Otto Ciliax

Otto Ciliax (30 October 1891 – 12 December 1964) was an admiral in the German Navy. 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.

Career
Otto Ciliax joined the military service of the Imperial German Navy on 1 April 1910 as a Seekadett. He completed a basic training course on board of SMS Victoria Louise before transferring to the Naval Academy Mürwik. Afterwards, starting on 1 October 1912 he served on the battleship SMS Hannover and was promoted to Leutnant zur See (second lieutenant) on 27 September 1913.

As the Watch-Officer of SMU U-52 in World War I he sank the cruiser HMS Nottingham (1913). He was a former captain of Scharnhorst. In February 1942, he commanded Operation Cerberus, better known as "the Channel Dash", when Germany's two battleships, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and 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. 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 (though both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau struck a minefield en route), the transfer from Brest to Germany eliminated the threat they had posed to Allied shipping in the Atlantic, that dissipated until Scharnhorst's chase for Convoy JW 55B, which eventually culminated in the Battle of North Cape and her demise at the hands of HMS Duke of York (17).

Further distinction eluded him for the remainder of World War II.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1914)
 * 2nd Class (13 June 1916)
 * 1st Class (6 November 1916)
 * Knight's Cross Second Class of the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order with Swords
 * U-boat War Badge (1918)
 * Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (January 1940)
 * 1st Class (April 1940)
 * Commander's Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy
 * Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (6 June 1939)
 * Medal for the Campaign of 1936−1939 (Spain)
 * German Cross in Gold on 20 November 1941 as Vizeadmiral and commander of the battleships
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 March 1942 as Vizeadmiral and commander of the battleships
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 13 February 1942
 * Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th to 1st class
 * High Seas Fleet Badge