Generalleutnant Willibald BOROWIETZ Career

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CAREER INFORMATION AFRIKAKORPS
WEHRMACHT GENERALLEUTNANT
WILLIBALD ERICH FRANZ JOSEF
BOROWIETZ, WINNER OF THE
KNIGHT’S CROSS AND THE OAK
LEAVES TO THE KNIGHT’S CROSS

The newspaper report above is from the Völkischer Beobachter of 15 May 1943. The pictures above left show General Borowietz reviewing a Wehrmacht Regiment on the grounds of the Theresienwiese in central Munich, the site where the annual Oktoberfest is held.

GENERALLEUTNANT WILLIBALD [Willibald Erich Franz Josef] BOROWIETZ. Born: 17 September 1893 in Ratibor, Germany, he was killed in an auto accident in Clinton, Mississippi on 1 July 1945. He is the highest-ranking German POW buried at Fort Benning, GA. He served with distinction during the invasion of Poland, the Soviet Union and as a general in the Afrikakorps. He was the recipient of many medals and honors including the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

PROMOTIONS

Unteroffizier und Offiziers-Stellvertreter (8 Aug 1914); Fähnrich (02 Oct 1914); Leutnant (23 Jan 1915); Oberleutnant (18 Oct 1918); Polizei-Oberleutnant (5 Oct 1919); Polizei-Hauptmann (21 Dec 1921); Polizei-Major (11 Aug 1931); Major (E) (1 Oct 1935); Major (13 Dec 1939); Oberstleutnant (1 Apr 1940); Oberst (1 Feb 1942); Generalmajor (1 Jan 1943); Generalleutnant (1 May 1943)

CAREER

Entered Army Service (05 Mar 1914)
Fahnenjunker in the 156th Infantry-Regiment (05 Mar 1914-22 Aug 1914)
Slightly wounded at Cutry-Ugny (22 Aug 1914-24 Aug 1914)
Moved into the Hospital in Mannheim (24 Aug 1914-01 Sep 1914)
Back with the Regiment in the Field (01 Sep 1914-10 Sep 1914)
Severely wounded at St. André, Fortress-Hospital Breslau and Treatment in Bad Landeck (10 Sep 1914-15 Dec 1914)
Transferred to the Replacement-Battalion of the 156th Infantry-Regiment (15 Dec 1914-30 Dec 1914)
Transferred into the 2nd Replacement-MG-Company of the VI. Army-Corps (30 Dec 1914-30 Jan 1915)
Transferred into the MG-Company of the 271st Reserve-Infantry-Regiment (30 Jan 1915-01 Jun 1915)
Company-Leader of the MG-Company of the 271st Reserve-Infantry-Regiment (01 Jun 1915-22 May 1916)
Leader of the 41st MG-Sniper-Battalion (01 Oct 1916-21 Jun 1917)
Detached to the Tifle-Tests-Commission in Spandau (21 Jun 1917-21 Jun 1918)
Transferred into the 156th Infantry-Regiment (21 Jun 1918-01 Jul 1918)
Temporary-Ordinance-Officer and Signals-Officer with the Staff of the 156th Infantry-Regiment (01 Jul 1918-18 Jul 1918)
Temporary-Regiments-Adjutant of the 156th Infantry-Regiment (18 Jul 1918-31 Jul 1918)
Adjutant of the II. Battalion of the 156th Infantry-Regiment (31 Jul 1918-10 Aug 1918)
Temporary-Regiments-Adjutant of the 156th Infantry-Regiment (10 Aug 1918-22 Aug 1918)
Detached to the Regiments-Staff of the 156th Infantry-Regiment (22 Aug 1918-11 Sep 1918)
Adjutant of the II. Battalion of the 156th Infantry-Regiment (11 Sep 1918-29 Oct 1918)
At the same time, Temporary-Regiments-Adjutant of the 156th Infantry-Regiment (23 Sep 1918-22 Oct 1918)
Taken ill – in the Reserve-Hospital Wiesbaden, then the Auxiliary-Hospital Wittenberg (29 Oct 1918-09 Nov 1918)
Transferred to the Replacement-Battalion of the 156th Infantry-Regiment (09 Nov 1918-29 Nov 1918)
Company-Leader in the 156th Infantry-Regiment (29 Nov 1918-14 Dec 1918)
Detached to the Demob-Department-School V (14 Dec 1918-28 Dec 1918)
Company-Leader in the 156th Infantry-Regiment (28 Dec 1918-18 Mar 1919)
Temporary-Leader of the II. Battalion of the 156th Infantry-Regiment (18 Mar 1919-21 Mar 1919)
Company-Leader in the 156th Infantry-Regiment (21 Mar 1919-11 May 1919)
Transferred into Fortress-Hospital Breslau (11 May 1919-03 Jun 1919)
Transferred to the Commander of Combat Vehicles with Army High Command Border-Protection South (03 Jun 1919-05 Oct 1919)
Granted Leave and Transferred to the Security-Police in Breslau as Platoon-Leader of the 1st Technical-Unit (05 Oct 1919-28 Mar 1921)
Retired from Army Service (31 Jan 1920)
Entered Police Service (05 Oct 1919)
Assistant with the Government-Presidency Breslau (28 Mar 1921-09 Jul 1921)
Transferred to the Command of the Protection-Police Breslau (09 Jul 1921-21 Dec 1921)
Course at the Police-School Eiche (20 Sep 1921-20 Dec 1921)
Adjutant of the II. Battalion of the Protection-Police Breslau (21 Dec 1921-01 Aug 1922)
Transferred to the Command of the Protection-Police Gleiwitz (01 Aug 1922-01 Jan 1924)
Alarm-Leader with the Police-Presidency Gleiwitz (01 Jan 1924-01 Nov 1924)
Course for Police-Officers at the Higher Police School Eiche (24 Apr 1924-15 Jul 1924)
Scientific Assistant at the Higher Police School Eiche (01 Nov 1924-01 Apr 1927)
Director of the School-Department for Weapons Matters at the Police-School for Technology and Commerce (01 Apr 1927-16 Apr 1928)
District-Service with the Police-Inspection Berlin-Kreuzberg (16 Apr 1928-16 Jul 1928)
Director of the School-Department for Weapons Matters at the Police-Institute for Technology and Commerce (16 Jul 1928-23 Mar 1933)
Detached to the 8th Promotion-Course for Police-Majors at the Higher Police School Eiche (09 Apr 1931-05 Aug 1931)
Transferred to the Reichs-Commissariat for Air Transport – Group Air-Protection (23 Mar 1933-20 Feb 1934)
Commander of the Technical State Police School Berlin (20 Feb 1934-01 Aug 1935)
Detached to the Army-Motor-Transport-School Berlin (01 Aug 1935-01 Oct 1935)
Transferred to Army Service as Supplemental-Officer (01 Oct 1935); Active-Officer (01 Feb 1941)
Major with the Staff of the Motor-Transport-Combat-Troop-School (01 Oct 1935-12 Oct 1937)
Transferred to the Staff of the Panzer-Troop-School (12 Oct 1937-01 Feb 1939)
Detached to the Chief of Fast Troops, OKH (01 Feb 1939-09 Sep 1939)
Commander of the 50th Anti-Tank-Battalion (09 Sep 1939-01 Feb 1941)
Commander of the 50th Panzerjäger-Battalion (01 Feb 1941-10 Jun 1941)
Delegated with the Leadership of the 10th Rifle-Regiment (10 Jun 1941-01 Oct 1941)
Commander of the 10th Rifle-Regiment (01 Oct 1941-05 Oct 1942)
Führer-Reserve (05 Oct 1942-10 Nov 1942)
Commander of the 10th Panzer-Grenadier-Brigade (10 Nov 1942-18 Nov 1942)
Delegated with the Leadership of the 15th Panzer-Division (18 Nov 1942-01 Jan 1943)
Commander of the 15th Panzer-Division (01 Jan 1943-10 May 1943)
Captured in Tunisia, in US Captivity (10 May 1943-01 Jul 1945)
Fatally Wounded in an accident (01 Jul 1945)

AWARDS & DECORATIONS

- Ritterkreuz (371): am 24.07.1941 als Oberstleutnant und Kommandeur des Schützen-Regiment 10
- Eichenlaub (235): am 10.05.1943 als Generalmajor und Kommandeur der 15. Panzer-Division
- Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (135/2): am 14.06.1942 als Oberst und Kommandeur des Schützen-Regiment 10
- 1914 EK I: 25.06.1915
- 1914 EK II: 06.10.1914
- Verwundetenabzeichen, 1918 in Schwarz: 04.05.1918
- Schlesischer Adler-Orden II. Stufe: 29.08.1919
- Schlesischer Adler-Orden I. Stufe: 29.08.1919
- Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer: 21.12.1935
- Kgl. Ungar. Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille mit Schwertern und Helm: 03.02.1936
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung IV. bis II. Klasse: 02.10.1936
- Kgl. Bulgar. Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille mit Schwertern: 10.05.1938
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung I. Klasse
- Spange zum EK I : 11.06.1940
- Spange zum EK II : 25.09.1939
- Anerkennungsurkunde des Oberbefehlshabers des Heeres: am 12.04.1941 als Oberstleutnant und Kommandeur Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 50
- im Wehrmachtbericht genannt: 12.04.1941
- Allgemeines-Sturmabzeichen in Silber: 14.04.1941
- Medaille “Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/1942”: 01.08.1942
- Kgl. Italien. Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille
- Ärmelband “Afrika”
- im Wehrmachtbericht genannt: 11.05.1943

The announcement of Hitler's award of the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross to Generalmajor Willibald Borowietz (shown top left) is contained in the issue of the Völkischer Beobachter shown here. The newspaper is offered along with the period photographs and original POW camp letters written in the general's own hand in America and mailed to Nazi Germany.

Generalleutnant Borowietz POW letter translations - click HERE.

Return to main Generalleutnant Borowietz letters for sale page - click HERE.

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