Karl Bülowius

Karl Robert Max Bülowius
Karl Bülowius as he appears before a candid photo shot. Judging by the uniform, it was taken sometime between 1942 and 1943.
Born	(1890-03-02)2 March 1890 Königsberg, Province of East Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire now Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia 54°42′54″N 20°30′36″E / 54.715102°N 20.510101°E / 54.715102; 20.510101
Died	27 March 1945(1945-03-27) (aged 55) Camp Forrest (near Tullahoma), Coffee County, Tennessee, USA 35°21′58″N 86°03′48″W / 35.366096°N 86.063461°W / 35.366096; -86.063461,
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Deutsches Heer Reichswehr Deutsches Heer (as a land component for the Wehrmacht)
Years of service	1908–20 (resigned in 1920) 1924–45 (committed suicide in 1945)
Rank	Lieutenant (Imperial German Army) Hauptmann (Imperial German Army) Generalmajor (Wehrmacht) Generalleutnant (Wehrmacht)
Unit	Division von Broich/von Manteuffel (During the North African campaign - World War II)
Commands held	First Army Corps (1915) 20th Army Engineer Battalion (1920) 8th Army Engineering Squad (October 23, 1939 – May 15, 1940) 9th Army Engineering Squad (May 15, 1940 – October 25, 1942) Panzer Army Africa Engineering Squad (October 25, 1942 – April 1943) Post Commander of Division Von Manteuffel (April 1943 – May 9, 1943)
Battles/wars	World War I European theatre of World War I Middle Eastern theatre of World War I Sinai and Palestine Campaign World War II Eastern Front Battle of Bzura/Kutno (1939) North African Campaign Siege of Tobruk (1941) Second Battle of El Alamein (1942) Battle of Sidi Bou Zid (1943)
Awards	Iron Cross (awarded twice) German Cross

Karl Robert Max Bülowius (March 2, 1890 – March 27, 1945) was a German officer who served during the First World War and the Second World War. He also served eleven non-consecutive years for the Weimar Republic during the interwar period which began in 1919 and ended on September 1939.

Life and career

Early life and World War I

Karl Bülowius was born on March 2, 1890 in Königsberg, Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia).^[1] He joined the Prussian Army in 1908 and became an officer cadet of the engineering troops where he would make his promotion to lieutenant sometime in the year 1909.^[1][2] Bülowius participated in the First World War, serving in various engineering departments that were involved in military duties in both Europe and Palestine.^[1][2] During the year 1918 (which would become the final year of the war), Bülowius was elevated to the rank of Hauptmann (captain).^[1] The First World War would end six months later on November 11 with a defeat for Germany and her allies - limiting Germany's army to 100000 men^[3] until Adolf Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles fifteen years later. He abandoned the Army on December 31, 1920^[2] due to unfortunate circumstances surrounding the structure of Germany's post-World War I military.

However, Bülowius returned to active military service on June 1, 1924. He would serve in various engineering and cavalry units during the 1920s and the 1930s.^[1][4]

World War II and suicide

At the beginning of World War II, he commanded Oberbaustab X.^[1] Bülowius became commanding officer (Pionierführer) of engineering parts of the 8th Army on October 26, 1939.^[1] Success in commanding the 8th Army would result in Bülowius holding on the same post when he was transferred to the 9th Army on May 15, 1940.^[1] Transferred to North Africa, Bülowius commanded the engineers of Panzer Army Africa on October 25, 1942. Between the 17th and the 25th of February 1943, he commanded the entire group.^[1] Bülowius held the position of post commander in von Manteuffel's former division on April 1943 and kept it until he was captured the following month.^[1] Von Manteuffel had been evacuated back to Germany due to exhaustion and later sent to the Eastern Front on a promotion to Major General.^[1]

He was captured by U.S. troops on May 9, 1943 near the end of the North African campaign.^[1] The North Africa campaign would end seven days later on May 16, 1943 when the Axis (mostly containing troops from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy) forces were forced to retreat to Southern Italy in a decisive defeat.^[5] Bülowius finished his career in the German Heer component by committing suicide on March 27, 1945 at the prisoner-of-war camp named Camp Forrest in Coffee County, Tennessee, USA.^[1]

Credentials

Promotions

• Lieutenant – 1909
• Hauptmann (Captain) – May 1918
• Generalmajor – April 1, 1942
• Generalleutnant – April 1, 1943

Awards

• Iron Cross (awarded twice during the course of World War I)
• German Cross in Silver – December 3, 1942

In fiction

Bülowius would make a "special guest appearance" in the Japanese video game Sgt. Saunders' Combat!. This officer is only seen during North Africa campaign of 1942-43; particularly during the Tunisia Campaign. He holds the rank of Generalmajor in the game and can be killed by any Allied Forces unit.^[6] In campaign mode, Bülowius can only be utilized by the AI opponent. He may be seen in other video games related to World War II that involve either the Eastern Front and/or the North Africa campaign.

Citations

Book

• Lannoy, Francois de; Josef Charita (2001). Panzertruppen: Les Troupes Blindees Allemandes German Armored Troops 1935–45. Heimdal. ISBN 2-84048-151-0. 
• Neitzel, Sönke (2005). Abgehört - Deutsche Generäle in britischer Kriegsgefangenschaft 1942-1945. Propyläen. ISBN 3-549-07261-9. 

Web

External links

• Rommel's desert commanders (Google Books)
• PRISONERS OF WAR—COLD WAR ALLIES: THE ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP WITH WEHRMACHT GENERALS at Texas A&M University

Images

These were battle plans for the German invasion of Poland in 1939. Bülowius was considered to be a part of the 8th Army during that time.  This was a strategic map from the Battle of Sidi Bou Zid; the last major battle that Bülowius participated in.  This would be the final sight that Bülowius would ever see of the outside world before committing suicide.