History of the Inventory Designer: The personnel documents created in the personnel offices of the Reichsheer/Heer, Reichsmarine/Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe were collected centrally shortly after the war. However, large quantities had been lost in the war. The remaining documents were mainly collected in the Personenstandsarchiv II of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in Aachen-Kornelimünster and supplemented by further personal documents. This institution has been taken over by the Federal Archives as the Central Central Documentation Office (CNS). The personal documents of the Generals and Admirals went from there in the 1970s to the Military Archives Department of the Federal Archives. The personnel documents of the naval officers up to the lieutenant captain went to the German office (WASt), where they are still today. The personal documents of the officers and civil servants of the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht kept in the CNS were taken over by the Department of Military Archives in 2005 and have been held there ever since. Further personal documents, in particular personal files kept in the personnel offices, form the holdings RW 59. Description of holdings: The contribution essentially follows Absolon, Wehrgesetz p.362-374 (see Lit. verz.): The personnel administration in the Wehrmacht took place at various locations ¿ at the military replacement posts, at the replacement troop units, at the field troop units and in the personnel offices of the high commandos. The following personal documents were kept: - at the military stations: Wehrstammkarte: created by the police registration office at the time of registration for each person liable for service or volunteer, sent to the Wehrbezirkskommando (WBK) with the Wehrstammrolle; basis for the patterning and enlistment or volunteer acceptance; was then pasted into the Wehrstammbuch Wehrstammrolle: Wehrstammbuch (Wehrstammbuch), created by the police registration office as an accompanying list of ten military tribe cards each: created by the WBK after the draft or acceptance of volunteers with the military tribe card glued in place and continued throughout the entire period of compulsory military service; the content corresponded to that of the military passport; during active military service at the military unit, otherwise part of the WBK tribe card index, or at the end of the compulsory military service of the Wehrmeldeamt (WMA); at the beginning of the war, the military records of the soldiers assigned to the Feldwehrmacht were sent from the last peacekeeping unit to the responsible military service stations; after the soldiers had left the Feldtruppe, the military records were returned to the WBK or WMÄ after the corresponding unit had been entered, and the health records were continued there: Created by the military alternative service office which carried out the first examination of a conscript or volunteer; continued by the medical service offices Use card: issued for each replacement reservist I according to the model or volunteer acceptance at the same time as the military record book; served in peace to classify the conscript of the status on leave (d.B.) in war; in peace the use card index was divided into inventory, mob and indispensability card index, in war into inventory, RAD and restricted card index Call-up card: supplement of the use card for the conscripts d.B. who were classified as soldiers or Wehrmacht officials in peace mobile - in the case of troops: military passport: from the 1st World War onwards: from the 1st World War The document was issued on April 1, 1936 at the time of the mustering or voluntary acceptance and handed over to the holder; documentary evidence of the military service relationship during the period of compulsory military service; in peace during the completion of the RAD and active military service, it was accepted, stored and continuously supplemented by the responsible office upon recruitment; upon dismissal it was handed back and remained with the holder even after the end of compulsory military service; The military passports of the fallen, the deceased, and the missing were sent to the military substitute service station; after the data had been transferred to the military tribal record book, they were sent to the surviving dependants or, if none could be ascertained, troop rolls remained in the military tribal record book: in peace by all units, in war only by spare troop parts set up and led; with transfers an excerpt from the trunk roll was attached to the remittance papers war trunk roll: The war roll sheets of the fallen, deceased, missing, wounded and transferred soldiers and supplementary army officials were completed and sent to the responsible military replacement service office, those of the active Wehrmacht officials were sent to the Wehrkreis or Luftgaukommando, which led the main personnel personnel to identity cards: there was 1) a blue troop identity card for soldiers and Wehrmacht officials, issued in peace, with a photograph (form A; for those called up for exercises without form B); on dismissal the form A identity cards were destroyed, the form B identity cards went to the responsible military service stations; 2) a brown service card for employees and workers at Wehrmacht service posts; 3) a white special card for entering specially guarded properties, buildings or facilities; 4) an orange service card with a black longitudinal line for non-German followers employed at Wehrmacht service posts Soldbuch: from the beginning of the war, they were handed over to the soldiers and Wehrmacht officials of the army and the Luftwaffe and continued on an ongoing basis; the previous troop passes were destroyed after the issue of the pay books; the pay books of deceased or dismissed soldiers, as well as those that had become unusable, were sent to the responsible military replacement service office for insertion into the pocket of the Wehrstammbuch; on reappointment, they could be issued again; in the event of a loss of rank, they were completed and a new one issued; on 16 March, the military and air force officers of the Luftwaffe were issued with a new one. In November 1943, the introduction of a photograph on the inside was ordered; employees and workers at Wehrmacht service posts as well as other members of the Wehrmacht following were not given any pay books; the country's own auxiliaries in the east were given bilingual identification books, which were to be kept like pay books - by the high commandos: Personnel files: The entire personnel administration of the officers was carried out by the Army Personnel Office (OKH/PA) or the Air Force Personnel Office (RdL and ObdL/LP). There were kept about every active officer identity papers (personal files), consisting of: - a copy of the identity document - the annexes to the identity document (all important documents such as recruitment procedures, documents, certificates, letters of commitment, decisions in matters of honour, complaints, special incidents) - the medical documents (medical records, medical certificates, lists of damage to services) - the assessments - various files of military personnel files: For this purpose, the staffs of the respective units kept further copies of the personnel records with annexes, assessment drafts and supply procedures ¿ the so-called troop personnel files. The units joining the field army handed over these troop personnel files to the responsible spare troop units, for the officers from the battalion commander upwards to the responsible deputy general commandos; offices which were dissolved also handed over their troop personnel files to the deputy general commands; the troop personnel files of the Luftwaffe generally went to the Luftgaukommando responsible for the last peace site; The registration of changes in the troop personnel files was suspended during the war and was to be carried out after demobilisation; in the event of dismissal from active military service and in the event of death, the sick and care papers and a completed copy of the identity document with other documents were to be sent to the responsible Wehrmacht welfare and care office. The personnel files and personnel records of the officers d.B. and z.V. were kept and kept at the responsible military service stations. Wehrmacht officials kept ministerial files, main files and leaflets (side issues). Ministerial files: These were led and contained by the army administration office (OKH/VA), and/or by the air force personnel office (RLM/LP) with service beginning: - the proof of identity - the declaration of membership of political parties, lodges and other organisations - the declaration of military service - orders to convene, appoint, transfer, etc. - Determination of the seniority - other exchanges of correspondence in special attachments: - Examination papers and minutes of the result - the assessments - the criminal service matters main files: The main files with pre-stitched evidence of illness were kept at the military district and air district commandos, with any earlier personnel files of other places as supplements. Collections of sheets (supplements): The subordinate departments and generally the staffs and units kept only collections of sheets or supplements, consisting of a third copy of the identity card, the holiday certificate, the medical record and the correspondence produced there, via the civil servants in their area. The personnel files of the professional non-commissioned officers were kept by their responsible units and were kept during the war by the replacement troops. The personnel files of the employees and workers of the Wehrmacht were kept at the employment offices, the work books at the location wage offices. From 29 June 1944, the personal files of retired followers were to be destroyed after three years. The inventory RW 59 also contains the documents and finding aids (card indexes) for the awarding of orders and decorations, as they were mainly kept by the Army Personnel Office. These documents and finding aids had been gathered together by the Central Proof Office (CNS) to process corresponding inquiries. Parts had also been taken over from the stock RH 7 of the Federal Archives Military Archives as "permanent loans". These documents were transferred back to RH 7 in 2005 after the dissolution of the CNS. The rest of the collection (177 AU) is divided into two parts: Award proposals (69 AE) and general files from various bodies on various aspects of the award system as well as on holders of certain orders (108 AE). Due to the complex reference system of the CNS, it was decided to preserve this remaining collection as a whole within the RW 59 collection and to refrain from taking over the larger part of it to RH 7, as a separation from the remaining CNS documents would have made it too difficult to provide further information. The award proposals in RW 59 are therefore to be regarded as complementary to those in RH 7. In general, the finding aids in RW 59 can be used as evidence of the following main awards: Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class (2nd Class not continuous), Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in the different levels, War Merit Cross 1st and 2nd Class, Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross, German Cross in Silver, German Cross in Gold, Close Combat Bracelet in Gold, Air Force Cup of Honour, Air Force Bowl of Honour, Picture of the Reichsmarschall in Silver Frame, Mention in the Army Official Gazette, Mention in the Navy Official Gazette, Mention in the Official Gazette of Honour, Mention in the Official Gazette of Honour of the Navy, Mention in the Official Gazette of Honour in Silver Frame, Mention in the Official Gazette of Honour in Silver Frame, Mention in the Official Gazette of Honour in Silver Frame, Mention in the Official Gazette of Honour in Silver Frame, Mention in the Official Gazette of Honour in Silver Frame, Mention in the Official Gazette of Honour in Silver Frame, Mention in the Official Gazette of Honour in the N. Especially for the final phase of the war, however, even the highest awards are likely to have gaps in tradition. The third part of the collection RW 59 contains a collection on military law and the organization of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS (215 AE), which has been compiled in the CNS. This collection essentially contains original documents which were taken from the original provenances by Rudolf Absolon in his function as director of the CNS for the production of the work "Die Wehrmacht im Dritten Reich" (The Wehrmacht in the Third Reich) and which had been newly formed as a handset structured according to subject matter. Content characterization: This inventory includes the Wehrmacht documents collected by the Central Proof Office (CNS), which it needed to deal with personal inquiries. These documents had been taken from their original provenances by the CNS. In addition, the holdings also include the Wehrmacht's human resources department, which was prepared by the CNS itself, and the CNS's filing of research enquiries on certain persons regarding presumed or actual membership in the Wehrmacht. After the documents had been transferred to the Federal Archives and Military Archives, it was decided to preserve this collection as a collection, since a division of the documents into their individual provenances and a separation from the actual CNS documents would have considerably jeopardised the further provision of information. Only the documents of the RH 7 holdings (Army Personnel Office) received from the CNS by the military archives as "permanent loans" and clearly delineated were returned to it. The inventory RW 59 in its present form is therefore an archival result of the decades of activity and working method of the CNS, which must necessarily be preserved in order to maintain the further ability to work in this area. State of development: The inventory consists on the one hand of important working materials for the department and on the other hand of personal documents. A use is therefore only possible via the specialist department. Pre-archival order: Until 2005, the files were kept at the ZNS in Aachen-Kornelimünster. During this time, only rudimentary archival inventories were created. Scope, explanation: 2500 AU Citation method: BArch, RW 59/...

History of the Inventor: After the German Reich had abandoned an active colonial policy in the first years of its existence due to foreign policy considerations, this changed in 1884. The colonies Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Togo, Cameroon, Deutsch-Neuguinea, Deutsch-Ostafrika and Samoa, formally referred to as "protectorates", emerged. The governorates of these protectorates established in the following period were first under the control of the Colonial Department in the A u s w ä r t i g e s A m t and finally of the resulting R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t . The Kiautschou leasehold in China, acquired in 1898, was subject to the R e i c h s m a r i n e a m t . From the very beginning it was necessary to be able to assert and protect the interests of the empire in the colonies by military force. In the initial phase, this task was performed by ships and landing commands of the Imperial Navy. In the German South Sea colonies this remained so until the end. In the African colonies there was a development of their own. In 1889, a troupe of German volunteers with a contract under an active officer (Captain Curt von François) was formed in D e u t s c h - S ü d w e s t a f r i k a , which was initially only to perform police duties. In 1889, in D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a, the Reich Commissioner Captain Herrmann Wissmann set up a troop of recruited Africans to suppress the "Arab Uprising" that broke out in 1888. With the law of 22 March 1891 the "Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Ostafrika" was finally formed from volunteers of the army and navy as well as recruited volunteers, followed by the "Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika" and the "Schutztruppe für Kamerun" with the law of 9 June 1895. A protection force for Togo was planned at times, but was not formed, just as there were no protection forces for German New Guinea or Samoa. Only police troops were formed there. In the respective protectorates the governor held the highest military power, the commander of the protection troop was subordinated to him. The protection troops were responsible for maintaining security and public order. At times the individual protection troops were exclusively occupied with the suppression of insurrections of the indigenous population. To this end, some considerable personnel reinforcements were recruited from Germany. The Schutztruppen were first led by the Reichsmarineamt. With the "Gesetz betreffend die Kaiserlichen Schutztruppen in den Afrikanischen Schutzgebieten und die Wehrpflicht daselbst" of 18 July 1896, the Schutztruppen were subordinated to the Reich Chancellor, administered by the Colonial Department in the Foreign Office. In the Colonial Department, the Department M - Military Administration (Command or High Command of the Protection Forces) was responsible. The Prussian War Ministry (Army Department) took over the organizational support. Command affairs were handled by the Director of the Colonial Department, with Division M as his military staff. With the establishment of the R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t by the Most High Decree of 17 May 1907, the command of the Schutztruppen was placed under its control, now as a military command staff with responsible command power. Like the Navy, the Schutztruppen were under the supreme command of the Emperor. Its members were volunteers of the army (or armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg) and the navy, who retired from the respective army or navy for the time of their service in the Schutztruppen and then returned there again. The male German population in the protectorates was subject to compulsory military service. The conscripts in the Schutztruppen were able to meet these demands. In 1913 the Schutztruppe included the following personnel: - Command of the Schutztruppe in Berlin: 80 men - Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Ostafrika: 2758 men (266 Germans, 2492 natives) - Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika: 1970 Mann (German) - Schutztruppe für Kamerun: 1471 Mann (171 German, 1300 indigenous) During the Herero Uprising, the Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika's personnel strength in 1907 was approx. 15,000 men. The outbreak of the First World War hit the German colonies unprepared. Defensive measures against other colonial powers had never been seriously considered, the Imperial Government had assumed that in the event of a European conflict the colonies could be kept out of the fighting according to the agreements in the Congo Act of 1885, despite warning voices from the colonies themselves. On 1 August 1914, therefore, only a state of emergency was declared in the protectorates. It was not until mid-August 1914 that mobilization began in the protectorates, but the armed units there (Schutztruppen, police troops, naval units present) were ultimately without a chance compared with the opponents who were far superior in terms of numbers and materials. The following were lost, partly after fierce fighting, partly without a fight: - on 27 August 1914 Togo - on 7 September 1914 Samoa - on 17 September 1914 Deutsch-Neuguinea - on 9 July 1915 Deutsch-Südwestafrika - in February 1916 Cameroon The Kiautschou leasehold area under the control of the Navy had capitulated after heavy fighting on 7 November 1914. It was only in D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a that the Schutztruppe was able to hold its ground to the end and thus bind considerable enemy forces. Their commander, Major General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, only laid down his weapons on 25 November 1918 on order from Berlin. Processing note: The stock RW 51 was originally created as stock for the "imperial protection troops and other German land forces overseas" and comprised 29 units. In 2010, the documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps were extracted and, together with the corresponding new additions, formed the newly created holdings RW 61. Since then, the holdings of RW 51 have consisted exclusively of documents of the Imperial Protection Forces and were subsequently fundamentally revised and developed further. Some new additions were added. Description of the holdings: The collection contains the documents of the Imperial Schutztruppen for D e u t s c h - S ü d w e s t a f r i k a , D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a and Cameroon, as well as the command of the Schutztruppen, as far as they are available in the military archives. Characterization of content: The inventory contains only a few real fact files. It consists above all of a compilation of commandos of the Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Ostafrika from 1907 to 1914, as well as a file of the same commandos with reports of subordinated units and offices from 1916. In addition there are documents on organization and supply in Deutsch-Ostafrika and Deutsch-Südwestafrika and in particular some hand-drawn maps. Only two documents have survived on Cameroon. State of development: The inventory RW 51 was originally created as an inventory for the "imperial protection troops and other German land forces overseas" and comprised 29 units. In 2010, the documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps were extracted and, together with the corresponding new additions, formed the newly created holdings RW 61. Since then, the holdings of RW 51 have consisted exclusively of documents of the Imperial Protection Forces and were subsequently fundamentally revised and developed further. Some new additions were added. Pre-archival order: The tradition of the Schutztruppen In the Bundearchiv military archive is purely fragmentary. The Schutztruppen archive in the Heeresarchiv was destroyed during the air raid on Potsdam in April 1945. This applies to the personnel files of the Schutztruppen and to the records in the archives of the Schutztruppen in the colonies themselves. The tradition of the command of the Schutztruppen is essentially in the R 1001 R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t . The documents of the protection troops remaining in Africa after the First World War are now in the national archives of Tanzania (Dar es Salaam), Namibia (Windhoek) and Cameroon (Duala). In addition, the Belgian Imperial Archives in Brussels contain documents of the Rwandan Schutztruppen. Films on the documents in Windhoek and Dar es Salaam can be found in the Federal Archives in Berlin. Replacement records of the Schutztruppen and their deployments can be found above all in the documents of the Imperial Navy, which as a rule acted in a supportive capacity or, during uprisings, also issued landing commands. In addition, reference should be made to the tradition of the contingents of protection troops in the respective state archives provided by Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg. Scope, explanation: 30 AU Citation method: BArch, RW 51/...

1 On the biography of Princess Alexandra zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg: Princess Alexandra Luise Olga Viktoria zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg was born on 1 September 1878 as the fourth child of Duchess Marie (daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia) and Duke Alfred (son of Queen Victoria of Great Britain) of Edinburgh in Coburg. She spent most of her childhood and youth in England and Malta, where her father was stationed from 1886 to 1889 as commander of the British Navy, and in the Duchy of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha, which Alfred ruled from 1893 onwards. Alexandra met her cousin of the 3rd degree and later husband, Hereditary Prince Ernst II of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1863-1950) at an early age on the occasion of his many journeys to England. At the age of 15, she caught his eye especially, and after a fierce advertising campaign with her mother Marie, Ernst received permission to become engaged in 1895. In 1896 the wedding finally took place in Coburg. Alexandra moved with her husband to Langenburg, where he began to prepare for his role as heir to the family estate. Soon the first son Gottfried was born, followed by Marie Melita, Alexandra and Irma and Alfred, who died shortly after his birth. But the plans of the young family changed when in 1899 and 1900 Alexandra's brother Alfred and her father died shortly after each other. Ernst took over the regency in the duchy Saxony-Coburg-Gotha for the still minor heir to the throne Duke Eduard von Albany, so that the new centre of life lay for some years in the Thuringian residences. even after the end of the regency 1905 the hereditary princess stayed with her children except in Langenburg from time to time in Coburg at the court of her mother, while Ernst was often absent because of his political ambitions. Alexandra also undertook numerous journeys, above all to southern France, where her mother owned a country estate near Nice, as well as to Romania, to her sister Queen Mary and to Switzerland. In 1913 at the latest, when Ernst II inherited his father as prince, Langenburg Castle finally became the main residence of the family. Nevertheless, during the First World War, the new prince was again absent for a longer period of time. Due to his leading functions in voluntary nursing, he spent most of his time on the Eastern Front. Alexandra took advantage of this time by also being involved in war care and from 1914 to (at least) 1917 she worked as an assistant nurse in the war hospital in Coburg herself.After the war and the political upheavals in Germany, Ernst withdrew largely into private life, so that his wife was now also able to fully fulfil her role as Princess on the Langburg estates, only interrupted by occasional journeys. Princess Alexandra died on 16 April 1942 in the Deaconess Hospital in Schwäbisch Hall and was buried in Langenburg. 2 On the estate and its treatment: The estate of Princess Alexandra consists mainly of correspondence and contains only very few 'fact files', which largely corresponds to her rather withdrawn role at the side of her husband, who is much more active publicly and organizationally. The documents were probably handed over to the Hohenlohe Central Archives in the 1960s and 70s and roughly sorted there. In the process, it was possible to fall back on Alexandra's own disciplinary measures, which enclosed old envelopes with inscriptions in the sense of a file title with part of the written material. The current distortion was also based on these original file titles, but the depth of development went far beyond this. Hardly any transformations had to be carried out, and only a slight mixing with files of other provenance was found, so that few documents were to be removed. However, numerous fascicles were added to the collection, which were found during the processing of other langenburg estates - in particular those of the husband Ernst II and the daughters Alexandra and Irma - and La 143 Nachlass Fürstin Alexandra, which was arranged and recorded in December 2004 by archivist Thomas Kreutzer as part of a project sponsored by the Kulturstiftung Baden-Württemberg. It comprises 2.4 linear metres. Files and volumes in 107 units with a running time of [ca. 1880]-1942.Neuenstein, in April 2005Thomas Kreutzer 3. further materials:: La 102 Fürstliche HofverwaltungLa 95 Domänenkanzlei LangenburgLa 142 Nachlass Fürst Ernst II. 4. Note: This online finding aid lacks some title records of archival records from the 20th century which are not yet fully accessible. In the Hohenlohe Central Archives there is a complete finding aid book, which also contains the not yet freely accessible archive units.Neuenstein, September 2005Dr. Schiffer

History of the inventor: On 14 November 1897, the German Reich occupied the Chinese port of Tsingtau and, in a contract with the Chinese Empire dated 6 March 1898, leased an area of 550 km² with Tsingtau as its centre for 99 years - the Kiautschou protectorate. The province of Schantung, to which the leased area actually belonged, was declared a German area of interest and a neutral zone. In this area the empire received concessions for the construction and maintenance of railway lines and mines. However, as early as 30 October 1895, the German Reich had the right to establish branches in the international contracted ports of Tientsin and Hankou, which had existed since 1859/60. And of course the empire, like the other great powers and other states involved in China trade, also maintained a legation in Beijing. German missions were also active in the interior of China, as were German merchants, especially in Shanghai. The German Reich was therefore indeed heavily involved in China and saw itself as such. Against this background, the xenophobic riots in China in Germany that began at the end of 1899 and quickly became more serious were perceived as a threat. The regent, Empress Cixi, remained ambiguous at first in her measures against the "fist fighters united in righteousness", referred to by the colonial powers as "boxers" for short, units of the imperial Chinese army partly allied themselves with them. The uprising continued to increase from January 1900 onwards, with excessive acts of violence against Chinese Christians and foreigners. From May 1900 the foreign landscapes in Beijing were threatened by insurgents, the railway lines from Beijing to the coast were attacked. The Gesandschaften therefore requested military support. In May 1900, the German Reich sent a contingent of the III Sea Battalion stationed in Tsingtau to Beijing, two further companies were ordered to Tientsin, and the cruiser squadron moved to the roadstead before the Taku forts at the mouth of the river Peiho. Meanwhile, the situation in Beijing continued to deteriorate and further troops were needed. In June 1900, the troops of the colonial powers in China formed an expeditionary corps led by the British admiral Seymour (2066 men). However, this was stopped in mid-June by Chinese troops (boxers and regular army) and had to turn back. The foreigners and Chinese Christians in Beijing had meanwhile barricaded themselves in the Gesandschaftsviertel and were cut off from the outside world. The allied colonial powers (USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Japan) stormed the Taku-Forts on June 17, the Chinese government ultimatively called on all foreigners to leave China on June 19. On 20 June the German envoy, Baron Clemens von Ketteler, was murdered in Beijing. By edict of 21 June, China effectively declared war on the Allies, but this was not reciprocated by them. The Allied troops withdrew to Tientsin at the end of June 1900. In Germany, on 25 June, a naval expedition corps of 2528 men (under Major General von Höpfner) was formed from the members of the naval infantry. In addition, on 3 July the order was given to set up an expedition corps of volunteers from the army (under Lieutenant General von Lessel). The Allies had agreed to form an international expeditionary corps, with Germany as commander-in-chief. On 12 August 1900, the former chief of the Great General Staff, Field Marshal Alfred Graf von Waldersee, was appointed commander-in-chief of the international armed force, which finally comprised 64,000 troops. Waldersee used the "Army Command East Asia" as a staff. The East Asian Expeditionary Corps set sail with its first parts on 27 July in Bremerhaven, when Emperor Wilhelm II gave the famous "Hun speech" at their farewell. With the 19,093 men of its East Asian Expeditionary Corps under Lieutenant General von Lessel, the German Reich provided almost a third of the international armed forces. Structure of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps: 3 infantry brigades to 2 infantry regiments with 9 companies each 1 fighter company 1 cavalry regiment to 4 escadrons 1 field artillery regiment to 3 divisions with a total of 8 batteries 2 light ammunition columns 1 battalion heavy field howitzers with 2 batteries 1 pioneer regiment with 9 companies each 1 hunter company 1 cavalry regiment to 4 escadrons 1 field artillery regiment to 3 divisions with a total of 8 batteries 2 light ammunition columns 1 battalion heavy field howitzers with 2 batteries 1 pioneerBattalion of 3 Companies 1 Railway Battalion of 3 Companies 1 Corps Telegraph Department 1 Medical Company 1 Munitions Column Department with 7 Munitions Columns 1 Train Command with 3 Supply Columns, 1 field bakery company, 6 field hospitals 1 stage command with 1 horse depot, 1 military hospital depot, 1 stage ammunition column, personnel for 3 war hospitals and one hospital ship, several supply stations Already on the 4th day of operations, the first day of operations was at the hospital. On August 1, the Allied troops (about 20,000 men) gathered in Tientsin had once again set out and this time were able to fight their way through to Beijing. On August 14, Beijing was taken and then plundered for three days. The Chinese government fled to the south. When the international troops under Waldersee arrived in China, the situation was essentially settled, Beijing and Tientsin were horrified. Numerous "punitive expeditions" for the final destruction of the Boxers followed, in which the East Asian Expeditionary Corps was also intensively involved. The Allied approach was characterized by excessive brutality and numerous riots against the civilian population. On January 10, 1901, the Regent accepted the conditions of the Allies as laid down in the "Boxer Protocol" signed on September 7, 1901. The East Asian Expeditionary Corps was disbanded on 17 May 1901 and transformed into the East Asian Occupation Brigade stationed at Beijing, Tientsin, Langfang, Yangtsun, Tangku and Shanghaikwan. Structure of the East Asian Occupation Brigade: 1 command staff with administrative authorities 2 infantry regiments with 6 companies each, of which 1 company mounted 1 escadron hunter on horseback 1 field battery 1 pioneer company with telegraph detachment 1 field hospital The East Asian Occupation Brigade was further reduced in size and restructured on 1 May and 11 December 1902. On 6 March 1906, the East Asian Occupation Brigade was also dissolved and replaced by a battalion-strength detachment. This was replaced on 5 April 1909 by a naval infantry unit, which was wound up in 1910. The East Asian Department in the Prussian Ministry of War (inventory PH 2) was organizationally responsible. Processing note: The holdings initially comprised only three AE, which together with the few files of the Schutztruppen formed the holdings of RW 51 Kaiserliche Schutztruppen and other armed forces overseas. In 2008, nine further AE of different origins were added and a separate portfolio RW 61 was now formed. The inventory was developed in February 2010. Description of the holdings: The holdings contain the documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps and the East Asian Occupation Brigade, as far as they are available in the military archives. Characterization of content: The inventory contains hardly any real material files. It consists mainly of several German-Chinese place name glossaries. Worth mentioning is a publication about the locations Langfang, Yangtsun, Tangku and Schanghaikwan with numerous illustrations. State of development: The inventory initially comprised only three AE, which together with the few files of the Schutztruppen formed the inventory RW 51 Kaiserliche Schutztruppen and other armed forces overseas. In 2008, nine further AE of different origins were added and a separate portfolio RW 61 was now formed. The inventory was developed in February 2010. Pre-archival order: The documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps and the East Asian Occupation Brigade must essentially be regarded as lost in the fire of the Army Archives in 1945. Only pieces that have survived by chance have been preserved. These were supplemented by documents from the environment of the two associations, the branches in Tientsin, Hankou and Beijing. Citation style: BArch, RW 61/...