Henning Rudolf Adolf Karl von Holtzendorff (9 January 1853 – 7 June 1919) was a German

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, who became famous for his December 1916 memo about unrestricted

submarine warfare Submarine warfare is one of the four divisions of underwater warfare, the others being anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare and mine countermeasures. Submarine warfare consists primarily of diesel and nuclear submarines using torpedoes, mis ...

against the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. He was a recipient of

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King i ...

and the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...

with oak leaves and was one of just six

Grand Admiral Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, the highest rank in the several European navies that used it. It is best known for its use in Germany as . A comparable rank in modern navies is that of admiral of the fleet. Grand admirals in individual n ...

s of the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the 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 coast defence. Wilhel ...

Biography

Holtzendorff was born into a noble family in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

on 9 January 1853. He joined the navy in 1869, served in the Franco-Prussian War and afterwards as a staff officer in the West Africa Squadron. Promoted to captain in 1897; he was present during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an Xenophobia, anti-foreign, anti-colonialism, anti-colonial, and Persecution of Christians#China, anti-Christian uprising in China ...

as commander of a cruiser in the

East Asia Squadron The German East Asia Squadron (german: Kreuzergeschwader / Ostasiengeschwader) was an Imperial German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at the Battle of the F ...

. He served as chief of staff at the Baltic Sea Naval Station and was director of the Imperial Shipyard at Danzig, before becoming a Vice Admiral in 1904. Two years later he was appointed commander of the I Battle Squadron. By 1909 he commanded the

High Seas Fleet The High Seas Fleet (''Hochseeflotte'') was the battle fleet of the German Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet (''Heimatflotte'') was renamed as the High Seas ...

, becoming a full Admiral in the next year. In 1913 he was forced into retirement due to his opposition to rapid German naval expansion in competition with the

British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fra ...

. In the same year he became a member of the

Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords (german: Preußisches Herrenhaus) in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Re ...

. In 1915, after

broke out, he was recalled to duty to serve as head of the Imperial Admiralty Staff. During his retirement Holtzendorff converted into a strong proponent of unrestricted submarine warfare. He published a memo in December 1916 that was presented to Kaiser Wilhelm II and approved at the

Pless conference The Pless conference was a conference held at the castle of Prince Pless located in the Duchy of Pless on January 8, 1917. The conference involved the German army and navy arguing which division should take command of German activity in World Wa ...

in January 1917. The belief that unrestricted submarine warfare would starve Britain and bring about its demise was predicted, with the statement that the United Kingdom will be forced to sue for peace within six months. He also stated that the risk of American intervention could be taken and ignored. His policy succeeded in disturbing both the Royal and the Merchant Navy with Allied shipping losses over 6 million GRT in 1917. His submarines became less successful when

convoys A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

were introduced, the US joined the war, and Britain was not compelled to surrender. He did not believe the US would be able to join the war, and thought his submarines would prevent their effective deployment of forces to Europe. Holtzendorff was promoted to the rank of

Großadmiral Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, the highest rank in the several European navies that used it. It is best known for its use in Germany as . A comparable rank in modern navies is that of admiral of the fleet. Grand admirals in individual n ...

on 31 July 1918, the sixth and final appointment to that rank in the Imperial Navy. He was retired again after quarrels about war aims with the ''

Oberste Heeresleitung The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, Supreme Army Command or OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' ...

'' (Supreme Army Command) in August 1918 and replaced by Admiral Reinhard Scheer. He was the husband of Margarethe Zitelmann and adoptive father to her widowed sister-in-law's two daughters. Admiral Holtzendorff died in the Uckermark district on 7 June 1919.

Decorations and awards

with Collar (Prussia, 19 September 1912) * Grand Cross of the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...

with oak leaves and swords on rings (Prussia) * Order of the Crown, 1st class (Prussia) *

(22 March 1917) with oak leaves (1 February 1918) * Commander of the Royal

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...

with Star and Swords *

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 es ...

, 1st and 2nd class *

Service Award A Service award was awarded by a country to a soldier or civilian for long service. It is comparable to a service medal but can be awarded to civilians as well as soldiers. Germany Kingdom of Bavaria * Königliches Ludwigsorden for 50 years' ser ...

(Prussia) * Commander Second Class of the

Order of the Zähringer Lion The Order of the Zähringer Lion was instituted on 26 December 1812 by Karl, Grand Duke of Baden , house = Zähringen , father = Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden , mother = Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt ...

(Baden) * Military Merit Order, 1st class with Swords (Bavaria) *

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross (German: ''Hanseatenkreuz'') was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 188 ...

es of Bremen and Hamburg * Grand Cross of the Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg) * Honorary Grand Cross of the

House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis The House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis (German: ''Haus und Verdienstorden von Herzog Peter Friedrich Ludwig'') or proper German Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis (German: ''Oldenburgische Haus- und Verdi ...

(Oldenburg) * Friedrich August Cross, 1st class (Oldenburg) * Grand Cross of the House

Order of the White Falcon Order of the White Falcon (german: Hausorden vom Weißen Falken) is a grand-ducal order of Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, founded by Duke Ernest Augustus on 2 August 1732, and renewed in 1815 by Charles Augustus. Description In the early 2 ...

(Weimar) * Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Württemberg) * Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold (Austria)

References

External links

Acta Borussica Volume 10 Online (in German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holtzendorff, Henning Von 1853 births 1919 deaths Military personnel from Berlin German untitled nobility Naval history of Germany Imperial German Navy admirals of World War I Grand admirals of the Imperial German Navy German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War People from the Province of Brandenburg Members of the Prussian House of Lords Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria), 1st class Recipients of the Hanseatic Cross (Bremen)

Biography

Decorations and awards

References

Further reading

External links