| Born | 5 Jul, 1917 | Kolberg |
| Died | 27 Sep, 1995 |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| 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
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | |||||
| 1. | U-953 | 13 May, 1943 | Kiel | 22 Jul, 1943 | La Pallice | Patrol | 71 days |
| 2. | U-953 | 2 Oct, 1943 | La Pallice | 17 Nov, 1943 | La Pallice | Patrol | 47 days |
| 3. | U-953 | 26 Dec, 1943 | La Pallice | 20 Feb, 1944 | La Pallice | Patrol | 57 days |
| 4. | U-953 | 30 Mar, 1944 | La Pallice | 1 Apr, 1944 | La Pallice | Patrol | 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 | 7 days |
| 7. | U-953 | 6 Jun, 1944 | Brest | 18 Jun, 1944 | Brest | Patrol | 13 days |
| 8. | U-953 | 24 Jun, 1944 | Brest | 22 Jul, 1944 | Brest | Patrol | 29 days |
Ships hit by Karl-Heinz Marbach
| Date | Boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | Fate * | |
| 5 Jul, 1944 | U-953 | Glendinning | 1.927 |  | br | ETC-27 | |
| 1.927 | |||||||
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk. | |||||||
 Aces of the Reich Williamson, Gordon Buy this title at amazon.com See more sellers |
Books dealing with this subject include: Aces of the Reich, Williamson, Gordon, 1989  Von Kolberg über La Rochelle nach Berlin, Marbach, Karl-Heinz, 1994 |
Decorations and ranks information is in many cases not complete. If you can help on any of those missing that would be great.