Kurt von der Chevallerie

Kurt von der Chevallerie
Birth name	Gustav Wilhelm Erdmann Kurt von der Chevallerie
Birth date	23 December 1891
Place of birth	Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, German Empire
Death date	April 1945 / 31 December 1945
Place of death	Kolberg region, Farther Pomerania, German Reich
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Freikorps Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1910–1945
Rank	General of the Infantry
Commands held	83rd Infantry Division 99th Infantry Division LIX Army Corps 1st Army
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Battle of France Eastern Front Operation Barbarossa Battle of Kiev (1941) Battle for Velikiye Luki (1943) Lower Dnieper Offensive Hube's Pocket Western Front Siegfried Line Campaign
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Relations	∞ 1918 Dorothea Zander

Gustav Wilhelm Erdmann Kurt von der Chevallerie (1891–1945) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Imperial German Army, the Freikorps, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally a highly decorated General of the Infantry in World War II.

Life

Birth certificate (small extract)

Marriage register (small extract)

Legally declared dead (1958)

From Easter 1898 to Easter 1901, Kurt attended elementary school and then Gymnasium (Königliches Prinz-Heinrichs-Gymnasium in Berlin-Schöneberg) until 1910. He spoke and wrote English and French quite well. On 24 February 1910, he joined the Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 5 in Spandau as an officer candidate and was sworn-in after basic training on 4 April 1910.

• 24 October 1910 to June 1911 Commanded to War School in Neisse
• 18 August 1911 Commissioned in the 8th Company/II. Battalion/Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 5
• 15 November 1914 Company leader in the Guard Field Infantry Battalion/Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 5
• 25 November 1914 Leader of the 7th Company/Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 262
  • 1 February 1915 with his company into the field
• 21 July 1915 Wounded (left upper arm)
• 14 September 1915 Return to the field to his 7th Company/Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 262
• 26 July 1916 Commanded to the XXXX. Reserve-Korps, now known as the Army-Group "Litzmann", as an orderly officer
• 6 September 1916 Officially transferred to the XXXX. Reserve-Korps as an orderly officer
• 16 September 1916 Transferred to the VI. Armee-Korps (Army-Group "Marwitz") as German Liaison Officer to the Royal Hungarian 70th Honved-Infantry-Troop-Division
• 20 October 1916 Transferred to the 1. Oberrheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 97 and commanded to the 108. Infantrie-Division as adjutant of the Officers Training Course
• 5 December 1916 Transferred to the 34th Landwehr Infantry Brigade as adjutant
  • 12 November to 24 December 1917 Commanded to the 57th Reserve-Field-Artillery-Regiment
• 15 December 1918 Return to the Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 5 for demobilization

At the beginning of 1919, he served as a company leader in the Volunteer Guard Grenadier Battalion of the Freikorps Hindenburg, where he remained until May 1920. He was then assigned to the 102nd Reichswehr Infantry Regiment. With the formation of the 100,000-strong army, he was transferred to the 4th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment, where he was assigned as commander of the 6th Company. In the fall of 1925, he was transferred to the Reichswehr Ministry (RWM) for three years. In the spring of 1927, he was assigned to the personnel group of the Army Personnel Department (PA). On 1 October 1928, he was transferred to the 1st Squadron of the 3rd (Prussian) Cavalry Regiment. From January 1932, he was assigned to the staff of the 6th Reichswehr Division. On 1 September 1934, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment. With the expansion of the Reichswehr, he was appointed commander of the Göttingen Infantry Regiment on 1 October 1934. Upon the unmasking of the new Wehrmacht units, he was appointed commander of the 38th Infantry Regiment on 15 October 1935. On 6 October 1936, he was appointed commander of the 87th Infantry Regiment following the relocation and renaming of his regiment. Subsequently, he was appointed Chief of the 10th Department in the Army General Staff on 12 October 1937.

• 30 August with effect from 15 September 1938 Appointed Chief of the Central Department of the Army General Staff
• 23 November with effect from 1 December 1939 Appointed commander of the new 83. Infanterie-Division in Bergen
  • 1940 Jaundice (Ikterus) followed by treatment in Bad Mergentheim
• 28 November with effect from 10 December 1940 Appointed commander of the new 99th Light Infantry Division
  • The 99th Light Infantry Division was established on 16 November 1940 in Bad Kissingen as the 12th Wave Division from transfers from the 17th Infantry Division and the 46th Infantry Division. At the end of May 1941, the division was relocated to Poland and assigned to the 6th Army/Army Group South. After the start of the Russian Campaign, the division participated in the German advance in the southern sector of the Eastern Front. The division was reorganized into the 7th Mountain Division beginning on 22 October 1941, at the Grafenwöhr Training Area.
  • 23 October 1941 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
    • “When the XXIX. Armeekorps commenced its decisive assault against Kiev it was the 99th Light Infantry Division that made the deepest penetration into the enemy defenses up until the 17 September 1941. By the afternoon of that day the 99. leichte ID had reached the chain of lakes west of Myschelowka. Generalleutnant von der Chevallerie reconnoitred the best way to continue the attack while in the foremost line. This personal intervention created the decisive impetus that enabled the division to reach its attack objective on the 19 September 1941 with unexpected swiftness.”
• 15 November 1941 Excluded from mountain, polar, and tropical deployment (Tdf) by the military doctor due to health restrictions.
• 20 November 1941 Gave up the apartment in Berlin (later also the house in Wernigerode) and moved with the family to Rottow.
• 15 December with effect from 1 December 1941 Führerreserve (Leader Reserve)/OKH/Military District XI
• 11 January with effect from 1 January 1942 Appointed commander of the Higher Command for Special Use LIX
  • The Höheres Kommando z. b. V. LIX was established in Lübeck on 10 October 1940. After the Western Campaign, it was deployed to command the German occupation troops on the Atlantic coast in France and renamed General Command LIX Army Corps on 20 January 1942. The corps was transferred to the Eastern Front by rail as quickly as possible. The general command was deployed in the Velikiye Luki area to close the gap between Army Groups North and Center created by the Russian winter offensive.
• 20 January 1942 Commanding General LIX. Armeekorps
  • treatment in a military hospital until 26 January 1942
  • 27 January to 23 February 1942 convalescent leave, then return to the corps
  • 2 to 22 July 1942 again convalescent leave, Carl Hilpert took over as deputy leader
• 23 July 1942 Return to the corps
  • For the defensive performance of his corps in the Kiev area in November 1943, he was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 December 1943.
    • “General von der Chevallerie outstandingly distinguished himself as the commanding general of an army corps during the fighting in September 1943 around Neschin and during November in the sector north of Kiev. Throughout this time his mission was to tie down much larger enemy forces, prevent a breakthrough of the German frontline and buy time for the creation of a new defensive front as well as friendly counterattack positions. His ruthlessness and calm forcefulness proved enough to repeatedly overcome local crises. The power of his personality and bravery in the foremost line created a comradeship among his subordinated troops that was firmly in the hand of the commanding general. Following weeks of heavy defensive battles against a great enemy superiority, General der Infanterie von der Chevallerie utilized the first small easing of pressure on his corps’ frontline to go over to the offensive in his own operations. On the 24 November 1943, the southern wing of the LIX. Armee-Korps (the 291. Infanterie-Division) launched a surprise strike and reached the western edge of Domoletsch. Two Soviet divisions were encircled in Korosten and were destroyed by the 27 November 1943. Von der Chevallerie thereby succeeded in closing a threatening 40 km gap between his LIX. Armee-Korps and the XIII. Armee-Korps to the south.”
• 21 April to 19 May 1944 Delegated with the deputy leadership of the 1st Panzer Army for General Hube (de) who died in an aircraft accident
  • Generaloberst Erhard Franz Josef Raus was flown in to then take over
• 2 June to 5 September 1944 Delegated with the deputy leadership of the 1st Army in France and fought his way back to Lorraine in the summer of 1944 under the most difficult circumstances
  • succeeded by Otto von Knobelsdorff
• 6 September 1944 Führerreserve (Leader Reserve)/OKH/Military District II
• 31 January 1945 Honorably discharged from active service with the continued right to wear the uniform

Death

Von der Chevallerie accompanied a convoy of Vertriebene to Kolberg. Like so many retired officers, he felt responsible for the fleeing people and wanted to protect them. He is said to have fallen in an attack by partisans or the Red Army on the way from his estate in Rottow (Kreis Belgard) to Kolberg. The German War Graves Commission lists him as missing in action in the Kolberg/Belgard area near Kolberg/Treptow since 1 March 1945; other sources list him as missing since on or after 18 April 1945 (although doubtful); his fate remains unknown.

On 31 March 1958, General der Infanterie (ret.) Gustav Wilhelm Erdmann Kurt von der Chevallerie was declared dead by the Frankfurt am Main District Court (Amtsgericht) at the request of his family, with his date of death set as 31 December 1945.

Family

Descent

Kurt came from an old Huguenot and noble family. His ancestor, Siméon de la Chevallerie (1635-1698), a Welf official, fled from France to Hanover (Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation), the capital of the Welf principality of Calenberg, around 1660 because of his faith. In 1679, he was appointed Chief Master of the Horse and Chief Cupbearer to Duke Ernst August. Later, he became Chief Court Master to Electress Sophie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Siméon’s son Ernst August (1685–1754) became a Prussian chamberlain and lieutenant colonel, thus a branch of the family entered Prussian service.

Kurt was the son of Major General Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Erdmann Hans von der Chevallerie (1857–1946) and his wife (∞ 1889) Margarete Marie Anna Julie, née von Schulz (1866–1945). He had three siblings:

• Barbara Anna Julie Else (b. 9 August 1893 in Berlin; d. 22 February 1983 in Oberstdorf); ∞ Berlin 11 January 1917 Hans Konrad Friedrich Fleck (1889–1978), officer, finally Colonel of the Wehrmacht (promoted 1 April 1942) in WWII
• Gustav Hans Erdmann Hellmut(h) (1896–1965), Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht; ∞ Magdeburg 5 October 1921 Ruth Karin Agnes Schwarzenberger (1902–1987), 2 children:
  • Udo Edgar Hans Erdmann (b. 2 July 1922 in Biere near Magdeburg), 2nd Lieutenant of the Wehrmacht, ⚔ 24 July 1943 near Terebien/Tereben (Brest Oblast, Belarus)
  • Marion Elise Ruth Liselotte (b. 22 January 1927 Köslin; d. 2010)
• Horst Wilhelm Walter Erdmann (b. 1 November 1903 in Berlin); ∞ Berlin 19 November 1929 Lisa Emilie Friederike Berta Sophie Behn (b. 1907), 1 son
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf Erdmann (1930–2020)

Marriage

On 18 December 1918 in Berlin-Schöneberg, Captain von der Chevallerie married his fiancée, the teacher Dorothea Adelaide Luise Anna Charlotte Zander (b. 3 May 1895 in Rybnik; d. 14 October 1957 in Göttingen), daughter of Privy Medical Councillor Dr. med. Rudolf Zander (1847–1927), head of the provincial sanatorium and nursing home in Rybnik, living in Berlin-Schöneberg after retirement, and his wife Charlotte Dorothea Exß. Her older brother, a witness during the wedding, was Dr. med. Rudolf Zander (1890–1977). They would have four children (including twins):

• Hans(-)Rudolf Erdmann Hellmut Friedrich (b. 10 November 1919 in Kolberg), 2nd Lieutenant of the Wehrmacht, severely wounded in the Western Campaign, died on 11 June 1940 at the reserve military hospital (Reserve-Lazarett) Köln-Nippes
• Erika Margarethe Else Charlotte (b. 29 September 1921 in Kolberg)
• Ursula Charlotte (b. 23 April 1924 in Kolberg)
• Brigitte Charlotte (b. 23 April 1924 in Kolberg)

Promotions

• 24 February 1910 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 24 May 1910 Fahnenjunker-Gefreiter (Officer Candidate with Lance Corporal rank)
• 24 June 1910 Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier (Officer Candidate with Corporal/NCO/Junior Sergeant rank)
• 18 October 1910 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 18 August 1911 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) with Patent from 20 August 1909
• 18 August 1915 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 20 September 1918 Hauptmann (Captain)
  • 1 October 1928 renamed to Rittmeister when transferred to the cavalry
• 1 February 1931 Major with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 February 1929 (29)
• 1 August 1933 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)

Wehrmacht

• 1 July 1935 Oberst (Colonel)
• 28 February 1939 Generalmajor (Major General) with effect and Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 March 1939
• 17 December 1940 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) with effect and Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 January 1941
• 24 January 1942 General der Infanterie (General of the Infantry) with effect from 1 February 1942
  • 28 February 1942 received Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 March 1942 (5)

Awards and decorations

WWI

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 1 October 1914
  • 1st Class on 12 December 1915
• Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary), III. Class with War Decoration (ÖM3K) in 1917
• Wound Badge (1918) in Black on 3 March 1918
• Princely House Order of Hohenzollern (Fürstlich Hohenzollern'sches Ehrenzeichen), Cross of Honour III. Class (HEK3⚔/HE3⚔) on 22 July 1918

Between wars

• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords in 1935
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class on 2 October 1936
• Hungarian Order of Merit, Commanders Cross on 12 February 1939
• Sudetenland Medal

WWII

• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class on 12 June 1940
• Order of the Crown of Italy, Grand Officer on 27 August 1940
• Eastern Front Medal on 1 September 1942
• Wound Badge (1939) in Black on 16 January 1943
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 23 October 1941 as Lieutenant General and Commander of the 99th Light Infantry Division
  • Oak Leaves on 19 December 1943 as General of the Infantry and Commanding General of the LIX Army Corps

Gallery

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  Brother Hellmut(h)

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  Nephew (brother Horst's only son)