Hubert Schmundt (19 September 1888 – 17 October 1984) was a German admiral during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Career

Schmundt joined the German Imperial Navy (''

Kaiserliche Marine {{italic title The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term wa ...

'') as a cadet in 1908 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1911. He was serving with the

German East Asia Squadron The German East Asia Squadron (german: Kreuzergeschwader / Ostasiengeschwader) was an Imperial German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at the Battle of the ...

aboard

SMS Scharnhorst SMS was an armored cruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built at the Blohm+Voss, Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. She was the lead ship of Scharnhorst-class cruiser, her class, which included . and her sister were enlarged versions ...

between 1910 and 1913 and returned to Germany in 1913. During World War I he was flag lieutenant of the 3rd destroyer flotilla and commanded the destroyer ''V71'' being promoted to

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...

in 1918. Schmundt was awarded the Iron Cross first and second class. Schmundt remained in the Navy after the end of the war and in the 1920s commanded the torpedo boat ''S18'' and served as a staff officer. He was promoted to

Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The off ...

in 1927 and served as an aide to Defence Minister

Wilhelm Groener Karl Eduard Wilhelm Groener (; 22 November 1867 – 3 May 1939) was a German general and politician. His organisational and logistical abilities resulted in a successful military career before and during World War I. After a confrontation wi ...

between 1929 and 1932. During the 1930s Schmundt commanded the light cruisers

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

(1934–35) and

Nürnberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...

(1935–36). He became commander of the

Naval Academy Mürwik A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

Mürwik Mürwik ( da, Mørvig) is a community of Flensburg in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Situated on the east side of the Flensburg Firth, it is on the Angeln peninsula. Mürwik is the location of the Naval Academy at Mürwik, w ...

in 1938 and was promoted to rear admiral. In the Second World War Schmundt commanded the

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

warship group during

Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung (german: Unternehmen Weserübung , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 Ap ...

(squadron group consisted of

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

s ''Köln'' (flagship) and the ''Königsberg'', an artillery training ship ''Bremse'', torpedo boat tender ''

Carl Peters Carl Peters (27 September 1856 – 10 September 1918), was a German colonial ruler, explorer, politician and author and a major promoter of the establishment of the German colony of East Africa (part of the modern republic Tanzania). Life H ...

'', torpedo boats ''

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

'' and ''

Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

'', and a group of smaller warships). Subsequently, Schmundt served as the commander of German naval forces in Northern Norway (1941–42) and oversaw

Operation Wunderland Operation Wunderland ("Wonderland") comprised a large-scale operation undertaken in summer 1942 by the German ''Kriegsmarine'' in the waters of the Northern Sea Route close to the Arctic Ocean. The Germans knew that many ships of the Soviet Navy ...

. He later served as commander of German naval forces in the Baltic (1943–44). He was dismissed in April 1944 and taken prisoner by the British in 1945. He was released in 1947. Schmundt died at the age of 96 on 17 October 1984.

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(1914) 2nd Class (6 October 1915) & 1st Class (14 May 1917)Dörr 1996, p. 209. *

Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (german: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Presiden ...

(21 December 1934) *

Sudetenland Medal The 1 October 1938 Commemorative Medal (german: Die Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938), commonly known as the Sudetenland Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the second in a series of Occupa ...

(20 December 1939) *

Clasp to the Iron Cross The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in World W ...

(1939) 2nd Class (1 October 1939) & 1st Class (11 April 1940) *

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty ( fi, Vapaudenristin ritarikunta; sv, Frihetskorsets orden) is one of three official state orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. Organisation ...

1st Class with Swords (25 March 1942) *

on 14 June 1940 as ''

Konteradmiral ''Konteradmiral'', abbreviated KAdm or KADM, is the second lowest naval flag officer rank in the German Navy. It is equivalent to '' Generalmajor'' in the '' Heer'' and ''Luftwaffe'' or to '' Admiralstabsarzt'' and ''Generalstabsarzt'' in the '' ...

'' and commander in chief of the ''Aufklärungs-Streitkräfte'' and leader of the '' Kampfgruppe'' BergenFellgiebel 2000, p. 383.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Dörr, Manfred (1996). ''Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2: L–Z'' (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. . * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmundt, Hubert 1888 births 1984 deaths People from Świdnica People from the Province of Silesia Admirals of the Kriegsmarine Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Reichsmarine personnel Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom Grand Crosses of Naval Merit