Ernst von Gagern (Admiral)

Ernst von Gagern (born July 6, 1878 in Weisendorf-Neuenbürg , † September 14, 1954 ) was a German naval officer , most recently in the rank of admiral in the Navy .

family

Gagern came from the southern German branch of the noble family Gagern, originally from Rügen . Several prominent diplomats and statesmen have emerged from the branch .

Career

Imperial Navy and First World War

Gagern joined the Imperial Navy on April 16, 1894 as a midshipman . He graduated from basic training and then the basic training to 22 March 1895 of a training ship used Covered Corvette SMS Stein . He then switched to the training ship SMS Moltke , on which he was promoted to midshipman on May 13, 1895. From March 25, 1896, he was assigned to the naval school in Kiel for further training . From October 1, 1897 he served on the tank corvette SMS Württemberg and was promoted to sub-lieutenant on October 27, 1897 . From January 16 to May 27, 1898 Gagern served in the 1st Sea Battalion and then until March 31, 1899 as an adjutant on the tank corvette SMS Bayern . Before that, on January 1, 1899, he was promoted to lieutenant at sea . From April 1, 1899 Gagern was at the disposal of the chief of the naval station of the Baltic Sea and then served from July 3, 1899 as an officer on watch on the newly commissioned large cruiser SMS Hansa . Although still being tested, the ship was sent to East Asia on August 16, 1899 to strengthen the German East Asia Squadron there. While serving in East Asia, Gagern was promoted to Lieutenant at Sea on April 9, 1900 . From June 1900 he took part with the ship in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion and on November 11, 1900 he switched again to work as an officer on watch on the small cruiser SMS Gefion . When this ship was released from the East Asia Squadron in June 1901, Gagern switched to SMS Bayern and returned to Germany by July 30, 1901. This was followed by a renewed assignment as an officer on watch - this time on the coastal armored ship SMS Egir from July 31, 1901. Gagern then again became an adjutant in the staff of the Baltic Sea Station and then from September 19, 1902 as an officer on the watch on the liner SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II. deployed - at the same time he was also a flag officer in the staff of the training fleet .

On October 1, 1903, Gagern was transferred as a company officer to the 1st Torpedo Division and commanded the large torpedo boat SMS S twice (from October 15 to December 14, 1903 and from April 6 to August 16, 1904) 98 . From October 1, 1904, he became an adjutant in the staff of the 1st Torpedo Division. In this use fell on March 21, 1905, the promotion to lieutenant captain . On October 1, 1906, Gagern was finally transferred to the great cruiser SMS Yorck as a watch officer and then served as an adjutant in the admiral's staff from October 1, 1907 . From October 1, 1909, he was employed as a navigation officer on the liner SMS Pommern and from September 16, 1910, he was then an admiral staff officer in the staff of the 2nd Admiral of the 2nd Squadron. The promotion to corvette captain took place on August 19, 1911. From January 14, 1912, Gagern served again as a navigation officer, on the liner SMS Deutschland , at the same time he was also in command as a naval navigation officer . There followed two uses as 1st Admiral Staff Officer. First from December 8, 1912 with the staff of the 5th Division of III. Squadron and then from October 1, 1913 on the staff of the 4th Division of the III. Squadron. In this role he experienced the outbreak of World War I and was promoted to frigate captain on April 26, 1917 . On August 25, 1917, Gagern then took over the small cruiser SMS Emden (II) as commandant. From September to November 1917 he supported with the cruiser, together with other naval ships, the Albion company , an amphibious landing enterprise for the occupation of the Baltic islands. From December 1917 the cruiser took part in almost all fleet operations in the North Sea , including off Norway , in the Skagerrak and in the English Channel . From August 11, 1918 Gagern was then department head in the naval war command of the Admiralty's staff. In this position he also lived to see the end of the war. For his work during the war, Gagern was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross , the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with swords and the Bavarian Order of Military Merit IV class with swords and a crown.

Imperial Navy

From November 11, 1918, Gagern was a member of the Armistice Commission in Spa, Belgium, and then, as a negotiating officer, part of the sub-commission of the Navy Peace Commission. On December 17, 1919 he was promoted to sea captain. From January 13, 1920, he took over as chairman of the Navy Peace Commission. He was then chief of the Baltic Sea naval station from June 3, 1920 and was finally promoted to Rear Admiral on April 1, 1921 . On October 1, 1924, he was promoted to Vice Admiral , before Gagern was placed at the disposal of the Chief of Naval Command on January 10, 1925 and then retired on January 31, 1925 .

Navy and World War II

On September 13, 1939, Gagern was reactivated at the disposal of the Navy and appointed as deputy Reich Commissioner at the Oberprisenhof in Berlin . In this position he received on September 1, 1942 the promotion to Admiral z. V. and was placed at the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy on October 4, 1942 . Gagern then retired on October 31, 1942.

Awards

Red Eagle Order IV class
Turkish Order of Osmanje IV class
Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, 5th class
Knight's Cross Order of Saint Charles

Publications

Gagern wrote a draft manuscript for naval warfare in the Baltic Sea, which was edited in conjunction with the Federal Archives / Military Archives by the Working Group for Defense Research and published in 1964 by ES Mittler & Sohn. The title read:

The war at sea. 1914-1918. The war in the Baltic Sea. Volume 3: From the beginning of 1916 until the end of the war. Publishing house ES Mittler & Sohn. Published in conjunction with the Federal Archives / Military Archives by the Defense Research Working Group. 1964.

Web links

Short biography of Ernst von Gagern (in English). In: Axis Biographical Research. Retrieved July 21, 2016 .
Short biography of Ernst von Gagern. In: Bordgemeinschaft der Emdenfahrer (private webpage). Retrieved November 16, 2016 .

Individual evidence

↑ Manuscript (draft) for The War in the Baltic Sea Volume III - Signature: BArch, RM 8/312. In: German Digital Library. Retrieved July 22, 2016 .

Remarks

↑ At the beginning of the 20th century "torpedo divisions" were formed from which the crews of the torpedo boats were recruited. Because the expression "Torpedodivision" led to confusion with "Torpedo boots division", the latter have since been referred to as "Torpedobootshalbflotillen". See: Eberhard von Mantey : That was the old Navy. Frundsberg. Berlin. 1935, p. 107.

personal data
SURNAME	Gagern, Ernst von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German admiral of the Kriegsmarine
DATE OF BIRTH	July 6, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH	Weisendorf-Neuenbürg
DATE OF DEATH	September 14, 1954
Place of death	Weisendorf-Neuenbürg

[2] Manuscript (draft) for The War in the Baltic Sea Volume III - Signature: BArch, RM 8/312. In: German Digital Library. Retrieved July 22, 2016 .

[1] At the beginning of the 20th century "torpedo divisions" were formed from which the crews of the torpedo boats were recruited. Because the expression "Torpedodivision" led to confusion with "Torpedo boots division", the latter have since been referred to as "Torpedobootshalbflotillen". See: Eberhard von Mantey : That was the old Navy. Frundsberg. Berlin. 1935, p. 107.