Rolf Carls | |
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Birth name | Rolf Hans Wilhelm Karl Carls |
Born | Rostock, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Empire | 29 May 1885
Died | 24 April 1945 Bad Oldesloe, Schleswig-Holstein, Nazi Germany | (aged 59)
Allegiance | German Empire (to 1919) Ottoman Empire (1914 to 1917) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany |
Branch | Imperial German Navy Ottoman Navy Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine |
Years of service | 1903–43 |
Rank | Generaladmiral |
Unit | SMS Stein SMS Mars SMS Fürst Bismarck SMS Breslau |
Commands | SM U-124 Hessen |
Battles/wars | World War I
World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Rolf Hans Wilhelm Karl Carls (29 May 1885 – 24 April 1945) was a high-ranking German admiral during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.
Carls served as Flottenchef (Fleet Commander), the highest ranking administrative officer of the Kriegsmarine and member of the Oberkommando der Marine (High Command of the Navy). Carls was instrumental in planning German naval operations during Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Denmark and Norway. When Grand Admiral Erich Raeder resigned as commander-in-chief of the Kriegsmarine in early 1943, he suggested Carls as a potential candidate to succeed him. After Admiral Karl Donitz succeeded Raeder instead, Carls was discharged from the navy. Carls was killed in a British air raid on the town of Bad Oldesloe on 24 April 1945.