Task Force Thiele () was an organizational unit of the German ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was named after its commander ''

Vizeadmiral (; abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to Vice admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian Navy there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Ko ...

'' August Thiele who led the task force from 23 March 1945 until it was disbanded on 27 April 1945. It was formed from the Second Task Force () which had been created on 28 July 1944 from the Baltic Sea Training Unit, also under command of Thiele. Prinz Eugen served as the flagship of Task Force Thiele.

Background

Operational history

Thiele on-board of ''Prinz Eugen'' led the task force on 19 August 1944 in support of the German forces in

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

. ''Prinz Eugen'' steamed into the

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia (, , ) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main connection between the gulf and t ...

and bombarded

Tukums Tukums (; ; ) is a town in Latvia and serves as the administrative center of Tukums Municipality. It is located in the eastern part of the historical region of Courland, and with more than 16,000 inhabitants Tukums is the 13th largest settlem ...

from a distance of . ''Prinz Eugen'' ship fired a total of 265 rounds from its 20.3 cm (8.0 in) SK L/60 guns. In parallel, the destroyers '' Z25'', '' Z28'', '' Z35'' and '' Z36'' and the torpedo boats '' T23'' and '' T28'' attacked further targets. The Soviet advance in the Baltic continued. The last German convoy left

Reval Tallinn is the capital and most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and administratively lies in the Harju ''maakond'' (co ...

on 23 September. On 29 September Soviet forces landed on

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

, on 2 October on Dagö, and on 5 October on

Ösel Saaremaa (; ) is the largest and most populous island in Estonia. Measuring , its population is 31,435 (as of January 2020). The main island of the West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago), it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hi ...

, where the German troops were cut off on the Sworbe peninsula. Memel was about to fall to the Soviets. Thiele's task force, which included ''Prinz Eugen'', ''Lützow'', four destroyers and four torpedo boats, left Gotenhafen on 10 October to support the defensive land battles. In the timeframe 10–12 and 14–15 October ''Prinz Eugen'' bombarded 28 different targets and expended 1,196 20.3 cm rounds.

Order of battle

Major warships assigned to Task Force Thiele included: * ''Lützow'', a

heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...

* ''Admiral Scheer'', a ''Deutschland''-class heavy cruiser * ''Prinz Eugen'', a heavy cruiser

Taks Force Command

''Vizeadmiral'' August Thiele, 28 July 1944 – 27 April 1945
''Vizeadmiral'' Bernhard Rogge, 10–22 March 1945 (in deputize) *1. ''Admiralstabsoffizier'' / Chief of Staff **''

Korvettenkapitän (; ) is the lowest ranking Field officer, senior officer in the German navy. Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. Address The official manner, in li ...

'' Kurt Reitsch, August 1944 – 27 April 1945 *2. ''Admiralstabsoffizier'' **''Korvettenkapitän'' Wolfgang Freiherr von Steinaecker, February 1945 – 27 April 1945 *3. ''Admiralstabsoffizier'' **Vacant *4. ''Admiralstabsoffizier'' **Korvettenkapitän Helmut Michaelis, November 1944 – 27 April 1945 *Task Force Engineer **''Korvettenkapitän (Ing.)'' Kurt Ziegler, September 1944 – 27 April 1945 *Task Force Court **''Geschwaderrichter'' Dr.jur. Walter Meese, 28 Jul 1944 – January 1945 (tasked with the obligations) **''Marineoberstabsrichter'' Dr.jur. Axel Hawranke, January 1945 – 27 April 1945

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * {{refend Military units and formations of the Kriegsmarine Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945