Ferdinand Schörner
| Ferdinand Schörner | |
|---|---|
Ferdinand Schörner
|
|
| Nickname(s) | Blutiger Ferdinand (Bloody Ferdinand) |
| Born |
12 June 1892 Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire |
| Died | 2 July 1973 (aged 81) Munich, Bavaria, West Germany |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
|
| Rank | Generalfeldmarschall |
| Commands held |
Army Group South Army Group North Army Group Centre Oberkommando des Heeres |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Pour le Mérite Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds |
| Signature |  |
Ferdinand Schörner (12 June 1892 – 2 July 1973) was a general and later Field Marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded several army groups and was the last commander of the Oberkommando des Heeres (Supreme Command of the Army, the OKH). Schörner was a convinced Nazi and became well known for his brutality. By the end of World War II he was Hitler's favorite commander. Following the war he was convicted of war crimes by courts in the Soviet Union and West Germany and was imprisoned in the USSR, East Germany and West Germany. At his death in 1973 he was the last living German Field Marshal.
Schörner was born on June 12, 1892 in Munich, German Empire. A veteran of World War I, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite military order as a lieutenant when he took part in the Austro-Hungarian and German Battle of Caporetto, which shattered the Italian lines in the fall of 1917.
Schörner served as a staff officer and instructor between the two wars. In 1923 he was adjutant to General von Lossow, the commander of Military District VII in Munich, and participated in the defeat of the Beer Hall Putsch.
Schörner commanded the 98th Mountain Regiment in the Invasion of Poland in 1939. During the 1941 Balkans campaign, he commanded the German 6th Mountain Division and earned the Knight's Cross for his role in breaching the Metaxas Line. With this division, Schörner took part in Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. The 6th Gebirgs Division was assigned to the Arctic sectors in the Eastern Front. In 1942 as a General der Gebirgstruppe he took command of the XIX Mountain Corps, part of the German Army in Finland. With this command he participated in the failed attack on Murmansk and the stalemate war that resulted from it. Schörner's primary job was to keep the Pechenga Nickel Works in German hands. When the Soviets opened an offensive against the Arctic sector, the division took part in the fighting. In January 1942, Schörner was promoted to the rank of Generalleutnant, commanding the Mountain Corps Norway.
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