Hans-Heinrich Wurmbach

Hans-Heinrich Wurmbach (born May 12, 1891 in Siegen , † December 16, 1965 in Schleswig ) was a German admiral in World War II .

Life

Wurmsbach occurred on 1 April 1911 as a midshipman in the Imperial Navy , and came a year after his ship training in the Great cruiser SMS Hansa to the Naval Academy Mürwik . There he received his appointment as ensign at sea on April 15, 1912. After completing his schooling, he was on the small cruiser SMS Strasbourg .

After the outbreak of World War I , Wurmbach was promoted to lieutenant on August 3, 1914 , and served on the Strasbourg until December 17, 1916 . He then completed a submarine course and then joined the submarine SM U A as an officer on watch . On April 23, 1917 he was transferred to the Mediterranean Sea to join the submarine flotilla there. On April 26, 1917 Wurmbach was promoted to lieutenant in the sea and commanded as a watch officer on SM U 38 . From November 16, 1917 to January 18, 1918, he was in command of the boat. In September 1918 Wurmbach was assigned to a commanders course at the naval school and then on October 10, 1918 he took over the newly commissioned submarine SM UC 101 . For his work he was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross , the U-Boat War Badge , the Hanseatic Cross Lübeck, the Austrian Military Merit Cross III. Class awarded with the war decoration and the Iron Crescent .

After the end of the war it was initially made available on November 17, 1918. Wurmsbach joined on 15 March 1919, the Marine Brigade Ehrhardt on, but was then in the Imperial Navy adopted, where he on March 1, 1921 Lieutenant was promoted and until January 2, 1922 as an instructor at the Naval Academy in Mürwik worked . Then he was adjutant to the chief of naval command . In October 1925 Wurmbach came on board the light cruiser Emden as adjutant and torpedo officer . On April 2, 1928, he was transferred to Kiel as adjutant at the commandant's office there, and from October 1, 1928 to January 3, 1930, he served with the staff and then as company commander at the Friedrichsort Naval School . On April 1, 1929, he was promoted to Korvettenkapitän . From January 4, 1930 to September 30, 1932 he was an assistant to the Inspector of Education of the Navy in Kiel, and on October 1, 1932 he moved back to Emden as first officer . Even before the new armored ship Deutschland was put into service, Wurmbach was transferred to Germany on January 19, 1933 , where he served as first officer from April 1, 1933. He was recalled from the ship on September 28, 1934 and promoted to frigate captain on October 1, 1934 . Just four days later, Wurmbach was appointed naval attaché at the German embassy in Rome . Ambassador at this time was Ulrich von Hassell (1881–1944). Its use ended on September 21, 1936 and after his return to Germany he came to the naval command in Berlin on October 1, while at the same time being promoted to captain at sea . On October 31, 1938, Wurmbach was appointed commander of the armored ship Admiral Scheer .

In the first few weeks of the Second World War, the ship was not used. On October 24, 1939, Wurmbach was appointed Chief of Staff at the Baltic Naval Station . In this position he was promoted to Rear Admiral on September 1, 1940 . From May 15, 1942 Wurmbach acted as "Admiral Black Sea", and on September 1, 1942 he became Vice Admiral . From November 10, 1942 to March 18, 1943, Wurmbach was unable to serve due to illness. After his recovery he was initially Commanding Admiral Denmark , received the German Cross in Gold on December 28, 1943, and after the reorganization of the office from April 16, 1944 to the German total surrender on May 8, 1945 "Commanding Admiral Skagerrak". On October 1, 1944, he was promoted to admiral. After the end of the war, until his departure on August 4, 1945, at the instigation of the Allies, he acted as the commander of the German naval forces in Denmark and was responsible for their repatriation.

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 Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1499-3 , pp. 584-585.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Reichswehr Ministry (ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1929, p. 44.