Wolfgang Fischer

Wolfgang Fischer
Fischer (center) during the Tunisian campaign (January 1943)
Born(1888-12-11)11 December 1888
Carolath, Silesia, German Empire
Died1 February 1943(1943-02-01) (aged 54)
West of Kairouan, Tunisia
AllegianceGerman Empire
Weimar Republic
Nazi Germany
Branch
Imperial German Army
Reichswehr
German Army
Service years
1910–1943
Rank
General der Panzertruppe (posthumous)
Commands69th Infantry Regiment
10th Rifle Brigade
10th Panzer Division
Conflicts
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Wolfgang Fischer (11 December 1888 – 1 February 1943) was a German career military officer who served in the German army from 1910 until his death. As a Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II, he was killed on 1 February 1943 west of Kairouan in Tunisia when his staff car drove into a small Italian minefield[1] marked by barbed wire and hit a land mine. He lost his left arm and both of his legs in the blast. He bled to death while writing a farewell letter to his wife.[2]

Early life and World War I

Fischer was born in 1888 at Carolath in Silesia (today, Siedlisko in Poland). He began his military career in the Royal Prussian Army by joining the 154th (5th Lower Silesian) Infantry Regiment with the rank of Fahnenjunker on 18 March 1910. When World War I broke out, he was transferred to the 7th Landwehr Infantry Regiment as a platoon leader. He was later named adjutant of the 3rd Landwehr Division in late 1915. He held the same position with the 22nd Landwehr Infantry Brigade in the fall of 1917, serving on the western front. He remained in this post until the end of the war, attaining the rank of Hauptmann.[3]

Interwar years

Fischer joined a battalion of Freikorps volunteers during the German Revolution of 1918–1919. He was accepted into the post-war Reichswehr in 1919, and was assigned to the 3rd (Prussian) Infantry Regiment at Deutsch Eylau (now Iława, Poland) from 1920 to 1929. Between 1929 and 1934, he was a company commander in the 6th Infantry Regiment at Lübeck. He advanced to a battalion commander in the 46th Infantry Regiment from October 1934 to September 1937, when he was attached to the staff of the 69th Infantry Regiment.[3] As an Oberst, Fischer was made commander of the regiment on 4 February 1938 during the Blomberg–Fritsch affair.[4]

World War II

Fischer commanded the 69th Infantry Regiment until October 1939, and the 10th Rifle Brigade of the 10th Panzer Division from October 1939 to August 1941. He was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 August 1941, a day before he took command of the 10th Panzer Division, and to Generalleutnant on 1 November 1942.[3]

Fischer was killed in action during the Tunisian campaign and was posthumously promoted to the rank of General der Panzertruppe.[5]

Awards and decorations

In the 2008 movie Valkyrie, Fischer is portrayed by Bernard Hill. The film depicts him being killed in a bombing raid by the Royal Air Force rather than by a landmine.

References

  1. ↑ D'Adamo, Cristiano (2025). Abschnitt Benigni - A biography of the Bersagliere General Arturo Benigni (1st ed.). Napa, California: IS Advisory Group. p. 191. ISBN 979-8-218-71378-2.
  2. ↑ Mitcham, Samuel W. (2006). The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders. Stackpole Books. p. 105. ISBN 0-8117-3353-X.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Webb 2024, p. 232.
  4. ↑ Rowman & Littlefield. Hitler's Commanders. 2012. p. 172-173. ISBN 978-1-4422-1152-0.
  5. ↑ Mitcham, Samuel W. (2006). The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders. Stackpole Books. p. 105. ISBN 0-8117-3353-X.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Reichswehrministerium (Ed.): Rangliste des Deutschen Reichsheeres. E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin: 1928, p. 139.
  7. ↑ Thomas 1997, p. 167.
  8. ↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 116.
  9. 1 2 Scherzer 2007, p. 310.

Sources

  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
  • Webb, James Jack (2024). Generals and Admirals of the Third Reich: For Country or Fuehrer. Vol. 2: H–O. Havertown, PA: Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-952-71517-4.
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