Rudolf von Borries (officer)

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Rudolf von Borries

Rudolf Wilhelm Philipp Albert Christian Konstantin von Borries (born October 27, 1863 in Danzig , † August 30, 1932 in Oberwiesenthal ) was a German major general in the Reichswehr and a military writer.

Life

origin

Rudolf was the son of the Prussian Colonel Hans von Borries (1819–1901) and his wife Marie, née von Birckhahn (1838–1899).

Military career

After graduating from high school, Borries joined the Magdeburg Fusilier Regiment No. 36 of the Prussian Army in Halle (Saale) as a three-year-old volunteer on October 1, 1882 . On May 15, 1883 he was appointed Portepeefähnrich and promoted to Second Lieutenant on February 12, 1884 . As such, he was from July 20, 1887 battalion adjutant and from 1 October 1889 as adjutant of the district commands of Muehlhausen in Thuringia commanded. From October 1, 1891 to July 21, 1894, he attended the War Academy . During this period he was promoted to redundant Prime Lieutenant on March 29, 1892 and on March 25, 1893, when he was transferred to the Oldenburg Infantry Regiment No. 91, he was included in the budget. After Borries had graduated from the military academy, he briefly returned to the military service and then took leave of absence from November 15, 1894 to May 15, 1895 for a stay in Russia to learn the Russian language .

On April 1, 1895, he was posted to the General Staff for a year . This command was extended for a further year on April 1, 1896. Under the promotion to captain he was aggregated to the General Staff on March 22, 1897 and to the General Staff of the XVII. Army Corps in Danzig , where he was assigned on April 17th. There he held the position of second general staff officer . When he was transferred to the 2nd Hanseatic Infantry Regiment No. 76 in Hamburg , he was appointed Chief of the 4th Company on July 3, 1899 . Borries served here for the next two years and was then transferred as the first general staff officer to the staff of the 29th Division in Freiburg im Breisgau . From there, on September 11, 1903, he was transferred to the General Staff and shortly thereafter on October 18, 1903, he was promoted to major . During his activity in the Great General Staff, Borries was also a teacher at the Military Technical Academy from October 1, 1904 to July 30, 1906 . In the further course of his military career, Borries remained in the staff service. First as the first general staff officer at the XVI. Army Corps , then again in the Great General Staff, where from April 20, 1910 to January 26, 1911 he was also entrusted with running the business as head of department and finally as chief of the general staff of the XVI. Army Corps in Metz .

Borries held this position as a colonel when the First World War broke out . In association with the 5th Army , he took part with his corps in the advance against France and the fighting in the west . On March 31, 1915, Borries left the corps in the Argonne and was then appointed Chief of the General Staff of the 7th Army under Colonel General Josias von Heeringen . He succeeded Gerhard Tappen there and was promoted to major general on August 18, 1916 . As such, Borries was appointed commander of the 13th Infantry Division in front of Verdun on February 10, 1917 . With her he came to the 7th Army at the beginning of May 1917 and took part in the Battle of the Aisne and the subsequent fighting on the Chemin des Dames . On August 4, 1917 , Borries was awarded the highest Prussian honor for bravery, the order Pour le Mérite , at the suggestion of his commanding general Hermann von Staabs for his achievements during these battles .

General Staff of the 13th Infantry Division (1918), Major General von Borries in the middle

In a French attack on October 23, 1917 , his division suffered heavy losses. By evacuating the positions assigned to her and retreating to the Ailette , however, he was able to save the remnants of his large formation from complete destruction. She was then pulled from the front, refreshed until November 20, 1917 and then used in the trench warfare off Verdun. From the beginning of February 1918, Borries and his division prepared for the German spring offensive that began on March 21, 1918 . In the course of this he was able to break through the enemy positions between Gouzeaucourt and Vermand and, after fighting in the summer area, conquer the heights of Maurepas. After the offensive was stuck in April, the division went back into the trench warfare over. On September 26, 1918, Borries was relieved of his post and appointed commander of the 48th Landwehr Division south of Metz , which he commanded until the armistice during the trench warfare in Lorraine .

After returning home and being demobilized there , Borries took part in the border guard against Poland in West Prussia as commander of the 105th Infantry Division . He was then taken over into the Provisional Reichswehr , was successively commander of Reichswehr Brigades 34 and 4 and finally Reichswehr Brigade 6 in Liegnitz . On May 28, 1920 Borries was retired from active service.

As a member of the historical commission of the Reichsarchiv and head of the Military Science Institute, Borries devoted himself to military and war science studies and publications until his death.

Awards

family

Borries married on September 15, 1920 in Potsdam with Elise Sophie von Oppen, widowed Countess von Borries (1875-1949). The marriage remained childless.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Reichsarchiv (Ed.): The World War 1914 to 1918. The operations of 1915. Seventh volume, ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1931, p. 65.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f 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. 98.
personal data
SURNAME Borries, Rudolf von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Borries, Rudolf Wilhelm Philipp Albert Christian Konstantin von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German major general of the Reichswehr and military writer
DATE OF BIRTH October 27, 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH Danzig
DATE OF DEATH August 30, 1932
Place of death Oberwiesenthal