The lack of that document signifies that von Tirpitz’s rank actually was LOWER than the other five Großadmiräle. When he received his promotion on 27 January 1911, he was given the title “Großadmiral,” BUT did not receive its patent. You will note the phrase “held without patent” after Alfred von Tirpitz’s name. The final two men, Alfred von Tirpitz (1911) and Henning von Holtzendorff (1918), held the rank as the “Secretary of State of the Imperial German Naval Office,” the Navy’s TOP official. The next two men, Hans von Koester (1905) and Prussia’s Prince Heinrich (1909), held the rank on a tactical basis. The first two, Kaiser Wilhelm II (1901) and Sweden’s King Oscar II (1901), were royals who held the rank on an honorary basis. Only SIX men became Großadmiräle (plural form) from the rank’s 1901 institution through the empire’s end in 1918. When the Großadmiral’s rank was instituted, it became equivalent to the Army’s rank of Generalfeldmarschall, (the Army’s Generaloberst rank still had NO equivalent). As it was the top rank, the Navy had NO rank equivalent to the Army’s ranks of Generaloberst or Generalfeldmarschall. Prior to that date, the highest rank was Admiral, which was equal to the German Army’s General der Infanterie. It was instituted by the Kaiserliche Marine in 1901. To truly comprehend von Tirpitz’s importance, one first must understand the rank of Großadmiral. Ultimately, bombers from the RAF sank her in November 1944. Bottled up in Norwegian waters, the Tirpitz was not much of a major factor. The Kriegsmarine built two modern Bismarck Class Battleships: the famous Bismarck was its lead ship, the Tirpitz was the second. With the rise to party of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), a rebuilt German Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Kriegsmarine (Navy) came into existence. Von Tirpitz remained an important figure within Germany’s military and public life until the late 1920’s. In 1917, von Tirpitz became involved in a new political party, eventually serving in the Reichstag during the 1920’s. He also knew submarines would help prevent cargo ships from delivering much needed war materials and food to England.īy 1916, Kaiser Wilhelm withdrew his support for von Tirpitz (a handy scapegoat), forcing him to retire the same year. Von Tirpitz also was responsible for building a fleet of U-Boots, as he felt that they would be very effective against England’s bigger ships (particularly those on duty in the eventual blockade that von Tirpitz realized was inevitable). This led to an arms race with England, with each country enlarging its Navy in competition with its rival. With the Kaiser’s support, the Navy greatly increased its numbers of battleships and cruisers. From 1897-1916, he served as the “Secretary of State of the Imperial German Naval Office.” Von Tirpitz was responsible for the Navy’s growth. In the late 1890’s, he became more involved in the Kaiserliche Marine’s political/administrative arm. His final promotion was to Großadmiral, which took place in 1911. In 1903, he was promoted to the rank of Admiral. In 1895, he was promoted to the rank of Konteradmiral. He held a number of administrative and tactical commands. Early in his career, Tirpitz was involved in the development of torpedoes, then Torpedo-Boots. At that time the Prussian Navy was very small and insignificant. Alfred von Tirpitz (1849-1930) was one of the Kaiserliche Marine’s best known admiräle (admirals).
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