Kurt-Caesar Hoffmann (26 August 1895 – 19 May 1988) was a senior naval commander in the German Navy (''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'') 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 ...

, who commanded the battleship . 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' ...

Career

Hoffmann joined the military service of the ''

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 ...

'' (Imperial Navy) on 1 April 1912 as a ''

Seekadett ''Seekadett'' (short SKad or SK; ,Langenscheidt´s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English and German language: „Der Große Muret-Sander“, Part II German-English, Second Volume L–Z, 8th edition 1999, ; p. 1.381 ) is a military rank of the B ...

'' (midshipman) and took his first ship training on the cruiser . On 1 April 1913 he underwent further training at 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 include ...

, and on 12 April 1913 was promoted to ''

Fähnrich zur See ''Fähnrich zur See'' (Fähnr zS or FRZS) designates in the German Navy of the Bundeswehr a military person or member of the armed forces with the second highest Officer Aspirant (OA – german: Offizieranwärter) rank. According to the salary ...

'' (ensign at sea). Bundesarchiv DVM 10 Bild-23-63-07, Schlachtschiff

He relinquished command of the Coastal Artillery School and was appointed commander of the

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 ...

on 27 June 1939. After the outbreak of World War II, he initially remained in command of ''Königsberg''. On 21 September 1939, he took over command from ''Kapitän zur See''

Otto Ciliax Otto Ciliax (30 October 1891 – 12 December 1964) was a German naval officer who served in the navies of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. As an admiral during World War II, he commanded the German battleships. He was a re ...

of the battleship ''Scharnhorst''. ''Scharnhorst''s first operation began on 21 November 1939, and lasted until 27 November 1939. Accompanied by her sister , the light cruiser , and nine destroyers, ''Scharnhorst'' patrolled the area between Iceland and the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

. The intent of the operation was to draw out British units and ease the pressure on the heavy cruiser , which was being pursued in the South Atlantic. Two days later, the German flotilla, under the command of Admiral

Wilhelm Marschall Wilhelm Marschall (30 September 1886 – 20 March 1976) was a German admiral during World War II. He was also a recipient of the ''Pour le Mérite'' which he received as commander of the German U-boat during World War I. The ''Pour le Mérite'' ...

aboard ''Gneisenau'', intercepted the

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

. At 16:07, lookouts aboard ''Scharnhorst'' spotted the British vessel, and less than an hour later ''Scharnhorst'' had closed the range. At 17:03, ''Scharnhorst'' opened fire, and three minutes later a salvo of her 28 cm guns hit ''Rawalpindi''s bridge, killing the captain and the majority of the staff. During the brief engagement, ''Rawalpindi'' managed to score a hit on ''Scharnhorst'', which caused minor splinter damage. ''Rawalpindi'' was sunk within 40 minutes. After this, Hoffmann remained at the helm of the'' Scharnhorst'' until after the "

Channel Dash The Channel Dash (german: Unternehmen Zerberus, Operation Cerberus) was a German naval operation during the Second World War. (Cerberus), a three-headed dog of Greek mythology who guards the gate to Hades. A (German Navy) squadron comprising ...

" in February 1942, thus captaining the ship through

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 ...

Operation Juno Operation Juno was a German sortie to the North Sea during the Norwegian Campaign. The most notable engagement of the operation was German battleships and sinking the British aircraft carrier and its two escorting destroyers. Several Allied v ...

, and Operation Berlin. On 28 March 1942, Hoffmann became the commanding admiral of the German Navy in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

and was promoted to ''

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 '' ...

'' on 1 April. From 1 July 1942 until 4 March 1943, he was the commanding naval officer of the German Navy in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. On being promoted to ''

Vizeadmiral (abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to Vice admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian Navy there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Kont ...

'' on 1 April 1943, Hoffmann became the head of department for artillery development and construction in the naval armaments office of the German Navy. On 23 May 1945, after the collapse of Germany, Hoffmann was arrested by British forces, but released on 20 February 1947. Hoffmann joined the newly formed West German

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

(''Marine''), and from 26 June 1956 to 31 August 1957, was first deputy head of the Maritime Office Hamburg, thereafter head of administration until his retirement on 31 March 1965.

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 (1 August 1916)Dörr 1995, p. 263. ** 1st Class (14 February 1918) * '' Ritterkreuz II. Klasse des Königlichen Sächsischen Albrechts-Ordens mit Schwertern'' (14 February 1918) *

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 ...

* Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung 4th to 1st Class * Clasp of the Iron Cross (1939) ** 2nd Class (16 October 1939) ** 1st Class (26 November 1939) *

High Seas Fleet Badge The High Seas Fleet Badge (), also known as High Seas Fleet War Badge, was a World War II German military decoration awarded for service to the crews of the ''Kriegsmarine'' High Seas Fleet, mainly of the battleships and cruisers, but also those s ...

Destroyer War Badge The Destroyer War Badge () as a World War II German military decoration and awarded to officers and crew for service on ''Kriegsmarine'' destroyers. It was instituted on 4 June 1940 by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder following the battle of Narvik. It ...

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold on 20 November 1941 as ''

Kapitän zur See Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

'' on battleship *

number 106 of the Kriegsmarine on 21 March 1942 as ''Kapitän zur See'' and commander of battleship ''Scharnhorst''Scherzer 2007, p. 399. * Cross of Merit 1st Class (15 July 1965)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Dörr, Manfred (1995). ''Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine, Band 1: A-K'' (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. . * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffmann, Kurt-Caesar 1895 births 1988 deaths Military personnel from Kiel Vice admirals of the Kriegsmarine Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Reichsmarine personnel People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class