Admiral Staff (Imperial Navy)
Admiralstab was from 1899 to 1918 the name for one of the four highest command authorities of the German Imperial Navy . There was also the Reichsmarineamt , the naval cabinet and the office of the inspector general of the navy . The fragmentation of the naval leadership without a commander in chief equipped with the appropriate means of power (compare " First Sea Lord ") had a negative effect on Germany in the First World War . It was only with the establishment of the Naval War Command in August 1918 that the necessary uniform command could be created. But this measure no longer had any influence on the war . On November 14, 1918, the Admiralty's staff was placed under the Reichsmarineamt. With the decree of the Reich President of September 15, 1919, the Admiralty's staff was dissolved and the Admiralty handled the business .
Emergence
The beginnings of the Admiral's staff go back to the Supreme Cabinet Order (AKO) of December 14, 1875, which required the establishment of an admiral's staff as an operational command of the naval command, analogous to the general staff of the army . When, however, in 1899 the emperor himself took over command of the navy and the OKM was dissolved, only the admiral staff department remained. It became independent and placed directly under Wilhelm II .
tasks
In addition to the continuation of the previous tasks, the ships located abroad were subordinated to the Admiral's staff for military purposes. The general staff business for the former high command of the Navy included a) the study of naval war history and the use of the knowledge gained for the conduct of the war, b) preparatory work for the use of the fleet in war on the basis of the objectives given by the emperor, c) the implementation of mobilization, d) Augmentation of the fleet during the war, e) Management of general staff training trips and maneuvers in the interest of mobilization, f) Management of general staff activities at all subordinate command authorities. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz , who had already played a key role in the disastrous dissolution of the Navy High Command, kept the Admiral's staff small from the outset in order not to create any competition for the Imperial Navy Office . Therefore, at no time did the admiral staff acquire the importance of the general staff of the army. Rather, it remained a "study authority for the war" (Hubatsch).
guide
Chiefs of the Admiralty Staff of the Imperial Navy
- Rear Admiral Felix von Bendemann --- March 14th to December 31st, 1899
- Vice Admiral Otto von Diederichs --- January 1, 1900 to August 19, 1902
- Vice Admiral Wilhelm Büchsel --- August 20, 1902 to January 28, 1908
- Admiral Friedrich Graf von Baudissin --- January 29, 1908 to September 5, 1909
- Admiral Max von Fischel --- September 6, 1909 to March 11, 1911
- Vice Admiral August von Heeringen --- March 12, 1911 to March 31, 1913
- Admiral Hugo von Pohl --- April 1, 1913 to February 1, 1915
- Vice Admiral Gustav Bachmann --- February 2 to September 3, 1915
- Admiral Henning von Holtzendorff --- September 4, 1915 to August 10, 1918
- Admiral Reinhard Scheer --- August 11 to November 14, 1918
Deputy Chiefs of the Admiralty Staff of the Imperial Navy
- Rear Admiral Paul Behncke --- July 1914 to September 1915
- Vice Admiral Reinhard Koch --- September 1915 to August 1918
- Rear Admiral Friedrich Freiherr von Bülow --- August 1918 to November 1918
literature
- Walther Hubatsch: The admiralty staff and the highest naval authorities in Germany 1848-1945. Bernard & Graefe: Frankfurt / Main 1958
- Hans-Jürgen Witthöft: Lexicon on German naval history. 2 volumes. Köhler: Herford 1977
