Reichsgeschwader
The Reichsgeschwader , also known as the Flying Squadron , was an association of the Imperial Navy established at the end of 1872 and a forerunner of the later East Asia Squadron . It should 1872-1874 a circumnavigation perform, mainly as a show of force to strengthen the reputation of the company founded in 1871 the German Empire was intended. The hydrograph of the Admiralty , Prof. Dr. Georg von Neumayer , specially created comprehensive instructions for the implementation of hydrographic , meteorological and geographical observations, so that the flight of the squadron should also have the character of a research trip . Due to the outbreak of a civil war in Spain , the circumnavigation of the world was canceled in the Caribbean in March 1873 .
Reasons for the formation of the squadron
On October 19, 1871, a fight broke out in a pub in Rio de Janeiro , in which Nymphs ' officers and deck officers were also involved. The police in Rio had arrested some of the parties and with sabers injured.
Since, in the opinion of the Reich government under Reich Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the authorities delayed the release of those arrested, a demonstration of power in the sense of classic gunboat policy was considered. For this purpose the formation of the so-called Atlantic Evolution Squadron was suggested, which should force the dismissal of those affected. The squadron should consist of the armored frigates Friedrich Carl and Kronprinz , the covered corvette Elisabeth and the cruiser corvette Augusta as well as the gunboat Albatross . The Albatross was the first German warship that had been specially designed for service overseas.
But before the squadron could be assembled, the Brazilian authorities released the detainees, so that the reason for a show of force in front of Rio no longer applies. Kaiser Wilhelm I therefore ordered the dissolution of the association in mid-January 1872.
The head of the Admiralty , General Albrecht von Stosch , however, considered the formation of a squadron for a general demonstration of power to be the right thing to do and received approval from the Foreign Office to show the flag , especially in the Caribbean off Venezuela , Colombia , Honduras and the Spanish Cuba .
The Reichsgeschwader was primarily intended to protect German interests overseas on its world tour, but also to train ships and personnel in the association.
composition
The squadron consisted of the armored frigate Friedrich Carl , the covered corvettes Elisabeth , Vineta and Gazelle and the gunboat Albatross . Vineta and Gazelle had already been in the Caribbean as current stationers of the West Indies naval station and therefore met the other ships of the squadron there. The command was given to Captain Reinhold von Werner , who received the table money of a rear admiral for leading the hitherto largest German naval association .
Planned itinerary
The squadron should first head for Plymouth, leaving Kiel or Wilhelmshaven . A four-day stay was planned there.
America itinerary
Lisbon , optionally Vigo or Cádiz
Port of Spain in the British colony Trinidad
La Guaira in Venezuela
Port-au-Prince in Haiti
Sabanilla in Colombia
Veracruz in Mexico
New Orleans in the United States .
A six-day stay was planned here. After another stop in Havana / Cuba , the Atlantic crossing was planned.
Travel route Africa / Australia
Porto Grande on St. Vincent / Cape Verde . After 37 days of travel, Cape Town should be started.
From Cape Town the onward journey to Adelaide / Australia was planned; 31 days were allotted for the crossing of the Indian Ocean . The arrival in Adelaide was scheduled for May 30, 1873.
Australia and South Seas
In Australian waters, visits to Melbourne , Hobarton / Tasmania and finally Sydney were planned.
After a trip through the South Seas , during which Samoa and the Fiji Islands were to be visited, the arrival of the squadron was planned for August 9, 1873 in Yokohama .
East asia
In East Asia , Nagasaki , Shanghai , Hong Kong , Singapore and Batavia were to be served.
American West Coast and South America
The journey from Batavia to San Francisco in the USA was scheduled for 58 days. The arrival in California was planned for January 27, 1874 .
Destinations in South America were Callao / Peru , Valparaíso / Chile , Montevideo / Uruguay and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil . A one-week stay was planned in Rio.
From Rio, the Atlantic was to be crossed in 35 days and England should be approached first. The return to Wilhelmshaven or Kiel was planned for mid-August 1874.
Actual itinerary
The squadron left Wilhelmshaven under the squadron captain Reinhold Werner on October 12, 1872 and entered the port of Bridgetown , Barbados via Plymouth and Funchal , where it arrived on November 28. The squadron had been separated in a cyclone in the Bay of Biscay , but met again in Bridgetown.
After a visit to Venezuela, during which Captain Werner visited the capital Caracas to collect debts at the request of the German Prime Minister , Sabanilla started at the beginning of January 1873 . Here, too, the reason was the collection of outstanding debts from a German railway company. After stays in Port-au-Prince, Kingston , Jamaica and Havana, the preparations for the onward journey were made there when on March 10, 1873 the Admiralty telegraphed the interruption of the journey and the onward journey to Spain, as a civil war had broken out there and German residents seemed endangered.
While the Albatross as stationary in the West Indies remained and Elisabeth sailed directly to Spain, the squadron returned to repairs to Europe and was officially dissolved in Plymouth on 18 April 1874th Due to the lack of coal on the Vineta , the ship had to be towed by the Friedrich Carl on the way back to Wilhelmshaven .
literature
- The first German Reichsgeschwader , in: Illustrirte Zeitung of December 28, 1872, printed in: Clas Broder Hansen: Germany will sea power. The development of the Imperial Navy 1867–1880 , Graefelfing before Munich 1991, p. 56.
- Wolfgang Petter: The overseas base policy of the Prussian-German Navy 1859–1883 , Freiburg i.Br. 1975 (Phil. Diss.).
- Wolfgang Petter: German fleet armor from Wallenstein to Tirpitz , in: German military history in six volumes 1648–1939 , Munich 1983, vol. V, pp. 13–262.
- Keyword: Friedrich Carl tank frigate , in: Hans H. Hildebrand / Albert Röhr / Hans-Otto Steinmetz: The German warships. Biographies - a mirror of marine history from 1815 to the present , Ratingen o. J. [1984] (One-volume reprint of the seven-volume original edition, Herford 1979ff.,) Vol. II., P. 97ff.