Mohnke - World War II Service

World War II Service

Mohnke took part in the Polish Campaign in September, 1939. He was wounded on 7 September 1939 and recovered in the hospital in Prague. For this, Mohnke received the Wound Badge in Black. He was one of the first to receive the Iron Cross, Second Class on 29 September 1939. He won the Iron Cross, First Class on 8 November 1939.

Mohnke led the 5th company of the 2nd Battalion of the Infanterie-Regiment Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (mot.), at the outset of the Battle of France in 1940. He took command of the 2nd Battalion on 28 May after the battalion commander was wounded. It was around this time that Mohnke was allegedly involved in the murder of 80 British prisoners of war (POWs) of the 48th Division near Wormhoudt. Mohnke was never brought to trial over these allegations, and when the case was reopened in 1988, a German prosecutor came to the conclusion there was insufficient evidence to bring charges. The case briefly resurfaced once again in late 1993 when it became evident that the British government had not revealed some pertinent files from its archives during the earlier investigation. However, nothing substantial came from this either.

He commanded the 2nd Battalion during the Balkans campaign, where he suffered a severe leg wound in a Yugoslavian air attack on 6 April 1941, the first day of the campaign. It was the decision of the medics that his leg would need to be amputated, but Mohnke overrode them. His wound was so grievous that they were still forced to remove part of his foot. During the eight months he was recuperating (due to the severity of his injury), Mohnke was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 26 December 1941.

It was Mohnke who planted the seed for the formation of the Leibstandarte Panzer Battalion early in 1942 after returning to active service. He appointed Ralf Tiemann as his adjutant, whose first official task was finding recruits. Tiemann proceeded to compile a list, eventually with enough names to fill two companies. While the newly wed Sepp Dietrich presented his new wife to his officers on 14 January, Mohnke presented the divisional commander (Dietrich), with his personnel list, which had in the meantime turned into transfer orders. Dietrich, who was caught unawares, finally relented to Mohnke's pressure and signed the paper. So was born the Panzerwaffe der Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler. It was not to be though, and Mohnke was relieved of his command and transferred to the replacement battalion on 16 March 1942.