Battle for Caen
With the SS Division Leibstandarte, Mohnke participated in the fighting in France, Poland and the Balkans. He was appointed to command a regiment in the SS Division Hitlerjugend in 1943. He led the unit in the Battle for Caen, receiving the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 11 July 1944. Mohnke was given command of his original division, the Leibstandarte, during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.