Leberecht Maass
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Rear Admiral Leberecht Maass (or as the name was then spelled in German, Leberecht Maaß) (24 November 1863 - 28 August 1914) was the commander of German naval forces at the first Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914. He lost his life when his flagship, the light cruiser SMS Cöln, was sunk by British battlecruisers commanded by Vice Admiral David Beatty.
The British navy's Harwich Force of two light cruisers, HMS Arethusa and HMS Fearless, and 31 destroyers and commanded by Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt, made a raid on German ships near the German naval base at Heligoland. Providing distant cover were the battlecruisers HMS New Zealand and HMS Invincible of Cruiser 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 SMS Frauenlob and SMS Stettin to the scene, joined shortly afterwards by three more light cruisers out of Wilhelmshaven, including Rear Admiral Maass's flagship, SMS Cöln, as well as SMS Ariadne and SMS Strassburg. They were subsequently joined by yet another light cruiser, SMS Mainz out of Emden. 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 Southampton-class light cruisers: HMS Southampton, HMS Birmingham, HMS Falmouth, HMS Liverpool, HMS Lowestoft und HMS Nottingham. In the fog and smoke, SMS 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 HMS Lion, HMS Queen Mary and HMS 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 Cöln and Ariadne.
The German navy named a WWII destroyer after Leberecht Maass.
