Karl-Friedrich Brill

Who was Karl-Friedrich Brill?

Dr.-Ing. Karl-Friedrich Wilhelm Anton August Brill was a Fregattenkapitän of the Reserves with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and member of the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt in the aftermaths of World War I. He is also a posthumous recipient of the coveted Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. 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.

Brill was killed in action when the Minenschiff "Juminda" was sunk on 22 October 1943 west of Porto Santo Stefano by three American torpedo boats from the 15th Squadron MTB coming from the base of La Maddalena. PT 212, PT 206, PT 216 launched several torpedoes but only the PT 212 scored 2 hits at the stern of the vessel.

More than 60 German sailors were killed in this enagegement, while only sixteen of them were saved. The body of Karl-Friedrich Brill was found in the sea two days later and buried with military honors on 27 October 1943 at the cemetery of Orbetello and then transferred to the German cemetery at Pomezia.

Brill was also SA-Sturmbannführer zur Verwendung of the SA-Standarte 17, Ludwigshafen. He was promoted to SA-Standartenführer in conjunction with the Knight's Cross presentation.