Leberecht Maass (or Maaß) (24 November 1863 – 28 August 1914) was the ''

Konteradmiral (; abbreviated KAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to counter or rear admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian '' K.u.K. Kriegsmarine'' (1849 to 1918) there were the flag of ...

'' who commanded the German naval forces at the first Battle of Heligoland Bight. He lost his life when his flagship, the light cruiser , was sunk by British battlecruisers commanded by Vice Admiral David Beatty.

Early life

Leberecht Maass was born in Korkenhagen, Province of Pomerania. Maass entered the

German Imperial Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly f ...

in 1883. Between 1893 and 1895 Maass commanded a torpedo boat. Between 1898 and 1901 he commanded a squadron and between 1903 and 1906 he was department chief in the torpedo department. Maass served as director of the Naval School (1906-1908) and was promoted to captain in March 1908. He commanded the cruiser (April 1908-June 1909), the armored cruiser (March 1909-June 1910) and the old battleship (August 1910-September 1910). In October 1910 Maass was promoted to commander of the II Dockyard Division. On 9 December 1913 Maass was promoted to , flying his flag on the cruiser . At the start of the First World War, Maass served as and commander of the II Scouting Squadron.

Death at the Battle of Heligoland Bight

On 28 August 1914, the (British) Royal Navy's

Harwich Force The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war. History After the outbreak of the First World War, it ...

of two

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

s, and , and 31 destroyers and commanded by Commodore

Reginald Tyrwhitt Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, (; 10 May 1870 – 30 May 1951) was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the Harwich Force. He led a supporting naval force of 31 destroyers an ...

, made a raid on German ships near the German naval base at

Heligoland Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...

. Providing distant cover were the battlecruisers and of Cruiser Force K under Rear-Admiral Moore. In the early morning hours the Harwich Force encountered German torpedo boats on patrol west of Heligoland. The Germans quickly dispatched the light cruisers and to the scene, joined shortly afterwards by three more light cruisers out of

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

, including Rear Admiral Maass's flagship, ''Köln'', as well as and . They were subsequently joined by yet another light cruiser, out of

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

. Tyrwhitt's ''Arethusa'' was severely damaged by ''Frauenlob'', but the German cruiser also suffered heavy hits and retreated to Heligoland. Tyrwhitt soon received support from Commodore Goodenough's squadron of six modern light cruisers: , , , , and . In the fog and smoke, ''Mainz'' found herself between Tyrwhitt's and Goodenough's forces and was sunk by them after a prolonged battle. Called for assistance by Tyrwhitt, Admiral Beatty, whose First Battlecruiser Squadron of , and had by then joined Moore's ''New Zealand'' and ''Invincible'', arrived within little more than an hour at 12.40 p.m. and sank the hopelessly outgunned, but desperately resisting light cruisers ''Cöln'' and ''Ariadne''.

Namesake

The German navy named a World War II

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

after Maass.

References

External links

Battle of Heligoland Bight
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maass, Leberecht 1863 births 1914 deaths Captains who went down with the ship People from Goleniów County German military personnel killed in World War I Imperial German Navy admirals of World War I Military personnel from the Province of Pomerania People lost at sea Recipients of the Order of the Sword Counter admirals of the Imperial German Navy