Years of service 1901–1920 Awards Iron Cross | Name Ernst Wieblitz | |
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Born 2 August 1883
Metz ( 1883-08-02 ) Allegiance German Empire
Weimar Republic Service/branch Kaiserliche Marine
Reichsmarine Rank Kapitanleutnant (1912)
Korvettenkapitan (1920) Battles/wars Battle of the Falkland Islands Died January 3, 1973, Kassel, Germany Education United States Naval Academy Battles and wars Battle of the Falkland Islands | ||
Snow Drop Flower, Variation 3 & Thema, Ernst Wieblitz
Wieblitz Ernst (1883–1973) was a German naval officer during World War I. He was navigation officer on the SMS Dresden on the day of the scuttling.
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Biography
Ernst Wieblitz was born in Metz, Lorraine, one of the strongest fortress of the German Empire. He was the son of a military doctor. In 1901, aged eighteen, Wieblitz joined the Kaiserliche Marine. He began his training on the training ship Charlotte sailing from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. After the Naval Academy at Kiel, Wieblitz served as a "Leutnant zu See" on the SMS Furst Bismarck, the first German armored cruiser. Promoted to "Oberleutnant" in April 1907, he served as a navigation officer on the gunboat SMS Luchs from 1910 to 1912. In September 1912, Ernst Wieblitz was promoted to Kapitanleutnant on the SMS Konigsberg, then served on the SMS Moltke, the lead ship of the Moltke-class battlecruisers of the German Imperial Navy. In December 1913, Wieblitz was assigned on the SMS Dresden, a light cruiser commanded by Captain Koehler.
By the outbreak of World War I, Ernst Wieblitz was still serving on board the SMS Dresden as navigation officer. This cruiser was the only ship that managed to evade the British Fleet for a prolonged period during the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914, largely due to his excellent deception tactics. Whilst anchored in Cumberland Bay, Robinson Crusoe Island, the Dresden was trapped and forced to scuttle after fighting a battle there with the British. Wounded during the battle, Wieblitz was taken prisoner and confined at Valparaiso, in Chile in March 1915. Unlike Wilhelm Canaris, who managed to escape in August 1915, Wieblitz stayed prisoner until the end of the war. He was awarded the Iron Cross first class on September 23, 1919.