Frederik-Valdemar Olsen
Frederik-Valdemar Olsen | |
---|---|
Governor of Congo-Kasaï | |
In office September 1924 – April 1925 | |
Preceded by | Alphonse Engels |
Succeeded by | Alphonse Engels |
Personal details | |
Born | Kalundborg, Denmark | 24 May 1877
Died | 19 November 1962 Etterbeek, Belgium | (aged 85)
Nationality | Danish, Belgian |
Occupation | Officer, businessman |
Frederik-Valdemar Olsen (24 May 1877 – 19 November 1962) was a Danish soldier who became a general and commander in chief of the Belgian Congo Force Publique. He was born into a poor family, joined the Danish army, then in 1898 volunteered to serve in the Congo Free State. He rose quickly through the ranks, and in 1909–1910 played an important role in a stand-off with German and British forces disputing the eastern border of what was now the Belgian Congo. During World War I Olsen commanded a force that defended Northern Rhodesia against a German attack, then advanced from the south of Lake Kivu to take Tabora in what is now Tanzania. After the war he became commander of the Force Publique before retiring as a general in 1925. Olsen was then made general manager of the state-owned Congo River shipping line
Early years (1877–1898)
Frederik-Valdemar Olsen was born on 24 May 1877 in Kalundborg Denmark. His parents were Peter Olsen (1842–1920) and Thora Marie Thomsen (1840–1923).[1] His father worked as a porter carrying passenger luggage between the Kalundborg railway station and the ferry to the island of Zealand, while his mother did odd jobs and ran a bakery. He attended the Realskölle in Kalundborg.[2] He graduated in 1893.[1]
Olsen found a job at the city police station. On 12 October 1896 he entered the army for his compulsory military service. His ability was noted by his superiors, and the mayor of Kalundborg paid for him to study at the Military Academy in Copenhagen. On 8 October 1897 Olsen became a 2nd lieutenant. He was assigned to the 1st Artillery Regiment, where he served in a battery commanded by Johan Stöckel, who had worked on construction of the Fort de Shinkakasa. Stöckel's stories made him keen to serve in Africa, and he was engaged by Hans-Hugold von Schwerin for service in the Congo Free State.[2] He was a second lieutenant in Force Publique.[1]
Force Publique
Pre-War (1898–1914)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Olsen.jpg/220px-Olsen.jpg)
Olsen sailed from Antwerp to Boma in December 1898, and was assigned to the Irebu camp under commander Luc-Arthur-Joseph Jeuniaux. He was sent to Orientale Province on 11 October 1899. On 7 December 1899 he joined the troops that were repressing the revolt that had begun in 1896 in the northeast of the Congo during the Congo-Nile expedition of Francis Dhanis.[2]
There were constant incidents in the region with Germans who had occupied some of the Belgian territory during the revolt and were reluctant to return it to the Belgians. Commander Paul Costermans sent Olsen to found a post in July 1900 on Lake Kivu, which later became Bukavu.[2] Lieutenant Paul Léon Delwart, head of the elite company of the Force Publique in Orientale Province, died on 19 August 1900.[3] Olsen replaced Delwart as leader of the elite Belgian company in the Ruzizi-Kivu region, based in Uvira.[2] Olsen completed his first 3-year term and returned to Antwerp on 11 December 1901. His health had been damaged, and he took a 9-month leave of absence.[2]
Olsen was promoted to captain, and left Antwerp on 2 October 1902 for Boma. He went on to
During his fourth term Olsen had to deal with a complicated situation due to unauthorized agreements between local Belgian and German officers, and agreements between the Germans and the British. It had been agreed that the
After the Kivu border question had been settled in May 1910, Olsen was charged with creating a military force in
World War I (1914–1918)
With the outbreak of World War I, Olsen had to mobilize Katanga in August 1914. On 11 September 1914 he received a call for help from George Graham Percy Lyons, district commissioner of
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Intocht-tabora-19-september-1916.jpg/220px-Intocht-tabora-19-september-1916.jpg)
Olsen was made lieutenant colonel of 23 January 1916 and was placed in command of the southern brigade for the
In August the northern brigade occupied Maria-Hilf, then Ugaga, then Saint-Michael.[4] The Germans retreated towards Tabora, destroying the railway behind them. Moulaert sent railway equipment by barge from
Post-war (1918–1925)
Olsen took leave in France, then returned to East Africa via the Suez Canal and Dar es Salaam. When the armistice ended the war in November 1918 Olsen resumed his command of the troops in Katanga. In 1920 the Chamber and the Senate unanimously voted to make him a fully naturalized Belgian citizen (grande naturalisation belge).[2] The citation stated that "this brave man among all the brave men, who has spent 30 years in the Congo, has now become a great man of Belgium in heart and soul".[1] On 22 November 1920 Olsen was appointed colonel and became commander in chief of the Force Publique, which he reorganized for peacetime duties. In September 1924 Olsen was made governor of
Later career (1925–1962)
The Minister of the Colonies, Henri Carton de Tournai, had asked Olsen to retire so he could take over management of the state-owned transportation company Unatra (Union National des Transports Fluviaux).[1] Olsen took a vacation in Europe from 11 June to 8 December 1925. He then took office as general manager of Unatra, which had been formed by combining the shipyrards and boats of
Olsen remained a director of Unatra and C.F.L., and in 1936 was made managing director of
Olsen married Harriet Meta de Stricker in Copenhagen on 17 September 1906. This marriage was dissolved. He married again on 25 July 1929 in Paris to Yvonne Marguerite Madeleine Atgier (2 February 1888 – 5 February 1962), a Frenchwoman who had been born in Algiers.[1] Olsen died in Etterbeek, Belgium on 17 November 1962. He held the Grand Cross of the Order of the African Star, Commander of the Order of Leopold, the Royal Order of the Lion, the Order of the Crown and the Order of the Dannebrog.[2] There was an Avenue Général Olsen in several cities. In 1953 a monument was erected in Bukavu for the force led by Olsen that had taken possession of the place for the Congo Free State.[1]
Publications
- Frederik-Valdemar Olsen (1932), "Les avatars et les desiderata de la navigation sur le Haut-Fleuve", Bull, des S. De l'L.R.C.B. (in French), III: 228–248
- Frederik-Valdemar Olsen (1947), "Emmanuel Hanssens, Notice biographique", Bull, des S. De l'L.R.C.B. (in French), XVIII: 163–167
- Frederik-Valdemar Olsen (September 1950), "Histoire des troupes du Katanga pendant la période 1910 jusqu'à l'offensive en A. O. A, pendant la première guerre mondiale", Revue congolaise illustré (in French) (9)
- Frederik-Valdemar Olsen (1951), "Décès de Pierre Leemans", Bull, des S. De l'L.R.C.B. (in French), XXII: 211–212
Notes
Sources
- Delpierre, G. (2002), "Tabora 1916: de la symbolique d'une victoire" (PDF), BTNG/RBHC (in French), XXXII, retrieved 2021-02-06
- Kamp, A.; Alsted, Niels (1 November 2011), "F.V. Olsen", Dansk Biografisk Leksikons (in Danish) (3 ed.), retrieved 2021-02-06
- Lacroix, A. (1951), Biographie Coloniale Belge, vol. II, Inst. roy. colon. belge, pp. col. 271–272, retrieved 2021-03-11
- Lederer, A. (1968), Biographie Belge d'Outre-Mer (in French), vol. VI, Académie Royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer, pp. col. 783–790, retrieved 2021-01-28