Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs (6 November 1899 – 23 June 1972) was a

Kapitän zur See Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

with the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

Career

*October 1924: Survey vessel ''Panther''. *January 1927: Sperrversuchskommando, commander of the torpedo boat ''G 10''. *October 1930: Commander of the II Torpedobootsflottille. *1935: Naval academy. *October 1940 April: Commander of the destroyer in the Narvik campaign. *December 1941: Chief of Staff at "Admiral Nordmeer" in

Kirkenes Kirkenes (; ; Skolt Sami: ''Ǩeârkknjargg;'' fi, Kirkkoniemi; ; russian: Киркенес) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town ...

. *May 1943 – February 1945: Commander of the Marinekriegsakademie, in Berlin (then in

Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...

). *1957: Joined the new

Bundesmarine The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

. During the 1940 Norwegian Campaign Schulze-Hinrichs was captured at Narvik after the sinking of his destroyer ''

Erich Koellner Z13 ''Erich Koellner'' was a built for Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' in the late 1930s. At the beginning of World War II, the ship was still working up. In early 1940 she made two successful minelaying sorties off the English coast that cl ...

''. He was imprisoned by the Norwegians, first at

Vardøhus Fortress Vardøhus Fortress ( no, Vardøhus festning) is located in Vardø Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the town of Vardø on the island of Vardøya on the Barents Sea near the mouth of the Varangerfjord in northeaste ...

Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...

and later at Skorpa prisoner of war camp in

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...

until released at the end of that campaign in mid-June 1940. From November 1940 until April 1943 he commanded the 6th Destroyer Flotilla, acting in Norway and Arctic waters. On 1 May 1942, during action against

Convoy QP 11 Convoy QP 11 was an Arctic Convoy of World War II, made up of merchant ships returning from the Soviet Union to Britain after delivering their cargo to the Soviet Union. The convoy consisted of 13 merchant ships, escorted by 18 warships. The convo ...

, his destroyer '' Hermann Schoemann'' was disabled and scuttled the next day. However, the attack also resulted in the sinking of HMS ''Edinburgh'' on 2 May 1942.Dörr 1996, p. 251.

Awards

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March, 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered the institution of a service awar ...

4th to 2nd Class (2 October 1936)Dörr 1996, p. 253. *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class (11 January 1940) ** 1st Class (11 February 1940) *

Destroyer War Badge The Destroyer War Badge () as a World War II German military decoration and awarded to officers and crew for service on ''Kriegsmarine'' destroyers. It was instituted on 4 June 1940 by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder following the battle of Narvik. It ...

(19 October 1940) *

Narvik Shield The Narvik Shield () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to all German forces that took part in the battles of Narvik between 9 April and 8 June 1940. It was instituted on 19 August 1940 by Adolf Hitler. The ''Oberkommando der We ...

(10 November 1940) *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold (21 January 1942) *

on 15 June 1943 as ''

'' and chief of the 6. ZerstörerflotilleScherzer 2007, p. 693. *

Lapland Shield __NOTOC__ The Lapland Shield () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to military personnel of General Franz Böhme’s 20th Mountain Army which fought a two-front campaign against advancing Finnish and Soviet Red Army forces in ...

(20 July 1945)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schulze-Hinrichs, Alfred 1899 births 1988 deaths Military personnel from Leipzig Reichsmarine personnel Kriegsmarine personnel Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Norway German Navy personnel Military personnel from the Kingdom of Saxony Himmerod meeting participants

Career

Awards

References

Further reading

External links