Theodor Scherer

Theodor Scherer
Theodor Scherer
Born	17 September 1889 Höchstädt an der Donau
Died	17 May 1951 (aged 61) Ludwigsburg
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1909–20 1935–45
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	281. Sicherungs-Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Other work	Police officer

Generalleutnant Theodor Scherer (September 17, 1889 – May, 1951) was a divisional commander in the Wehrmacht in World War II.

Career

Theodor Scherer was born in 1889. He was commissioned into the army in 1910 and served during World War I. For the next 15 years, he served as a police officer; he rejoined the army in 1935 with the rank of Oberstleutnant. In 1940 he was given command of the newly formed Infanterie Regiment 507, which he led throughout the campaign in the West.

In October 1941, Scherer took command of Security Division 281. The security divisions were not frontline combat formations, but were posted to the rear area and engaged in eliminating any form of resistance, real or imagined, including partisans, communists, Red Army stragglers, Jews and Roma. The division was stationed in Cholm, a town on the Lovat River.

By January 1942 the area was under severe pressure from the Soviet counter-offensive; the area held by the Wehrmacht was gradually compressed into a perimeter a mile across. By January 21 the town surrounded, forming the Kholm Pocket. The German forces in the pocket were around 5,500 men and included elements of two infantry regiments, 281s Security Division, a battalion from a Luftwaffe field regiment, a police reserve battalion, and transport units. On May 5, 1942, a relief force reached the garrison, which by then numbered 1,200 men. Scherer was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on February 20, 1942.

In September Scherer was appointed commader of 34th Infantry Division. He was promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 November and was transferred to command of 83rd Infantry Division. The division was deployed in Velikije Luki on the left flank of Army Group Center. The Soviet 3rd Shock Army encircled Velikije Luki by 20 November with some 7,500 men from the division in the city. The German relief attempts were unsuccessful and were halted on 12 December. The Red Army took the city on 16 January 1943; less than 200 German troops made it to the German lines.

In mid-April 1944 Scherer was appointed Inspektor des Küstenschutzes beim Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber Ostland (Inspector of Coastal Defences in Ostland). In mid-April 1945 Scherer was transferred from a senior staff position at the 4th Panzer Army to take over the defence of the Schwarzen Elster river, near the Elbe.

Scherer was killed in a car accident at Ludwigsburg in May 1951.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (26 August 1914)^[1]
  • 1st Class (17 January 1920)^[1]
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (15 June 1940)^[1]
  • 1st Class (20 June 1940)^[1]
• Eastern Front Medal
• Cholm Shield (31 October 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 20 February 1942 as Generalmajor and commander of the 281. Sicherungs-Division^[2]
  • 92nd Oak Leaves on 5 May 1942 as Generalmajor and commander of the 281. Sicherungs-Division^[3]
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (6 May 1942)

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1998, p. 253.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 305.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 53.

Bibliography

• 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 Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners 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.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.