View source for August Maus

{{Infobox military person
| name          = August Maus
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1915|2|7|df=y}}
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1996|9|28|1915|2|7|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Wuppertal]], [[German Empire]]
| death_place   = [[Hamburg, Germany]]
| image         = File:80-G-77199 (32086668082).jpg
| caption       = August Maus as POW on board {{USS|Core|CVE-13|6}}, 24 August 1943.
| nickname      =
| allegiance    = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| serviceyears  =
| rank          = ''[[Kapitänleutnant]]''
| branch        = {{navy|Nazi Germany}}
| commands      = {{GS|U-185||2}}
| unit          = {{ship||Gorch Fock|1933|2}}<br />{{ship|German cruiser|Emden||2}}<br />{{GS|U-68|1940|2}}
| battles       = [[World War II]]
* [[Battle of the Atlantic]]
* [[Great Papago Escape]]
| awards        = [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]]
| relations     =
| laterwork     =
}}
[[File:80-G-77200 (32086668562).jpg|thumb|August Maus being questioned by Captain M.R. Greer on board USS ''Core'', 24 August 1943]]
[[File:U-185.jpg|thumb|right|{{GS|U-185||2}} sunk on 24 August 1943]]
'''August Maus''' (7 February 1915 – 28 September 1996) was a German [[U-boat]] commander in [[World War II]] and recipient of the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]] of [[Nazi Germany]]. Prior to taking command of {{GS|U-185||2}}, he served as an officer on {{GS|U-68|1940|2}} under the command of Captain [[Karl-Friedrich Merten]]. Maus was taken [[German prisoners of war in the United States|prisoner]] after the sinking of {{GS|U-185||2}} and in 1944 participated in an escape attempt from the prisoner-of-war camp [[Camp Papago Park|Papago Park]] in the United States.
== Biography ==
August Maus joined the German Navy ([[Reichsmarine]], after 1 June 1935 [[Kriegsmarine]]) on 8 April 1934 at the age of 19 as officer aspirant and was sent to [[Stralsund]] to do his basic training. Then he was assigned to the training ship {{ship||Gorch Fock|1933|2}}. On 26 September 1934, he was appointed ''[[Seekadett]]'', and one day later, he was assigned to the light cruiser {{ship|German cruiser|Emden||2}}. On 27 June 1935 he started his training at [[Marineschule Mürwik]] and completed his infantry training on 29 July 1936. In August 1936 he was transferred to the light cruiser {{ship|German cruiser|Nürnberg||2}}, on which he sailed to take part in the [[Non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War|non-intervention patrols]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]] without encountering any belligerent forces.{{sfn|Busch|Röll|2003|pp=100, 385–387}}
On 1 January 1937 he was appointed ''[[Oberfähnrich zur See]]''. After returning to Germany in February 1937, Maus took several technical courses. On 1 April 1937 he was promoted to ''[[Leutnant zur See]]'' and returned to the cruiser ''Nürnberg'', where he served as [[adjutant]] from 3 March 1939 to 14 June 1939 and was promoted to ''[[Oberleutnant zur See]]'' on 1 April 1939. He was transferred to the [[battleship]] {{SMS|Schleswig-Holstein||2}} on 15 June 1939 and was present on the attacking battleship at the [[Battle of Westerplatte]] at the beginning of [[World War II]]. On 29 April 1940 he was transferred to the ''[[U-boat|U-Boot-Waffe]]'', and on 22 December 1940 he was assigned to {{GS|U-68|1940|2}}, serving under the command of [[Karl-Friedrich Merten]] and participating in two missions of the U-boat. On 1 November 1941 he was promoted to ''[[Kapitänleutnant]]'' and assigned to the [[24th U-boat Flotilla]]. After completing a training for U-boat commanders beginning on 20 April 1942 he was assigned to {{GS|U-185||2}} on 5 May 1942 and became her commander on 12 June 1942.{{sfn|Busch|Röll|2003|pp=100, 385–387}}
As the commander of ''U-185'', Maus led three missions in the [[Atlantic Ocean]], where he managed to sink 9 ships with {{GRT|62,761}}, killing altogether 172 men, damaging one ship with 6,840 GRT and shooting down two [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] aircraft.{{sfn|Smith|Kindell|Bertke|2012|pp=37, 177}}{{sfn|Busch|Röll|2003|pp=100, 385–387}}
On 11 August 1943 the German submarine {{GS|U-604||2}} was attacked and heavily damaged by a [[US Navy]] [[Lockheed Ventura]] aircraft flown by [[Thomas D. Davies]]. ''U-604'' was prepared for [[scuttling]] and its commander, [[Horst Höltring]], called for help. ''U-185'' under the command of August Maus and {{GS|U-172||2}} under the command of [[Carl Emmermann]] were the only two surviving German submarines in the area. On 11 August 1943 they met with ''U-604'' to rescue her crew. ''U-172'' took 22 of them, whereas 25 went with Maus's ''U-185'', including commander Höltring. During the rescue and scuttling action, a US  [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]] bomber attacked, killing one member of ''U-172''{{'}}s crew. Emmermann's ''U-172'' submerged, whereas Maus of ''U-185'' ordered to open fire on the aircraft, which was shot down, killing ten men. However, on 24 August 1943, ''U-185'' was detected and attacked by a [[Grumman F4F Wildcat]] and a [[Grumman TBF Avenger]] from the [[escort carrier]] {{USS|Core}}. One officer was shot dead by the Wildcat, and ''U-185'' was heavily damaged by the [[depth charge]]s from the Avenger, so sea water streamed into the submarine and [[chlorine]] gas developed, killing many of the crew. Höltring killed two badly wounded men who had asked for it, and then himself. August Maus gave the order to abandon ship and scuttle. 36 men from ''U-185'' and ''U-604'' were rescued by the destroyer {{USS|Barker}}, but four of them died from their wounds shortly after. Altogether, 32 survivors – 23 from ''U-185'' and 9 from ''U-604'' – were taken prisoner and transferred to USS ''Core'', among them August Maus. Later, Maus and his men were interrogated. On 21 September 1943, Maus was awarded the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]] for his successful raids, but it is unknown whether the ''[[Oberkommando der Marine]]'' (High Command of the German Navy) knew about the loss of ''U-185'' at the time.{{sfn|Wynn|1997|pp=138–139}}{{sfn|Nesbit|1997|p=165}}{{sfn|Prag|2009|pp=141–144}}
Maus was interned in [[Crossville, Tennessee)|Crossville]], [[Tennessee]], and was transferred to [[Camp Papago Park]] in [[Arizona]] on 27 January 1944. Shortly after, on 12 February 1944, he managed to escape together with four other former U-boat commanders, but he was recaptured in [[Tucson]] together with the former commander of ''U-513'', [[Friedrich Guggenberger]]. Maus helped his companions to dig a tunnel in the so-called [[Great Papago Escape]]. In the evening of 23 December 1944, 25 prisoners escaped through the tunnel, but August Maus could not take part because he was injured. Within the next two weeks, they were all recaptured, including Friedrich Guggenberger and [[Hans-Werner Kraus]].{{sfn|Lloyd|2019|pp=57, 87, 92, 101, 122}}
In 1946, Maus was released from captivity. After the war, he lived as a businessman in Hamburg.{{sfn|Wiberg|2017|p=40}}
== Awards ==
* [[Wehrmacht Long Service Award]] 4th Class (1 April 1938){{sfn|Busch|Röll|2003|p=386}}
* [[Spanish Cross]] (5 June 1940){{sfn|Busch|Röll|2003|p=386}}
* [[Iron Cross]] (1939)
** 2nd Class (6 October 1939){{sfn|Busch|Röll|2003|p=386}}
** 1st Class (5 May 1943)
* [[High Seas Fleet Badge]] (9 November 1942){{sfn|Busch|Röll|2003|p=387}}
* [[U-boat War Badge]] (1939) (26 December 1942)
* [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]] on 21 September 1943 as ''[[Kapitänleutnant]]'' and commander of {{GS|U-185||2}}{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=531}}{{sfn|Fellgiebel|2000|p=305}}
== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|25em}}
=== Bibliography ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Blair
|first=Clay
|year=1998
|title=Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942–1945
|language=English
|location=London
|publisher=Phoenix
|pages=
|isbn=978-0-6794-5742-8
}}
* {{Cite book
|last1=Busch
|first1=Rainer
|last2=Röll
|first2=Hans-Joachim
|year=2003
|title=Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945
|language=de
|location=Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany
|publisher=Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn
|isbn=978-3-8132-0515-2
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Fellgiebel
|first=Walther-Peer
|author-link=:de:Walther-Peer Fellgiebel
|year=2000
|orig-year=1986
|title=Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile
|language=de
|location=Friedberg, Germany
|publisher=Podzun-Pallas
|pages=305
|isbn=978-3-7909-0284-6
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Lloyd
|first=Keith Warren
|year=2019
|title=The Great Desert Escape: How the Flight of 25 German Prisoners of War Sparked One of the Largest Manhunts in American History
|language=English
|location=Lanham, MD
|publisher= Rowman & Littlefield
|isbn=978-1-4930-3891-6
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Moore
|first=John Hammond
|year=2006
|title=The Faustball Tunnel: German POWs in America and Their Great Escape
|language=English
|location=Annapolis, Maryland
|publisher=Naval Institute Press
|isbn=978-1-5911-4526-4
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Nesbit
|first=Roy Conyers
|year=1997
|title=Ultra Versus U-Boats: Enigma Decrypts in the National Archives
|language=English
|location=Barnsley
|publisher=Pen and Sword Military
|isbn=978-1-8441-5874-4
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Prag
|first=Christian
|year=2009
|title=No Ordinary War: The Eventful Career of U-604
|language=English
|location=Annapolis, Maryland
|publisher=Naval Institute Press
|isbn=978-1-5575-0860-7
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Scherzer
|first=Veit
|year=2007
|title=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
|language=de
|location=Jena, Germany
|publisher=Scherzers Militaer-Verlag
|isbn=978-3-938845-17-2
}}
* {{Cite book
|last1=Smith
|first1=Gordon
|last2=Kindell
|first2=Don
|last3=Bertke
|first3=Donald A.
|year=2012
|title=World War II Sea War, Vol 9: Wolfpacks Muzzled
|language=English
|location=Dayton, Ohio
|publisher=Bertke Publications
|pages=37, 177
|isbn=978-1-9374-7016-6
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Wiberg
|first=Eric
|year=2017
|title=U-Boats off Bermuda: Patrol Summaries and Merchant Ship Survivors Landed in Bermuda 1940-1944
|language=English
|location=London
|publisher=Fonthill Media
|pages=40
|isbn=978-0-6794-5742-8
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Wynn
|first=Kenneth G.
|year=1997
|title=U-boat Operations of the Second World War: Career histories, U1-U510
|language=English
|location=Annapolis, Maryland
|publisher=Chatham Publishing / Naval Institute Press
|pages=138–139
|isbn=978-1-5575-0860-7
}}
{{Refend}}
== External links ==
* [https://uboat.net/men/maus.htm August Maus, Kapitänleutnant (Crew 34), Uboat.net]
* [https://uboat.net/boats/u185.htm U-185, Uboat.net]
* [http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-185A/U-185INT.htm U-185, Uboatarchive.net: Navy Department Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Washington, O.N.I. 250 – G/Serial 23, Report on the Interrogation of Survivors From U-604 and U-185 Sunk on 11 August 1943 and 24 August 1943]
{{Subject bar
| portal1=Biography
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maus, August}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Wuppertal]]
[[Category:U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine)]]
[[Category:Escapees from United States military detention]]
[[Category:German escapees]]
[[Category:German military personnel of the Spanish Civil War]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]]
[[Category:Reichsmarine personnel]]
[[Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the Rhine Province]]