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Seekriegsleitung
The ''Seekriegsleitung'' or SKL (Maritime Warfare Command) was a higher command staff section of the Kaiserliche Marine and the Kriegsmarine of Germany during the World Wars. World War I The SKL was established on August 27, 1918, on the initiative of Admiral Reinhard Scheer, who became its first commander, simultaneously to being the Chief of the German Imperial Admiralty Staff. It led the planning and execution of naval combat and directed the distribution of naval forces. Up to this point, that was done by several staffs and the individual theater commanders; including the Supreme Army Command under General Erich Ludendorff, whose decisions led to the unrestricted submarine warfare Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships such as freighters and tankers without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules (also known as "cruiser rules") that call for warships to ... and the entrance of the United States into the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurt Fricke
Kurt Fricke (8 November 1889 – 2 May 1945) was an Admiral with the Kriegsmarine (navy) of Nazi Germany during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Biography Fricke entered the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' as a cadet on 1 April 1910. He served on during his cadetship and graduated from Marineschule Mürwik. After graduating he was posted to the battlecruiser . On 27 September 1913 Fricke was promoted to lieutenant. During World War I, Fricke served at the Battle of Dogger Bank. Fricke was promoted to ''Oberleutnant zur See'' in 1916 and transferred to torpedo boats. He served on and . On 7 March 1918 he became an aide-de-camp to the commander of the torpedo boats, in which position he ended the war. After the war he served in the administration of the German navy as adjudant to the commander in chief of the navy. From 1922 to 1924 he served on the I Flottille, in which he commanded destroyers ''T139'' and ''T148''. In September 1924, Fricke became ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilhelm Meisel
__NOTOC__ Wilhelm Meisel (4 November 1891 – 7 September 1974) was an Admiral of the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Meisel was born in Zwickau and joined the Navy as a midshipman in 1913. During the First World War he served on the battlecruiser , the light cruiser and the . He later served as a staff officer on Torpedo boats and was interned in Scapa Flow. After the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet he was held as a POW by the British and repatriated in 1921. During the 1920s Meisel commanded a torpedo boat flotilla and held several staff posts and commanded the in 1929. During World War II Meisel commanded a destroyer flotilla in the invasion of Poland of 1939 and was appointed commander of the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper in 1940. He was made Chief of Staff of Naval Group west in 1943 and Chief of Naval staff in 1943. Awards * Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (17 March 1915) & 1st Class (15 April 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oberkommando Der Marine
The (; abbreviated OKM) was the high command and the highest administrative and command authority of the ''Kriegsmarine''. It was officially formed from the ''Marineleitung'' ("Naval Command") of the ''Reichswehr'' on 11 January 1936. In 1937 it was combined with the newly formed '' Seekriegsleitung'' (SKL). There were two major re-organisations, in November 1939 and May 1944. Organization The OKM was broadly divided into six sections: * At the top was the ''Oberbefehlshaber der Marine'' (OBdM) – the Commander-in-Chief and his staff, with responsibility for liaison with the OKW, and including planning, technical, engineering, medical, economic, research, propaganda and personnel departments. * The '' Seekriegsleitung'' (SKL) ("Naval Warfare Command") was formed on 1 April 1937. Originally closely linked with both the OBdM and the ''Marinekommandoamt'', with the Commander-in-Chief (OBdM) also the Chief of the SKL, and the Chief of the ''Marinekommandoamt'' doubling as the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otto Schniewind
Otto Schniewind (14 December 1887 – 26 March 1964) was a German General Admiral during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Career Schniewind entered the Kaiserliche Marine in 1907 as a cadet. During the First World War he served as a commander of torpedoboats. When the German fleet surrendered to the British he commanded a squadron of torpedo boats, with this he partook in the Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow, after which he was taken prisoner by the British. After being released Schniewind continued to serve in the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt and later the Reichsmarine. From 1925 to 1926 he served as adjutant to the Minister of War Otto Gessler. In 1932 Schniewind became captain of the light cruiser ''Köln''. In 1934 Schniewind was appointed to another staff function. He was promoted to Konteradmiral (rear admiral) in 1937 and to Vizeadmiral (vice admiral) in 1940. He served as Chief of Staff of the Seekrieg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reinhard Scheer
Carl Friedrich Heinrich Reinhard Scheer (30 September 1863 – 26 November 1928) was an Admiral in the Imperial German Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine''). Scheer joined the navy in 1879 as an officer cadet and progressed through the ranks, commanding cruisers and battleships, as well as senior staff positions on land. At the outbreak of World War I, Scheer was the commander of the II Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet. He then took command of the III Battle Squadron, which consisted of the newest and most powerful battleships in the navy. In January 1916, he was promoted to Admiral and given control of the High Seas Fleet. Scheer led the German fleet at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, one of the largest naval battles in history. Following the battle, Scheer joined those calling for unrestricted submarine warfare against the Allies, a move the Kaiser eventually permitted. In August 1918, Scheer was promoted to the Chief of Naval Staff; Admiral Franz von Hip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Imperial Admiralty Staff
The German Imperial Admiralty Staff (german: Admiralstab) was one of four command agencies for the administration of the Imperial German Navy from 1899 to 1918. While the German Emperor Wilhelm II as commander-in-chief exercised supreme operational command and control of the naval forces, the military staff was split into the Admiralty, the Naval Office, the Naval Cabinet, and the Inspector-General. The command structure had a negative impact on German naval warfare in World War I, as a professional head of the Imperial Navy, similar to the First Sea Lord, was not established until August 1918. After the war and the German Revolution of 1918–19, the Admiralty Staff became subordinate to the Naval Office and was finally disestablished by order of the German President. History After the German unification of 1871, a united Imperial Navy was established as successor of the Prussian Navy and the North German Federal Navy, from 1 January 1872 under the authority of the Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supreme Army Command
The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, Supreme Army Command or OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' political authority in the empire. Formation and operation After the formation of the German Empire in 1871, the Prussian Army, Royal Saxon Army, Army of Württemberg and the Bavarian Army were autonomous in peacetime, each kingdom maintaining a separate war ministry and general staff to administer their forces. On the outbreak of war, the Constitution of the German Empire made the German Emperor Commander-in-Chief of the combined armies (''Oberster Kriegsherr'', Supreme Warlord). The Emperor's role as Commander-in-Chief was largely ceremonial and authority lay with the Chief of the German General Staff, who issued orders in the Emperor's name. The pre-war Chief of the General Staff was Colonel General Helmuth von Moltke (The Younger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded the navy. The key leader was Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, who greatly expanded the size and quality of the navy, while adopting the sea power theories of American strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan. The result was a Anglo-German naval arms race, naval arms race with Britain, as the German navy grew to become one of the greatest maritime forces in the world, second only to the Royal Navy. The German surface navy proved ineffective during the First World War; its only major engagement, the Battle of Jutland, was a draw, but it kept the surface fleet largely in port for the rest of the war. The submarine fleet was greatly expanded and threatened the British supply system during the Atlantic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the and the , of the , the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945. In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, the grew rapidly during German naval rearmament in the 1930s. The 1919 treaty had limited the size of the German navy and prohibited the building of submarines. ships were deployed to the waters around Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) under the guise of enforcing non-intervention, but in reality supported the Nationalists against the Spanish Republicans. In January 1939, Plan Z, a massive shipbuilding program, was ordered, calling for surface naval parity with the British Royal Navy by 1944. When World War II broke out in September 1939, Plan Z was shelved in favour of a crash building program for submarine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaiserliche Marine
{{italic title The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term was used particularly in connexion with the Roman-German Emperor as sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire and with the subsequent Empire of Austria. In the Early Modern Period the term is linked with the universal precedence of the ''Kaiser'' over the other princes of the realm. Holders of an imperial or ''kaiserliche'' office were recruited from the whole empire, and had wide-ranging privileges in the territories. Examples of military, political and cultural institutions with ''kaiserliche'' players in the Holy Roman Empire are the: * ''Kaiserliche Armee'' ( Imperial Army) and * ''Kaiserliche Reichspost'' (Imperial Post Office) of the Roman-German Emperor (to 1806) ( Habsburg, only 1742–1745 Wittelsbach) * ''kaiserliches Hofgestüt'' (I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erich Gröner
Erich Gröner (born 16 March 1901, Berlin; died 21 June 1965) was a German historian of naval warfare and shipbuilding. Early life and education Erich Gröner was born on 16 March 1901 in Berlin, then capital of the German Empire. From 1910 to 1918, he attended the He published his first treatise, ''A History of Maritime Trade and Sea War Shipping'', at 15 years of age. Gröner enlisted voluntarily into the ''Kaiserliche Marine {{italic title The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term wa ...'' in 1918. Citations Bibliography * 1901 births 1965 deaths Writers from Berlin Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Reichsmarine personnel German mechanical engineers German opinion journalists German naval historians Engineers from Berlin {{Germany-historian-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Befehlshaber Der U-Boote
The ''Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote'' or BdU (Eng: "Commander of the U-boats") was the supreme commander of the German Navy's U-boat Arm (''Ubootwaffe'') during the First and Second World Wars. The term also referred to the Command HQ of the U-boat arm. The title was established in June 1917, replacing the role of "Leader of the U-boats" (''Führer der Unterseeboote,'' or FdU) for the High Seas Flotillas. The first incumbent was ''Kapitan zur See/Kommodore'' Andreas Michelsen, previously head of the High Seas Fleet’s destroyer force. The post was abolished with the end of the war. It was revived on 17 October 1939, when Karl Dönitz was promoted to rear admiral (''Konteradmiral''). His previous title had been FdU, a position he had held from January 1936. On 31 January 1943 Dönitz was promoted to grand admiral (''Großadmiral'') and became supreme commander (''Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine'') of the entire Kriegsmarine, replacing Erich Raeder Erich Johann Albert R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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