Frederich Wilhelm von Mellenthin was a Generalmajor in the German army during World War II. His older brother was Horst von Mellenthin , General der Artillery.

He was born in Breslau, Poland in 1904. Between 1924 and 1935, he served in the Seventh Cavalry Regiment. After that, he attended the German officers' War Academy until 1937.

Just before the start of World War II, between 1937 through December 1939, he served as the Third General Staff Officer (Ic-Intelligence) in the 3rd Corps. He participated in the September 1939 invasion of Poland, where his unit fought along the Vistula River to Warsaw (apparently in Field Marshall Kluge’s 4th Army from N.E. Germany driving southeast towards Warsaw).

Between June and August 1940, he was the First General Staff Officer (Ia-Operations) with the 197th Infantry Division during the invasion of France. Then between September 1940 and February 1941, he was the Third General Staff Officer (Ic-Intelligence) in the First Army. After this quiet period, from March through May 1941, he was the Third General Staff Officer (Ic-Intelligence) with the Second Army during Germany's invasion of the Balkans.

He was then shipped to northern Africa, where between June 1941–September 1942, he served as the Third General Staff Officer (Ic-Intelligence) to Field Marshall Rommel in the Panzergruppe/Panzerarmee Afrika. He participated in the battles of Tobruk, Gazala, El Alamein. Between July 1942 and September he also served as the Acting Operations Staff Officer to Rommel. Due to his high stress job, between September–October 1943, he recovered from exhaustion in a military hospital at Garmisch.

Upon recovery, from November 1942 to May 1944, he served as a Chief of General Staff, in the 48th Panzer Corps in Russia; where he participated in the battles throughout Ukraine, in Stalingrad, Kursk, and Kiev. He was also Chief-of-Staff in the 48th Panzer Corps and he made frequent radio contact with Gen. Paulus to learn of his battle plans in defending Stalingrad—where Hitler had ordered Paulus to hold against the attacking Russian army. Shortly thereafter, he was transferred and between May–September 1944, he was Chief of General Staff, Fourth Panzer Army (Gen. Balck), which fought around Baranov (on the Vistula River) in Russia.

He was transferred to eastern France in September 1944, where until November he served as Chief of General Staff, Army Group G (under Gen. Hasso von Manteuffel, who was commander of the Fifth Panzer Army). He participated in the "Campaign of the West" (along the front line between Luxembourg and Switzerland), serving in battles around Nancy, Metz, Arracourt , and Alsace-Lorraine.

Mellenthin was relieved of his command along with several other German officers in early December 1944, due to the retreat of the German forces. He was retired to the Officers’ Pool of High Command Army. However, General Hans Guderian obtained his restoration to duty in late December. Between December 28 through February 1945, he was attached to the 9th Panzer Division during the "Battle of the Bulge", where he fought just north of Bastogne. Between March–May 1945, he was Chief of General Staff to Gen. Hasso von Manteuffel’s Fifth Panzer Army, which was defending western Germany throughout the Rhur region and around Cologne.

While retreating eastward, he was captured by the British at Hoxter (Weser River) on May 3, 1945.

See also

• World War II
• Military history of World War II

Bibliography

• "Panzer Battles" - 1955
• "German Generals of World War II" - 1977
• "NATO Under Attack" - 1984 (co-authored)