Hellmut von der Chevallerie (9 November 1896 – 1 June 1965) was a general in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, who commanded the 13th Panzer Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

World War II

On 9 March 1942 Chevallerie took command of the 10th Rifle Brigade, and kept this command after its re-designation as 10th Panzergrenadier Division. After spending parts of the summer 1942 in reserve, he took command of

22nd Panzer Division The 22nd Panzer Division was a German Panzer Division in World War II. It was formed September 1941 in France. It was transferred to the southern sector of the Eastern Front in March 1942. The 22nd was the last Panzer Division to be issued wi ...

on 8 October 1942, which was in reserve in the

Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...

curve at the time. On 1 November 1942 he was promoted to Generalmajor and was given command of

13th Panzer Division The 13th Panzer Division ( en, 13th Armoured Division) was a unit of the German Army during World War II, established in 1940. The division was organized under the code name Infantry Command IV (''Infanterieführer IV'') in October 1934. On O ...

, which he led into the

Battle of the Caucasus The Battle of the Caucasus is a name given to a series of Axis and Soviet operations in the Caucasus area on the Eastern Front of World War II. On 25 July 1942, German troops captured Rostov-on-Don, Russia, opening the Caucasus region of t ...

. Severely wounded just one month into his command, he had to give up his command to his deputy Wilhelm Crisolli on 1 December 1942, and did not return to command until 15 May 1943. In the meantime, he had been awarded Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 April 1943 and had been promoted to

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

on 1 May 1943. On 25 October 1943 he was wounded again and was moved to the reserve (''

Führerreserve The (“Leaders Reserve” or "Reserve for Leaders") was set up in the German Armed Forces during World War II in 1939 as a pool of temporarily unoccupied high-ranking military officers awaiting new assignments. The various military branches an ...

''). On 15 November 1943 he took command of the

273rd Reserve Panzer Division The German 273rd Reserve Panzer Division was a reserve army division. After the Battle of Kursk the German 273rd Reserve Panzer Division was used for augmenting of 11th Panzer Division,Mitcham, p. 104-105 whereas their remaining forces were shifted ...

in the southwest of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and went back into the reserve on 10 May 1944. On 15 August 1944 he took command of 233rd Reserve Panzer Division in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. On 1 November 1944 he was given command of the Truppenübungsplatz Bergen, and went back into reserve on 20 February 1945. On 1 April 1945 he took command of the Sudetengau, which he handed over on 9 May 1945 upon the capitulation of Germany, and entered confinement as a

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

until June 1947.

Awards and decorations

Clasp to the Iron Cross The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in World W ...

(1939) 2nd Class (8 July 1941) & 1st Class (20 July 1941)Federl 2000, p. 60. * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 April 1943 as '' Generalmajor'' and commander of 13. Panzer-DivisionFellgiebel 2000, p. 190.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chevallerie, Hellmut Von Der 1896 births 1965 deaths Military personnel from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War I World War I prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom Reichswehr personnel 20th-century Freikorps personnel