Rolf Hans Wilhelm Karl Carls (29 May 1885 – 24 April 1945) was a high-ranking German admiral and deputy to

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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...

commander-in-chief Erich Raeder during much of

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 ...

. Carls served as ''Flottenchef'' (

Fleet Commander The Fleet Commander is a senior Royal Navy post, responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the Naval Service (United Kingdom), Naval Service. The Vice-Admiral incumbent is requ ...

), the navy's highest ranking administrative officer, and was a member of the ''

Oberkommando der Marine The (; abbreviated OKM) was the high command and the highest administrative and command authority of the ''Kriegsmarine'', a branch of the ''Wehrmacht''. It was officially formed from the ''Marineleitung'' ("Naval Command") of the ''Reichswe ...

'' (High Command of the Navy). He was instrumental in planning German naval operations during

Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung ( , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was the invasion of Denmark and Norway by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 April 1940 (, "Weser Day"), Ge ...

– the invasion of Denmark and Norway. When Raeder resigned as head of the navy in early 1943, he suggested Carls as a candidate to succeed him. After

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

appointed Admiral Karl Donitz to succeed Raeder, Carls was discharged from the navy. A recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

, he was killed in a British air raid on the town of Bad Oldesloe on 24 April 1945.

Early life and career

German crewmembers of the Midilli at a naval artillery observation post at the Dardanelles

Rolf Carls was the son of Lieutenant Friedrich Wilhelm Anton Carls and his wife Martha Victoria Wilhelmine Anna Sophie, née Pogge. He was baptized on 18 July 1885 in the Rostock garrison church. Carls joined the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (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 ...

as a sea cadet on 1 April 1903 and received his shipboard training on the corvette, SMS ''Stein''. In 1905 he was assigned to the East Asia Squadron, where he was promoted to lieutenant on 28 September 1906. He served until 1907 on the large cruiser SMS ''Fürst Bismarck'' and afterwards the torpedo boat ''Taku''. After his return to Germany in October 1907, he was deployed on various ships before being assigned to the Mediterranean Division in 1914. At the outbreak of 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 ...

, Carls served as a captain lieutenant on the cruiser SMS ''Breslau''. On 4 August 1914 the Mediterranean Division, consisting of ''Breslau'' along with the battlecruiser SMS ''Goeben'', was pursued by Royal Navy forces but avoided capture after they passed through the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

to the friendly

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

on 7 August 1914. After the ''Breslau'' was handed over to the

Ottoman Navy The Ottoman Navy () or the Imperial Navy (), also known as the Ottoman Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottomans first reached the sea in 1323 by capturing Praenetos (later called Karamürsel ...

, Carls remained on board the cruiser, which was renamed ''Midilli'', serving as First Artillery Officer. For his service with the Ottoman Navy in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

against the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, Carls was awarded both classes of the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

, the

Gallipoli Star The Ottoman War Medal () was a military decoration awarded by the Ottoman Empire. It was commonly known in English as the Gallipoli Star and in German as the ''Eiserner Halbmond'' (Iron Crescent, in allusion to the Iron Cross). It was instituted ...

, the Imtiaz Medal in Silver with Saber, and the Order of Osmanieh IV Class. In mid-January 1917 he was transferred back to Germany and completed his training as a submarine commander on 15 April 1917. He received the first command of his own ship, the ''U-9'' on 31 March 1918, before taking over the ''U-124 on 21 July 1918, which he commanded until the end of the war.

Interwar period

General Tadeusz Kutrzeba visits the heavy cruiser Deutschland

After the war, Carls joined the ''

freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

'' division Marine-Brigade von Loewenfeld, serving as a company commander and battalion commander. In 1922, Carls was transferred to the '' Reichsmarine'' of the newly established

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

. From 18 March 1927 onwards Carls served in various positions in the Naval Administration. On 1 October 1930 Carls served as Chief of Staff of the Naval Command, where he became one of Admiral Erich Raeder's closest aides. Carls was appointed as commander of the pre-dreadnought battleship ''Hessen'' on 27 September 1932. On 3 October 1933 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Fleet. On 29 September 1934 Carls was appointed as Commander of the '' Linienschiff'', he retained this position after his command was renamed to Commander of the '' Panzerschiffe'' until 24 November 1936. Carls acted as commander of the German naval forces off Spain during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

until September 1936. On 2 August 1936, the cruiser '' Deutschland'' and the torpedo boat '' Luchs'' under the command of Carls visited the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

-held port of

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

. There, Carls had long secret meetings with

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

and other Nationalist military chiefs in which procedures for further German military aid were coordinated. On 19 August 1936, under the leadership of British Rear Admiral James Somerville, British, Italian, and German warships formed a single squadron to evacuate from the harbour of

Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

after Republican authorities announced an imminent naval bombardment of that port. The experience prompted Carls to signal to Somerville that "it would be much better if the nations of Europe could cooperate with each other much as their ships have sailed together here." Somerville's reply affirmed that hope. At the end of December 1936, he was appointed as ''Flottenchef'' (

). On 1 November 1936 Carls took over command of the Baltic Sea Naval Station. As Fleet Commander, the highest ranking administrative officer of the ''Kriegsmarine'' and member of the ''

'', Carls was instrumental in drafting Germany's pre-war naval war plans. In a top-secret appraisal of

's aggressive foreign policy in the summer of 1938, Carls envisaged German hegemony over Europe, the reestablishment of a

colonial empire A colonial empire is a sovereign state, state engaging in colonization, possibly establishing or maintaining colony, colonies, infused with some form of coloniality and colonialism. Such states can expand contiguous as well as Territory#Overseas ...

in Africa, and the securing of the major Atlantic sea lanes. Specifically, Carls argued, that such a national policy would entail war with France and the Soviet Union as well as with "a large number of overseas states; in other words, perhaps with 1/2 or 2/3 of the entire world." Carls emphasised that this kind of undertaking would be possible only if the military could make a guarantee of strategic success to the politicians. Admiral Erich Raeder viewed Great Britain and the United States as one

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

ethnic and economic bloc, wherein Great Britain was the "junior" partner. As a result, Raeder and his Naval War Staff from the start anticipated that any conflict between Berlin and London would once more bring the United States in on the side of Britain. Following war games by the Navy High Command in 1938, Carls expressed scepticism about operations in the depths of Soviet territory. He had the following assessment on a possible conflict with the Soviet Union: "...neither Germany nor Russia is in a position to undertake operations of a decisive scale against the other. German operations into Russia will peter out in the vastness of its territory, while Russian operations against Germany, which I do not consider the Russians presently capable of mounting, would shatter on Germany’s defenses."

World War II

Admiral Rolf Carls and Rear Admiral Theodor Burchardi during a port inspection on the Eastern Front

On 1 October 1939 Carls advised Admiral Raeder of Norway's value to the German navy. A few days later, on 10 October, Raeder met with Hitler and convinced him of the danger of a possible British occupation of Norway. Carls succeeded Vice Admiral Conrad Albrecht as Commander-in-Chief of Marine Group Command East on 31 October 1939. This command was headquartered in

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 ...

but was moved to

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

and renamed Naval Group Command North. As part of

, the invasion of Denmark and Norway, Carls was responsible for preparing the naval operations off Denmark and Norway. For this, he was awarded the

on 14 June 1940. In August 1940 he was also entrusted with the operational command of the German naval forces in the German Bight, Denmark and Norway. In the autumn of 1941, the units under his command took part in the Baltic Sea campaigns and the conquest of Soviet-held Baltic islands at the beginning of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, the invasion of the Soviet Union. When the commander-in-chief of the ''Kriegsmarine'', ''Großadmiral'' Erich Raeder, resigned in early 1943 after clashes with Hitler, he suggested Carls and the Commander of the Submarines, Admiral

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (; 16 September 1891 – 24 December 1980) was a German grand admiral and convicted war criminal who, following Adolf Hitler's Death of Adolf Hitler, suicide, succeeded him as head of state of Nazi Germany during the Second World ...

, as candidates to succeed him. Hitler opted for the younger and in his view, more vigorous Dönitz, who became the Supreme Commander of the Navy in January 1943. Possibly to prevent friction among the naval leadership, Carls was honourably discharged from active service on 31 May 1943.

Death

Admiral Carls was killed in an air raid of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

on the spa town of Bad Oldesloe on 24 April 1945, two weeks before the end of the war. Carls together with 49 other people were killed in the cellar of the

Vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

(''Präparandeum'') in the Königstraße. Bad Oldesloe was nearly destroyed, and between 700 and 1000 Germans died, mainly women and children.

Promotions

*1. April 1903

Seekadett ''Seekadett'' (short SKad or SK; ,Langenscheidt´s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English and German language: „Der Große Muret-Sander“, Part II German-English, Second Volume L–Z, 8th edition 1999, ; p. 1.381 ) is a military rank of the ...

(

Crew A crew is a body or a group of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchy, hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the ta ...

03) *15. April 1904 Fähnrich zur See *28. September 1906 Leutnant zur See *27. January 1909

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 ...

*16. December 1914

Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...

*1. December 1921

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 ...

*1. October 1928

Fregattenkapitän () is the middle ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany , short: FKpt / in lists: FK, is the middle Senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. It is the equivalent o ...

*1. May 1930

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 ...

*1. April 1934 Konteradmiral * 17. December 1936 Vizeadmiral (RDA vom 1. Januar 1937) *26. May 1937

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 ...

(RDA vom 1. Juni 1937) *19. July 1940 Generaladmiral ** 31. May 1943 außer Dienst (a. D.)

Awards

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

: ** Order of the Crown, 4th Class (19 September 1912) **

(1914) 1st Class (19 May 1915)Dörr 1995, p. 119. and 2nd ClassReichswehrministerium: ''Rangliste der Deutschen Reichsmarine, nach dem Stande vom 1. November 1925'', E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1925, p. 39 *

: Silesian Eagle 1st and 2nd Class (27 January 1920) *

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

: ** Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (24 December 1934) **

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

, 4th to 1st Class ** 1939 Clasp to the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class **

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 28 February 1943 as '' Generaladmiral'' in the Marinegruppenkommando Nord **

on 14 June 1940 as ''

'' and Marinegruppenbefehlshaber OstFellgiebel 2000, p. 152. *

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German C ...

: Military Merit Cross, 1st and 2nd Class *

: ** War Medal (12 August 1915) ** Imtiaz Medal in Silver with Sabers ** Order of Osmanieh, 4th Class (February 1917) * Spanish State: ** Medalla de la Campaña ** Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (6 June 1939)Dörr 1995, p. 120. **

Spanish protectorate in Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate. The Spanish protectorate consisted of a norther ...

: Order of Mehdauia, Grand Cross *

Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria (), also known as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom (), usually known in English as the Kingdom of Bulgaria, or simply Bulgaria, was a constitutional monarchy in Southeastern Europe, which was established on , when the Bulgaria ...

: Order of Military Merit, Grand Officer Cross with Crown and Swords * Republic of Finland: **

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

, Commander First Class **

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty (; ) is one of three official state Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The awards of the Order of the Cross of Liberty ...

, 1st Class with Star and Swords (27 April 1942) *

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

Order of Merit of the Kingdom of Hungary Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

, Grand Cross *

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

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 ...

, Knight Grand Cordon

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carls, Rolf 1885 births 1945 deaths U-boat commanders (Imperial German Navy) Military personnel from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I General admirals of the Kriegsmarine Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class German military personnel of the Spanish Civil War Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class with a Star Recipients of the Silver Imtiyaz Medal Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (military) Counter admirals of the Reichsmarine 20th-century Freikorps personnel Kriegsmarine personnel killed in World War II Deaths by British airstrikes during World War II Military personnel from Rostock