Otto Ciliax


Otto Ciliax 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 recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Early life and career

Ciliax was born on 30 October 1891 in Neudietendorf, at the time part of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He joined the military service of the Imperial German Navy on 1 April 1910 as a Seekadett of "Crew 1910". He started his first naval infantry training course with the sea cadet detachment on on 7 April 1910. Onboard training on Victory Louise began on 13 May before he was transferred to the Naval Academy Mürwik on 1 April 1911 for the main cadet and officer course. Afterwards, starting on 1 October 1912 he served on the battleship and was promoted to Leutnant zur See on 27 September 1913.

World War I

Ciliax was still serving on Hannover when World War I broke out on 28 July 1914. He was a watch officer on when it sank the cruiser on 19 August 1916. After completing submarine commander's training, he was given in June 1918 and in September that year.

Between the wars

He remained with the Reichsmarine after the German collapse of 1918, serving as torpedo boat commander and staff officer, heading the operations department of the Naval High Command in 1936. In 1936 he was given command of the and served as the Commander of the Sea-Force from 22 March 1938 to 26 June 1938 during the Spanish Civil War. He commanded the when war broke out in September 1939.

World War II

In June 1941 he became Type Commander, Battleships. In this position he commanded the February 1942 Operation Cerberus, better known as "the Channel Dash", when German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, and a number of other smaller vessels were transferred from Brest to their respective home bases in Germany for planned deployment to Norwegian waters in February 1942. Ciliax flew his flag on Scharnhorst. Although the success of the operation was seen as an embarrassment to the British because the ships were able to pass through the English Channel almost undetected, the transfer from Brest to Germany eliminated the threat they had posed to Allied shipping in the Atlantic. In February 1942, during operations in Norway, Vice-Admiral Otto Ciliax commanded a flotilla of warships that included the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which served as his flagship during the voyage. From March 1943 until April 1945 Ciliax was Commander-in-Chief of German naval forces in Norway.

Awards