Werner Kempf
| Werner Kempf | |
|---|---|
Werner Kempf (right), 21 June 1943
|
|
| Born | 9 March 1886 |
| Died | 6 January 1964 (aged 77) Bad Harzburg |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch | Army (Wehrmacht) |
| Years of service | 1905–45 |
| Rank | General der Panzertruppe |
| Battles/wars |
World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
General Werner Kempf (9 March 1886 – 6 January 1964) was a Panzer general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
Kempf 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 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 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.
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