Otto Ciliax

Otto Ciliax was a German naval officer who served in the navies of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. As an admiral during World War II, he commanded the German battleships. He was a recipient of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross , awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Ciliax was born onOctober 1891 in Neudietendorf, at the time part of SaxeCoburg and Gotha. He joined the military service of the Imperial German Navy onApril 1910 as a Seekadett of Crew 1910 . He started his first naval infantry training course with the sea cadet detachment on SMS160Victoria Louise onApril 1910. Onboard training on Victory Louise began onMay before he was transferred to the Naval Academy Mrwik onApril 1911 for the main cadet and officer course. Afterwards, starting onOctober 1912 he served on the battleship SMS160Hannover and was promoted to Leutnant zur See onSeptember 1913.

Source: Wikipedia