Willibald Erich Franz Josef Borowitz ( German: Willibald Erich Franz Josef Borowietz ; September 17, 1893 , Ratibor - July 1, 1945 , Clinton, Mississippi , USA ) - German military commander, lieutenant general of the Third Reich (since 1943).
| Willibald Borowitz | ||||||||||||||||||
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| him. Willibald borowietz | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of Birth | September 17, 1893 | |||||||||||||||||
| Place of Birth | Ratibor, German Empire (now Raciborz , Poland ) | |||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | July 1, 1945 (51 years old) | |||||||||||||||||
| A place of death | Clinton, Mississippi , USA | |||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation |  German Empire Weimar Republic Third Reich | |||||||||||||||||
| Type of army | ground troops | |||||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1914 - 1945 | |||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Wehrmacht Lieutenant General | |||||||||||||||||
| Commanded | 10th Rifle Regiment, 10th Panzer Grenadier Division, 15th Panzer Division | |||||||||||||||||
| Battles / wars | World War I The Second World War | |||||||||||||||||
| Awards and prizes | German Empire
Third Reich
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Knight of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (1941).
Biography
He began his service in the Prussian army as the cadet of the Silesian Infantry Regiment in March 1914.
Member of the First World War. He fought on the Western Front . In August he was wounded and sent to a hospital. In September 1914 he returned to the army. A few days later he was seriously wounded near St. Andre, lost his right eye, and again went to the military hospital in Breslau . In October 1914 he received the rank of ensign and in December of the same year he was assigned to serve in the reserve battalion of his regiment.
Later he became commander of a machine gun company. Since January 1915 - lieutenant . The end of the war met in the hospital.
Since 1919 he served in the Silesian Border Guard Service, was dismissed from the army in October of that year. Then - Chief Lieutenant of the Breslau Police.
In August 1931 he graduated from the Potsdam High School of Police, received the rank of police major. Since October 1935, he served as a major at headquarters in Wünsdorf , then transferred as an officer to the Wehrmacht. Since October 1937 at the headquarters of the school of tank troops.
In early September 1939, Major Borovets participated in the Polish campaign , commanding an anti-tank unit.
Since April 1940 - lieutenant colonel . He took part in the French and then the Balkan campaigns . In April 1941, he was awarded a certificate of honor of the Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht.
In June 1941, commanding the 10th Rifle Regiment in the Wehrmacht, he fought against the Red Army at the beginning of the campaign against the USSR . In February 1942, he was awarded the rank of colonel .
In 1942, his regiment was reorganized into a pan-grenadier (motorized infantry) unit. In October of that year he was sent to the Fuhrer’s reserve .
Since November 1942, Colonel Borovets was appointed commander of the 10th Tank Brigade. From November 11, 1942 to May 10, 1943, Lieutenant General Willibald Borowitz commanded the 15th Panzer Division , at the head of which he fought in North Africa. Since January 1, 1943 - Major General . May 15, 1943 became a lieutenant general .
After the replenishment, the division participated in the offensive in the area of Kasserinsky passage , where it defeated the American troops. However, the division was stopped and defeated south of Tunisia during the final collapse of the Axis forces in North Africa in May 1943.
Willibald Borowitz surrendered to the Allied forces along with the remnants of the German African Corps and was sent to the United States to a prisoner of war camp in Clinton, Hinds County ( Mississippi County ). He committed suicide on July 1, 1945 as a result of electric shock in the bathroom. The cerebral hemorrhage was the official cause of death.
Willibald Borowitz was married to a Jewish woman, Eva Ledien, who committed suicide in October 1938 to prevent the Third Reich authorities from recognizing their children of non-Aryan origin.
Rewards
- Iron Cross (1914) 2nd (October 6, 1914) ( Kingdom of Prussia )
- Iron Cross (1914) 1st (June 25, 1915) ( Kingdom of Prussia )
- Breastplate “For Injury” (1918) black
- Honorary Cross of the First World War 1914/1918 with swords (December 21, 1935)
- Medal “For the length of service in the Wehrmacht” from 4th to 1st grade (October 2, 1936)
- Hungarian commemorative medal of World War II with swords (1936) ( Kingdom of Hungary )
- Medal for participation in the European War (1915-1918) with swords (1938) ( Kingdom of Bulgaria )
- Buckle to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd class (September 25, 1939)
- Buckle to the Iron Cross (1939) 1st class (June 11, 1940)
- Certificate of Honor of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces for outstanding achievements on the battlefield (1941)
- Breastplate “For participating in general assault attacks” (April 14, 1941)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross (July 24, 1941)
- oak leaves (No. 235) (May 10, 1943)
- German cross in gold (June 44, 1942)
- Medal "For the Winter Campaign in the East 1941/42" (August 1, 1942)
- Cuff tape "Africa" (1943)
- Medal "For Military Valor" in silver (1943) ( Kingdom of Italy )
- Mention in the Wehrmachtbericht (April 12, 1941; May 11, 1943)
Links
- Willibald Borowietz (English)
- Gen. Willibald Erich Franz Josef Borowietz (English)
- Borowietz, Willibald Erich Frans Josef (English)