Fritz von Brodowski

Friedrich Wilhelm Konrad von Brodowski, known as Fritz, (November 26, 1886 – October 28, 1944) was a German army general of the Second World War, successively Commander in Kiev, Ukraine, Commander in Lille, and commanding officer at Clermont-Ferrand.

He was controversially killed while a prisoner of war of French forces in 1944. His death led to the murder, by way of a reprisal, of an imprisoned French army general, Gustave Mesny.

Biography Fritz von Brodowski was the son of Prussian General Fedor von Brodowski (1841–1923).

On March 10, 1904, in Brandenburg an der Havel, Brodowski was admitted as an officer cadet into the 6th (Brandenburg) Cuirassiers "Emperor Nicholas I of Russia" of the Prussian Army. From November 6, 1904, to July 8, 1905, he studied at the Glogau Military School and subsequently was commissioned as a lieutenant. Brodowski served within his regiment from October 21, 1908, as the "Gerichtsoffizier" (that is, an officer for legal matters) and on October 18, 1909, was transferred to the Guards Cuirassiers. From October 1, 1912, Brodowski underwent further training at the Prussian Military Academy, which he left upon the outbreak of the First World War in July 1914.

First World War After mobilization, Brodowski served first as a squadron officer and then, from August 6, 1914, as an aide-de-camp on the staff of the 3rd and 1st Cavalry Brigades. He was promoted to captain on December 24, 1914. At the end of June 1917 he was transferred to the reserve squadron of the Guards Cuirassier Regiment and commanded the reserve battalion of the Kaiser Franz Garde-Grenadier-Regiment 2. A month later, Brodowski joined a battalion of the Queen Elizabeth Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 3. There, he was entrusted with the leadership of the Fusilier Battalion on August 4, 1917. Brodowski was wounded on September 30, 1918, during the defensive battles on the Western Front near Cambrai and Saint-Quentin, and spent the remaining weeks of the war in hospital.

For his wartime achievements, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, the Iron Cross first and second class, the Wound Badge in black as well as the Knight's Cross 2nd Class of the Order of the Zähringer Lion with swords and oak leaves and the Knight's Cross First Class of the Order of Albert with swords.

After his recovery, in December 1918, Brodowski was transferred to the General Staff of the army in Berlin. On January 18, 1919, he returned to the demobilizing Guards Cuirassiers. Elements of the regiment became Freikorps formations and Brodowski on February 1, 1919, was appointed as the leader of a volunteer squadron. On April 11, 1919, he was reappointed to the Provisional Reichswehr and on November 1, 1919, assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment. Brodowski was squadron commander of the 4th (Prussian) Cavalry Regiment from February 24, 1920, to March 31, 1922. He was then transferred to the Ministry of Defence in Berlin for one year. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on April 1, 1931, and on November 1, 1931, was given command of the 16th Cavalry Regiment in Kassel. In this position he was promoted to colonel on October 1, 1933. With the transition of the Reichswehr into the Wehrmacht, on April 13, 1935, Brodowski was appointed inspector of military recruitment at Ulm. He was further promoted to major general on January 1, 1937. From May 1938 to December 26, 1941, he was inspector of the Armed Forces Reserves, based in Stuttgart.

Second World War In June 1942, Brodowski was appointed as head of the Feldersatz-Division B (Replacement Field Division B), gathering replacement troops to defend the River Don line. From September 25, 1942, to March 14, 1943, he commanded the 404th Division (Landesschützen) in Dresden. Brodowski was then appointed chief of staff for instruction to the commander of the Wehrmacht in Netherlands. He was then successively commander in Kiev, Ukraine, in the summer of 1943, then commander in Lille.

On April 15, 1944, Brodowski became commanding officer at Clermont-Ferrand, where he commanded Hauptverbindungsstäbe (HVS) 588, responsible for 9 departments in central France (an area of 65,000 square kilometers): Corrèze Haute-Vienne Creuse Dordogne Haute-Loire Puy-de-Dôme Cantal Allier Indre

The "Hauptverbindungsstäbe" were the main staff liaison placed with regional prefects who controlled, through the Verbindungsstäbe (VS), departmental prefects.

In May 1944, General von Brodowski, worried about concentrations of the maquis in Cantal Brodowski was captured by French troops near Jussey on October 27, 1944. Mesny was killed by the SS on January 19, 1945, in the course of a prison transfer.

Awards Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class 1st Class Wound Badge (1914) in Black Knight's Cross 2nd Class of the Order of the Zähringer Lion with Oak Leaves and Swords Knight's Cross First Class of the Order of Albert with Swords