Navy Ministry (Germany)
There was a naval ministry in Germany for the first time from 1848 to 1849 under the all-German government set up by the Frankfurt National Assembly for the German imperial fleet and again from 1861 to 1871 in the Kingdom of Prussia for the Prussian Navy and the Navy of the North German Confederation .
The Navy of the German Empire 1848/1849
On June 14, 1848, with its fleet resolution, the Frankfurt National Assembly created the basis for an imperial fleet as an all-German navy of the then emerging German Empire . In July 1849 an all-German government was formed. In her trade minister Arnold Duckwitz was finally responsible for the naval department. At the end of the National Assembly in May 1849, the Reichsverweser installed a conservative government in which the Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal August von Jochmus became Minister of the Navy; the naval department was upgraded to the naval ministry.
On December 20, 1849, the Reichsverweser transferred his powers to a federal central commission , which was now responsible for the fleet. The restored German Confederation did not recognize the all-German Navy as a federal body and sold the ships of the fleet because no German state wanted to bear the corresponding costs.
Lieutenant Colonel Bogun von Wangenheim headed the Royal Navy Department in Berlin from 1848-1853, a department of the Prussian War Ministry . She led the administrative business for the Prussian fleet, which was commanded by the High Command of the Navy . On November 14, 1853, the Prussian King finally issued a cabinet order to set up an admiralty that was to combine administration and command.
The Prussian Navy and the Navy of the North German Confederation
It was not until 1861 that a new naval ministry was created under the Prussian government. After King Wilhelm I took office , the Admiralty of the Prussian Navy was dissolved on the basis of the highest cabinet order of April 16, 1861. The high command of the navy under Prince Adalbert of Prussia became independent and directly subordinate to the king. After the departure of Admiral Jan Schröder , the naval administration was transferred to the newly formed Ministry of the Navy. Until the end of 1871, the Prussian Minister of War Albrecht von Roon was at its head, in personal union. An admiralty council was supposed to coordinate both authorities, but was only allowed to submit proposals and could not prevail.
The Ministry was responsible for the Danzig shipyard, the depots in Geestemünde (today Bremerhaven), Kiel and Stralsund, the Admiralty Commission in Oldenburg and the port construction on the Jade (today Wilhelmshaven). The fleet was under the command of the navy. The two-part organizational form, however, did not prove itself. There was much friction and fruitless work between the two top authorities. One possibility of change arose when Prince Adalbert joined the field army at the outbreak of war with France in 1870.
The tasks of the High Command of the Navy were transferred to the Navy Ministry according to AKO of June 29, 1870. In addition to the departments for technical and general administrative matters, a department for command matters was established there. The existing division of powers was thereby abolished and a central authority was created. The departmental hustle and bustle disappeared almost entirely. Due to the overburden of the Minister of War, however, the tasks of the Ministry of the Navy were then transferred to a newly formed Imperial Admiralty in accordance with the Kaiser's decree of November 30, 1871 .
See also
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