Ernst Scheurlen (1894 – 8 April 1945) was a German admiral who served in the First and Second World Wars. He joined the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

as a cadet in 1912 and became an ensign in 1915. Scheurlen was selected to remain in the German navy, which was then the

Reichsmarine The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the ''Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the ''K ...

, after the war and became a specialist in naval and coastal artillery. From 1938 to 1939 he commanded the light cruiser ''Königsberg''. During the Second World War Scheurlen commanded coastal artillery in

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

and was considered for command of a transport fleet in the cancelled invasion of Britain. After the invasion of Russia he served on the naval staff in the Crimea, commanding a fleet during the evacuation of German troops from the Caucasus in 1943. After the Allied invasion of southern France Scheurlen commanded German naval forces in the region. In February 1945, with Germany being invaded Scheurlen was placed in command of a division hastily formed from surplus naval personnel and was killed in action.

Early life and career

Scheurlen was born in Strasbourg, Alsace, (historically in France but then part of Germany) in 1894. He joined the

as a cadet in 1912. He was commissioned as an ensign in 1915 and served on a tanker, a heavy cruiser and a minelaying vessel during the

First World War 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 ...

. Scheurlen was one of the officers selected to join the

, Germany's post-war reduced navy. In the inter-war period, during which the navy became the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

, he specialised in naval and coastal artillery. He was promoted to captain in 1938. From November 1938 until June 1939 Scheurlen was captain of the light cruiser ''Königsberg'' and served in the Baltic Sea.

Second World War

In the early part of the war Scheurlen commanded the naval artillery stationed on the

n coast. Scheurlen was to have commanded a transport fleet during

Operation Sea Lion Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...

, the planned (and cancelled) German invasion of Britain. Following the German invasion of Russia Scheurlen served on the naval staff in the Crimea and in that role was promoted to the rank of rear admiral on 1 April 1942. Scheurlen commanded the transports and escorts used for the evacuation of 105,000 men, 45,000 horses, 12,000 wagons and 7,000 motorised vehicles from the Caucasus between January and March 1943 as a result of Russian offensives. He later returned to the Western Front to command coastal forces in the

German Bight The German Bight (german: Deutsche Bucht; da, tyske bugt; nl, Duitse bocht; fry, Dútske bocht; ; sometimes also the German Bay) is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and ...

. In January 1944 he was the presiding judge in the court martial of Ernstel Jünger, son of the author and soldier

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir '' Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful businessman and ...

. Ernstel was a naval cadet and had been denounced for defeatist remarks and listening to foreign radio broadcasts. Scheurlen reduced a heavier sentence to that of ''Frontbewährung'', probation served on the front lines. Ernstel was killed by a gunshot in Italy in November. Scheurlen was promoted vice admiral on 1 August 1944 and commanded German forces on the southern French coast from 17 August. Scheurlen's appointment came after the start of the Allied invasion of Southern France. There were few German warships on the station and Scheurlen's appointment may have been because of his specialism in coastal artillery. In this role he ordered the scuttling of German vessels at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

to avoid them falling into Allied hands. On 6 September 1944 he returned to the German Bight. He was appointed to command the 2nd Marine Division on 11 February 1945. The division was hastily formed in Schleswig-Holstein from surplus naval personnel to serve on land in the defence of Germany from Allied invasion. It deployed to the Weser River, south of Bremen on 7 April and fought against the British whilst retreating to the Elbe. Scheurlen was killed in action near on the

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (german: Lüneburger Heide) is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen a ...

on 8 April 1945. The war in Europe ended with Germany's surrender on 7 May 1945.

References

{{reflist 1894 births 1945 deaths People from Strasbourg Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Reichsmarine personnel Vice admirals of the Kriegsmarine Kriegsmarine personnel killed in World War II