Werner Mummert

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Major Werner Mummert 1942

Werner Mummert (born March 31, 1897 in Lüttewitz ; † January 28, 1950 in camp Šuja, Soviet Union) was a German major general in the Wehrmacht during World War II .

Life

Mummert joined the Saxon Army as a volunteer during the First World War and was promoted to lieutenant in 1916 . With the 2nd Squadron of the Karabiner Regiment , he took part in the battles of the Baltic Sea Division in Finland. As a platoon leader , Mummert succeeded in conquering a strategically important crossroads at Janakkala on April 26, 1918 . For this achievement he was on June 16, 1918 by King Friedrich August III. entrusted with the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of St. Henry . In addition, Mummert was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross during the war .

After the end of the war he retired from military service.

In 1936 he was reactivated as a first lieutenant in the Wehrmacht . Mummert was also a member of the SS and, as Obersturmbannführer, belonged to the 16th SS equestrian standard. As commander of reconnaissance department 256, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross as a major on August 17, 1942 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the reserve. Mummert was constantly on duty on the Eastern Front. In January 1945 he was promoted to commander of the Müncheberg Panzer Division and major general in the reserve.

Battle for Berlin

“The closer the Soviets moved to the outskirts, the more troops the defenders came in from outside. However, these included only two larger units with artillery and tanks, which had a certain military value: the LVI. Panzer Corps of General Weidling and the 'Müncheberg' division under General Mummert "

- Erich Kuby: The Russians in Berlin . Scherz-Verlag, Munich 1965, p. 100.

Under the newly appointed city commander Artillery General Helmuth Weidling , Mummert took over on April 25, 1945 the “management of the defensive sections 'A' and 'B' (in the east of Berlin).” Shortly afterwards, Mummert also took over LVI from Weidling . Panzer Corps . He fought with his units in Rudow, Tempelhof, at Anhalter Bahnhof, at Potsdamer Platz and in Schöneberg. The general earned respect through consistent action:

“Flying field dishes are a frequent occurrence here today. Mostly very young SS leaders. Hardly any award. Blind and fanatical. The hope for relief and at the same time the fear of the courts always pulls the men up. General Mummert forbids any further appearance of a field court in his defense section. A division that owns the largest number of knight's cross and oak leaf bearers doesn't deserve to be followed by such young guys. Mummert is determined to personally shoot down a field court that intervenes with him. "

- Diary of Oberleutnant Kroemer, Panzer Division Müncheberg, April 27, 1945: quoted. in: The fight for Berlin in eyewitness reports , p. 272.

Mummert managed to break out of Berlin during the last fighting with the remains of his units, but he was captured by Russian soldiers outside the city.

He died in 1950 in the Šuja POW camp in the Soviet Union.

Awards

  • German cross in gold on January 11, 1942
  • Mentioned in the Honorary Journal of the Army on May 4, 1942
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves and swords
    • Knight's Cross on August 17, 1942
    • Oak leaves on March 20, 1944 (429th award)
    • Swords on October 23, 1944 (107th award)

literature

  • Jürgen Thorwald: The end on the Elbe. Diary entries Kroemer-Pecceroni.
  • Tony LeTessier: The fight for Berlin 1945.
  • Tony LeTessier: Breakthrough on the Oder.
  • Hein Johannsen: Werner Mummert. The life of a Saxon officer. ISBN 978-3-95429-001-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Royal Saxon Military St. Heinrichs Order 1736-1918. An honor sheet of the Saxon Army. Wilhelm and Bertha von Baensch Foundation. Dresden 1937. p. 482.
  2. ↑ Peter Gosztony (Ed.): The battle for Berlin in eyewitness reports. Karl Rauch Verlag, Düsseldorf 1970. Quoted from the edition in Deutsches Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 1985, p. 260. ISBN 3-423-02718-5 . New edition 2012.
  3. ↑ Müncheberg diary, April 26, 1945, cited above. in: Gosztony: The fight for Berlin in eyewitness reports, p. 269.
  4. ↑ a b c Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 560.
personal data
SURNAME Mummert, Werner
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German major general in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH March 31, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Lüttewitz
DATE OF DEATH January 28, 1950
Place of death Camp Šuja, Soviet Union