Wolfgang Fischer

This article is about the German military officer. For the German art forger and artist also known as Wolfgang Beltracchi, see Wolfgang Beltracchi.

For the German Olympic hurdler, see Wolfgang Fischer (athlete).

Wolfgang Fischer
Wolfgang Fischer (in the middle) during the Tunisian campaign, January 1943
Born	(1888-12-11)11 December 1888 Carolath, Silesia
Died	1 February 1943(1943-02-01) (aged 54) West of Kairouan, Tunisia
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Army
Years of service	1910–43
Rank	General der Panzertruppe (Posthumous)
Commands	10th Panzer Division
Battles / wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Siege of Calais Operation Barbarossa Tunisia Campaign
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Wolfgang Fischer (11 December 1888 – 1 February 1943) was an officer 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 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.

Career

Fischer began his career 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 and held the same rank in the 22nd Landwehr Infantry Brigade in the fall of 1917, serving in the Western Front. He became a captain at the end of the war and joined a battalion of volunteers during the German Revolution of 1918–19.

He joined the Reichswehr in 1919 and was sent 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 assumed command of the 69th Infantry Regiment on 4 February 1938 during the 1938 Blomberg–Fritsch purge.

As an Oberst in 1939, he commanded the 69th Infantry Regiment from 1938 to 1939 and the 10th Rifle Brigade of the 10th Panzer Division from late 1939–41. He was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 August 1942 a day before he took command of the 10th Panzer Division and to Generalleutnant on 1 November 1942.

He was posthumously promoted to the rank of General.

Awards

• Clasp to the Iron Cross 2nd Class (4 September 1939) & 1st Class (17 September 1939)
• German Cross in Gold on 22 April 1942 as Generalmajor and commander of the 10. Panzer-Division
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 3 June 1940 as Oberst and commander of the 10. Schützen-Brigade
  • Oak Leaves on 9 December 1942 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 10. Panzer-Division

Popular Culture

In the 2008 movie Valkyrie, Fischer is portrayed by Bernard Hill.

References

Bibliography

• 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.