Coast Commander German Bight

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Coast Commander German Bight , from September 1944 Commanding Admiral German Bight was the name of a military service of the German Navy and its commander. He was responsible for the coastal defense of the German and parts of the Danish and Dutch North Sea coast from February 1941 until the end of the Second World War . He was subordinate to the chief of the North Sea Naval Station . The headquarters were initially in Wilhelmshaven , and from 1943 in Cuxhaven .

history

The office was created in February by renaming the former Coast Commander East Friesland while at the same time subordinating the command area of ​​the former Coast Commander North Friesland . He, in turn, received the task of Naval Commander Greece with his staff . Ten sections and a large number of other marine land units were directly subordinate to the German Bight Coast Commander.

In September 1944 the Coast Commander in Chief German Bight was renamed Commanding Admiral German Bight . In November 1944, three sea ​​command posts were established as an intermediate level between the commanding admiral and the sections.

Commander

The posts of Coast Commander in Chief German Bight and Commanding Admiral German Bight were held by the following officers:

Subordinate associations February 1941 to November 1944

The command area of ​​the Coast Commander in Chief German Bight was divided into seven sections, which in turn were subordinate to smaller units. Several other departments were also directly subordinate to him.

Directly subordinate departments

  • 8. Replacement naval artillery department (from the North Friesland Coast Commander , Husum ), disbanded in May 1943
  • Naval Construction Battalion 314, from the end of 1942 Naval Fortress Pioneer Battalion 314 (Cuxhaven- Sahlenburg )
  • Marine Flugmeldeabteilung Deutsche Bucht ( 2nd Marine Flugmeldeabteilung ), formed in May 1941 by merging the
    • Naval flight reporting department Ostfriesland and the
    • Naval flight reporting department North Friesland (from the North Friesland Coast Commander)
  • 6. Marine Automotive Division (Wilhelmshaven) until June 1941, then to Admiral Ostland allocated
  • 2nd Marine Driving Training Department ( north ), from May 1941 2nd Marine Driving Training Department , relocation to Cuxhaven and later Hülsen an der Aller
  • Naval Air Defense School (Cuxhaven- Duhnen )

Section Borkum

Responsible for the island of Borkum and the Dutch island of Rottum .

  • Borkum harbor protection flotilla
  • Naval Artillery Division 116
  • Naval Flak Division 216

Section Emden

The western part of the East Frisian peninsula without the offshore islands belonged to the Emden section . In addition, there were the Dutch provinces of Friesland , Gelderland , Groningen , Overijssel and Utrecht including the islands of Schiermonnikoog , Ameland , Terschelling and Vlieland .

Section Norderney

The Norderney section included the islands of Norderney , Baltrum and Juist .

  • Marine Flaka Department 226 (Norderney)

Section Wangerooge

Distribution of the gun emplacements on Wangerooge during World War II

The Wangerooge section included the islands of Wangerooge , Spiekeroog , and Langeoog . All troops were on Wangerooge.

  • Naval Artillery Division 132
  • Navy Flak Division 232
  • 2. Light anti-aircraft training department

Wilhelmshaven section

Position of the flak batteries in the Wilhelmshaven section

The eastern part of the East Frisian peninsula without the offshore islands belonged to the Wilhelmshaven section.

Wesermünde-Bremerhaven section

Gun drill of Naval Flak Division 244

The Wesermünde section, from September 1943 the Wesermünde-Bremerhaven section , included the coastal area east of the Weser.

Section Heligoland

The Helgoland section included the island of Helgoland including the neighboring dune .

  • Naval Artillery Division 122
  • Naval Flak Division 242

Section Cuxhaven

Responsible for the south side of the Elbe estuary including the islands of Scharhörn and Neuwerk . All units were taken over by the disbanded Coast Commander North Friesland.

Section Brunsbüttel

The Brunsbüttel section included the northern side of the Elbe estuary and the Schleswig-Holstein west coast south of the Eider estuary . All units, with the exception of the 10th Naval Fog Division, were taken over by the disbanded Coast Commander North Friesland.

Section Sylt

The German North Frisian Islands and the island of Römö belonged to the Sylt section . The headquarters were in Westerland on Sylt . All units were taken over by the disbanded Coast Commander North Friesland.

  • Marine artillery department 134 (Vogelkoje / Klappholttal )
  • 8th Marine Flak Regiment (Westerland) until April 1943
  • Marine Flaka Department 234 (Blidsel, later Westerland)
  • Marine Flaka Division 264 ( Hörnum / Puan Klent ), dissolved in April 1943. The batteries were transferred to Marine Flaka Division 234

Reclassifications

In the last months of the war, the Navy was reclassified, with the Coast Commander being renamed Commanding Admiral German Bight in September 1944 . The superior naval station of the North Sea had already been renamed in February 1943 in Naval High Command North . To limit the range of command, three sea command offices were set up in November 1944, which acted as an intermediate level between the commanding Admiral German Bight and the sections. In addition, individual departments were directly subordinate to the commanding admiral:

In addition, after the dissolution of the commander in charge of securing the North Sea from January 1945, the 5th Security Division was subordinate to the commanding Admiral German Bight.

Famous pepole

literature

  • Walter Lohmann , Hans H. Hildebrand: The German Navy 1939-1945 . Compilation in three volumes. OO 1956. Volume I, main chapter IX, chapter 3

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Walter Lohmann, Hans H. Hildebrand: The German Navy 1939-1945 . Compilation in three volumes. OO 1956. Volume I, main chapter IX, chapter 5, p. 1 f.
  2. ↑ Walter Lohmann, Hans H. Hildebrand: The German Navy 1939-1945 . Compilation in three volumes. OO 1956. Volume I, main chapter IX, chapter 4, p. 1 f.
  3. ↑ a b Walter Lohmann, Hans H. Hildebrand: The German Navy 1939-1945 . Compilation in three volumes. OO 1956. Volume I, main chapter IX, chapter 6, p. 1 f.