Otto Ciliax
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| Born | (1891-10-30)30 October 1891 Neudietendorf, German Empire |
| Died | 12 December 1964(1964-12-12) (aged 73) Lübeck-Travemünde, West Germany |
| Allegiance |  German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany |
| Service/ |  Imperial German Navy Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine |
| Years of service | 1910–45 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Unit | SMS Victoria Louise SMS Württemberg SMS Vulkan SMS Hannover SM U-52 |
| Commands held | SM UB-96 SM UC-27 T 92 T 107 T 181 T 140 T 145 G8 S18 1st Torpedo-Boat Half-Flotilla Admiral Scheer Scharnhorst Commander, Battleships Naval High Command, Norway |
| Battles/wars | World War I
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| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Otto Ciliax (30 October 1891 – 12 December 1964) 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 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Ciliax was born on 30 October 1891 in Neudietendorf, at the time part of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He joined the military service of the Imperial German Navy on 1 April 1910 as a Seekadett of "Crew 1910" (the incoming class of 1910). He started his first naval infantry training course with the sea cadet detachment on SMS Victoria Louise on 7 April 1910.[Tr 1] Onboard training on Victory Louise began on 13 May before he was transferred to the Naval Academy Mürwik on 1 April 1911 for the main cadet and officer course.[Tr 2][Tr 3][1] Afterwards, starting on 1 October 1912 he served on the battleship SMS Hannover and was promoted to Leutnant zur See (acting sub-lieutenant/ensign) on 27 September 1913.
Ciliax was still serving on Hannover when World War I broke out on 28 July 1914. He was a watch officer on SM U-52 when it sank the cruiser HMS Nottingham on 19 August 1916. After completing submarine commander's training, he was given SM UB-96 in June 1918 and SM UC-27 in September that year.
He remained with the Reichsmarine after the German collapse of 1918, serving as torpedo boat commander and staff officer, heading the operations department (Operationsabteilung) of the Naval High Command (Oberkommando der Marine) in 1936. In 1936 he was given command of the German cruiser Admiral Scheer (22 September 1936 – 30 October 1938) and served as the Commander of the Sea-Force (Befehlshaber der Seestreitkräfte "Spanien") from 22 March 1938 to 26 June 1938 during the Spanish Civil War. He commanded the German battleship Scharnhorst when war broke out in September 1939.
In June 1941 he became Type Commander, Battleships (Befehlshaber der Schlachtschiffe). In this position he commanded Operation Cerberus, better known as "the Channel Dash", when German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, 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 in February 1942. 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. From March 1943 until April 1945 Ciliax was Commander-in-Chief of German naval forces in Norway (Marinekommando Norwegen).[2]
| 1 April 1910: | Seekadett (Midshipman)[4] |
| 15 April 1911: | Fähnrich zur See (Officer Cadet) with patent L1[4] |
| 15 April 1912: | Fähnrich zur See (Officer Cadet) with patent A[4] |
| 27 September 1913: | Leutnant zur See (Ensign or Acting Sub-Lieutenant) with patent B[4] |
| 22 March 1916: | Oberleutnant zur See (Lieutenant Junior Grade or Sub-Lieutenant) with patent B[4] |
| 29 June 1920: | Kapitänleutnant (Captain Lieutenant) with patent C[4] |
| 1 October 1928: | Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain)[4] |
| 1 October 1933: | Fregattenkapitän (Frigate Captain)[4] |
| 1 July 1935: | Kapitän zur See (Captain at Sea)[4] |
| 1 November 1939: | Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral)[4] |
| 1 June 1941: | Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral)[4] |
| 1 February 1943: | Admiral (Admiral)[4] |
{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)| Military offices | ||
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| New creation | Commander of the German Battleships 16 June 1941 – 2 June 1942 |
disbanded |
| Preceded by Generaladmiral Hermann Boehm |
Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine High Command Norway March 1943 – April 1945 |
Succeeded by Admiral Theodor Krancke |
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