German Imperial Admiralty Staff

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Admiralty Staff
Admiralstab

Flag of the Chief of the Admiralty Staff

The stamp, and official emblem of the Imperial Admiral Staff of the German Empire

Agency overview
Formed| 14 March 1899
Preceding agency|

* Imperial Naval High Command

Dissolved| 15 September 1919
Superseding agency|

* Oberkommando der Marine

Jurisdiction|  German Empire
Headquarters| Bendlerblock, Berlin
Agency executive|

* Chief of the Admiralty Staff

The German Imperial Admiralty Staff (German: Admiralstab) was one of four command agencies for the administration of the Imperial German Navy from 1899 to 1918. While the German Emperor Wilhelm II as commander-in-chief exercised supreme operational command and control of the naval forces, the military staff was split into the Admiralty, the Naval Office, the Naval Cabinet, and the Inspector-General. The command structure had a negative impact on German naval warfare in World War I, as a professional head of the Imperial Navy, similar to the First Sea Lord, was not established until August 1918. After the war and the German Revolution of 1918–19, the Admiralty Staff became subordinate to the Naval Office and was finally disestablished by order of the German President.

## History[edit]

After the German unification of 1871, a united Imperial Navy was established as successor of the Prussian Navy and the North German Federal Navy, from 1 January 1872 under the authority of the German Imperial Admiralty (Kaiserliche Admiralität) led by Minister of State Albrecht von Stosch. With the accession of Emperor Wilhelm II in 1888, the naval forces strongly gained in importance. Soon after, the command structure was reorganized with the establishment of the Imperial Naval Cabinet, the German Imperial Naval High Command (Kaiserliches Oberkommando der Marine) and the Naval Office, from 1897 under State Secretary Alfred von Tirpitz.

In the course of the Anglo-German naval arms race, the Reichstag parliament in 1898 passed a new Naval Law, according to which the High Command was, on 14 March 1899, replaced by the Admiralty Staff responsible for planning, officer training, and naval intelligence. In time of war the Admiralty Staff was to assume overall command of the Imperial Navy, although in peacetime it acted only in an advisory capacity. Direct control of the various elements of the fleet was subordinated to officers commanding those elements, accountable to the Kaiser.[1]

This reorganization suited Wilhelm II, who wanted to maintain direct control of his ships. A disadvantage was that it split apart the integrated military command structure, which before had balanced the importance of the navy within overall defense considerations. It also suited Tirpitz, because it removed the influence of the admiralty staff from naval planning, but it left him the possibility, in wartime, to reorganise command around himself. Wilhelm II, however, never agreed to relinquish direct control of his fleet.[2]

## Chiefs of the Admiralty Staff[edit]

(Chefs des Admiralstabs der Kaiserlichen Marine)

No. | Portrait  | Chief of the Admiralty Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office

|
|
|
|
|

| Bendemann, FelixAdmiral
Felix von Bendemann
(1848–1915)| 14 Mar 1899| 31 Dec 1899| 292 days

| Diederichs, OttoVice-Admiral
Otto von Diederichs
(1843–1918)| 1 Jan 1900| 19 Aug 1902| 2 years, 230 days

| Diederichs, OttoVice-Admiral
Wilhelm Büchsel [de]
(1848–1920)| 20 Aug 1902| 28 Jan 1908| 5 years, 161 days

| Baudissin, FriedrichAdmiral
Friedrich Graf von Baudissin [de]
(1852–1921)| 29 Jan 1908| 5 Sep 1909| 1 year, 219 days

| Fischel, MaxAdmiral
Max von Fischel [de]
(1850–1929)| 6 Sep 1909| 11 Mar 1911| 1 year, 187 days

| Heeringen, AugustVice-Admiral
August von Heeringen
(1855–1927)| 12 Mar 1911| 31 Mar 1913| 2 years, 19 days

| Pohl, HugoAdmiral
Hugo von Pohl
(1855–1916)| 1 Apr 1913| 1 Feb 1915| 1 year, 306 days

| Bachmann, GustavAdmiral
Gustav Bachmann
(1860–1943)| 2 Feb 1915| 3 Sep 1915| 213 days

| Holtzendorff, HenningGrand Admiral
Henning von Holtzendorff
(1853–1919)| 4 Sep 1915| 10 Aug 1918| 2 years, 340 days

| Scheer, ReinhardAdmiral
Reinhard Scheer
(1863–1928)| 11 Aug 1918| 14 Nov 1918| 95 days

## References[edit]

1. ^ Herwig p.22
2. ^ Herwig p.22-23

* Holger H. Herwig (1980). 'Luxury Fleet', The Imperial German Navy 1888-1918. London: The Ashfield Press. ISBN 0-948660-03-1.

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Chiefs of the navy by country

* Chief of the Naval Staff

Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* DR Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Swaziland
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Former|

* Biafra
* Bophuthatswana
* Ciskei
* British Egypt
* Ethiopian Empire
* Rhodesia
* Transkei
* Venda
* Zaire

Americas|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Former|

* Confederate States of America

Asia|

* Abkhazia
* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* PR of China
* East Timor
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* NEDAJA
* NEDSA
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Republic of China (Taiwan)
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Former|

* Democratic Kampuchea
* Imperial Japan
* Mengjiang
* Manchukuo
* South Vietnam

Europe|

* Albania
* Austria
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Georgia
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Macedonia
* Malta
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* Vatican

Former|

* Austria–Hungary
* Independent State of Croatia
* Czechoslovakia
* Prussia
* Imperial Germany
* Nazi Germany
* East Germany
* Ottoman Empire
* Russian Empire
* Soviet Union
* Yugoslavia

Oceania|

* Australia
* Fiji
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Tonga
* Vanuatu

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