Walter Scheller (27 January 1892 – 21 July 1944) was a general in the

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

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

. Scheller was killed at Brest-Litovsk on 21 July 1944, during the Lublin–Brest Offensive.

World War II

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

Walter Scheller served in the capacity of

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

Wehrkreis The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military dist ...

X in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

at the start of World War II, a position he took up on 26 August 1939, and would keep until 26 May 1940. He then took command of 8th Rifle Brigade under

8th Panzer Division The 8th Panzer Division was a formation of the ''Wehrmacht'' German Army (Wehrmacht), ''Heer''. The division was formed by reorganising the 3rd Light Division (Wehrmacht), 3rd Light Division in October 1939. It was transferred to the west and fo ...

, which he led into action during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

. Scheller took the same command into the

Invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

in Spring 1941, and led the unit into

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, still under 8th Panzer Division, as part of

Army Group North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...

. On 1 October 1941 Walter Scheller was promoted to

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

. On 20 October 1941 Scheller took command of 11. Panzer-Division until 16 May 1942, when he was called into the reserve (Führerreserve). He led this unit into the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...

, and spent the winter in defensive positions on the

Yukhnov Yukhnov () is a town and the administrative center of Yukhnovsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Kunava River ( Oka's basin) northwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History It has been known ...

- Gshatsk (today called Gagarin) axis west and southwest of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. From 22 March to 18 April 1942 the 11. Panzer-Division fought in the Rzhev–Vyazma Strategic Offensive Operation, part of the

Battles of Rzhev The Battles of Rzhev () were a series of Red Army offensives against the Wehrmacht between 8 January 1942 and 31 March 1943, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The battles took place in the northeast of Smolensk Oblast and the south of Tve ...

, and was involved in key operations between Vyazma and Yartsevo until Scheller was recalled. On 28 July 1942, Scheller took command of the 9. Panzer-Division, and on 4 August 1942, the division was ordered from the

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

-Zemlyansk area northwest past

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

to participate in an attack on

Sukhinichi Sukhinichi () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Sukhinichsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, a large railway junction on the Moscow – Kyiv line, situated on the Bryn River southwest of Kalu ...

, and was involved in heavy fighting around

Zhizdra Zhizdra () is a town and the administrative center of Zhizdrinsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra River southwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History The Baltic tribe Galindians live ...

, where the unit was pushed back across the

Zhizdra River The Zhizdra () is a river in Kaluga Oblast in Russia, a left tributary of the Oka. The length of the river is . The area of its basin is .

. From 9 September the division was pulled into reserve under 9th Army in the Gshatsk area, and found itself in the Sychyovka area by 29 September 1942, facing Soviet forces during the First Rzhev–Sychyovka Offensive Operation. In November and December 1942 Scheller and his unit were located on the

Vazuza River The Vazuza (), a river in the Novoduginsky and Sychyovsky districts of Smolensk Oblast and in the Zubtsovsky District of Tver Oblast, Russia, becomes a right tributary of the Volga. It is long, and its drainage basin covers . Soviet enginee ...

between

Rzhev Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: Hist ...

and

Vyazma Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...

. On 1 January 1943 Scheller was promoted to

Generalleutnant () is the German-language 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 ...

, and on 4 February 1943 he was awarded the

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold. At the end of February and in March, the 9. Panzer-Division was involved in heavy defensive fighting back in the Zhizdra area, and was then moved south of Oryol in preparation for the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...

. On 3 April 1943 Scheller was awarded the

. Scheller, who had been decorated with the Knight's Cross for superb leadership, demonstrated rare courage, this time not in the face of the enemy, but his superiors. The general who had been a soldier since he was nineteen years old, knew when he must not obey. On the 21 July, Model relieved Lieutenant General Walter Scheller, veteran commander of 9th Panzer Division, for refusing to make a suicidal counterattack against Bagramian's eastern flank west near Krasnikov. On 20 October 1943, Scheller took command of 334th Infantry Division, which he led until 27 November 1943. He joined his new command in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, under

Army Group B Army Group B () was the name of four distinct German Army Group, army group commands that saw action during World War II. The first Army Group B was created on 12 October 1939 (from the former Army Group North) and fought in the Battle of France ...

. On 27 November 1943 he took command of 337th Infantry Division under 4th Army in the

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

- Gorky area in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. He commanded this division until 1 February 1944. On 7 March 1944, Generalleutnant Walter Scheller was given command of the city of

Brest-Litovsk Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the admini ...

. On 22 July 1944, he fell in the fighting for the city during the Lublin–Brest Offensive.

Awards and decorations

on 3 April 1943 as ''

'' and commander of 9. Panzer-Division Fellgiebel 2000, p. 305.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheller, Walter 1892 births 1944 deaths Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Military personnel from Hanover German Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German Army personnel killed in World War II Military personnel from the Province of Hanover Prussian Army personnel Reichswehr personnel German Army generals of World War II