Ernst Scheurlen

Ernst Scheurlen (5 December 1894 – 8 April 1945) was a German admiral who served in the First and Second World Wars. He joined the Imperial German Navy as a cadet in 1912 and became an ensign in 1915. Scheurlen was selected to remain in the German navy, which was then the Reichsmarine, after the war and became a specialist in naval and coastal artillery. From 1938 to 1939 he commanded the light cruiser Königsberg. During the Second World War Scheurlen commanded coastal artillery in Pomerania and was considered for command of a transport fleet in the cancelled invasion of Britain. After the invasion of Russia he served on the naval staff in the Crimea, commanding a fleet during the evacuation of German troops from the Caucasus in 1943. After the Allied invasion of southern France Scheurlen commanded German naval forces in the region. In February 1945, with Germany being invaded Scheurlen was placed in command of a division hastily formed from surplus naval personnel and was killed in action.

Early life and career Scheurlen was born in Strasbourg, Alsace, (historically in France but then part of Germany) in 1894. He joined the Imperial German Navy as a cadet in 1912. He was commissioned as an ensign in 1915 and served on a tanker, a heavy cruiser and a minelaying vessel during the First World War. Scheurlen was one of the officers selected to join the Reichsmarine, Germany's post-war reduced navy. In the inter-war period, during which the navy became the Kriegsmarine, he specialised in naval and coastal artillery. He was promoted to captain in 1938. From November 1938 until June 1939 Scheurlen was captain of the light cruiser Königsberg and served in the Baltic Sea.

Second World War In the early part of the war Scheurlen commanded the naval artillery stationed on the Pomeranian coast. Scheurlen was to have commanded a transport fleet during Operation Sea Lion, the planned (and cancelled) German invasion of Britain. Following the German invasion of Russia Scheurlen served on the naval staff in the Crimea and in that role was promoted to the rank of rear admiral on 1 April 1942. He later returned to the Western Front to command coastal forces in the German Bight.

Scheurlen was promoted vice admiral on 1 August 1944 and commanded German forces on the southern French coast from 17 August. Scheurlen's appointment came after the start of the Allied invasion of Southern France. There were few German warships on the station and Scheurlen's appointment may have been because of his specialism in coastal artillery. On 6 September 1944 he returned to the German Bight. Scheurlen was killed in action near on the Lüneburg Heath on 8 April 1945.