Gustav Sieß – U-Boot Ace World War I (Pour le Mérite!)

Original Rare Postwar Signature on a Postwar Photograph of Gustav Sieß. Generalleutnant Gustav Sieß (11 December 1883, Hamburg † 14 October 1970, Hamburg) distinguished himself as one of Germany’s foremost U-boat aces during World War I and later served as a high-ranking officer in the Luftwaffe during World War II.

Career Highlights & Decorations:

• As Kapitänleutnant and U‑boat commander, Sieß achieved remarkable wartime success. He sank 56 ships, totaling approximately 188,900 GRT, including the British battleship HMS Russell, the Russian battleship Peresvet, and the hospital ship Britannic, sister of the Titanic, making him one of the top submarine commanders of WWI.

• For these exploits, he was awarded the prestigious Pour le Mérite on 24  April  1918. He had previously received both classes of the Iron Cross and the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords on 27 February 1917.

Interwar & WWII Service:

• After the war, Sieß entered the commercial sector, founding a trading firm, Siess, von Loë & Co.

• In 1935, at the age of 53, he returned to military service in the Luftwaffe as a Major, serving as head of logistics at the Air Ministry in Berlin. Due to illness, he retired with the rank of Generalleutnant in 1944.

• Following the war, he was detained by Soviet authorities and sentenced to 25 years, but was released in 1955. He returned to Hamburg and lived there until his passing in 1970.

Signed on the front and back.