Otto Carius

Otto Carius
Otto Carius
Born	27 May 1922 Zweibrücken, Palatinate, Weimar Republic
Died	24 January 2015 (aged 92) Herschweiler-Pettersheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1940–45
Rank	Oberleutnant of the Reserves
Unit	21st Panzer Regiment Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502 Schwere Panzerjägerabteilung 512
Battles/wars	World War II Operation Barbarossa Battle of Narva Battle for Narva Bridgehead
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Other work	Pharmacist

Otto Carius (27 May 1922 – 24 January 2015) was a German tank ace within the German Army who fought during World War II and was credited with destroying 68 tanks. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves were awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

World War II

Early in the war, the slightly built Carius was rejected twice for military service for being underweight.^[1] However, he was eventually enlisted and initially served in the infantry, before volunteering for the Panzer branch.^[1]

In 1943, Carius transferred to the 502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion. He was severely wounded on 24 July 1944 while reconnoitering a village on a motorcycle. Until that day, he was unofficially running the 2nd Company of the 502nd. He officially became commander of 2nd Company on the day he was shot through the leg and arm, with four more wounds in the back and one the neck. When he recovered, he became commander of a Jagdtiger company of the 512th Heavy Antitank Battalion at the beginning of 1945. On 8 March 1945, 2nd Company was directed to the front line near Siegburg, where it took part in the defense of the River Rhine and eventually surrendered to the United States Army on 7 May 1945 in Iserlohn and was released on 21 May 1945.^[2]

Postwar

After the war Carius studied pharmacy at Heidelberg University. In 1956 he opened his own pharmacy shop called Tiger Apotheke^[3] in Herschweiler-Pettersheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, named after the Tiger tank. He ran his shop until he retired in 2011. He wrote a book about his experience in the war, Tigers in the Mud.^[4] Carius died on 24 January 2015 at age 92.^[5][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.

Awards and achievements

• Wound Badge in Black (8 July 1941)^[7]
• Eastern Front Medal (20 August 1942)^[8]
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (15 September 1942)^[9][10]
  • 1st Class (23 November 1943)^[9][11]
• Wound Badge in Silver (15 December 1943)^[12]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 4 May 1944 as Leutnant of the Reserves and Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 2./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502^[13][14][15]
  • 535th Oak Leaves on 27 July 1944 as Leutnant of the Reserves and leader of the 2./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502^[13][16]
• Panzer Badge in Silver
  • 2nd Grade (15 July 1944)^[17]
  • 3rd Grade (1 September 1944)^[18]
• Wound Badge in Gold (11 September 1944)^[17]

Total claimed victories (kills):

• 150+ tanks, similar number of antitank guns (100–110 tanks following another source,^[19]) majority on the Eastern Front.

References

Citations

1. "Otto Carius". The Times. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
2. Stockert 2012, p. 124.
3. Tiger Apotheke
4. Stackpole Books, 2014 ISBN 978-0-8117-2911-6
5. "In Memoriam Otto Carius". Tiger Apotheke – Herschweiler-Pettersheim. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
6. German World War II Panzer Ace Otto Carius Dies at 92
7. Carius 2003, Document 7
8. Carius 2003, Document 8
9. Thomas 1997, p. 97.
10. Carius 2003, Document 9
11. Carius 2003, Document 10
12. Carius 2003, Document 11
13. Scherzer 2007, p. 257.
14. Carius 2003, Document 12
15. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 152.
16. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 86.
17. Carius 2003, Document 27
18. Carius 2003, Document 26
19. Ashley Hart, p. 41

Bibliography

• Alman, Karl (2008). Panzer vor – Die dramatische Geschichte der deutschen Panzerwaffe und ihre tapferen Soldaten. Würzburg, Germany: Flechsig Verlag. ISBN 978-3-88189-638-2.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Hart, Stephen A (2007). Sherman Firefly vs Tiger: Normandy 1944. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84603-150-8.
• Kleine, Egon & Kühn, Volkmar (1999). Tiger – Die Geschichte einer legendären Waffe 1942–45. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuchbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-414-X.
• 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 Miltaer-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.