August Thiele

Who was August Thiele?

August Adolf Karl Hermann Thiele 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. 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 during the occupation of Oslo. Thiele had taken command of the battle group after the sinking of Blücher. He was promoted to Vizeadmiral on 1 April 1943 and was appointed commander of the Kampfgruppe II 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.