Kaiserliche Marine

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Kaiserliche Marine Jack 1903–1919.
Kaiserliche Marine Jack 1903–1919.
Kaiserliche Marine War Ensign (Reichskriegsflagge) 1903–1919.
Kaiserliche Marine War Ensign (Reichskriegsflagge) 1903–1919.

The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded the Navy, causing a naval arms race between the German Empire and the British Empire. The navy was largely destroyed at Scapa Flow in 1919 by its own officers after the loss of the land war on the Western Front of World War I.

Ships of the Kaiserliche Marine were designated SMS, for Seiner Majestät Schiff (His Majesty's Ship).

Contents

[edit] Achievements

The Kaiserliche Marine achieved some important operational feats. It inflicted the first major naval defeat on the Royal Navy in over 100 years at the Battle of Coronel.[1] It also emerged from the fleet action of the Battle of Jutland having destroyed more ships than it lost.

It was the first navy to successfully operate submarines on a large scale at war (375 submarines had been commissioned by the end), and also operated zeppelins. It was never able to match the numbers of the Royal Navy, but it did have better shells and propellant for much of World War I, meaning that it never lost a ship to a catastrophic magazine explosion from an above-water attack (the old pre-dreadnought Pommern sank rapidly at Jutland after a magazine explosion caused by underwater attack).

[edit] History

[edit] 1871 to 1890

The imperial admiralty was formed on 1 February 1872, its first chief being General der Infanterie Albrecht von Stosch. The Emperor held the supreme command. Kiel at the Baltic Sea and Wilhelmshaven at the North Sea served as primary naval bases.

Initially the main tasks of the new Imperial Navy were coastal protection and the protection of German maritime trade routes. This soon involved the setting up of some overseas supply stations, and in the 1880s the Imperial Navy played a part in helping to secure the establishment of German colonies and protectorates in Africa, Asia and Oceania.

[edit] 1890 to 1914

German High Seas Fleet, with a member of the Braunschweig class in the lead.
German High Seas Fleet, with a member of the Braunschweig class in the lead.

With the support of Wilhelm II, in 1897, the new Minister of the navy, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz began the building of a large modern navy consisting of both battleships and submarines. Several pre-dreadnought battleship classes were built, starting with the four innovative ships of the Brandenburg class in 1890. Five ships of the Kaiser Friedrich III class were built in 1895-1901, followed by the five battleships of the Wittelsbach class, built in 1899-1904. Five ships of the Braunschweig class were built between 1901 and 1906, and were followed by the last pre-Dreadnought class, the Deutschland class, in 1903 and 1908.

Following the completion of the HMS Dreadnought in 1906, the Kaiserliche Marine began a building program to compete with the new British design, starting with the four Nassau class battleships in 1907. Four ships of the Helgoland class were laid down in 1909-1910, followed by five ships of the Kaiser class in 1911. The König class was also built in 1911, and the last class of battleships, the Bayern class, was laid down on the eve of World War I, in 1913.

By the start of World War I, the Kaiserliche Marine possessed 22 pre-Dreadnoughts (Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and Weißenburg, of the Brandenburg class, had been sold to the Ottoman Empire in 1910), 19 dreadnought battleships, and 7 battlecruisers.

Admiral von Tirpitz later became the commander of the Navy. The main fighting forces of the navy were to become the High Seas Fleet, and the U-boat fleet. Other fleets included the German East Asia Squadron based at Jiaozhou Bay.

[edit] World War I

SMS Großer Kurfürst with Zeppelin overhead in 1917.
SMS Großer Kurfürst with Zeppelin overhead in 1917.

Notable battles fought by the Navy were:

Notable minor battles:

Minor engagements included the commerce raiding carried out by the SMS Emden, SMS Königsberg, and the sailing ship and commerce raider SMS Seeadler.

The Imperial Navy carried out land operations, eg operating the long-range Paris Gun which was based on a naval gun. The Siege of Tsingtao used naval troops as Tsingtao was a naval base, and also as the Imperial Navy was directly under the Imperial Government (the German Army was made up of regiments from the various states).

[edit] Post War

After the end of World War I, the bulk of the Navy's modern ships (74 in all) were interned at Scapa Flow where the entire fleet (with a few exceptions) was scuttled by its crews on 21 June 1919 on orders from its commander, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ The German squadron of ships was subsequently defeated at the Battle of the Falkland Islands, only one ship escaping destruction

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


 v • d • e 
German naval ship classes of World War I
Dreadnought battleships Pre-dreadnought battleships
Nassau | Helgoland | Kaiser | König | Bayern Brandenburg | Kaiser Friedrich III | Wittelsbach | Braunschweig | Deutschland
Battlecruisers Armored cruisers
Von der Tann | Moltke | Seydlitz | Derfflinger | Mackensen | Ersatz Yorck Victoria Louise | Fürst Bismarck | Prinz Heinrich | Prinz Adalbert | Roon | Scharnhorst | Blücher
Light cruisers U-boats
Gazelle | Bremen | Königsberg | Dresden | Kolberg | Magdeburg | Karlsruhe | Graudenz | Pillau | Wiesbaden | Königsberg | Brummer |Köln U 1 | U 2 | U 3 | U 5 | U 9 | U 13 | U 16 | U 17 | U 19 | U 23 | U 27 | U 31 | U 43 | U 51 | U 57 | U 63 | U 66 | Mittel U | U 139 | U 142 | U 151 | UA | UB I | UB II | UB III | UC I | UC II | UC III | UE 1 | UE 2