Emil Fritz Lüdecke was a German Rear Admiral who served the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

known for being the first commander of the '' SMS Karlsruhe'' as well as the last commander of the '' SMS Dresden''.

Biography

Early life

Fritz was born in

Dirschau Tczew (, formerly ) is a city on the Vistula River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, with 59,111 inhabitants (December 2021). It is the capital of Tczew County and the largest city of the ethnocultural region of Kociewie within th ...

, present-day Poland, on February 5, 1873. He joined the

in 1890 graduating in 1896 and served at Heliogard Fortress from 1896 to 1903, reaching the rank of

Captain lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Fin ...

specializing in artillery. He was assigned as a gunnery officer aboard the '' SMS Wettin''. In 1908 he attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander and served as administrative officer of the Navy's 1st Cruiser Squadron until 1910. In 1912 he was promoted to

Frigate Captain Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries. Corvette captain lies one level below frigate captain. It is usually equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander. Countries using this rank include Argenti ...

and appointed commander of the light cruiser '' SMS Dresden'' serving on missions in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

World War I

At the advent of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, between January and July 1914 he was appointed for a short period, commander of the new light cruiser '' SMS Karlsruhe'' and commissioned to repatriate German subjects from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

threatened by the ongoing

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

. At the end of July while in

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

he was again reassigned to ''SMS Dresden'' and commissioned to transfer dictator

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 23 December 1850 – 13 January 1916) was a Mexican general, politician, engineer and dictator who was the 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of ...

and his family to

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

. He was relieved of repatriation duties by the cruiser '' SMS Nürnberg'' in Veracruz and was sent to

Kiel, Germany Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Bay of Kiel ...

for maintenance. During this time, author Maria Teresa Parker described him as: While at sea in August 1914, he received word that Germany was at war and was sent to

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

for supplies and then to Easter Island where he joined

Maximilian von Spee Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert Reichsgraf von Spee (22 June 1861 – 8 December 1914) was a German naval officer in the Imperial German Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine)'', who commanded the East Asia Squadron during World War I. Spee entered the n ...

's fleet. Von Spee's fleet set sail for

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

to attack

Port Stanley Stanley (also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a population o ...

in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

. He took part in the

Battle of Coronel The Battle of Coronel was a First World War naval battle that led to an Imperial German Navy victory over the Royal Navy on 1 November 1914, off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. The East Asia Squadron (''Ostasiengeschwader ...

where the Germans were victorious and was sent to

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

for a week for communications and supplies. On December 8, 1914, the German fleet was defeated in the

Battle of the Falkland Islands The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a First World War naval action between the British Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 in the South Atlantic. The British, after their defeat at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November, ...

by the British and the ''SMS Dresden'' was the only surviving German unit from the battle. The ''SMS Dresden'' began a journey through the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natura ...

and its channels to escape the hunt of the ''Dresden''. Lüdecke's intention was to meet a friendly coal steamer, stock up and cross the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

in privateering. He finally set sail from his hideout at the Strait of Magellan in February 1915 and on February 27 he captured and sank an English barque known as ''Cornwall Castle'' off Concepción, whose crew was rescued by a Peruvian ship on March 4 and later sailed to the island of Más Afuera in search of the supplier arriving on March 9. The ''SMS Dresden'' was finally surprised on March 14, 1915, by an English squadron at the

Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands () are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic islands: Robinson Crusoe Island, R ...

. Lüdecke tried to parley and declare the ship interned without obtaining positive results, and after a brief fight, Lüdecke ordered the drilling and opening of valves to sink the cruiser.

Later years

He was interned along with the surviving crew on Isla Quiriquina in

Talcahuano Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile. ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. In 1919, the German sailors who still remained and didn't want to stay at Chile were repatriated to Germany, including Lüdecke himself. Lüdecke was assigned to the liquidation and administration of the remnants of the German fleet at Qingdao, China and retired in 1920 with the rank of rear admiral. Lüdecke was married to Else Lüdecke, who published in 1915 a report on the activities of the cruiser in Mexico and in the World War however the couple had no children. Fritz Lüdecke died in 1931 at the age of 58 at

Raisdorf Raisdorf is a former municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 9 km southeast of Kiel. Until 2003 it was twinned with Uttoxeter, United Kingdom. On 1 March 2008, it was merged with Kl ...

References

Bibliography

* *. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lüdecke, Fritz 1873 births 1931 deaths Military personnel from West Prussia People from Tczew Imperial German Navy admirals of World War I