Bodo Borries from Ditfurth

Bodo (Friedrich) Borries von Ditfurth (born December 16, 1852 in Bielefeld - Gadderbaum , † February 21, 1915 in Cologne ) was a Prussian officer , most recently lieutenant general and pasha in the Ottoman army under Sultan Abdülhamid II.

Life

Bodo von Ditfurth was the son of Bielefeld district administrator Wilhelm von Ditfurth and his wife Eleonore Juliane Wilhelmine Friederike von Borries (1814–1886), daughter of Minden's district president Franz von Borries , which gave him the maternal surname as a second first name. The politician and manor owner Franz von Ditfurth was his older brother.

Bodo Borries von Ditfurth decided early on to pursue a career as a professional soldier in the Prussian Army . As a major , he commanded the III. Battalion of the infantry regiment "Prince Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau" (5th Pomeranian) No. 42 in Greifswald . This year, he was on the instructions of Emperor Wilhelm II. With promotion to lieutenant colonel with board for disposition made to the then Constantinople Opel as under Sultan Abdulhamid II. (Term 1876-1909) military advisors in the service of the Ottoman Empire to come.

The dispatch to Constantinople took place within the framework of the German military mission in the Ottoman Empire , which had already been launched by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1878 when Sultan Abdülhamid II felt forced after his defeat in the Russo-Ottoman War (1877/78) to use foreign aid for the reorganization of the Ottoman armed forces in order to be able to fend off the threat from foreign and domestic opponents.

Borries von Ditfurth received from Sultan Abdülhamid II the rank of general for a time and in addition the title of pasha, which was due to a general. The reorganization and modernization of the Ottoman infantry belonged to his special area of responsibility as a “reformer”. As part of a fortification commission , however, the first step was to strengthen the Dardanelles , the Bosphorus and the fortification of the capital. In 1907 the order followed to set up training or model battalions, which were to be led by Turkish officers trained in Germany and intended for the training of officers and NCOs. In 1908 he was supposed to work out a weapons training program as an infantry instructor for the 1st Army Corps.

Shortly after the Young Turkish uprising in July 1908, the Turkish press called for the recall of the current German military mission. It reflected the growing displeasure in large circles of the Turkish military towards the German instructors. As early as April 1907, the sultan's pro-German policy was condemned in a leaflet, not least at the instigation of English and French circles. It was criticized that the German officers received four times the salary of corresponding Turkish officers, they also lived comfortably in the capital, received horses and wagons and actually only had to take part in the sultan's weekly Selamlık parade. When Sultan Abdülhamid II tried with the help of conservative soldiers and religiously incited circles in April 1909 to overthrow the Young Turkish government, which had now been established, he was unceremoniously deposed and banished into exile. With this, the support of the German instructors was finally dropped.

Borries von Ditfurth finally returned to Germany at the end of 1909 together with the other German officers and on April 20, 1910 was appointed as colonel to command the infantry regiment "von Horn" (3rd Rheinisches) No. 29 in Trier . Shortly afterwards he was promoted to major general on October 18, 1910 and was commander of the 10th Infantry Brigade in Frankfurt (Oder) until March 21, 1913 . Subsequently, Borries von Ditfurth was given the character of Lieutenant General and was used as an inspector of the Landwehr inspection in Cologne.

Borries von Ditfurth was married to Paula Julie Helene Ottilie Freiin von Blomberg (* May 27, 1863 in Detmold ; † January 22, 1947 in Iggenhausen ), daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Moritz Freiherr von Blomberg (* 1831), with whom he had nine children would have. One of his daughters, Ursula von Ditfurth (1898–1945), married the Düsseldorf industrialist Helmuth Poensgen .

literature

German gender book. Volume 123, p. 283. Starke Verlag, Glücksburg 1958.
Jehuda L. Wallach: Anatomy of a military aid. The Prussian-German military missions in Turkey 1835-1919. Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1976.
Rainer Schubert: The German Pascha. Bodo von Ditfurth. Diplomatic dispatch, March 2005, Berlin.
Eberhard Demm: Between cultural conflict and acculturation. In: Journal of History. Issue 8, 2005, Metropol-Verlag Berlin.
Johanna von Ditfurth: Memories from my life. Private print 1999.

Individual evidence

↑ Dermot Bradley (ed.), Günter Wegner: Occupation of the German Army 1815-1939. Volume 1: The higher command posts 1815–1939. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1780-1 , p. 228.
↑ Prussian War Ministry (ed.): Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps for 1914. ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1914. p. 79.

personal data
SURNAME	Ditfurth, Bodo Borries from
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Ditfurth, Bodo Friedrich Borries von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Prussian officer, most recently lieutenant general and pasha in the Ottoman army
DATE OF BIRTH	December 16, 1852
PLACE OF BIRTH	Gadderbaum
DATE OF DEATH	February 21, 1915
Place of death	Cologne

[Wegner-1] Dermot Bradley (ed.), Günter Wegner: Occupation of the German Army 1815-1939. Volume 1: The higher command posts 1815–1939. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1780-1 , p. 228.

[Rangliste1914-2] Prussian War Ministry (ed.): Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps for 1914. ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1914. p. 79.