Werner Kempf (9 March 1886 – 6 January 1964) joined the Imperial German Army on in 1905; following World War I, he served in the Reichswehr and later the Wehrmacht. In October 1937 Kempf took command of the newly formed 4th Panzer Brigade; in January 1939 he was promoted to Generalmajor. At the beginning of World War II in Europe, he took part in the invasion of Poland as commander of Panzer Division Kempf, which was also known as the Panzerverband Ostpreußen (Panzer Group East Prussia) of the 3rd Army under Georg von Küchler. As divisional commander, he received the capitulation of Fort Zakroczym, which was followed by Massacre in Zakroczym, at the conclusion of the Battle of Modlin. The division returned to East Prussia at the end of the Poland campaign, and Kempf was named commander of the 1st Light Division, renamed 6th Panzer Division, on 18 October 1939.
In 1939 and 1940 Kempf led the 6th Panzer Division in the Battle of France. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 3 June 1940 for his role in the campaign, and was promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 August 1940. On 6 January 1941, he was ordered to form XXXXVIII Army Corps (motorized), and became its commander, along with a promotion to General der Panzertruppe, on 1 April 1941. With this corps Kempf took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, starting on 22 June 1941, as part of Panzer Group 1 of Army Group South, where the corps took part in the Battle of Uman and Battle of Kiev (1941), and pushed as far as Kursk.
From 5 May 1942 he was commanding general of the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps and was in this position on 10 August 1942 when he was awarded the Oak leaves to the Knight's Cross. In July 1943, he participated in the Battle of Kursk as commander of the Army Detachment Kempf. From May to September 1944 he was commander of the Wehrmacht in the Baltics. He was then moved to the leadership reserve until he was taken into captivity in May 1945. He was released in 1947.
Awards and decorations
- Ritterkreuz (51): am 03.06.1940 als Generalleutnant und Kommandeur der 6. Panzer-Division
- Eichenlaub (111): am 10.08.1942 als General der Panzertruppe und Kommandierender General des XLVIII. Panzerkorps
- 1914 EK I: 28.02.1916
- 1914 EK II: 15.09.1914
- Kgl. Bayer. Militär-Verdienstorden IV. Klasse mit Schwertern
- Grossherzoglich Oldenburgisches Friedrich August-Kreuz II. Klasse
- Grossherzoglich Oldenburgisches Friedrich August-Kreuz I. Klasse
- Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung IV. bis I. Klasse
- Spange zum EK II: 15.09.1939
- Spange zum EK I: 28.09.1939
- Kgl. Rumän. Orden “Michael der Tapfere” III. Klasse: 06.11.1942
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Kempf
http://www.geocities.ws/orion47.geo/WEHRMACHT/HEER/General2/KEMPF_WERNER.html
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