- Leberecht Maass
Leberecht Maass (or Maaß) (
24 November 1863 –28 August 1914 ) was therear admiral who commanded the German naval forces at the firstBattle of Heligoland Bight . He lost his life when his flagship, the light cruiser SMS "Köln", was sunk by British battlecruisers commanded by Vice Admiral David Beatty.Maass was born in
Korkenhagen ,Province of Pomerania .The British navy's
Harwich Force of twolight cruiser s, "Arethusa" and "Fearless", and 31 destroyers and commanded by CommodoreReginald Tyrwhitt , made a raid on German ships near the German naval base atHeligoland . Providing distant cover were the battlecruisers "New Zealand" and "Invincible" ofCruiser 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 "Frauenlob" and "Stettin" to the scene, joined shortly afterwards by three more light cruisers out of
Wilhelmshaven , including Rear Admiral Maass's flagship, "Köln", as well as "Ariadne" and "Strassburg". They were subsequently joined by yet another light cruiser, "Mainz" out ofEmden . 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 Town class light cruisers: "Southampton", "Birmingham", "Falmouth", "Liverpool", "Lowestoft" and "Nottingham". In the fog and smoke, "Mainz" found herself between Tyrwhitt's und Goodenough's forces and was sunk by them after a prolonged battle.Called for assistance by Tyrwhitt, Admiral Beatty, whose First Battlecruiser Squadron of "Lion", "Queen Mary" and "Princess Royal" 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 "Köln" and "Ariadne".
The German navy named a WWII destroyer after Maass.
External links
* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/heligoland-bight.html Battle of Heligoland Bight]
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