Hugo von Pohl

Hugo Pohl , von Pohl since 1913 (born August 25, 1855 in Breslau , † February 23, 1916 in Berlin ) was a German admiral in the First World War .

Life

Pohl joined the Imperial Navy on April 18, 1872 as a cadet . After his basic training on land and on the brig SMS Rover , he completed the naval school .

With the rank of Vice Admiral , he was chief of the 1st Marine Squadron from 1910 to 1912 , and from April 1, 1913 chief of the Admiralty's staff .

Already at the beginning of the First World War, Pohl demanded attacks by German submarines against foreign merchant ships. Once again on January 9, 1915, he called for the intensification of sea warfare and the use of submarines in the fight against merchant ships. After the battle on the Dogger Bank (January 24, 1915), Pohl became chief of the German deep-sea fleet on February 2, 1915, succeeding Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl (1857-1933) .

On February 4, 1915, he signed the order for unrestricted submarine warfare , according to which all foreign ships within the exclusion zone around Great Britain and Ireland could be sunk without warning. This order came into effect on February 18, 1915. However, only a very small fleet of 23 submarines was operational.

Pohl soon fell seriously ill, so that on January 23, 1916, Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer (1863–1928) took office as fleet chief. He became the on January 24, 1916 disposition while à la suite made of Seeoffizierskorps. Less than a month later, Pohl died at the age of sixty.

Honors

An auxiliary minesweeper "Admiral von Pohl" (246 GRT) was named after him and was delivered on May 14, 1918 by the Bremerhaven Rickmers shipyard as construction number 182. On June 16, 1913, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II , Pohl was elevated to the hereditary Prussian nobility .

Orders and decorations

Order of the Red Eagle 1st class with oak leaves and swords on the ring
Order of the crown, 1st class with swords on rings
Prussian service award cross
Commander II class of the Hessian Philipps Order
Grand Cross of the Order of the Griffin
Grand Cross of the House Order of the White Falcon
Commander 2nd class of the Dannebrog Order
Officer of the French Legion of Honor
Companion (military) of the Order of Bath
Commander of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
Commander of the Saint Olav Order
Grand Cross of the Austrian Imperial and Royal Leopold Order
Order of the Iron Crown II class with the war decoration
Commander of the Order of Avis
Commander 1st class of the Order of the Sword
Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class

literature

Dermot Bradley (eds.), Hans H. Hildebrand, Ernest Henriot: Germany's Admirals 1849-1945. The military careers of naval, engineering, medical, weapons and administrative officers with admiral rank. Volume 3: P-Z. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1990. ISBN 3-7648-1700-3 . Pp. 56-57.

Individual evidence

^ Military weekly paper . No. 81 of June 19, 1913, p. 1866.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Ranking list of the Imperial German Navy. Ed .: Marinekabinett . Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1914. p. 107.

personal data
SURNAME	Pohl, Hugo von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Pohl, Hugo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German admiral in the First World War
DATE OF BIRTH	August 25, 1855
PLACE OF BIRTH	Wroclaw
DATE OF DEATH	February 23, 1916
Place of death	Berlin

[1] Military weekly paper . No. 81 of June 19, 1913, p. 1866.

[RanglisteM1914-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Ranking list of the Imperial German Navy. Ed .: Marinekabinett . Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1914. p. 107.