Herman(n) Alexander von Salza (16 April 1885

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. Description Haapsalu has been well known for centuries for its ...

– 23 January 1946

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

) was an Estonian rear admiral of Baltic-German descent. In 1907, he graduated from a military marine school in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. He participated in WW I. In 1917, he was appointed to the commander of Russian battleship Petropavlovsk. In 1918, he moved to Estonia and joined the

Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Eesti Kaitsevägi) are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consist of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary E ...

, becoming the chief of the

Estonian Navy The Estonian Navy ( et, Merevägi) are the unified naval forces among the Estonian Defence Forces. With only six commissioned ships and displacement well under 10,000 tonnes, the Estonian navy is one of the smallest navies in the world. Its sh ...

1925–1932. In 1934, he was awarded the

Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle ( et, Kotkaristi teenetemärk; french: Ordre de la Croix de l'Aigle) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a st ...

, II class. In 1939, Salza left Estonia for Germany. In Germany, he was also given the rank of Rear Admiral, but did not enter the Kriegsmarine for actual military service. When World War II came to an end, Hermann Salza remained in the occupied territory of the Red Army because he did not want to leave his sick mother. He was arrested in April 1945 and taken to the USSR, where he died in 1946.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salza, Hermann von 1885 births 1946 deaths Estonian admirals Estonian people of Baltic German descent Kriegsmarine admirals Russian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle