 he trained in Germany before seeing action in the Balkan Wars. As one of Enver Pascha's favourite officers he served as chief adjutant to the Ministry of War before being selected to represent the Ottoman Empire on the Afghan Mission. In Kabul he presented the Emir with a letter confirming the support of the Ottoman Sultan if Afghanistan sided with the Central Powers. After the First World War, Orbay served in the War of Turkish Independence in the Caucasus and at the Battle of Dumlupinar. In peacetime he married Enver Pascha's sister and continued in Turkish military service, briefly returning to Afghanistan as Chief of General Staff in 1928. Back in Turkey he was further promoted until his retirement in 1946 by which time he was a four star general and Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Army. In 1961 he was elected a Senator and served as a President of the Turkish Parliament.

Other German Personnel on the Mission
Walter Röhr (1892-1927) was von Hentig's personal companion and the negotiator and language expert of the mission. Like many of the Germans in the expedition, Röhr had previous experience of the Orient, in Röhr's case as a merchant in Persia. Originally from Magdeburg, he had lived in Persia since he was seventeen and spoke fluent Turkish and Persian. When war broke out in 1914 he made his way back to Germany on a small boot through the Persian Gulf to Ottoman Turkey and from there home. Along with the expedition's doctor, Dr Becker, Röhr accompanied von Hentig from Germany to Istanbul. After Niedermayer and Hentig went their separate ways from Kabul, Röhr again accompanied von Hentig to China. He later married von Hentig's sister.

Dr. Karl Becker (___-1945) of the Prussian Guards Jäger Battalion ("Garde-Jäger-Bataillon") was the mission's doctor. He had already served two years in Persia dealing with malaria and other tropical diseases and spoke good Persian. On the way through Persia with the Afghan Mission he split into a separate group with some of the sick and the camel section. His group was spotted and surrounded by a Russian patrol. He fought them off for several days until running out of ammunition. He then buried the valuable equipment and gold that the camel section had carried and made a break along with some of the sick Afridi volunteers through Russian lines. All were shot down or captured but Becker managed to escape with a lung wound. He was kindly trended back to health under his own instruction by the locals that came across him. Within two weeks he felt well enough to go back to look for the equipment and gold that he had buried. It was then that he was captured and sent to the Russian Nargin Island prisoner of war camp, where served as a doctor. After the First World War he continued in civilian private practice settling in Berlin where he was killed during the Russian Siege of the city in 1945.

Leutnant Günther Voigt of the 4th Prussian Guards Field Artillery ("4. Garde-Feldartillerie-Regiment") was Niedermayer's adjutant on the mission. He was one of the few on the Afghan Mission who had no previous experience of overseas service.

Hans Jakob of the Bavarian Light Horse was Niedermayer's Orderly and was one of the men Oskar Niedermayer initially requested for the mission. He accompanied Niedermayer throughout the voyage to Afghanistan but died of fever just outside Kabul and was buried there with full honours.

Fritz Niedermayer was Oskar's brother and a doctor. He too was one of the men Oskar Niedermayer initially requested for the mission.

Leutnant Walter Griesinger was an artillery officer on the Afghan Mission who did not make it to Afghanistan but remained in Southern Persia inciting their nationalists to rise up against the British.

Professor Erich Zugmeyer was one of the men Niedermayer initially requested for the mission. He was a Bavarian zooologist who had recently travelled Baluchistan. He did not make it to Afghanistan but remained with Griesinger in Southern Persia inciting rebellion against the British.

Fritz Seiler was another member of the mission who did not make it to Afghanistan but remained in Southern Persia with Griesinger and Zugmeyer inciting rebellion against the British. An Eduard Seiler (a German Dragoman) on the Afghan Mission is referred to in "The Berlin-Bagdad Express" it is not sure if this is the same person.

Hermann Consten, the Mongolian Explorer was also recruited for Niedermayer's staff on the Afghan Mission. He spoke several languages including Russian, French, English, Swahili and Mongolian.

Wilhelm Paschen from German South West Africa was a soldier on the expedition. A Peter Paschen is referred to as being on the Afghan Mission in "The Berlin-Bagdad Express" it is not sure if this is the same person.

Feldwebel Beierl was awarded the Prussian Red Eagle Medal by von Hentig for his service on the Afghan Mission.

Pathan Volunteers
Of the eight Pathan volunteers, six are known to have been Feldwebel Mirmast, Itbargul, Mohabad Khan, the cook Seyed Achmed and the two volunteers that had arrived from America, Abdur Rahman Khan and Abdul Subhan Khan. Little is known about their lives, although von Hentig gives us a glimpse into Seyed Achmed in his memoirs-

Seyed Achmed was the last of the six Afridi Pathans to be recruited from the Halmondlager POW camp for the Afghan Mission. He served as cook and servant to von Hentig. He and von Hentig struck up a friendship on the expedition and afterwards when they both travelled to China through the Pamir Mountains. Von Hentig mentions in his memoirs that this man was the only Afridi on the mission that had not deserted the British army but had been legitimately captured. Von Hentig clearly respected him for that. Whereas the other Pathans were happy to be released from German service with their freedom in Kabul, Seyed wanted to return to his home in the Buner Valley within British territory. Through Swedish and English Missionaries, von Hentig successfully negotiated for the safe conduct of his cook and companion with the British envoy to China Sir John Jordan

Feldwebel Jemadar Mirmast of the Pathan volunteers was awarded the Prussian Crown Medal by von Hentig during the mission.

Austro-Hungarian former Prisoners of War
Of the Austro-Hungarian former Prisoners of War only two have so far been identified by name.

Josef Janosch was a Rumanian national of the Hungarian Honved accompanied von Hentig out of Afghanistan across the Pamir Mountains into China.

Emil Rybitschka was an Austrian Border-Gendarmerie Officer who wrote his memoirs as "Im gottgegebenen Afghanistan als Gäste des Emirs" (Leipzig, Brockhaus 1927).

Please contact me here if you have more information or photos on this topic. 

Back to Main Menu for German Colonial Uniforms