August Thiele

August Thiele
August Thiel
Born	(1893-08-26)26 August 1893 Charlottenburg
Died	31 March 1981(1981-03-31) (aged 87) Mölln
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Imperial German Navy Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1912–45
Rank	Vizeadmiral
Unit	SMS Vineta SMS Gazelle SMS Preussen SMS Deutschland SMS Stettin SMS Kolberg SMS Medusa
Commands held	Minesweeper M 111 SSS Gorch Fock SSS Horst Wessel heavy cruiser Lützow Kampfgruppe "Thiele"
Battles/wars	World War I Battle of Jutland World War II Operation Weserübung Battle of Drøbak Sound Courland Pocket
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

August Adolf Karl Hermann Thiele (3 March 1894 – 2 November 1967) was a Vizeadmiral with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and commander of the heavy cruiser "Lützow". He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Kapitän zur See Thiele received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his command of the heavy cruiser Lützow and his leadership of Kampfgruppe V (5th battle group) during the occupation of Oslo. Thiele had taken command of the battle group after the sinking of Blücher. He was promoted to Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) on 1 April 1943 and was appointed commander of the Kampfgruppe II (2nd battle group) in the Baltic Sea on 28 July 1944 and commander of Kampfgruppe "Thiele" on 23 March 1945. With the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, Admiral Hipper, Admiral Scheer and Lützow, and the ships of the line Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein and the light cruisers Emden, Köln, Leipzig and Nürnberg he participated from sea in the land battles for Courland and in Samland.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (8 January 1916)
  • 1st Class (29 June 1919)
• Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg (30 May 1918)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 1st Class (5 March 1937)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (14 April 1940)
  • 1st Class (15 April 1940)
• High Seas Fleet Badge (1940)
• Naval Front Clasp in Bronze (12 April 1945)
• German Cross in Gold on 9 March 1945 as Vizeadmiral in Kampfgruppe "Thiele"
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 18 January 1941 as Kapitän zur See and commander of heavy cruiser "Lützow"
  • 824th Oak Leaves on 14 April 1945 as Vizeadmiral and commander of Kampfgruppe "Thiele"

Promotions

14 May 1912:	Seekadett (Midshipman)
12 April 1913:	Fähnrich zur See (Officer Cadet)
22 March 1915:	Leutnant zur See (Second Lieutenant)
25 December 1917:	Oberleutnant zur See (First Lieutenant)
1 June 1922:	Kapitänleutnant (Captain Lieutenant)
1 October 1930:	Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain)
1 October 1935:	Fregattenkapitän (Frigate Captain)
1 April 1937:	Kapitän zur See (Captain at Sea)
1 April 1941:	Konteradmiral (Counter Admiral)
1 April 1943:	Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral)

References

Bibliography

• Dörr, Manfred (1996). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2: L–Z (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 3-7648-2497-2.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-87943-355-1. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)

External links

• "August Thiele". Lexikon der Wehrmacht (in German). Retrieved 6 August 2011.
• "August Thiele". Deutsches Marinearchiv (in German). Retrieved 6 August 2011.
• "August Thiele". Geocities. Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 6 August 2011.