August Maus
August Maus | |
|---|---|
Hamburg, Germany | |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service/ |  Kriegsmarine |
| Rank | Kapitänleutnant |
| Unit | Gorch Fock Emden U-68 |
| Commands held | U-185 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
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August Maus (7 February 1915 – 28 September 1996) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Prior to taking command of U-185, he served as an officer on U-68 under the command of Captain Karl-Friedrich Merten. Maus was taken prisoner after the sinking of U-185 and in 1944 participated in an escape attempt from the prisoner-of-war camp Papago Park in the United States.
Biography
August Maus joined the German Navy (
On 1 January 1937 he was appointed Oberfähnrich zur See. After returning to Germany in February 1937, Maus took several technical courses. On 1 April 1937 he was promoted to Leutnant zur See and returned to the cruiser Nürnberg, where he served as adjutant from 3 March 1939 to 14 June 1939 and was promoted to Oberleutnant zur See on 1 April 1939. He was transferred to the battleship Schleswig-Holstein on 15 June 1939 and was present on the attacking battleship at the Battle of Westerplatte at the beginning of World War II. On 29 April 1940 he was transferred to the U-Boot-Waffe, and on 22 December 1940 he was assigned to U-68, serving under the command of Karl-Friedrich Merten and participating in two missions of the U-boat. On 1 November 1941 he was promoted to Kapitänleutnant and assigned to the 24th U-boat Flotilla. After completing a training for U-boat commanders beginning on 20 April 1942 he was assigned to U-185 on 5 May 1942 and became her commander on 12 June 1942.[1]
As the commander of U-185, Maus led three missions in the Atlantic Ocean, where he managed to sink 9 ships with 62,761 GRT, killing altogether 172 men, damaging one ship with 6,840 GRT and shooting down two Allied aircraft.[2][1]
On 11 August 1943 the German submarine
Maus was interned in
In 1946, Maus was released from captivity. After the war, he lived as a businessman in Hamburg.[7]
Awards
- Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (1 April 1938)[8]
- Spanish Cross (5 June 1940)[8]
- Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class (6 October 1939)[8]
- 1st Class (5 May 1943)
- High Seas Fleet Badge (9 November 1942)[9]
- U-boat War Badge (1939) (26 December 1942)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 September 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-185[10][11]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c Busch & Röll 2003, pp. 100, 385–387.
- ^ Smith, Kindell & Bertke 2012, pp. 37, 177.
- ^ Wynn 1997, pp. 138–139.
- ^ Nesbit 1997, p. 165.
- ^ Prag 2009, pp. 141–144.
- ^ Lloyd 2019, pp. 57, 87, 92, 101, 122.
- ^ Wiberg 2017, p. 40.
- ^ a b c Busch & Röll 2003, p. 386.
- ^ Busch & Röll 2003, p. 387.
- ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 531.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 305.
Bibliography
- Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942–1945. London: Phoenix. ISBN 978-0-6794-5742-8.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
- ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Lloyd, Keith Warren (2019). The Great Desert Escape: How the Flight of 25 German Prisoners of War Sparked One of the Largest Manhunts in American History. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4930-3891-6.
- Moore, John Hammond (2006). The Faustball Tunnel: German POWs in America and Their Great Escape. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-5911-4526-4.
- Nesbit, Roy Conyers (1997). Ultra Versus U-Boats: Enigma Decrypts in the National Archives. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-8441-5874-4.
- Prag, Christian (2009). No Ordinary War: The Eventful Career of U-604. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-5575-0860-7.
- 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 Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Smith, Gordon; Kindell, Don; Bertke, Donald A. (2012). World War II Sea War, Vol 9: Wolfpacks Muzzled. Dayton, Ohio: Bertke Publications. pp. 37, 177. ISBN 978-1-9374-7016-6.
- Wiberg, Eric (2017). U-Boats off Bermuda: Patrol Summaries and Merchant Ship Survivors Landed in Bermuda 1940-1944. London: Fonthill Media. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-6794-5742-8.
- Wynn, Kenneth G. (1997). U-boat Operations of the Second World War: Career histories, U1-U510. Annapolis, Maryland: Chatham Publishing / Naval Institute Press. pp. 138–139. ISBN 978-1-5575-0860-7.
