Born | 5 Jul 1917 | Kolberg | |
Died | 27 Sep 1995 | (78) | Bonn, Germany |
Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
U-boat | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
U-101 | 1 Jan 1942 | 3 Feb 1942 | No war patrols |
U-29 | 6 May 1942 | 30 Jun 1942 | No war patrols |
U-28 | 1 Jul 1942 | 30 Nov 1942 | No war patrols |
U-953 | 17 Dec 1942 | Aug, 1944 | 7 patrols (227 days) |
U-3014 | 17 Dec 1944 | 3 May 1945 | No war patrols |
Kapitänleutnant Marbach after being decorated |
Karl-Heinz Marbach began his naval career in April 1937. He served for some months in 1939 on the light cruisers Leipzig and Nürnberg. Before transferring to the U-boat force in autumn 1940, he spent a year in a staff position.
After U-boat training he was assigned to U-101 (Ernst Mengersen). Marbach was aboard U-101 from March to November 1941, during which Mengersen sank three ships. Marbach took command of her himself for a month, leaving in February 1942.
After a short commander training course, Marbach was given command of school boats U-28 and U-29. In December 1942 he commissioned the type VIIC U-boat U-953. After seven patrols he was awarded the Knights Cross for acts of bravery.
While he was in Berlin to receive his decoration from the BdU (Commander in Chief U-boats), US troops encircled the U-boat base at Brest. Oblt. Herbert A. Werner took command of U-953, while Marbach went to the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen to commission one of the new type XXI Elektro U-boat Elektro boats.
He commissioned U-3014 in December 1944, but the boat never saw active service, and he scuttled her on 3 May. Following the German surrender in May 1945, he remained a POW until February 1948, being among the last U-boat men to be released.
After the war he joined the Bundesmarine (Federal German Navy), and later retired as Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander).
Karl-Heinz Marbach wrote about his service in U-boats in Von Kolberg über La Rochelle nach Berlin (From Kolberg via La Rochelle to Berlin).
Special thanks to Mr. Fernando Almeida for details on date of death and post-war career.
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Patrol info for Karl-Heinz Marbach
U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | U-953 | 13 May 1943 | Kiel | 22 Jul 1943 | La Pallice | Patrol 1, | 71 days | |
2. | U-953 | 2 Oct 1943 | La Pallice | 17 Nov 1943 | La Pallice | Patrol 2, | 47 days | |
3. | U-953 | 26 Dec 1943 | La Pallice | 20 Feb 1944 | La Pallice | Patrol 3, | 57 days | |
4. | U-953 | 30 Mar 1944 | La Pallice | 1 Apr 1944 | La Pallice | Patrol 4, | 3 days | |
5. | U-953 | 23 Apr 1944 | La Pallice | 26 Apr 1944 | Brest | 4 days | ||
6. | U-953 | 22 May 1944 | Brest | 28 May 1944 | Brest | Patrol 5, | 7 days | |
7. | U-953 | 6 Jun 1944 | Brest | 18 Jun 1944 | Brest | Patrol 6, | 13 days | |
8. | U-953 | 24 Jun 1944 | Brest | 22 Jul 1944 | Brest | Patrol 7, | 29 days | |
7 patrols, 227 days at sea |
About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.
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