The German coastal battery ''Tirpitz'', consisting mainly of three large 280 mm guns, was the most powerful coastal battery on the Romanian shore during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The three guns, model 28 cm SK L/45, came from spares for the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

-era ''Nassau''-class battleships. The name of the battery was given after German Grand Admiral

Alfred von Tirpitz Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (19 March 1849 – 6 March 1930) was a German grand admiral, Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the German Imperial Navy from 1897 until 1916. Prussi ...

History

After Romania joined the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

by signing the

Tripartite Pact The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. It was a defensive milit ...

in November 1940, German troops began crossing into the country to provide training and modernization to the Romanian Armed Forces. The Romanian coastal artillery was largely obsolete. As such, Romanian and German authorities agreed on the construction of the powerful battery south of the Romanian port of Constanța. Construction started in the winter of 1940, with many Romanians helping in its building, and the battery fired the first rounds in April 1941, in the presence of the Romanian War Minister, General Iosif Iacobici. The battery was protected by 75mm and 20mm AA guns. Nominally, the battery which was served by 700 Kriegsmarine personnel was under Romanian control, as were all the Axis forces in Romania. By late 1942, military personnel in and around Constanța amounted to 40,000 Romanians and 3,700 Germans. The battery saw combat use only once, when the Soviet surface fleet attacked Constanța on 26 June 1941, adding 39 rounds to the battle and damaging the Soviet destroyer leader . After the 23 August 1944 coup, the situation became uncertain. German Vice Admiral Helmuth Brinkmann had orders to hold Constanța at all costs. However, after a face-to-face meeting with Romanian Rear Admiral Horia Macellariu, he was persuaded to retreat orderly and avoid an unnecessary and costly battle. The Germans then retreated on the night of 25–26 August, but not before the battery was blown up before being surrendered to the Romanians.''Romania: Pages of History'', Volume 4, p. 234

References

External links

The Tirpitz Battery
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816185555/http://www.aedificiumconstanta.com/the-tirpitz-battery/?lang=en , date=2016-08-16 Coastal artillery Military history of Romania during World War II World War II sites of Nazi Germany Tirpitz Buildings and structures destroyed during World War II German–Romania military relations 1941 establishments in Romania Military installations closed in 1944 1944 disestablishments in Romania