Erich Victor Carl August Franke was a German military officer and the last commander of the Schutztruppe in German South West Africa. He was born in Zuckmantel (in Austrian Silesia) on July 21, 1865.
THE HERO OF OMARURU
Franke was Bezirksamtmann (district officer) in several locations in German South West Africa, especially Ovamboland and Kaokoveld. He was stationed at Outjo from 1899 to 1910… and was involved in several campaigns against native tribes who resisted German colonial rule.
In January 1904, Omaruru was attacked by Herero forces under Chief Manassa. Franke, who had been engaged in suppressing an uprising in southern Namibia, petitioned Governor Leutwein for permission to march north and relieve the besieged town.
After a twenty-day, nine-hundred-kilometer march, Franke arrived in Omaruru and led the cavalry charge, which defeated the Herero attack. For his efforts, Franke received the highest German military honors… and was dubbed “Hero of Omaruru”, because of his victory over numerically superior Herero forces at Omaruru. He also had successful campaigns against the Herero at Okahandja and Windhoek.
CAMPAIGN IN ANGOLA
At the beginning of World War I, Franke led a successful counterattack against Portuguese forces at Naulila in Portuguese Angola. On November 12, 1914, he became commander of the Schutztruppe after the death of Joachim von Heydebreck.
On December 18, 1914, the largest clash of the German campaign in Angola occurred. Franke’s army of two thousand men attacked Portuguese forces positioned at Naulila. After stubborn resistance, the Portuguese were forced to withdraw towards the Humbe region, with sixty-nine soldiers dead (among them three officers), seventy-six wounded (among them one officer), and seventy-nine prisoners (among them three officers). German losses were twelve dead soldiers with another thirty wounded (among them ten officers). After the explosion of the munitions magazine at Forte Roçadas base, the Portuguese also left the Humbe, withdrawing farther north.
But on July 7, 1915, Portuguese forces under the command of General Pereira d’Eça reoccupied the Humbe region. Unfortunately for Victor Franke, he along with 2,166 men surrendered to South African forces near Khorab two days later. Five weeks after the campaign ended, South African troops controlled the entire German colony.
DEATH AND LEGACY
In 1919, Victor Franke left South West Africa. One year later, he retired from the German Army with the rank of major-general. He died on August 7, 1936 at the age of seventy-one.
Today, the “Franke Tower” in Omaruru (erected in 1908 by grateful German residents) stands as a monument to Franke’s 1904 military exploits (pictured below). The tower, which was declared a national monument in 1963, holds a historical plaque and affords a view over Omaruru.
Three kilometers outside the town of Otavi on the Tsumeb Road is a memorial marking the 1915 German surrender at Khorab.
The “Franke House Museum” is located in the town of Outjo.