Early Life
Mellenthin was born in Breslau, Silesia, into a military family; his father Paul Henning von Mellenthin was a lieutenant-colonel of artillery who was killed in action in 1918. Friedrich's older brother, Horst von Mellenthin, was also a World War II general. In 1924, upon graduation from Breslau's Realgymnasium, Friedrich enlisted as a private in the Seventh Cavalry Regiment of the Reichswehr. He studied for his commission over the next several years, and won a rare promotion to lieutenant in 1928 (the Reichswehr at the time having only 4,000 officers in its entirety). He married Ingeborg von Aulock, granddaughter of a South African emigrant, in 1932. Although he described himself as "perfectly happy" with regimental life, his superior assigned him to prepare operational reports to divisional headquarters, and these were generally approved of. In recognition of his talents, he was assigned to the Kriegsakademie in 1935, where he took its two-year course for General Staff officers.
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