Kurt-Caesar Hoffmann
Kurt-Caesar Hoffmann (26 August 1895 – 19 May 1988) was a senior naval commander in the German Navy ("Kriegsmarine") during World War II, who commanded the battleship . He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Career. Hoffmann joined the military service of the "Kaiserliche Marine" (Imperial Navy) on 1 April 1912 as a "Seekadett" (midshipman) and took his first ship training on the cruiser . On 1 April 1913 he underwent further training at the Naval Academy Mürwik, and on 12 April 1913 was promoted to "Fähnrich zur See" (ensign at sea). He  relinquished command of the Coastal Artillery School and was appointed commander of the light cruiser on 27 June 1939. After the outbreak of World War II, he initially remained in command of "Königsberg". On 21 September 1939, he took over command from "Kapitän zur See" Otto Ciliax of the battleship "Scharnhorst". "Scharnhorst"s first operation began on 21 November 1939, and lasted until 27 November 1939. Accompanied by her sister , the light cruiser , and nine destroyers, "Scharnhorst" patrolled the area between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The intent of the operation was to draw out British units and ease the pressure  on the heavy cruiser , which was being pursued in the South Atlantic. Two days later, the German flotilla, under the command of Admiral Wilhelm Marschall aboard "Gneisenau", intercepted the auxiliary cruiser . At 16:07, lookouts aboard "Scharnhorst" spotted the British vessel, and less than an hour later "Scharnhorst" had closed the range. At 17:03, "Scharnhorst" opened fire, and three minutes later a salvo of her 28 cm guns hit "Rawalpindi"s bridge, killing the captain and the majority of the staff. During the brief engagement, "Rawalpindi" managed to score a hit on "Scharnhorst", which caused minor splinter damage. "Rawalpindi" was sunk within  40 minutes. After this, Hoffmann remained at the helm of the" Scharnhorst" until after the "Channel Dash" in February 1942, thus captaining the ship through Operation Weserübung, Operation Juno, and Operation Berlin. On 28 March 1942, Hoffmann became the commanding admiral of the German Navy in the Baltic and was promoted to "Konteradmiral" on 1 April. From 1 July 1942 until 4 March 1943, he was the commanding naval officer of the German Navy in the Netherlands. On being promoted to "Vizeadmiral" on 1 April 1943, Hoffmann became the head of department for artillery development and construction in the naval  armaments office of the German Navy. On 23 May 1945, after the collapse of Germany, Hoffmann was arrested by British forces, but released on 20 February 1947. Hoffmann joined the newly formed West German Navy ("Marine"), and from 26 June 1956 to 31 August 1957, was first deputy head of the Maritime Office Hamburg, thereafter head of administration until his retirement on 31 March 1965.