Friedrich von Mellenthin
| Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 30, 1904 Breslau, German Empire |
| Died | June 28, 1997 (aged 92) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Allegiance |
 Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch |
Reichswehr Heer |
| Years of service | 1924–45 |
| Rank | Generalmajor |
| Unit |
III Army Corps Second Army Afrika Korps XLVIII Panzer Corps Army Group G 5th Panzer Army |
| Commands held | 9th Panzer Division |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Other work | Author of Panzer Battles |
Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin (30 August 1904 – 28 June 1997) was a Generalmajor in the German Army during the Second World War. A participant in most of the major campaigns of the war, he became known afterwards for his apologetic memoirs Panzer Battles, first published in 1956 and reprinted several times since then.
Mellenthin's works were part of the exculpatory memoirs genre that fed the post-war revisionist narrative, put forth by former Wehrmacht generals. Panzer Battles was instrumental in forming the misconceptions that influenced the U.S. view of Eastern Front military operations up to 1995, when Soviet archival sources became available to Western and Russian historians.
Mellenthin was born in Breslau; his brother Horst von Mellenthin was also a World War II general. In 1924, Friedrich von Mellenthin enlisted in the Reichswehr; in 1932 he married Ingeborg von Aulock. He was assigned to the Prussian Military Academy in 1935. Between 1937 and June 1941, Mellenthin held several general staff positions in the Wehrmacht; in June 1941, Mellenthin was posted to North Africa, where he served as a staff officer in the Afrika Corps until September 1942.
Till May 1944, Mellenthin served as chief of staff of the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps in the occupied Soviet Union, under General Hermann Balck, including the Battle of Kursk, the Battle of Kiev, and the spring 1944 retreat through the western Ukraine. In September 1944, Mellenthin followed Balck to the 4th Panzer Army and then to Army Group G in eastern France. On December 28, Mellenthin was given command of 9th Panzer Division, which was then engaged in the Battle of the Bulge. From March to May 1945 he was chief of staff of the 5th Panzer Army.
...
Wikipedia