Hans von Boineburg-Lengsfeld (9 June 1889 – 20 November 1980) was a German general in the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

'' of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

who commanded the 4th and

23rd Panzer Division The 23rd Panzer Division ( en, 23rd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II. Formed in France in late 1941, the division spent its entire combat history on the Eastern Front. History The 23rd Panzer Divisio ...

s during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of

Biography

Born in

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

, Boineburg-Lengsfeld joined the army of

Imperial Germany The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...

as an ''Fahnen-junker'' (officer cadet) in 1910. He was commissioned in the light

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

and fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In the interwar period, he served in the ''

Reichsheer ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

'' and then the ''

''. He led the 1st Rifle Regiment from 1938 to 1939 before being given command of the 4th '' Schützen'' (Rifle) Brigade of the

4th Panzer Division The 4th Panzer Division ( en, 4th Tank Division) was an armored division in the Army of Nazi Germany. In World War II, it participated in the 1939 invasion of Poland, the 1940 invasion of France, and the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. It ...

which fought in the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

. He temporarily commanded the division for a few days in May 1940, during the campaign in Holland, and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 July 1940. Now an ''

oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

'' (colonel), a more substantive period in command of the 4th Panzer Division followed from late July to September 1940. He was then transferred to the 7th Panzer Division, serving occupation duty in France and then in Russia during

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, as commander of its 7th ''Schützen'' Brigade. When the

was formed in September 1941, Boineburg-Lengsfeld was appointed its commander. He was promoted to '' generalmajor'' shortly afterwards. He led the division during the

Battle of the Caucasus The Battle of the Caucasus is a name given to a series of Axis and Soviet operations in the Caucasus area on the Eastern Front of World War II. On 25 July 1942, German troops captured Rostov-on-Don, Russia, opening the Caucasus region of t ...

but was relieved of command during the "Reichel Case", when plans for

Case Blue Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the German Armed Forces' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of the Cauc ...

, the codename for the ''Wehrmachts summer offensive in Southern Russia, were lost to the Soviets. However, when his successor as commander, ''Generalmajor''

Erwin Mack Erwin may refer to: People Given name * Erwin Chargaff (1905–2002), Austrian biochemist * Erwin Dold (1919–2012), German concentration camp commandant in World War 2 * Erwin Hauer (1926–2017), Austrian-born American sculptor * Egon Erwin Ki ...

, was killed in action, he returned as the division's permanent leader. In late December 1942, having received a promotion to ''

generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

'' a few weeks earlier, he was injured as a result of an accident with a tank. With several broken bones, he underwent an extended period in hospital. After recovering from his injuries, Boineburg-Lengsfeld was made the commandant of greater

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. When that city was captured by the Allies in August 1944, he took a post at

OB West ''Oberbefehlshaber West'' (German: initials OB West), German for "high commander in the West") was the overall commander of the '' Westheer'', the German armed forces on the Western Front during World War II. It was directly subordinate to the Ob ...

. His participation in the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler went undetected and he ended the war at

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, as its area commander. He died on 20 November 1980 in

Felsberg Felsberg (german: rock hill, link=no) may refer to: * Felsberg, Hessen, a town in Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Hessen, Germany * , a part of Überherrn, Landkreis Saarlouis, Saarland, Germany * Felsberg (Odenwald), a mountain in the Odenwald hills, Landk ...

Notes

Footnotes Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boineburg-Lengsfeld, Hans Reichsfreiherr Von 1889 births 1980 deaths People from Eisenach Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I People from Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Barons of Germany Military personnel from Thuringia German Army generals of World War II