Hellmut von der Chevallerie

Hellmut von der Chevallerie (9 November 1896 – 1 June 1965) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during the World War II, who commanded the 13th Panzer Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Hellmut von der Chevallerie
Born	9 November 1896 Berlin
Died	1 June 1965 (aged 68) Wiesbaden
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1914–45
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	22nd Panzer Division 13th Panzer Division 273rd Reserve Panzer Division
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War Battle of the Caucasus Lower Dnieper Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	Kurt von der Chevallerie (brother)

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 on 8 October 1942, which was in reserve in the Don River curve at the time. On 1 November 1942 he was promoted to Generalmajor and was given command of 13th Panzer Division, which he led into the Battle of the Caucasus.[1] 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.[2] In the meantime, he had been awarded Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 April 1943 and had been promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 May 1943. On 25 October 1943 he was wounded again and was moved to the reserve (Führerreserve).

On 15 November 1943 he took command of the 273rd Reserve Panzer Division in the southwest of France, and went back into the reserve on 10 May 1944. On 15 August 1944 he took command of 233rd Reserve Panzer Division in Denmark. 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 until June 1947.

Awards and decorations

• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (8 July 1941) & 1st Class (20 July 1941)[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 April 1943 as Generalmajor and commander of 13. Panzer-Division[4]

References

Citations

1. Glantz & House 2009, p. 27.
2. Mitcham 2006, p. 114.
3. Federl 2000, p. 60.
4. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 190.

Bibliography

• Federl, Christian (2000). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Panzerdivisionen 1939–1945 Die Panzertruppe [The Knight's Cross Wearers of the German Armoured Divisions 1939–1945 The Panzer Force] (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-925480-43-0.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Wearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Possessors of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Glantz, David M.; House, Jonathan (2009). To the Gates of Stalingrad: Soviet-German Combat Operations, April-August 1942. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1630-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Mitcham, Samuel W. (2006). The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3353-3.