Conrad Albrecht (7 October 1880 in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie H ...

– 18 August 1969 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

) was a German admiral 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Early military career

Albrecht entered 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 ...

'' (Imperial German Navy) on 10 April 1899 as a

sea cadet Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...

. He made his basic training on the

SMS Stosch SMS was a built for the German Imperial Navy () in the late 1870s. The ship was named for Admiral Albrecht von Stosch, the first chief of staff (from 1872 to 1883) of the newly created Imperial Navy. She was the third member of the class, w ...

. In March 1909 he was promoted to ''

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...

''. With the outbreak of World War I he became commander of a

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...

flotilla in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

. In October 1916 he was raised to

Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The offi ...

. In January 1917 he became commander of Zerstörer-Flotille Flandern, remaining in that position till 31 October 1918.

After World War I

Albrecht served in the staff of the

Marinestation der Ostsee The Marinestation der Ostsee (Baltic Sea Naval Station) was a command of both the Imperial German Navy, and the Reichsmarine which served as a shore command for German naval units operating primarily in the Baltic Sea. The station was headquartered ...

(Marine Station of the Baltic Sea) until 12 March 1920. Afterwards till September 1920 he took command of I. Baltic Sea Minesweeper-Flotilla and then, till 27 March 1923, of the I. Flottille. He was promoted to

Fregattenkapitän Fregattenkapitän, short: FKpt / in lists: FK, () is the middle field officer rank () in the German Navy. Address In line with ZDv 10/8, the official manner of formally addressing military personnel holding the rank of ''Fregattenkapitän'' ( ...

on 28 March 1923 and became commander of Naval Arsenal Kiel. On 1 May 1925 he was promoted to

Kapitän zur See Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

and was assigned to ''Marine Station of the Baltic Sea'' as chief of staff. In December 1928 he became commander of the Marineoffizierspersonalabteilung (Marine officer staff administration) of the Marine Headquarter. He was elevated to

Konteradmiral ''Konteradmiral'', abbreviated KAdm or KADM, is the second lowest naval flag officer rank in the German Navy. It is equivalent to ''Generalmajor'' in the ''Heer'' and ''Luftwaffe'' or to '' Admiralstabsarzt'' and '' Generalstabsarzt'' in the '' ...

on 1 April 1930 and on 29 September Albrecht was named commander of the Naval Reconnaissance Force. On 1 October 1932 he was promoted to

Vizeadmiral (abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to Vice admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian Navy there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Konte ...

and appointed commanding officer of ''Marine Station of the Baltic sea''. On duty on the post till 4 July 1935; on 1 December 1935 Albrecht was made Admiral and became the commander of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

area command. In 1939 he was promoted to '' General admiral''; one of just twelve. He led the

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 th ...

operations during the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

. He went into retirement on 31 December 1939.

Decorations & Awards

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

, Knight's Cross First Class Marinekabinett (Hrsg.): ''Rangliste der Kaiserlich Deutschen Marine.'' E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1914, S. 132. *

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...

, Knight of the Golden Cross *

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy ...

, Officer Class *

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful s ...

, 4th Class

Reichswehrministerium The Ministry of the Reichswehr or Reich Ministry of Defence (german: Reichswehrministerium) was the defence ministry of the Weimar Republic and the early Third Reich. The 1919 Weimar Constitution provided for a unified, national ministry of def ...

(Hrsg.): ''Rangliste der Deutschen Reichsmarine.'' E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1929, S. 39. *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

(1914), 2nd and 1st Class *

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...

, Knight's Cross with Swords *Prussian

Service Award Cross {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A Service Award Cross (''Dienstauszeichnungskreuz'') was an award for long-time service as a civil servant or member of the military. Prussia had a service cross for 25-years service for office ...

Friedrich-August Cross The Friedrich-August Cross was a German decoration of the First World War. It was set up on 24 September 1914 by Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, with two classes, for (to quote its citation) "all persons of military or civilian st ...

, 2nd and 1st Class *

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross (German: ''Hanseatenkreuz'') was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire during World War I. Each republic established its own version of ...

of Bremen

References

External links

Axis Biographical Research
* Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Vice admirals of the Reichsmarine General admirals of the Kriegsmarine Recipients of the Hanseatic Cross (Bremen) Military personnel from Bremen 1880 births 1969 deaths {{Germany-navy-bio-stub