Friedrich Boedicker

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Admiral Friedrich Boedicker (1866–1944)

Friedrich Bödicker (* 13. March 1866 in Kassel , † 20th September 1944 ) was a German naval officer , most recently Vice Admiral in the First World War .

Prewar years

After graduating from high school in 1884, Boedicker joined the Imperial Navy , went through the usual training to become a naval officer, and was promoted quickly due to his qualifications and achievements. He served both on board various ships and in staff positions. As a corvette captain , he was given command of the small cruiser Frauenlob in October 1907 and was promoted to frigate captain shortly afterwards . In January 1908 he became the commander of the small cruiser Stettin , which replaced the praise for women in the reconnaissance forces and which he commanded until September 1908. From June 17 to August 8, 1908, he and the Stettin accompanied the imperial yacht Hohenzollern in regattas to Norway and on a visit to Stockholm . From September 1910 to September 1913 he commanded as a sea captain , the battleship Schleswig-Holstein .

First World War

Bombardment of Lowestoft and Yarmouth

During the First World War, Boedicker was Rear Admiral from August 28, 1915 to September 10, 1916, in command of the Second Reconnaissance Group, consisting of modern small cruisers. From March 27 to May 12, 1916, during a convalescence leave from Vice Admiral Franz Hipper, he was also in charge of the I. Reconnaissance Group, consisting of the battle cruisers Seydlitz , Lützow , Derfflinger , Moltke and Von der Tann . With these ships Boedicker undertook on 24/25. April 1916 made an advance to the east coast of England, covered by Admiral Reinhard Scheer with parts of the battle fleet, and bombarded the cities of Lowestoft and Yarmouth there . The Seydlitz , on which Boedicker had set his flag, had to return to Wilhelmshaven after receiving a mine hit near Norderney , and Boedicker switched to the Lützow . In Lowestoft, two 6-inch coastal batteries and around 200 houses were destroyed, while in Yarmouth only a few volleys were fired due to exceptionally poor visibility. The British cruiser Conquest was badly damaged by artillery fire from the German battle cruisers as it marched off .

Battle of the Skagerrak

In the Battle of the Skagerrak on May 31 / May 1 June 1916 Boedicker commanded the II reconnaissance group again, consisting of the small cruisers Frankfurt (flagship), Elbing , Pillau and Wiesbaden . His ships were the first to come into contact with the enemy, and the Elbing scored the first hit of the battle at 14:36, despite the great distance , on the British cruiser Galatea , albeit a dud . At around 7 p.m. Boedicker hit the Grand Fleet by surprise and came under heavy fire. The Wiesbaden was shot down and sank in the night. The three other cruisers in his group were able to withdraw despite receiving hits. The Elbing collided with the Posen ship of the line the following night and had to be sunk by its own crew. On June 1st, therefore, only two cruisers returned to Germany with the deep sea fleet .

1916-1918

In the fall of 1916, Boedicker commanded the 1st Reconnaissance Group again in Hipper's absence from September 2 to October 14, and from October 15 he was second in command of the 1st Reconnaissance Group. In this position, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter replaced him on January 22nd, 1918, when Boedicker, now Vice Admiral, was appointed chief of the 1st Squadron of the High Seas Fleet and set his flag on the large liner Ostfriesland . He held this position until the end of the war. On 23/24 April 1918, his squadron took part in the last North Sea advance of the high seas.

In August 1918 Boedicker was appointed commander of the Schlussstein company , the aim of which was to occupy the Murman Railway in Karelia . Boedicker began preparations for this on August 12th with the clearing of mines in the access routes to the Gulf of Finland . He himself went with his staff on the small cruiser Stralsund via Libau , Reval , Helsingfors , Narwa and Hungerburg to Björkö Sund to lead the preparations while he kept his liners in readiness in Kiel . However, the company was temporarily postponed in the first week of September due to the unclear situation on the Eastern Front, and Boedicker returned to Wilhelmshaven with the Stralsund . The company was finally given up on September 27th.

On October 2nd, Boedicker's I. Squadron was ready to take up the Flanders submarines. On November 3rd, after the abandoned fleet order of October 24th, 1918 , Boedicker led the squadron into the Elbe estuary and had it moored in the Brunsbüttel lock . On November 6th , sailors mutinied and a soldiers' council took over the command. On November 9, the squadron returned to Wilhelmshaven, where it saw the end of the war on November 11. The squadron's ships were disarmed in the fourth week of November, and the squadron command was disbanded on November 27th.

From November 28, 1918, Boedicker was placed at the disposal of the head of the North Sea naval station or the State Secretary of the Reichsmarinamt and then passed on March 17, 1919.

Awards

literature

  • Hans H. Hildebrand and Ernest Henriot: Germany's Admirals 1849-1945 Volume 1: AG (Ackermann to Gygas) , Osnabrück 1988, ISBN 3-7648-2480-8

Individual evidence

  1. Reuter had already succeeded Boedicker in September 1916 as commander of the 2nd reconnaissance group.
  2. a b c d e f g Ranking list of the Imperial German Navy , Ed .: Marinekabinett , Ernst Siegfried Mittler and Son, Berlin 1918, p. 7