defending a position near the Berezino River, which had been de-
feated after a two-week battle). Following the recruitment of Scher-
horn, Alexsandr Dem’ianov was engaged as an intermediary, send-
ing fabricated information via radio that had been prepared by the
NKGB (Soviet State Security). Scherhorn was depicted as a valiant
commander trapped in the Berezino forest, unwilling to surrender,
but urgently needing relief supplies and assistance.
Despite initial suspicions by the Germans, this Funkspiel worked
flawlessly from September 1944 to May 1945. According to an
NKGB evaluation, Soviet counterintelligence captured 25 German
agents and intelligence officers, 13 radio sets, 225 cargo packs (con-
taining uniforms, ammunition, food, and medicine), and more than 2
million rubles. To add to the credibility of the deception, the messages
contained mixed signals; while one boasted of having successfully
attacked a Soviet supply column, others asked that some scheduled
airdrops be canceled due to the approach of enemy troops. At one
point, the rescue of Scherhorn by Otto Skorzeny and his commando
team was contemplated—with Adolf Hitler’s approval—but soon
abandoned. On 23 March 1944, however, Hitler not only announced
the promotion of several officers singled out by Scherhorn for recog-
nition but advanced him to the rank of colonel and awarded him the
Knight’s Cross. With the general collapse on the eastern front, the
Armed Forces High Command notified Scherhorn on 5 May 1945
that his efforts could no longer be supported. He remained in Soviet
captivity until 1949, when his return to Germany was approved.SCHEUBNER-RICHTER, MAX VON (1884–1923). An intelligence
operative during World War I and an early Nazi activist, Max von
Scheubner-Richter was born in Riga on 9 January 1884. A member
of the university student corps, he helped organize the self-defense
of German settlers in the region during the 1905 revolution. After-
ward, he moved to Munich to pursue an engineering degree and
became a German citizen. Scheubner-Richter’s service in World
War I included a minor post in Erzurum, Turkey, as vice consul,
which provided cover for his intelligence activities, most notably an
attempt, with Paul Leverkuehn, to provoke an anti-Russian upris-
ing in the north Caucasus and stop the supply of oil from the vast
fields of Baku. Severe illness, however, forced both men to return to
396 • SCHEUBNER-RICHTER, MAX VON