August Thiele
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August Thiele (born August 26, 1893 in Charlottenburg , † March 31, 1981 in Mölln ) was a German naval officer , most recently vice admiral in World War II .
Life
origin
He was the son of the later Rear Admiral August Carl Thiele (1852-1912).
Military career
Thiele joined the Imperial Navy as a midshipman on April 1, 1912 , completed his basic training on the large cruiser Vineta and went to the Mürwik naval school . There he was appointed ensign at sea on April 12, 1913 . Shortly after the outbreak of World War I , he was transferred to the small cruiser Gazelle on August 4, 1914 . From January 23 to March 15, he was briefly on board the liner Prussia , was promoted to lieutenant at sea here on March 22, 1915 , and then served on the liner Germany until November 30, 1916 . Thiele was then until August 14, 1917 as a flag lieutenant in the staff of the 2nd Squadron . In the same function he was on the staff of the commander of the security association of the western Baltic Sea until January 24, 1918 and in the meantime became first lieutenant on Christmas Day 1917 .
Beyond the end of the war, Thiele was on the staff of the commander for securing the Baltic Sea until March 15, 1920, was briefly made available to the leader of the minesweepers of the Baltic Sea and was used as the commander of the M 111 minesweeper until May 30, 1920 . For a little more than two weeks he acted as an adjutant at the commandant's office in Kiel , was assigned to the ship tribe of the small cruiser Medusa on June 17, 1920 , and a month later he was appointed watch officer on the ship. The lieutenant captain (since June 1, 1922) was commanded from September 30, 1922 to April 13, 1925 to serve as naval command and then until September 26, 1928 as a company commander at the Mürwik naval school. For one year he served as first officer on the survey ship Meteor and was placed at the disposal of the chief of naval command from October 3, 1929 to July 2, 1930. Thiele then came to the light cruiser Emden as a navigation officer and was promoted to Korvettenkapitän a short time later on October 1, 1930 . From September 24, 1932, he was first adjutant on the staff of the North Sea Naval Station for two years . He was placed at the disposal of the chief of the naval station of the Baltic Sea and ordered to the sailing training ship Germany . On March 27, 1935, he took over as commandant of the training ship Gorch Fock , became a frigate captain on October 1, 1935 , before commanding the training ship Horst Wessel in the same function until January 27, 1939 . After Thiele left the ship, he was made available until March 29, 1939, one day later appointed in command of the fortifications of the Pomeranian coast and promoted to sea captain on April 1, 1937 .
About the beginning of World War II remained Thiele to 5 October 1939 on its meantime the coast commander Pomerania renamed items, then was available to the admiral of the Navy Department Hamburg found and 30 November 1939 to 18 April 1940 as commander of the heavy cruiser Lützow used . After landing German troops in Norway , he served briefly as commander of the naval defense Trondheim before then from 27 April 1940 Admiral of the Norwegian North Coast appointed and in this function on 1 April 1941 Rear Admiral was promoted. As chief of staff, Thiele was a member of the fleet command from June 30, 1941 to February 15, 1943. From February 16, 1943 he was briefly in command of the 1st Combat Group in Northern Norway. On March 8, 1943, he was in command of the Fleet Training Association. On April 1, 1943, Thiele became Vice Admiral. As such, on July 28, 1944, he was appointed commander of the 2nd combat group in the Baltic Sea and on March 23, 1945, he was appointed commander of the Thiele combat group . In both functions he was supposed to slow down the advance of the Red Army with the ship units subordinate to him . Shortly before the end of the war, he was appointed Commanding Admiral Eastern Baltic on April 28, 1945 .
From May 12, 1945 Thiele was in British captivity , from which he was released on December 2, 1946.
Awards
- Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
- Prussian rescue medal on ribbon
- Hanseatic Cross Hamburg
- Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class
-
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves
- Knight's Cross on January 18, 1941
- Oak leaves on April 8, 1945 (824th award)
- German cross in gold on March 9, 1945
literature
- Dermot Bradley (eds.), Hans H. Hildebrand, Ernest Henriot: Germany's Admirals 1849-1945. The military careers of naval, engineering, medical, weapons and administrative officers with admiral rank. Volume 3: P-Z. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1990. ISBN 3-7648-1700-3 . Pp. 438-439.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reinhard Stumpf: The Wehrmacht Elite. Rank and origin structure of the German generals and admirals 1933–1945. Harald Boldt Verlag. Boppard am Rhein 1982. ISBN 3-7646-1815-9 . P. 255.
- ↑ a b c Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1929. p. 43.
- ↑ a b Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 741.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thiele, August |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German naval officer, most recently vice admiral in World War II |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 26, 1893 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin-Charlottenburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 31, 1981 |
| Place of death | Mölln |