Otto Carius

Otto Carius (27 May 1922 – 24 January 2015) was a German tank commander in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He fought on the Eastern Front in 1943 and 1944 and on the Western Front in 1945. Carius is considered a "panzer ace", some sources credited him with destroying more than 150 enemy tanks, although Carius, in an interview claims he had around 100 kills or less. This was also due to the fact that he did not count kills as a commander, and rather only as a gunner. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Otto Carius
Studio portrait of Otto Carius, 1944
Born(1922-05-27)27 May 1922
Zweibrücken, Weimar Republic
Died24 January 2015(2015-01-24) (aged 92)
Herschweiler-Pettersheim, Germany
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branchArmy
Years of service1940–45
RankOberleutnant Epaulette Oberleutnant
Unit502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion
512th Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Other workPharmacist

World War II

Carius graduated from school in 1940, a year following the commencement of the Second World War. He enlisted in the army and was only accepted after twice being rejected as unfit for military service for being underweight. He first served in the infantry before volunteering for the Panzer branch; his father referred to tanks as "metal deathtraps."[1][2] Carius was transferred to the 502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion in 1943 and fought in the northern sectors of the Eastern Front.

At the beginning of 1945 he was made commander of a Jagdtiger company of the 512th Heavy Anti-tank Battalion, which by that time was engaged in fighting on the Western Front. On 8 March 1945, the 2nd Company was directed to the front line near Siegburg, where it took part in the defense of the Rhine against the American forces crossing the river, with limited success. Eventually, after being trapped in the Ruhr Pocket east of the Rhine, he ordered all his Jagdtigers destroyed to prevent enemy forces from capturing them intact and then surrendered to the US Army on 7 May. He was released from captivity on 21 May, two weeks later.[3]

He is considered a "panzer ace", credited with destroying more than 150 enemy tanks; most of his kill claims were on the Eastern Front.[4] He claimed in his autobiography that his gunner shot down a soviet plane attacking their tank, possibly an IL-2 with a Tiger I's 88mm main gun in late 1943 on the Eastern Front.[5]

Later life

After the war, Carius studied pharmacy at Heidelberg University and set up a pharmacy which he named the "Tiger Apotheke" as a tribute to the Tiger tank. He also authored a book about his wartime experiences called "Tigers in the Mud", which was released in 1960. Carius ran his pharmacy until retiring in 2011. He died on 24 January 2015 at age 92.[6]

Works
  • Tigers in the Mud: The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-2911-6. The book was adapted into a manga by Hayao Miyazaki.[7]

Awards
  • Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (15 September 1942) & 1st Class (23 November 1943)[8]
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
    • Knight's Cross on 4 May 1944 as Leutnant of the Reserves and platoon leader in the 2./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502[9]
    • 535th Oak Leaves on 27 July 1944 as Leutnant of the Reserves and leader of the 2./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502[9]
  • Panzer Badge in Silver 2nd Grade (15 July 1944) & 3rd Grade (1 September 1944)[10]
  • Wound Badge in Black (8 July 1941), in Silver (15 December 1943) & in Gold (11 September 1944)[2]

See also

References

Citations
  1. "Otto Carius". The Times. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  2. Carius, Otto (2003). Tigers in the Mud. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-2911-6.
  3. Stockert 2012, p. 124.
  4. George Forty "Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II" p. 103.
  5. Mocanu, Adrianh (19 March 2020). "When A German Tiger Tank Shot Down A Russian Plane". Defensionem - The War Bible. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  6. "Otto Carius, Famous German Panzer ace of WWII, dies at 92". 24 April 2015.
  7. "Otto Carius: Doromamire no tora". The Hayao Miyazaki Web. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  8. Thomas 1997, p. 97.
  9. Scherzer 2007, p. 257.
  10. Carius 2003, Document 27

Bibliography
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Stockert, Peter (2012). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 6 [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 6] (in German) (3rd ed.). Bad Friedrichshall, Germany: Friedrichshaller Rundblick. OCLC 76072662.
  • Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
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