Hans-Rudolf Rösing

Hans-Rudolf Rösing (28 September 1905 – 16 December 2004) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and later served in the Bundesmarine. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Military career
Rösing joined the Reichsmarine in April 1924 as a Seekadett, gaining his commission as Leutnant zur See in October 1928, and surviving on the light cruisers SMS Nymphe (1899) and GERMAN CRUISER Königsberg. Germany was forbidden to operate submarines under the Treaty of Versailles; and in the early 1930s Oberleutnant zur See Rösing was one of a small number of chosen personnel who were detached to foreign navies to gain experience in submarines. After spending two years at the Unterseebootsabwehrschule, Rösing, recently promoted Kapitänleutnant, was given his first submarine command when he commissioned the new GS U-11 (1935). After two years in this small Type IIB coastal submarine, he took command of GS U-35 (1936), a larger Type VIIA ocean-going boat. In 1937 Rösing was given command of another Type IIB, GS U-10 (1935), and assigned to the Torpedoerprobungskommando, responsible for the testing of new torpedo types. After a year in this post he was appointed commander of 5th U-boat Flotilla - Flotille Emsmann - at Kiel.

July 1939 saw Rösing promoted to Korvettenkapitän. Following a short spell of duty on the staff of the Befehlshaber der U-Boote (Dönitz, q.v.), Rösing was posted to command 7th U-boat Flotilla at Kiel. This command lasted until 21 May 1940, at which time he took over the Type VIIB boat GS U-48 (1939) from her highly successful previous commander, Herbert Schultze. In the course of his two war patrols with U-48, Rösing showed himself to be as capable a commander as he was a staff officer, sinking 12 ships totaling over 60,000 tons, and earning himself the U-Boat War Badge, Iron Cross First Class and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Rösing left U-48 in December 1940, and was appointed liaison officer to the Italian submarine force operating out of Bordeaux in occupied France. After some months he was given command of 3rd U-boat Flotilla, but in August 1941 returned to the staff of the Befehlshaber der U-boote. In July 1942, Rösing was appointed as FdU West (Führer der U-boote West), with headquarters in both Paris and Angers; he was responsible for all boats committed to the Battle of the Atlantic, and thus a great majority of the entire U-boat fleet. In February 1943 he was promoted to Fregattenkapitän, and one month later to Kapitän zur See. He remained as FdU West until autumn 1944, when the Allied liberation of France forced the Kriegsmarine to transfer the remaining boats of 2nd and 7th U-boat flotillas to bases in Norway, Denmark, and northern Germany.

After the German surrender in May 1945, Rösing spent about a year in British captivity before being released. Serving as a member of the Naval Historical Team he subsequently joined the post-war Navy, and was given command of German naval units operating in the North Sea (Marine-Abschnittskommando Nordsee), and later Military District I, rising to the rank of Konteradmiral. He retired from active service in 1965, having added to the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Service Cross) to his wartime decorations. He died on 16 December 2004, at the age of 99.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (13 February 1940)
 * 1st Class (3 July 1940)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 August 1940 as chief of the 7th U-boat Flotilla and commander of U-48
 * Italian Croce di Guerra with Swords (1 November 1941)
 * Commander Cross of Order of the Crown of Italy (1 November 1941)
 * Mentioned twice in the Wehrmachtbericht on 22 June 1940 and 26 August 1940
 * Commander Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (8 March 1966)