Schirlitz, Ernst

Date of birth:: September 7th, 1893 (Christburg (West Prussia), Germany)
Date of death:: November 27th, 1978 (Kiel-Glücksburg, Germany)
Nationality:: German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

Biography

Crew of 1912

Promotions:
12.04.1913: Fähnrich zur See
22.03.1915: Leutnant zur See
21.08.1919: Oberleutnant zur See
01.04.1923: Kapitänleutnant
01.12.1930: Korvettenkapitän
01.04.1936: Fregattenkapitän
01.10.1937: Kapitän zur See
01.03.1942: Konteradmiral
01.04.1943: Vizeadmiral

Career:
01 Apr 1912-07 Mar 1913: Entered the Navy as a Seekadett, Basic-Training and on Board the Heavy Cruiser ‘Hertha’
08 Mar 1913-03 Aug 1914: Naval-School and Special-Briefings
04 Aug 1914-27 Aug 1914: On Board the Heavy Cruiser ‘Freya’
28 Aug 1914-17 Nov 1914: On Board the Heavy Cruiser ‘Friedrich Carl’
28 Nov 1914-00 Jan 1915: On Board the Heavy Cruiser ‘Fürst Bismarck’
00 Jan 1915-24 Sep 1916: Watch-Officer on Board the Airships ‘L 7’, ‘L 20’ and ‘L 33’ with the Naval-Airship-Battalion
24 Sep 1916-03 Dec 1919: In Captivty
04 Dec 1919-31 Mar 1921: Released and with the Coastal-Defence-Battalion Cuxhaven, then with Land-Command and Detached to the Ships-Cadre-Division of the North Sea
01 Apr 1921-19 Mar 1922: Adjutant of the I. Battalion of the Ships-Cadre-Division of the North Sea
20 Mar 1922-27 Sep 1922: Company-Leader in the I. Battalion of the Ships-Cadre-Division of the North Sea
28 Sep 1922-15 Mar 1925: Watch and Roll Officer on the Liner ‘Braunschweig’
16 Mar 1925-01 Oct 1927: 1st Adjutant of the Commander Wilhelmshaven
02 Oct 1927-25 Sep 1929: Company-Chief in the II. Naval-Artillery-Battalion
26 Sep 1929-24 Feb 1930: Watch-Officer on the Liner ‘Schleswig-Holstein’
25 Feb 1930-30 Sep 1930: Watch-Officer on the Liner ‘Hannover’
01 Oct 1930-28 Sep 1934: Advisor in the Naval-Defence-Department, Naval Command
29 Sep 1934-20 Sep 1936: First Officer on the Armoured-Ship ‘Deutschland’
23 Sep 1936-16 May 1938: Chief Of Staff of the II. Admiral of the North-Sea-Station, on 01 Jan 1938 renamed 2nd Admiral of the North Sea, and at the same time, Leader of the Processing-Office of the Kriegsmarine
08 Jun 1938-23 Sep 1939: Chief Of Staff of the Inspection of Training-Affairs of the Navy
01 Aug 1938-20 Aug 1938: At the same time, Acting-Inspector of Training-Affairs of the Navy
24 Sep 1939-27 Oct 1939: Chief Of Staff of the Commander of Security of the Baltic Sea
28 Oct 1939-14 Apr 1942: Chief Of Staff of the Inspection of Training-Affairs of the Navy and with Operation ‘Seelöwe’, Designate Leader of Escort-Convoy 2 of Transport-Flotilla B
01 Apr 1940-25 Aug 1940: At the same time, Acting-Inspector of Training-Affairs of the Navy
15 Apr 1942-13 May 1942: Placed to the Disposal of the Commanding Admiral of the Naval-Station of the Baltic Sea
14 May 1942-15 Jun 1942: Placed to the Disposal of the Naval-Commander West France
16 Jun 1942-28 Feb 1943: Commandant of Sea-Fortifications of Brittany
01 Mar 1943-09 May 1945: Commanding Admiral Atlantic-Coast
20 Aug 1944-09 May 1945: At the same time, Fortress-Commandant La Rochelle
09 May 1945-13 Oct 1947: In Captivity
13 Oct 1947: Released

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Deutsches Kreuz in Gold

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Vizeadmiral (Rear-admiral)
Unit:: Festungskommandant, Festung La Rochelle
Awarded on:: December 1st, 1944

Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Vizeadmiral (Rear-admiral)
Unit:: Kommandierender Admiral Atlantikküste, Festungskommandant La Rochelle
Awarded on:: March 11th, 1945

During the defensive battles for La Rochelle Vizeadmiral Schirlitz succeeded in repelling an attempted enemy sea/land assault. In doing so he would ensure that the fortress would remain in German hands until the end of the war. For this he was awarded the Knight's Cross.