Friedrich (Fritz) Bronsart von Schellendorf (1864–1950) was a German officer who played a significant role as a military advisor in the late Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Born in Berlin into a prominent Prussian military family, he was educated in the cadet corps and pursued a career in the German General Staff, gaining experience both in Europe and abroad, including as an observer during the Russo-Japanese War. By the early 1910s, he had risen to senior positions, including regimental command and staff leadership.

In 1913, Bronsart von Schellendorf was assigned to the Ottoman Empire as part of the German military mission. Appointed as deputy chief of the Ottoman General Staff in 1914, he worked closely with Minister of War Enver Pasha and became his chief of staff. In this capacity, he was deeply involved in planning Ottoman military operations, including the ill-fated Caucasus campaign of 1914–1915. His tenure was marked by both influence and controversy, as well as tensions with other German officers such as Otto Liman von Sanders. He remained in this role until 1917, when he was recalled following disagreements with Erich von Falkenhayn.

Bronsart von Schellendorf’s legacy is closely tied to the Armenian deportations of 1915. Many historians argue that he was complicit in these events, citing archival evidence that he issued orders related to deportations and supported Ottoman policies driven by claims of “military necessity.” While some scholarship suggests he did not explicitly advocate extermination, he endorsed and facilitated measures that contributed to mass suffering and death, and he did not intervene even as the scale of violence became evident. In his later writings, he defended the actions of the Ottoman leadership and denied genocidal intent, reflecting both his continued loyalty to his wartime allies and his own ideological views.

After the war, he briefly served as a division commander before retiring in 1919. In the interwar years, he became active in nationalist circles and led the Tannenbergbund, a völkisch organization aligned with Erich Ludendorff. His unpublished memoirs and later statements reveal strong nationalist and antisemitic views, and he was an outspoken supporter of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. Bronsart von Schellendorf died in 1950 in Kühlungsborn, leaving behind a controversial legacy shaped by his military career and his role in one of the most tragic episodes of the First World War.