Conrad Albrecht (7 October 1880 in Bremen – 18 August 1969 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

) was a German

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early military career

Albrecht entered the '' Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial German Navy) on 10 April 1899 as a sea cadet. He made his basic training on the SMS Stosch. In March 1909 he was promoted to '' Kapitänleutnant''. With the outbreak of World War I he became commander of a torpedo boat flotilla in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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 culture, la ...

. In October 1916 he was raised to

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 ...

. 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 (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 on 28 March 1923 and became commander of Naval Arsenal Kiel. On 1 May 1925 he was promoted to Kapitän zur See 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 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 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 the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

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

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi 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 military branch, branche ...

operations during the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

. He went into retirement on 31 December 1939.

Decorations & Awards

* Order of St. Olav, Knight's Cross First Class Marinekabinett (Hrsg.): ''Rangliste der Kaiserlich Deutschen Marine.'' E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1914, S. 132. * Order of the Redeemer, Knight of the Golden Cross *

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( 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 in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

, Officer Class * Order of the Red Eagle, 4th Class Reichswehrministerium (Hrsg.): ''Rangliste der Deutschen Reichsmarine.'' E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1929, S. 39. * Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class * House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords *Prussian Service Award Cross * Friedrich-August Cross, 2nd and 1st Class * Hanseatic Cross 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 (city) 1880 births 1969 deaths {{Germany-navy-bio-stub