Schlieben joined the Prussian Army in August 1914 and served during World War I. He served as a regimental commander with the 1st Panzer Division during the Battle of France in 1940. He then served as a Brigade Commander with the 4th Panzer Division on the Eastern Front, from June 1942. In February 1943, Schlieben briefly took command of the 208th Infantry Division, before being transferred to the 18th Panzer Division in April, again as division commander.

British propaganda showing the general captured in 1944.

Following the Battle of Kursk the division was disbanded, and in December 1943, he was assigned command of the 709th Static Infantry Division based in Normandy, France.

At Trent Park, von Schlieben was in the middle in the front row

The unit was used for occupation duties in France. The division was on the Normandy coast when the invasion took place, and thus fought in the early days of the Battle of Normandy, quickly becoming trapped in the Cotentin. As U.S. forces sealed off the Peninsula, the remnants of the Division fell back on Cherbourg.

On 23 June 1944, Schlieben was appointed Commandant of Cherbourg, which the German high Command had designated as a 'fortress'. Three days later von Schlieben and over 800 other troops surrendered to Major General Manton S. Eddy the Commander of the U.S. 9th Infantry Division. He was held at Trent Park before he was transferred to Island Farm on 9 August 1945. He was released on 7 October 1947.