Nickname: No information
Date of Birth: 31.03.1897 - Lüttewitz, Sachsen (German Empire)
Date of Death: 28.01.1950 - POW camp Schuja (Soviet Union)
Battles and Operations: Weltkrieg I, Polenfeldzug, Westfeldzug, Ostfront, Schlacht um Rschew, Kesselschlacht von Tscherkassy, Kurlandkessel, Schlacht um die Seelower Höhen, Schlacht um Berlin
NSDAP-Number: 1.004.990 (1932)
SS-Number: 340.759 (1939)
Religion: No information
Parents: No information
Siblings: No information
Spouse: No information
Children: No information
Promotions:
22.05.1916 Vizewachtmeister der Reserve
22.05.1916 Leutnant der Reserve
18.08.1917 Leutnant
1936 Oberleutnant der Reserve
1938 Rittmeister der Reserve
01.09.1939 SS-Sturmbannführer
1941 Hauptmann der Reserve
01.12.1941 Major der Reserve
18.09.1942 Oberstleutnant der Reserve
01.09.1943 SS-Obersturmbannführer
01.02.1944 Oberst der Reserve
01.02.1944 SS-Standartenführer
01.02.1945 Generalmajor der Reserve
Career:
1914 Kriegsfreiwilliger
22.05.1916 - 12.1918 2. Schweres Regiment, Königlich Sächsisch Karabiner-Regiment Nr. 10 / XIX. Armee-Korps
1917 - 1918 Reiter-Regiment 10
1936 Reaktivierung als Oberleutnant der Reserve im Heer
1938 Versetzung zum Reiter-Regiment 10 als Rittmeister der Reserve
01.09.1939 16. SS-Reiterstandarte
1939 - 1940 Kommandeur Aufklärungs-Abteilung 256 / 256. Infanterie-Division
1940 Kommandeur Aufklärungs-Abteilung 256 nach dem Westfeldzug
1941 - 1942 Führer Aufklärungs-Abteilung 256 an der Ostfront
1942 Führerreserve OKH
1943 Chef Panzeraufklärungs-Abteilung 14 / 14. Panzer-Division
18.01.1944 - 11.1944 Kommandeur Panzergrenadier-Regiment 103 / 14. Panzer-Division
01.09.1944 - 04.09.1944 m.F.b. 14. Panzer-Division
11.1944 Kommandeur Panzer-Brigade 103
21.11.1944 - 19.12.1944 Divisionsführer-Lehrgang 16, Hirschberg
09.03.1945 - 03.05.1945 Kommandeur Panzer-Division Müncheberg
03.05.1945 - 28.01.1950 Kriegsgefangenschaft bei der Roten Armee
Awards and Decorations:
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (1914) 1916
Ritterkreuz des Königlich-Sächsischen Militär-St.-Heinrichs-Ordens 16.06.1918
Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (1918) 07.1918
Vapaudenristin 2. luokka (VR 2) 17.08.1918
Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer 1934
Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht 4. Klasse, 4 Jahre 02.10.1936
Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP 10 Jahre 01.04.1939
Ehrenwinkel der Alten Kämpfer 1939
Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938 1939
1939 Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz 2. Klasse 1914 11.05.1940
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse 07.07.1940
Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber 1941
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold 11.01.1942
Ehrenblattspange des Heeres und Waffen-SS 04.05.1942
Nahkampfspange in Bronze 1942
Panzervernichtungsabzeichen in Silber 1942
Panzerkampfabzeichen (ohne Zahl) in Bronze 1942
Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42 (Ostmedaille) 1942
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (17.08.1942) as Major der Reserve and Kommandeur Aufklärungs-Abteilung 256 / 256.Infanterie-Division. In the summer of 1942, during the ongoing fighting around the Rzhev salient north of the city, Mummert was leading a Kampfgruppe formed from his reconnaissance battalion. Soviet forces launched a powerful assault aimed at cracking the German defensive ring held by the 9. Armee. From the village of Polunino, just north of Rzhev, Mummert independently ordered and personally directed a swift counterattack. His men, outnumbered and under heavy artillery and infantry pressure, charged across open fields and through Soviet forward positions in a daring thrust that slammed directly into the enemy spearhead. The assault halted the Soviet advance cold, preventing the capture of the vital supply node at Rohow, which served as the logistical lifeline for the entire 9. Armee. Without this action the German front in the Rzhev area would have collapsed. The counterblow restored the line and bought precious time for reinforcements, sealing the breach against overwhelming odds in bitter fighting that exemplified resolute small-unit leadership under extreme conditions.
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Silber 20.08.1943
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #429 (20.03.1944) as Oberstleutnant der Reserve and Kommandeur Panzergrenadier-Regiment 103 / 14.Panzer-Division. Early February 1944 found the 14. Panzer-Division engaged in desperate defensive fighting southwest of Cherkassy near Kirovograd as part of the larger Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket battles. Soviet pressure threatened to tear open the German front and isolate further forces. On 5-6 February Mummert led his Panzergrenadiers in a bold attack beyond the icy stream at Lipjanka, pushing through mud, thawing snow, and heavy enemy fire toward the villages of Meshigorka and Lipjanka. Under constant Soviet artillery and tank-supported assaults, the regiment fought its way forward in close-quarters combat, linking up successfully with elements of the 3. Panzer-Division. This junction re-established a continuous defensive front in the sector, stabilizing the line and preventing a complete rupture that could have doomed the pocket. Mummert’s personal drive and the regiment’s tenacious advance through the chaotic, snow-mantled terrain turned a near-catastrophic breach into a restored defensive position, saving the situation at the height of the encirclement crisis.
Wehrmachtbericht 23.09.1944
SS-Ehrenring 01.10.1944
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #107 (23.10.1944) as Oberst der Reserve and Kommandeur Panzergrenadier-Regiment 103 / 14.Panzer-Division. In the northern sector of the Eastern Front during the late summer and autumn of 1944, as German forces conducted fighting withdrawals toward the Baltic, Mummert’s regiment was heavily engaged in the area around Baldone in Latvia. On 18 September 1944 Soviet attacks threatened to collapse the local German positions. Mummert immediately organized and led a counterattack directed toward Arstes. His Panzergrenadiers, supported by available armor, surged forward through wooded terrain and open ground under intense fire, smashing into the advancing enemy and driving them back in fierce hand-to-hand and anti-tank fighting. The assault stabilized the entire sector in the Germans’ favor, restoring the front and preventing further Soviet penetration. For these actions, along with the regiment’s sustained performance in the preceding weeks of heavy defensive combat, the formation was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht of 23 September 1944. The Swords recognized Mummert’s repeated ability to turn threatened withdrawals into successful local counterstrokes at a moment when the entire northern front was under extreme pressure.
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Gold 1944
Ärmelband Kurland 1945
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Werner Mummert, whose full name was Karl Julius Reingard Werner Mummert, was a German officer who rose to the rank of generalmajor der reserve in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War and commanded Panzer Division Müncheberg in the final battles for Berlin. Born on 31 March 1897 in the Saxon village of Lüttewitz within the German Empire, he became a decorated veteran of the First World War before rejoining military service in the 1930s. Mummert earned the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for repeated acts of decisive leadership on the Eastern Front, where he repeatedly turned threatened sectors into stabilized defensive lines amid overwhelming Soviet pressure. His career spanned service in cavalry and reconnaissance units early in the conflict to commanding armored formations in the war's closing months, culminating in his capture by Soviet forces in May 1945 and death in captivity five years later.
Mummert volunteered for the Saxon Army at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and served initially as a war volunteer in the Königlich Sächsisches Karabiner-Regiment Nr. 10. He was commissioned as leutnant der reserve in May 1916 and later transferred to active duty as a full leutnant in 1918. During the fighting of the German Baltic Division in Finland in 1918 he led a platoon that captured a strategically vital road junction at Janakkala on 26 April, an action that earned him the Knight's Cross of the Royal Saxon Military Order of St. Henry from King Friedrich August III on 16 June 1918. He also received both classes of the Iron Cross and the Wound Badge in Black before being discharged from the army in December 1918 at the end of the war.
In the interwar years Mummert initially left military service but maintained ties to nationalist circles by joining the National Socialist German Workers' Party on 1 March 1932 with membership number 1 004 990. He was reactivated in the Wehrmacht in 1936 as an oberleutnant der reserve and promoted to rittmeister der reserve in 1938 while serving with Reiter-Regiment 10. At the beginning of the Second World War he assumed command of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 4 of the 4th Infantry Division, leading the unit through the Polish campaign and the subsequent Western campaign in 1940. He then transferred to command Aufklärungs-Abteilung 256 of the 256th Infantry Division, which he led into the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 as part of the ongoing operations on the Eastern Front.
By the summer of 1942 Mummert had been promoted to major der reserve and was operating as commander of a battle group drawn from his reconnaissance battalion in the Rzhev salient north of the city. Soviet forces launched a heavy assault aimed at shattering the German defensive ring held by the Ninth Army. From the village of Polunino Mummert independently directed a swift counterattack across open fields and through enemy forward positions, personally leading his outnumbered men in a daring thrust that slammed directly into the Soviet spearhead. The assault halted the enemy advance cold, prevented the capture of the vital supply node at Rohow that served as the logistical lifeline for the entire Ninth Army, and restored the front long enough for reinforcements to arrive. For this resolute leadership under extreme pressure he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 August 1942 and simultaneously promoted to oberstleutnant der reserve.
In early 1944, now commanding Panzergrenadier-Regiment 103 of the 14th Panzer Division as an oberstleutnant der reserve, Mummert found himself in the desperate defensive fighting southwest of Cherkassy near Kirovograd during the larger Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket battles. On 5 and 6 February Soviet pressure threatened to tear open the German line and isolate further forces. Mummert led his panzergrenadiers in a bold attack across the icy stream at Lipjanka, pushing through deep mud, thawing snow, and constant artillery and tank-supported assaults toward the villages of Meshigorka and Lipjanka. In close-quarters combat the regiment fought its way forward and successfully linked up with elements of the 3rd Panzer Division, re-establishing a continuous defensive front and preventing a complete rupture that could have doomed the pocket. This action earned him the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross on 20 March 1944 as the 429th recipient of that award.
Later that year, during the fighting withdrawals toward the Baltic in the northern sector of the Eastern Front, Mummert's regiment was heavily engaged around Baldone in Latvia. On 18 September 1944 Soviet attacks threatened to collapse local German positions, prompting him to organize and personally lead a counterattack directed toward Arstes. Supported by available armor, his panzergrenadiers surged forward through wooded terrain and open ground under intense fire, smashing into the advancing enemy in fierce hand-to-hand and anti-tank fighting that drove the Soviets back and restored the sector in the Germans' favor. The regiment's sustained performance in these weeks of heavy defensive combat led to its mention in the Wehrmachtbericht of 23 September 1944. For these repeated successes Mummert received the Swords to the Knight's Cross on 23 October 1944 as the 107th recipient.
In November 1944 Mummert briefly commanded Panzer-Brigade 103 before attending a divisional commanders' training course. On 9 March 1945 he took over Panzer Division Müncheberg, which he led through the final defensive battles in and around Berlin after his promotion to generalmajor der reserve on 1 February 1945. On 25 April he assumed command of defense sectors A and B in eastern Berlin under the city commandant General Helmuth Weidling and shortly afterward also directed elements of the LVI Panzer Corps. His division fought intensely in Rudow, at Tempelhof airfield, Anhalter station, Potsdamer Platz, and Schöneberg, with Mummert famously forbidding summary courts-martial in his sector and declaring that a formation containing so many holders of the Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves deserved better than to be hounded by young, barely decorated SS leaders who were blind and fanatical. Although he broke out of the city with remnants of his units he was captured by Soviet troops outside Berlin on 3 May 1945. Mummert remained in Soviet captivity until his death on 28 January 1950 in the prisoner-of-war camp at Šuja in the Russian SFSR.
The Eichenlaub award ceremony for three outstanding Heer members, which held on 14 May 1944 at the Führerhauptquartier Berghof Obersalzberg (Münich), and was presented directly by Adolf Hitler (Führer und oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht). The recipients are, from left to right: Oberst der Reserve Werner Mummert (Kommandeur Panzergrenadier-Regiment 103 / 14.Panzer-Division. Eichenlaub # 429 dated 20 March 1944), Leutnant der Reserve Josef Schneider (Führer 13.Kompanie / III.Bataillon / Jäger-Regiment 207 / 97.Jäger-Division. Eichenlaub # 389 dated 10 February 1944), and Oberfeldwebel Johann Schwerdfeger (Zugführer at 1.Kompanie / I.Bataillon / Jäger-Regiment 228 / 101.Jäger-Division. Eichenlaub # 474 dated 14 May 1944). Other pictures from this award ceremony can be seen HERE.
Source:
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/
https://grokipedia.com/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.geni.com/
https://www.feldgrau.com/
https://military-history.fandom.com/
Werner Mummert - Leben eines sächsischen Offiziers (Amazon.de, 3954290014)
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