Years of service 1914–45 Name Mortimer Kessel | Service/branch German Army | |
Born 25 May 1893
Arnswalde, Province of Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia German Empire now Choszczno, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland ( 1893-05-25 ) Allegiance German Empire (to 1918)
Weimar Republic (to 1933)
Nazi Germany Rank General der Panzertruppe Commands held 20th Panzer Division
Head of the Army Personnel Department
VII Panzer Corps Battles/wars World War I
World War II Died January 8, 1981, Goslar, Germany Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Similar People Rodion Malinovsky, Gheorghe Avramescu, Lajos Veress | ||
Battles and wars World War I, World War II | ||
Mortimer von Kessel (25 May 1893 – 8 January 1981) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.
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Biography
Kessel joined the Imperial German Army in March 1915 and was then retained in the Reichswehr following World War I. He led a reconnaissance regiment during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. Promoted to Oberst in October that year, he was appointed as the head of the Army Personnel Department and remained in this post until January 1943. In May 1943 he was appointed as the commander of the 20th Panzer Division.
On 1 December 1943, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions in the Vitebsk region on the Eastern Front. Then for his actions during the Soviet 1944 summer offensive, Operation Bagration, he was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. In December 1944, he was appointed commander of the VII Panzer Corps in East Prussia with which he surrendered at the end of the war.