Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (; born Alfred Peter Friedrich Tirpitz; 19 March 1849 – 6 March 1930) was a German
grand admiral and State Secretary of the
German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the
German Imperial Navy from 1897 until 1916.
Prussia never had a major navy, nor did the other German states before the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
was formed in 1871. Tirpitz took the modest Imperial Navy and, starting in the 1890s, turned it into a world-class force that could threaten Britain's
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. However, during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, his
High Seas Fleet proved unable to end Britain's
command of the sea and its chokehold on Germany's economy. The one great engagement at sea, the
Battle of Jutland, ended in a narrow German tactical victory but a strategic failure. As the High Seas Fleet's limitations became increasingly apparent during the war, Tirpitz became an outspoken advocate for
unrestricted submarine warfare, a policy which would ultimately bring Germany into conflict with the United States. By the beginning of 1916, he was dismissed from office and never regained power. Following his dismissal, he would become
Chairman
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of the
far-right German Fatherland Party, an ideological precursor to the
German National People's Party
The German National People's Party (, DNVP) was a national-conservative and German monarchy, monarchist political party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major nationalist party in Weimar German ...
.
Family and early life
Tirpitz was born in
Küstrin (today Kostrzyn in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
) in the
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n
province of Brandenburg, the son of lawyer and later judge Rudolf Tirpitz (1811–1905). His mother was the daughter of a doctor. Tirpitz grew up in
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inh ...
. He recorded in his memoirs that as a child he was a mediocre pupil.
Tirpitz spoke English fluently and was sufficiently at home in
Britain that he sent his two daughters Ilse and Margot to
Cheltenham Ladies' College
Cheltenham Ladies' College (CLC) is a private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding and day school for girls aged 11 or older in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school was established in 1853 to provide "a sound academic edu ...
.
On 18 November 1884 he married Maria Augusta Lipke (born 11 October 1860 in Schwetz, West Prussia, died after 1941).
On 12 June 1900 he was elevated to the Prussian nobility, becoming
von Tirpitz. He had four children: Max, Wolfgang, Ilse (born 1885) and Margot (born 1888). His son, ''
Oberleutnant zur See
(''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the ''Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies, OF-1 in NATO.
The rank was ...
'' Wolfgang von Tirpitz, was taken
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
after the sinking of in the
Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914. Ilse married diplomat
Ulrich von Hassell who was executed in 1944 as an anti-Hitler activist. Their daughter and her young sons were then taken as hostages. She wrote of the experience in ''A Mother's War''.
Naval career
Tirpitz joined the
Prussian Navy more by accident than design when a friend announced that he was doing so. Tirpitz decided he liked the idea and with the consent of his parents became a naval cadet at the age of 16, on 24 April 1865. He attended
Kiel
Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...
Naval School. Within a year Prussia was at war with Austria. Tirpitz became a midshipman (''
Seekadett'') on 24 June 1866 and was posted to a sailing ship patrolling the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. In 1866 Prussia became part of the
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...
, the navy officially became that of the confederation and Tirpitz joined the new institution on 24 June 1869.
On 22 September 1869 he had obtained the rank of ''
Unterleutnant zur See
Unterleutnant (NPA-original abbreviation ''Ultn.''; English language, en: translation "Under-lieutenant" or "sub-lieutenant") was an officer rank of the armies of East Germany and other nations. The rank was first introduced in 1662–74 by Fr ...
'' (sub-lieutenant) and served on board the
ironclad
An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...
. During the
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
the Prussian Navy was greatly outnumbered and so the ship spent the duration of the war at anchor, much to the embarrassment of the navy. During the early years of Tirpitz's career, Prussia and
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
were on good terms and the Prussian Navy spent much time in British ports. Tirpitz reported that
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
was more hospitable to German sailors than was Kiel, while it was also easier to obtain equipment and supplies there, which were of better quality than available at home. At this time the British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
was pleased to assist that of Prussia in its development and Prussian officers had considerable respect for their British counterparts.
Development of torpedoes
Unification of Germany
The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...
in 1871 again meant a change of name, to the
German Imperial Navy. On 25 May 1872 Tirpitz was promoted to ''
Leutnant zur See'' (lieutenant at sea) and on 18 November 1875 to ''
Kapitänleutnant'' (captain-lieutenant). In 1877 he was chosen to visit the
Whitehead Torpedo Works at
Fiume
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and in 2021 had a po ...
and afterwards was placed in charge of the German torpedo section, later renamed the Torpedo Inspectorate. By 1879 a working device had been produced, but even under demonstration conditions Tirpitz reckoned it was as likely to miss a target as to hit it. On 17 September 1881 he became ''
Korvettenkapitän
(; ) is the lowest ranking Field officer, senior officer in the German navy.
Germany
Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy.
Address
The official manner, in li ...
'' (corvette captain). From developing torpedoes, Tirpitz moved on to developing
torpedo boats to deliver them. The State Secretary for the Navy,
Leo von Caprivi
Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprara de Montecuccoli (English language, English: ''Count George Leo of Caprivi, Caprara, and Montecuccoli''; born Georg Leo von Caprivi; 24 February 1831 – 6 February 1899) was a German general and statesman. He ...
, was a distant relation, and Tirpitz now worked with him on the development of tactics. Caprivi envisioned that the boats would be used defensively against their most likely enemy, France, but Tirpitz set about developing plans to attack the French home port of
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. Tirpitz later described his time with torpedo boats as "the eleven best years of my life".
Strategic development of the navy
In 1887 the torpedo boats escorted
Prince Wilhelm to attend the
Golden Jubilee celebrations of his grandmother,
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
. This was the first time Tirpitz met Wilhelm. In July 1888 Caprivi was succeeded by
Alexander von Monts. Torpedo boats were no longer considered important, and Tirpitz requested transfer, commanding the ironclads and then . He was promoted to captain (''
Kapitän zur See'') 24 November 1888 and in 1890 became chief of staff of the Baltic Squadron. On one occasion the Kaiser was attending dinner with the senior naval officers at Kiel and asked their opinion on how the navy should develop. Finally the question came to Tirpitz and he advised building
battleship
A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
s. This was an answer which appealed to the Kaiser, and nine months later he was transferred to
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
to work on a new strategy for creating a high seas fleet. Tirpitz appointed a staff of officers he had known from his time with the torpedo boats and collected together all sorts of vessels as stand-in battleships to conduct exercises to test out tactics. On 1 December 1892 he made a presentation of his findings to the Kaiser. This brought him into conflict with the Navy State Secretary, Admiral
Friedrich von Hollmann. Hollmann was responsible for procurement of ships, and had a policy of collecting ships as funding permitted. Tirpitz had concluded that the best fighting arrangement was a squadron of eight identical battleships, rather than any other combination of ships with mixed abilities. Further ships should then be added in groups of eight. Hollmann favoured a mixed fleet including
cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
s for long-distance operations overseas. Tirpitz believed that in a war no number of cruisers would be safe unless backed up by sufficient battleships.
''Kapitän zur See'' (captain at sea) Tirpitz became chief of the naval staff in 1892 and was made a ''
Konteradmiral'' (rear admiral) in 1895.
In autumn 1895, frustrated by the non-adoption of his recommendations, Tirpitz asked to be replaced. The Kaiser, not wishing to lose him, asked instead that he prepare a set of recommendations for ship construction. This was delivered on 3 January 1896, but the timing was bad as it coincided with raids into the
Transvaal in
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
by pro-British forces against the pro-German
Boers. The Kaiser immediately set his mind to demanding cruisers which could operate at a distance and influence the war. Hollman was tasked with obtaining money from the
Reichstag for a building programme, but failed to gain funding for enough ships to satisfy anyone.
Imperial Chancellor Hohenlohe saw no sense in naval enlargement and reported back that the Reichstag opposed it. Admiral
Gustav von Senden-Bibran, Chief of the Naval Cabinet, advised that the only possibility lay in replacing Hollmann: Wilhelm impulsively decided to appoint Tirpitz.
Meanwhile, however, Hollmann had obtained funding for one battleship and three large cruisers. It was felt that replacing him before the bill had completed approval through the Reichstag would be a mistake. Instead, Tirpitz was placed in charge of the German
East Asia Squadron in the
Far East
The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
but with a promise of appointment as secretary at a suitable moment. The cruiser squadron operated from British facilities in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
which were far from satisfactory as the German ships always took second place for available docks. Tirpitz was instructed to find a suitable site for a new port, selecting four possible sites. Although he initially favoured the bay at
Kiautschou/Tsingtao, others in the naval establishment advocated a different location and even Tirpitz wavered on his commitment in his final report. A "lease" on the land was acquired in 1898 after it was fortuitously occupied by German forces. On 12 March 1896 the Reichstag cut back Hollmann's appropriation of 70 million
marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks
A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...
to 58 million, and Hollman offered his resignation. Tirpitz was summoned home and offered the post of secretary of the Imperial Navy office (''
Reichsmarineamt''). He went home the long way, touring the United States on the way and arriving in Berlin 6 June 1897. He was pessimistic of his chances of succeeding with the Reichstag.
State Secretary of the Imperial Navy Office
On 15 June Tirpitz presented a memorandum on the makeup and purpose of the German fleet to the Kaiser. This defined the principal enemy as Great Britain, and the principal area of conflict to be that between
Heligoland and the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
. Cruiser warfare around the globe was deemed impractical because Germany had few bases to resupply ships, while the chief need was for as many battleships as possible to take on the British fleet. A target was outlined for two squadrons of eight battleships, plus a fleet flagship and two reserves. This was to be completed by 1905 and cost 408 million marks, or 58 million per year, the same as the existing budget. The proposal was innovative in several ways. It made a clear statement of naval needs, whereas before the navy had grown piecemeal. It set out the programme for seven years ahead, which neither the Reichstag nor the navy should change. It defined a change in German foreign policy so as to justify the existence of the fleet: Great Britain up to this point had been friendly, now it was officially an enemy. The Kaiser agreed to the plan and Tirpitz retired to
St Blasien in the
Black Forest
The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...
with a team of naval specialists to draft a
naval bill for presentation to the Reichstag. Information about the plan leaked out to
Admiral Knorr, head of the
Naval High Command. Tirpitz agreed to a joint committee to discuss changes in the navy, but then arranged that it never receive any information. Similarly, he arranged a joint committee with the Treasury State Secretary to discuss finance, which never discussed anything. Meanwhile, he continued his best efforts to convince the Kaiser and Chancellor, so that in due course he could announce the issues had already been decided at a higher level and thereby avoid debate.
Once the bill was nearly complete Tirpitz started a round of visits to obtain support. First he visited the former chancellor and elder statesman,
Prince Bismarck. Armed with the announcement that the Kaiser intended to name the next ship launched ''Furst Bismarck'', he persuaded the former chancellor, who had been dismissed from office for disagreement with Wilhelm II, to modestly support the proposals. Tirpitz now visited the
King of Saxony, the
Prince Regent of Bavaria, the
Grand Duke of Baden and Oldenburg and the councils of the
Hanseatic towns. On 19 October the draft bill was sent to the printers for presentation to the Reichstag. Tirpitz's approach was to be as accommodating with the deputies as he could. He was patient and good humoured, proceeding on the assumption that if everything was explained carefully, then the deputies would naturally be convinced. Groups were invited to private meetings to discuss the bill. Tours of ships and shipyards were arranged. The Kaiser and Chancellor stressed that the fleet was only intended for protection of Germany, but so that even a first class power might think twice before attacking. Highlights from a letter Prince Bismarck wrote were read out in the Reichstag, though not mentioning passages where he expressed reservations. Papers were circulated showing the relative size of foreign fleets, and how much Germany had fallen behind, particularly when considering the great power of her army compared to others.
A press bureau was created in the Navy Ministry to ensure journalists were thoroughly briefed, and to politely answer any and all objections. Pre-written articles were provided for the convenience of journalists. University professors were invited to speak on the importance of protecting German trade. The
Navy League was formed to popularise the idea of world naval power and its importance to the
Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
. It was argued that colonies overseas were essential, and Germany deserved her "place in the sun". League membership grew from 78,000 in 1898, to 600,000 in 1901 and 1.1 million by 1914. Special attention was given to members of the budget committee who would consider the bill in detail. Their interests and connections were analysed to find ways to influence them. Steel magnate
Fritz Krupp and shipowner
Albert Ballin of the
Hamburg-America Line were invited to speak on the benefits of the bill to trade and industry.
Objections were raised that the bill surrendered one of the most important powers of the Reichstag, that of annually scrutinising expenditure. Conservatives felt that expenditure on the navy was wasted, and that if money was available it should go to the army, which would be the deciding factor in any likely war.
Eugen Richter of the Liberal Radical Union opposing the bill observed that if it was intended for Germany now to seriously take up the
trident to match its other forces, then such a small force would not suffice, and there would be no end to ship building.
August Bebel of the Social Democrats argued that there existed a number of deputies who were
Anglophobes and wished to pick a fight with Britain, but that to imagine such a fleet could take on the Royal Navy was insanity and anyone saying it belonged in the madhouse.
Yet by the end of the debates the country was convinced that the bill would and should be passed. On 26 March 1898 it did so, by a majority of 212 to 139. All those around the Kaiser were ecstatic at their success. Tirpitz as navy minister was elevated to a seat on the Prussian Ministry of State. His influence and importance as the man who had accomplished this miracle was assured and he was to remain at the centre of government for the next nineteen years.
Second Naval Bill
One year after the passage of the bill Tirpitz appeared before the Reichstag and declared his satisfaction with it. The specified fleet would still be smaller than the French or British, but would be able to deter the Russians in the
Baltic. Within another year all had changed. In October 1899 the
Boer War broke out between the British and Boers in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. In January 1900 a British cruiser intercepted three German mail steamers and searched them for war supplies intended for the Boers. Germany was outraged and the opportunity presented itself for a second Naval Bill. The second bill doubled the number of battleships from nineteen to thirty-eight. This would form four squadrons of eight ships, plus two flagships and four reserves. The bill now spanned seventeen years from 1901 to 1917 with the final ships being completed by 1920. This would constitute the second-largest fleet in the world and although no mention was made in the bill of specific enemies, it made several general mentions of a greater power which it was intended to oppose. There was only one navy which could be meant. On 5 December 1899 Tirpitz was promoted to ''
Vizeadmiral'' (vice admiral). The bill passed on 20 June 1900.
Specifically written into the preamble was an explanation of Tirpitz's risk theory. Although the German fleet would be smaller, it was likely that an enemy with a world spanning empire would not be able to concentrate all its forces in local waters. Even if it could, the German fleet would still be sufficiently powerful to inflict significant damage in any battle, sufficient damage that the enemy would be unable to maintain its other naval commitments and must suffer irreparable harm. Thus no such enemy would risk an engagement. Privately, Tirpitz acknowledged a second risk: that Britain might see the growing German fleet and attack before it grew to a dangerous size. A similar course had been taken before when
Lord Nelson sank
Danish ships
at Copenhagen to prevent them falling into French hands. Tirpitz calculated this danger period would end in 1904 or 1905. In the event, Britain responded to the increased German building programme by building more ships herself and the theoretical danger period extended itself to beyond the start of the Great War. As a reward for the successful bill Tirpitz was ennobled with the hereditary article ''von'' before his name in 1900.
Tirpitz noted the difficulties in his relationship with the Kaiser. Wilhelm respected him as the only man who had succeeded in persuading the Reichstag to start and then increase a world class navy, but he remained unpredictable. He was fanatical about the navy, but would come up with wild ideas for improvements, which Tirpitz had to deflect to maintain his objectives. Each summer Tirpitz would go to St Blasien with his aides to work on naval plans, then in September he would travel to the Kaiser's retreat at
Rominten, where Tirpitz found he would be more relaxed and willing to listen to a well argued explanation.
Three supplementary naval bills (''Novelles'') were passed, in June 1906, April 1908 and June 1912. The first followed German diplomatic defeats over
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
, and added six large cruisers to the fleet. The second followed fears of British encroachment, and reduced the replacement time which a ship would remain in service from 25 to 20 years. The third was caused by the
Agadir Crisis
The Agadir Crisis, Agadir Incident, or Second Moroccan Crisis, was a brief crisis sparked by the deployment of a substantial force of French troops in the interior of Morocco in July 1911 and the deployment of the German gunboat to Agadir, ...
where again Germany had to draw back. This time three more battleships were added.
The first naval law caused little alarm in the United Kingdom. There was already in force a dual power standard defining the size of the British fleet as at least that of the next two largest fleets combined. There was now a new player, but her fleet was similar in size to the other two possible threats, Russia and France, and a number of battleships were already under construction. The second naval law, however, caused serious alarm: eight
''King Edward VII''-class battleships were ordered in response. It was the regularity and efficiency with which Germany was now building ships, which were seen to be as good as any in the world, which raised concern. Information about the design of the new battleships suggested they were only intended to operate within a short range of a home base and not to stay at sea for extended periods. They seemed designed only for operations in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
. The result was that Britain abandoned its policy of isolation which had held force since the time of Nelson and began to look for allies against the growing threat from Germany. Ships were withdrawn from around the world and brought back to British waters, while construction of new ships increased.
Tirpitz Plan

Tirpitz's design to achieve world power status through naval power, while at the same time addressing domestic issues, is referred to as the
Tirpitz Plan. Politically, the Tirpitz Plan was marked by the
Fleet Acts of 1898, 1900, 1908 and 1912. By 1914, they had given Germany the second-largest naval force in the world (roughly 40% smaller than the Royal Navy). It included seventeen modern
dreadnoughts, five
battlecruisers, twenty-five cruisers and twenty pre-dreadnought battleships as well as over forty
submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s. Although including fairly unrealistic targets, the expansion programme was sufficient to alarm the British, starting a costly naval arms race and pushing the British into closer ties with the French.
Tirpitz believed that the development of maritime power would advance Germany's economic interests and so serve as a "palliative against educated and uneducated Social Democrats".
Tirpitz developed a "risk theory" whereby, if the German Imperial Navy reached a certain level of strength relative to Britain's Royal Navy, the British would try to avoid confrontation with Germany (that is, maintain a
fleet in being). If the two navies fought, the German Navy would inflict enough damage on the British that the latter ran a risk of losing their naval dominance. Because the British relied on their navy to maintain control over the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
, Tirpitz felt they would opt to maintain naval supremacy in order to safeguard their empire, and let Germany become a world power, rather than lose the empire at the cost of keeping Germany less powerful. This theory sparked a naval
arms race
An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more State (polity), states to have superior armed forces, concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and ...
between the German and British Empires in the first decade of the 20th century.
This theory was based on the assumption that Britain would have to send its fleet into the North Sea to blockade the German ports (blockading Germany was the only way the Royal Navy could seriously harm Germany), where the German Navy could force a battle. However, due to Germany's geographic location, Britain could blockade Germany by closing the entrance to the North Sea in the English Channel and the area between
Bergen
Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo.
By May 20 ...
and the
Shetland Islands. Faced with this option a German admiral commented, "If the British do that, the role of our navy will be a sad one", correctly predicting the role the surface fleet would have during the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
Politically and strategically, Tirpitz's risk theory ensured its own failure. By its very nature it forced Britain into measures that would have been previously unacceptable to the British establishment. The necessity to concentrate the fleet against the German threat involved Britain making arrangements with other powers that enabled her to return the bulk of her naval forces to
home waters. The first evidence of this is seen in the
Anglo-Japanese treaty of 1902 that enabled the battleships of the China squadron to be re-allocated back to Europe. The Japanese fleet, largely constructed in British shipyards, then proceeded to utterly destroy the Russian Navy in the
war of 1904–05, removing Russia as a credible maritime opponent. The necessity to reduce the
Mediterranean Fleet in order to reinforce the navy in home waters was also a powerful influence in its détente and
Entente Cordiale with the French. By forcing the British to come to terms with its most traditional opponent, Tirpitz scuttled his own policy. Britain was no longer at risk from France, and the Japanese destruction of the Russian fleet removed that nation as a naval threat. In the space of a few years, Germany was faced with virtually the whole strength of the Royal Navy deployed against its own fleet, and Britain committed to her list of potential enemies. The Tirpitz risk theory made it more probable that, in any future conflict between the European powers, Britain would be on the side of Germany's foes, and that the full force of the most powerful navy in the world would be concentrated against her fleet.
Tirpitz had been made a ''
Großadmiral'' (grand admiral) in 1911, without patent (the document that accompanied formal promotions personally signed at this level by the Kaiser himself). At that time, the German Imperial Navy had only four ranks for admirals: rear admiral, (''Konteradmiral'', equal to a ''Generalmajor'' in the army, with no pips on the shoulders); vice admiral (''Vizeadmiral'', equal to a ''Generalleutnant'', with one pip); admiral (equal to a ''General der Infanterie'', with two pips), and grand admiral (equal to a field marshal). Tirpitz's shoulder boards had four pips, but he never received a grand admiral's baton or the associated insignia.
World War I
Despite the building programme he oversaw, he believed that the war had come too soon for a successful surface challenge to the Royal Navy, as the Fleet Act of 1900 had included a seventeen-year timetable. Unable to direct naval operations from his purely administrative position, Tirpitz became a vocal spokesman for unrestricted
U-boat
U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
warfare, which he felt could strangle Britain's supply of food and force them to terms. While the German Navy abandoned the observance of
cruiser rules in 1915, this policy was reversed following the outcry over
the ''Lusitania'' sinking. Tirpitz, a popular figure ("on account of his aggressiveness and his beard", according to US ambassador
James W. Gerard), had agitated against all restrictions using the German press, and threats to resign, and began to fall out with the Kaiser as a result. When the restrictions on the submarine war were not lifted, he finally resigned on 15 March 1916. He was replaced as State Secretary of the Imperial Naval Office by
Eduard von Capelle.
Despite his support for unrestricted U-boat warfare, Tirpitz placed a low priority on submarine construction during his leadership of the Imperial Naval Office. Ultimately, this decision would result in a severe shortage of newly built U-boats by 1917.
Fatherland Party

In September 1917 Grand Admiral Tirpitz became a co-founder of the
Pan-Germanic and nationalist
Fatherland Party (''Deutsche Vaterlandspartei''). The party was organised jointly by
Heinrich Claß,
Konrad Freiherr von Wangenheim, Tirpitz as chairman and
Wolfgang Kapp as his deputy. The party attracted the opponents of a negotiated peace; it organised opposition to the parliamentary majority in the Reichstag, which was seeking peace negotiations. It sought to bring together outside parliament all parties on the political right, which had not previously been done. At its peak, in the summer of 1918, the party had around 1,250,000 members. It proposed both ''
Generalfeldmarschall''
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...
and
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Erich Ludendorff as "people's emperors" of a
military state whose legitimacy was based on war and on war aims instead of on the parliamentary government of the ''Reich''. Internally, there were calls for a ''
coup d'etat'' against the German government, to be led by Hindenburg and Ludendorff, even against the Kaiser if necessary. Tirpitz's experience with the Navy League and with mass political agitation convinced him that the means for a coup was at hand.
Tirpitz considered that one of the main aims of the war must be annexation of new territory in the west, to allow Germany to develop into a world power. This meant holding the
Belgian ports of
Zeebrugge and
Ostend
Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...
, with an eye to the main enemy, the United Kingdom. He proposed a separate peace treaty with Russia, giving them access to the ocean. Germany would be a great
continental state but could maintain its world position only by expanding world trade and continuing the fight against the UK. He complained of indecision and ambiguity in German policy, humanitarian ideas of self-preservation, a policy of appeasement of neutrals at the expense of vital German interests, and begging for peace. He called for vigorous warfare without regard for diplomatic and commercial consequences and supported the most extreme use of weapons, especially unrestricted submarine warfare.
The Fatherland Party had ceased its operations by February 1919.
From 1908 to 1918 Tirpitz served as a member of the
Prussian House of Lords.
After 1918
After Germany's defeat Tirpitz supported the right-wing
German National People's Party
The German National People's Party (, DNVP) was a national-conservative and German monarchy, monarchist political party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major nationalist party in Weimar German ...
(''Deutschnationale Volkspartei'', or ''DNVP'') and sat for it in the
Reichstag from 1924 until 1928.
Tirpitz died in Ebenhausen, near
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, on 6 March 1930. He is buried in the
Waldfriedhof in Munich.
Commemoration
The Tirpitz Range on the island of
New Hanover in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
takes its name from Alfred von Tirpitz.
Honours
*Honorary doctorates from the universities of
Göttingen
Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
, ''16 June 1913''; and
Greifswald
Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...
*Honorary doctorate of engineering from the
Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg
*Freeman of the city of
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inh ...
, ''15 January 1917''
*The German battleship
''Tirpitz''.
*''
Tirpitzia'', a genus of plants from China and Asia (the family
Linaceae), was named after him in 1921 by
Johannes Gottfried Hallier.
;German orders and decorations
;Foreign orders and decorations
Works
* ''Erinnerungen'' (1919
online
*
My memories(Vol I, 1919)
*
My memories(Vol II, 1919)
**
[Republished in a single volume by NSNB with an introduction by Erik Empson in 201]
ASIN B00DH2E9LE
*
*
See also
*
Anglo-German naval arms race
*
German interest in the Caribbean
Notes
Bibliography
Works
* Tirpitz, Alfred von, ''Erinnerungen'' (Leipzig: K.F.Koehler, 1919).
Secondary source
* Berghahn, V.R. ''Germany and the Approach of War in 1914'' (Macmillan, 1973). pp. 25–42
* Berghahn, Volker Rolf. ''Der Tirpitz-Plan'' (Droste Verlag, 1971). in German
* Bird, Keith. "The Tirpitz Legacy: The Political Ideology of German Sea Power," ''Journal of Military History,'' July 2005, Vol. 69 Issue 3, pp. 821–825
* Bönker, Dirk. ''Militarism in a Global Age: Naval Ambitions in Germany and the United States before World War I'' (2012)
excerpt and text searchonline review* Bönker, Dirk. "Global Politics and Germany's Destiny 'from an East Asian Perspective': Alfred von Tirpitz and the Making of Wilhelmine Navalism." ''Central European History'' 46.1 (2013): 61–96.
* Clark, Sir Christopher, ''The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914'' (New York: Harper 2013)
* Epkenhans, Michael. ''Tirpitz: Architect of the German High Seas Fleet'' (2008
excerpt and text search 106pp
* Herwig, Holger H., 'Admirals versus Generals: The War Aims of Imperial German Navy 1914–1918', ''Central European History'' 5 (1972), pp. 208–233.
* Hobson, Rolf. ''Imperialism at Sea: Naval Strategic Thought, the Ideology of Sea Power, and the Tirpitz Plan, 1875–1914'' (Brill, 2002)
* Hulsman, John C. "To Dare More Boldly: The Audacious Story of Political Risk" (Princeton UP, 2018 ) ch 9 on "1898-1912: the promised land fallacy: Von Tirpitz disastrously builds a Navy." Pp 209–232.
* Kelly, Patrick J. "Strategy, Tactics, and Turf Wars: Tirpitz and the Oberkommando der Marine, 1892–1895," ''Journal of Military History,'' October 2002, Vol. 66 Issue 4, pp. 1033–1060
* Kennedy, Paul. ''The rise and fall of British naval mastery'' (2017) pp. 205–239.
*
*
*
Primary sources
* Marinearchiv, ''Der Krieg zur zee 1914–1918'' (18 vols, Berlin and Frankfurt: E.S.Mittler & Sohn, 1932–66).
* Marinearchiv, ''Der Krieg zur See 1914–1918. Der Handelskrieg mit U-Booten'' (5 vols., Berlin: E.S. Mittler & Sohn, 1923–66).
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tirpitz, Alfred Von
1849 births
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