Bogislav Graf von Schwerin

Bogislav Graf von Schwerin
Birth name	Bogislav Axel Karl Ulrich Graf Count von Schwerin
Birth date	19 October 1892(1892-10-19)
Place of birth	Berlin, German Empire
Death date	⚔ 17 September 1944 (aged 51)
Place of death	Near Tammistu bzw. Timnitsu, east of Dorpat
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Freikorps Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1913–1944
Rank	Generalleutnant (posthumously)
Commands held	Division z. b. V. 442 221. Sicherungs-Division 391. Sicherungs-Division 207. Sicherungs-Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	German Cross in Silver
Relations	∞ 1922 Liselotte von Eberhardt; 2 children

Bogislav Axel Karl Ulrich Graf [Count] von Schwerin (19 October 1892 – 17 September 1944) was a German officer since 1914, finally Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) of the Wehrmacht in World War II.

Life

Bogislav Graf [Count] von Schwerin entered the Royal Prussian Army after his cadet training on March 22, 1913 with the character of an ensign. The son of the later general of the infantry Bogislav von Schwerin came to the 2nd Guard Regiment on foot. On October 18, 1913 he was promoted to ensign. Then he went to war school. When the First World War broke out, he returned to the 2nd Guard Regiment on foot and went to the front with it. There he was promoted to lieutenant on September 2, 1914. As such, he was then deployed as a company officer in the 2nd Guards Regiment on foot. Later he was also used as a company commander in his regiment. During the war he was also used as an orderly officer in the Guards Corps. At the end of the war he was then employed as a regimental adjutant by the 2nd Guards Regiment on foot. In the First World War he was not only wounded, which was reflected in the award of the Wound Badge in Black. In addition to the two Iron Crosses, he was also awarded other awards. On October 1, 1919, he was accepted as a lieutenant in the Reich Army. He was now assigned to the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 115. He was also part of this regiment in the 200,000-man transitional army of the Reichswehr in the spring of 1920. He was employed as a company officer for the first few years. On July 11, 1922 he married Liselotte von Eberhardt, who was almost 9 years his junior, in Wernigerode. On May 5, 1923, his eldest son, Hellmuth Kurt-Christoph Walter Bogislav, was born. On April 1, 1924 he was then promoted to Oberleutnant. As such, he belonged to the 11th Company of the 9th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment in Spandau from that day at the latest. From 1924/25 he belonged to the 5th Company of the 9th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment in Berlin-Lichterfelde for several years . On April 15, 1927, his second son, Eberhard Axel Gustav Albert, was born. In the spring of 1928 he belonged to the regimental staff of the 9th (Prussian) Infantry Regimentin Potsdam. On February 1, 1929 he was promoted to captain. In the winter of 1929/30 he was appointed Chief of the 1st Company of the 9th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment in Potsdam, succeeding Major Hans von Salmuth . He was then used as such for several years. He was promoted to Major on June 1, 1933. During the expansion of the Reichswehr to the Wehrmacht, it was used from June 1, 1935 at the Regimental Headquarters of the Potsdam Infantry Regiment in Potsdam. On October 15, 1935, he was appointed adjutant (IIa) to the staff of the new 23rd Infantry Divisionalso transferred to Potsdam. He held this position again for several years. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on February 1, 1938. As such, he was appointed commander of the 1st Battalion of the 8th Infantry Regiment in Frankfurt an der Oder on November 10, 1938. He then retained this function during the mobilization for World War II in the summer of 1939. At the beginning of the war he led his battalion in the 3rd Infantry Division in the Polish campaign. At the end of September 1939 he was transferred to the western front with his battalion. At the end of 1939 he gave up his command. For this he was then on January 1, 1940 Adjutant (IIa) to General Command VI. Army Corpsshifted. On February 1, 1940, he was transferred to the High Command of the 16th Army as IIa . He then held this position again for several years. As such, he was promoted to colonel on April 1, 1940. As such, he was then used by AOK 16 during the western campaign in the spring of 1940 and also afterwards by the occupation of France before AOK 16 then moved to the East in the spring of 1941. With the high command he was then used from the beginning of summer 1941 in the eastern campaign in the northern section of the eastern front. On September 7, 1943 he was awarded the German Cross in Silver. He was relieved at the end of the month. He was then transferred to the Führerreserve. There he was promoted to Major General on October 1, 1943. As such, he was appointed commander of the 207th Security Division in Northern Russia in November 1943, succeeding Lieutenant General Erich Hofmann . On January 1, 1944, he was allegedly also tasked with commanding Division zbV 442 in the central sector of the Eastern Front. This staff was with the 9th Armydeployed. At the end of February 1944, he allegedly gave up his additional command of Division zbV 442 . In March 1944 he was then supposedly appointed commander of the 221st Security Division . At the end of April 1944 he is said to have been reappointed as commander of the 207th Security Division . Presumably he was employed in this function the whole time. Because of an act on August 18, 1944, he was proposed for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. On September 17, 1944 he fell near Timnitsu near Dorpat near Lake Peipus. He was posthumously promoted to Generalleutnant with the rank of seniority from September 1, 1944.

Death

The exhausted regiment was replaced by Rebane's battle group on August 28 and their new defence area was Emajõgi river's bank west of Lake Peipsi until Saage. The division leader, Graf von Schwerin, hoped this way to give the men a chance to rest but in reality they were sent to hell. And the new line was 16,5 kilometers long! Fortunately the regiment received 600 men as addition, otherwise we couldn't be discussing any kind of defence here. Surprisingly the regiment did not receive the 87th German Division, which was in reserve in Alatskivi space, but the Estonian pioneer battalion, led by Major August Kitsapea, and one Tartu Self-Defence battalion, led by Major August Uder. But both units had not been "christened" yet and their weapons were worse than the regiment's. The morning of September 17 began with a powerful firing of the Russian and Estonian Shooters' Corps artillery. The firing lasted for an hour and 15 minutes and was very accurate. The regiment's defence positions were almost made nonexistent. Many men were killed, almost all company leaders died during the first 30 minutes. When the cannon fire became calmer, the Russians began to force the river on rubber boats. Single working machine gun nests tried to resist. Numerous Russians were killed but new ones kept on coming. The Russians who crossed the river were stuck in the 3rd Battalion's positions, but the same time the ones coming from behind kept on pressing and formed a mass which was a perfect target for Estonians – each shot was lethal. Suddenly the men from the 94th reserve regiment on Major Hindpere's right wing raised their hands! A hole was made in the defence line and the Russian infantry and tanks stormed through it. The battle became chaotic and uncontrolled, at 8.19 a.m. the 3rd Battalion's command point was destroyed in Kavastu manor. At 9 a.m. the first Russians reached the regiment's headquarters and began to attack. The remains of the 2nd Battalion were battling near the headquarters. The remains of the 1st Battalion found themselves in a pocket and there was no hope to escape because the Russians were everywhere and there was so many of them. The remains of the regiment, about 400 men, reached Koosa by 11 a.m. in small groups. The regiment leader, Major Tamme, was not among the escapers. Division leader General von Schwerin had been killed too. The division was taken over by Colonel Paul Callas who gathered the last men near Koosa and gave the enemy yet another battle. After the battle they retreated over Koosa river. Out of the 3,000 Estonians who were near Emajõgi river in the morning, 170 arrived to Alatskivi by the evening. The Russians lost more than 6,000 and a large number of Russian battle technology was destroyed. But the regiment didn't exist anymore. It had its only loss in the battle and during the next days a large number of survivors separated and became forest brothers.

Family

Bogislav was the son of infantry General Bogislav Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Hermann Heinrich Bernhard Graf [Count] von Schwerin (b. 12 November 1851 in Anklam; d. 16 June 1926 in Potsdam) and his wife Marie, née von Griesheim (1863–1931). His well-known cousin was General of tank troops Gerhard Graf von Schwerin, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

Marriage

On 11 July 1922, Leutnant Graf [Count] von Schwerin married in Wernigerode his fiancéee Liselotte von Eberhardt (1901–1998), they had two sons:

• Hellmuth Kurt-Christoph Walter Bogislav (b. 5 May 1923)
• Eberhard Axel Gustav Albert (b. 15 April 1927)

Promotions

• 22.3.1913 Charakter als Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 18.10.1913 true Fähnrich
• 6.8.1914 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) without Patent
  • later patent from 2.9.1914 received
  • 1.7.1922 new rank seniority from 2.9.1914 received
• 1.4.1924 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 1.2.1929 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 1.6.1935 Major
• 1.2.1938 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 1.1.1941 Oberst (Colonel)
  • 17.12.1941 new rank seniority from 1.4.1940 received
• 1.10.1943 Generalmajor
• 1944/45 Generalleutnant (posthumously) with rank seniority from 1.9.1944

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 1st Class on 6 June 1917
• Friedrich Cross (Friedrich-Kreuz) on 28 February 1916
  • Both he and his father received the Friedrich-Kreuz because the 7. Reserve-Division was a mixed Prussian Saxony/Anhalt formation. He received the Fürstlich Hohenzollernscher Hausorden due to being a 2. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß officer (Wilhelm Fürst von Hohenzollern was à la suite to the regiment).
• Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, Cross of Honour 3rd Class (Ehrenkreuz III. Klasse) with Swords on 25 June 1918
• Wound Badge (Verwundetenabzeichen 1918) in Black on 26 October 1918 with effect from 15 August 1918
• Lippe War Merit Cross (Fürstlich Lippisches Kriegsverdienstkreuz) on 9 November 1918
• Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer on 1 January 1935
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class
• Hungarian World War Commemorative Medal with Swords (de) on 10 August 1936
• Bulgarian War Commemorative Medal 1915–1918 with Swords on 10 March 1938
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 23 October 1939
  • 1st Class on 10 September 1944
• War Merit Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class with Swords
  • 1st Class on 25 October 1941
• Eastern Front Medal on 30 July 1942
• Finnish Order of the Cross of Liberty (Finnisches Freiheitskreuz), 2nd Class with Swords on 7 July 1943
• German Cross in Silver on 7 September 1943