Ludwig von Reuter
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Ludwig von Reuter (9 February 1869 - 18 December 1943) was a German admiral during World War I, who commanded the Kaiserliche Marine's High Seas Fleet when it was interned at Scapa Flow at the end of the war. On 21 June 1919 he ordered the scuttling of the fleet to prevent the British from seizing the ships.
Von Reuter was born in Guben into a Prussian military family. By the time WWI began, he was captain of the battlecruiser SMS Derfflinger, which he also commanded during the Battle of Dogger Bank. In September 1915 he became Commodore and commanding officer of the Fourth Scouting Group of five light cruisers, which he also commanded during the Battle of Jutland. Promoted to Rear Admiral, he commanded the two German battleships SMS Kaiser and SMS Kaiserin during the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1917.
After the armistice that ended WWI, Rear Admiral von Reuter was ordered to take command of the fleet that was to be interned at Scapa Flow until its final disposition would be decided at Versailles. Admiral Franz von Hipper, commander-in-chief of the High Seas Fleet, had refused to lead his ships into internment.
As the final deadline neared for the German delegation to sign the Treaty of Versailles, von Reuter anticipated that his ships would be handed over to the victorious Allies. To prevent this, he ordered all 74 ships scuttled on 21 June 1919, using an unusual flag signal previously agreed upon (a reference to a German students' drinking song, calling for more liquid). Unknown to the British, all ships had long ago been prepared for this action. Within five hours, 10 battleships, 5 battlecruisers, 4 light cruisers, and 32 torpedoboats sank that day in Scapa Flow. The battleship SMS Baden, the four light cruisers SMS Emden, SMS Nürnberg, SMS Frankfurt and SMS Bremse and 14 torpedo boats were beached when British watch personnel were able intervene in time and tow them to shallow water. Only four torpedoboats remained afloat. Nine Germans were killed in scuffles aboard some of the ships (including the captain of SMS Markgraf) or shot to death while drifting in their lifeboats -- the last German war deaths of World War I.
Von Reuter was vilified in Britain and made a prisoner of war, along with the other 1,773 officers and men of the fleet's remaining rump crews. In Germany he was celebrated as a hero who had protected the honor of the navy. He retired from service and played no further role in public life. In August 1939 he was made full Admiral. He died in Potsdam in 1943.
