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Vizeadmiral Kurt-Caesar Hoffmann (26 August 1895 – 19 May 1988) was a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipient during World War II and commander of the battleship . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. ==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 lasting 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 at 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 both Operation Weserübung, Operation Juno and Operation Berlin. On March 28, 1942 Hoffmann became the commanding Admiral of the German Navy in the Baltic and was promoted to Rear Admiral on April 1. From July 1, 1942 til March 4, 1943 he was the commanding naval officer of the German Navy in the Netherlands. On being promoted to Vice Admiral on April 1, 1943, Hoffmann became the head of department for artillery development and construction in the naval armaments office of the German Navy. On May 23, 1945, after the collapse of Germany, Hoffmann was arrested by British forces but released on February 20, 1947. He was allowed to join the new German Navy and from June 26, 1956 to August 31, 1957 Hoffmann was first deputy head of the Maritime Office Hamburg and thereafter head of administration until his retirement on March 31, 1965. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kurt-Caesar Hoffmann」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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