Lothar von Bischoffshausen

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Lothar William Mordian Freiherr von Bischoffshausen (born February 20, 1897 in Witzenhausen , † July 25, 1970 in Kassel ) was a German cavalry officer , commander of an armored infantry regiment and bearer of the Knight's Cross in World War II .

Origin and career

Bischoffshausen came from an ancient noble family from what is now Lower Saxony , which later resided in Hesse as a member of the Knighthood of the Old Hessen . He was in the 20th generation to Heino von Bischoffshausen and Helene (Lenka), geb. Freiin von Eickstedt was born as the fourth or third surviving child.

The seventeen-year-old signed up for the Dragoons immediately after the outbreak of World War I , was not yet 18 years old and was transferred to the front and took part in the fighting in Russia, Romania and on the Western Front . As a non-commissioned officer he was awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd class, and as a lieutenant, he was awarded the Iron Cross, 1st class.

After the end of the war he signed up for the volunteer squadron "von Czettritz " and was involved in the fighting in Courland in the Freikorps "York" .

Although his squadron was then integrated into the 15 rider regiment of the Reichswehr , Bischoffshausen was released from army service in April 1920 as part of the army reduction, but immediately afterwards assigned to an infantry regiment of the Reichswehr. After a request from NCOs and men that he should be reassigned to the cavalry, various transfers followed, including to the cavalry school, to the staff as welfare officer, as adjutant in command to Marienburg , as adjutant to division in Elbing .

Second World War

In 1939, as part of the general mobilization of Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb's general staff , Bischoffshausen was assigned to Army Group C (HGr C), with which he was involved in securing the western wall . Adalbert Prince of Bavaria describes him in his memoirs as a very likeable officer of the old style and typical cavalryman .

After fighting off eleven serious Russian attacks and three counter-attacks in the Rzhev area about 200 km west of Moscow and after being awarded the Iron Cross II and First Class, Colonel-General Walter Model and Field Marshal Günther von Kluge also approved the award in the same year of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross at Bischoffshausen, which took place on October 4, 1942.

In 1943 Bischoffshausen was transferred to the Führerreserve and at the same time to the special tank staff. Soon afterwards he was a travel officer on the staff of the inspector of the armored forces. In 1944 he worked at the officers' school of the armored forces in Groß Glienicke , where he was supposed to be in command. Instead he was given command of the 4th Cavalry Brigade , but after a few weeks he was reassigned to the Fuehrer's Reserve and at the same time ordered to be used as a higher cavalry officer as the inspector of the infantry. As the inspector of the cavalry replacement units, he was finally released from active military service on June 16, 1945. Nothing is known about imprisonment.

Bischoffshausen then lived with his wife Margarete Luise, b. von Poseck, whom he married in 1924, in Starnberg , Bavaria, and died during a trip in 1970 in Kassel. His widow survived him by 18 years.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 223.
    According to Bischoffshausen's biography, July 26, 1970 was the day of death on the Knight's Cross 1935–45 ;     World Roots
    names July 27, 1970 : Family von Bischoffshausen No. 171 ( memento from April 13, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) where the place of death is not given as Kassel, but as the retirement home in Starnberg.
  2. ↑ World Roots: Family von Bischoffshausen No. 113 or 171 ( Memento from April 13, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Georg Oswald von Czettritz (1728–1796), Prussian general, cf. Ernst Graf zur Lippe-Weißenfeld :  Czettritz, Georg Oswald Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, p. 676.
  4. ^ Adalbert Prince of Bavaria: Memories, 1900–1956 . Langen Müller, Munich 1991, p. 415
  5. ↑ Veit Scherzer: Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, p. 223.
  6. ↑ Samuel W. Mitcham: German Order of Battle Volume Two : 291st – 999th Infantry Divisions, Named Infantry Divisions, and Special Divisions in WWII , Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, p. 354 (Google Books)
  7. ↑ World Roots ( Memento from April 13, 2005 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bischoffshausen, Lothar von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bischoffshausen, Lothar William Mordian Freiherr von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, most recently colonel and regimental commander in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH February 20, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Witzenhausen
DATE OF DEATH July 26, 1970
Place of death kassel