William Otto Ernst Michaelis (19 July 1871 – 5 January 1948) was a German
viceadmiral and head of the Naval Command within the
Ministry of the Reichswehr
The Ministry of the Reichswehr or Reich Ministry of Defence (german: Reichswehrministerium) was the defence ministry of the Weimar Republic and the early Third Reich. The 1919 Weimar Constitution provided for a unified, national ministry of defen ...
in the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
.
Biography
Michaelis was born in
Bischofsburg
Biskupiec (german: Bischofsburg, ) is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is located in Olsztyn County and, as of December 2021, it has a population of 10,496. The countryside surrounding Biskupiec is a ...
,
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
to a civil engineer, he graduated from high school with a first. He entered 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 ...
as a ''Seeoffizieranwärter'' in April 1889 and was promoted to ''Unterleutnant zur See'' (equivalent to
ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
) in 1892. He served at the rank of ''Unterleutnant zur See'' from 1900 to 1902 as a deck officer and commander with the 1st Torpedo Boat Division in
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
. He also attended Kiel's
Naval Academy
A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers.
See also
* Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...
from 1900 to 1902, leading to service with the
Reichsmarineamt
The Imperial Naval Office (german: Reichsmarineamt) was a government agency of the German Empire. It was established in April 1889, when the German Imperial Admiralty was abolished and its duties divided among three new entities: the Imperial Na ...
(RMA) as a head of department and with the
Admiralty Staff. He then served as first officer of a capital ship then as staff officer to the admiral of a squadron. From 4 February 1915 through 28 January 1916 he served as chief of staff to the Commander of the High Seas Fleet, Admiral
Hugo von Pohl
Hugo von Pohl (25 August 1855 – 23 February 1916) was a German admiral who served during the First World War. He joined the Navy in 1872 and served in various capacities, including with the new torpedo boats in the 1880s, and in the ''Reic ...
.
Works
*''"Kaiser Wilhelm II. und seine Marine. Kritische Beobachtungen während des Kaisermanövers in der Nordsee Herbst 1912. Aus den Erinnerungen von Vizeadmiral William Michaelis"'' (''Kaiser Wilhelm II and his Navy - critical observations made during the royal manoeuvres in the North Sea in autumn 1912, from the memoirs of vice admiral William Michaelis''), reprinted 1976
''"Tirpitz' Wirken vor und während des Ersten Weltkriegs"''(''The Work of Tirpitz before and after the First World War''), paper of 1934
Sources
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=HMY6JG_X-ZAC&pg=PA420 Rahn, Werner: ''"Deutsche Marinen im Wandel. Vom Symbol nationaler Einheit zum Instrument internationaler Sicherheit"'', 2005, S. 397, S. 420 Anmerkungen]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michaelis, William
1871 births
1948 deaths
People from Biskupiec
Imperial German Navy admirals of World War I
Vice admirals of the Reichsmarine
People from the Province of Prussia