| Born | 5 Jul 1917 | Kolberg | |
| Died | 27 Sep 1995 | (78) |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
| U-101 | 1 Jan 1942 | 3 Feb 1942 | No war patrols |
| U-29 | 6 May 1942 | 30 Jun 1942 | No war patrols |
| U-28 | 1 Jul 1942 | 30 Nov 1942 | No war patrols |
| U-953 | 17 Dec 1942 | Aug, 1944 | 7 patrols (227 days) |
| U-3014 | 17 Dec 1944 | 3 May 1945 | No war patrols |
Personal information
 Kapitänleutnant Karl-Heinz Marbach after his decoration |
Karl-Heinz Marbach began his naval career in April 1937. He served for some months in 1939 on the light cruisers Leipzig and Nürnberg. Before he transferred to the U-boat force in autumn 1940, he spent a year in a staff position.
After his U-boat training he was assigned to U-101, commanded by Kptlt. Ernst Mengersen. From March to November 1941 Marbach made three patrols on U-101, during which Mengersen sank three ships. He left U-101 in February 1942.
After a short commander training course, Marbach was promoted to commanding the school boats U-28 and U-29 for over six months. In December 1942 he commissioned the type VIIC U-boat U-953. After seven patrols he received the Knights Cross for acts of bravery.
He was in Berlin to receive his decoration from the BdU, when US troops encircled the U-boat base at Brest in France. Oblt. Herbert A. Werner then took over U-953 and Marbach went to the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen to commission a new type XXI U-boat.
In December 1944 he took command of U-3014, but he never saw combat with this boat. After the surrender he became a POW and remained imprisoned until February 1948, being among the last U-boat men to be set free.
Karl-Heinz Marbach wrote about his time in the U-boat force in the book Von Kolberg über La Rochelle nach Berlin (From Kolberg via La Rochelle to Berlin).
Patrol info for Karl-Heinz Marbach
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-953 | 13 May 1943 | Kiel | 22 Jul 1943 | La Pallice | Patrol 1, | 71 days | |
| 2. | U-953 | 2 Oct 1943 | La Pallice | 17 Nov 1943 | La Pallice | Patrol 2, | 47 days | |
| 3. | U-953 | 26 Dec 1943 | La Pallice | 20 Feb 1944 | La Pallice | Patrol 3, | 57 days | |
| 4. | U-953 | 30 Mar 1944 | La Pallice | 1 Apr 1944 | La Pallice | Patrol 4, | 3 days | |
| 5. | U-953 | 23 Apr 1944 | La Pallice | 26 Apr 1944 | Brest | 4 days | ||
| 6. | U-953 | 22 May 1944 | Brest | 28 May 1944 | Brest | Patrol 5, | 7 days | |
| 7. | U-953 | 6 Jun 1944 | Brest | 18 Jun 1944 | Brest | Patrol 6, | 13 days | |
| 8. | U-953 | 24 Jun 1944 | Brest | 22 Jul 1944 | Brest | Patrol 7, | 29 days | |
| 7 patrols, 227 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Karl-Heinz Marbach
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul 1944 | U-953 | Karl-Heinz Marbach | Glendinning | 1,927 |  | br | ETC-27 | |
| 1,927 | ||||||||
1 ship sunk (1,927 tons). | ||||||||
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About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.