Alfred Saalwächter (10 January 1883 – 6 December 1945) was a high-ranking German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

commander during

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 ...

and General Admiral during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

Saalwächter was born in Neusalz an der Oder,

Prussian Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a provinces of Prussia, province of Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part ...

, as the son of a factory manager. He entered the ''

Kaiserliche Marine The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term was used partic ...

'' as a ''

Seekadett ''Seekadett'' (short SKad or SK; ,Langenscheidt´s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English and German language: „Der Große Muret-Sander“, Part II German-English, Second Volume L–Z, 8th edition 1999, ; p. 1.381 ) is a military rank of the ...

'' on 10 April 1901, and was trained on and . On 29 September 1904 he was promoted to '' Leutnant zur See''. Saalwächter then served with '' Bordkommando'' units, first with the 2. Matrosen-Division, then on with the 2. Werft-Division. He was promoted to ''

Oberleutnant zur See (''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the ''Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies, OF-1 in NATO. The rank was ...

'' on 10 March 1906; until 1908, he served with the 2. Torpedo-Division as adjutant to the I. Abteilung. Saalwächter also served on . Saalwächter served on in 1910 and later on as ''Flaggleutnant'' to Vice Admiral Hugo von Pohl, commander of the I. Marine-Geschwader. Saalwächter was promoted to ''

Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...

'' on 10 April 1911 and joined the admiralty in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He remained in the admiralty until 1915, with his last position there being head of the signal section in the operations department. In 1912 he received the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () 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 service to the kingdom, o ...

World War I

On 1 April 1915 during

, Saalwächter became Flaggleutnant on , the flagship of the

High Seas Fleet The High Seas Fleet () was the battle fleet of the German Empire, German Imperial German Navy, Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. In February 1907, the Home Fleet () was renamed the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpi ...

. In February 1916 he transferred to the

service. After graduating from submarine school, he commanded (unknown period of command), , and from September 1916 to March 1918. He was awarded for his success with the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

1st Class and the Knight's Cross of the

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of 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 versions of the order were crosses an ...

Interwar era

In 1920, Saalwächter was named a ''

Korvettenkapitän (; ) is the lowest ranking Field officer, senior officer in the German navy. Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. Address The official manner, in li ...

'' of the Provisional '' Reichsmarine''. He also served on as an admiralty officer. After a leave of absence, Saalwächter joined the Marineleitung in the Personnel Department on 17 May 1920. From 15 October 1923 till 31 March 1925 he served as 1. Asto in the staff of the Commander of Naval Forces. On 24 September 1926 he took command of the light cruiser , and, a year later, under promotion to ''

Fregattenkapitän () is the middle ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany , short: FKpt / in lists: FK, is the middle Senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. It is the equivalent o ...

'' of the battleship . On 2 October 1933 Saalwächter was named inspector for naval instruction. During the following five years he had a strong influence on the development of the young officer corps. He was promoted to Vizeadmiral on 1 April 1935 and

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

on 1 June 1937. Saalwächter was named Commanding Admiral of Naval Station North Sea at

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

, one of the highest positions in the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi 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 military branch, branche ...

at the time, on 28 October 1938. On 2 March 1939, Saalwächter sent a report to the Naval High Command in which he openly discussed the acquisition of bases in Norway. The report stressed both the dangers to Germany of British dominance in Norwegian waters and the favourable change in the geo-strategic position that a German occupation of Norway would bring about.

World War II

With the outbreak of

in September 1939, Saalwächter received command of ''Marine-Gruppenkommando West'' and was responsible for operations in the North Sea, which led to disputes between himself and the fleet commanders, Vice Admirals Hermann Boehm, Wilhelm Marschall, and Günther Lütjens. On 1 January 1940 Saalwächter was promoted to Generaladmiral. Along with Admiral

Rolf Carls Rolf Hans Wilhelm Karl Carls (29 May 1885 – 24 April 1945) was a high-ranking German admiral and deputy to Kriegsmarine commander-in-chief Erich Raeder during much of World War II. Carls served as ''Flottenchef'' (Fleet commander (Kriegsmarine ...

, Saalwächter had tactical command of

Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung ( , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was the invasion of Denmark and Norway by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 April 1940 (, "Weser Day"), Ge ...

, the invasion of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He was recognized with the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), 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. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

on 9 May 1940. Beginning in summer 1940, Saalwächter led German surface operations in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

and the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. In 1940, he directed E-Boat forces against British shipping during the ''

Kanalkampf The (Channel Battle) was the German term for air operations by the against the Royal Air Force (RAF) over the English Channel in July 1940, beginning the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. By 25 June, the Allies of World War II, A ...

'' phase of the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

in support of the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

. Later, he oversaw naval movements such as Operation Cerberus in February 1942. On 20 September of that year, he was replaced as head of Navy Group West by Marschall, who was himself replaced by Theodor Krancke in April 1944. Saalwächter resigned from active service on 30 November 1942. Saalwächter was imprisoned by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

on 21 June 1945. He was convicted by a Soviet military tribunal of war crimes on 17 October and executed by firing squad in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

on 6 December. In 1994, after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, Saalwächter was formally exonerated by a Russian court.

Awards

on 9 May 1940 as General Admiral and Marine-Gruppenbefehlshaber Marinegruppe West *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), 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 repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 14 December 1942 as General Admiral in Marinegruppenkommando West

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saalwachter, Alfred 1883 births 1945 deaths People from Nowa Sól Military personnel from the Province of Silesia Executed military leaders Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Vice admirals of the Reichsmarine General admirals of the Kriegsmarine Overturned convictions Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class U-boat commanders (Imperial German Navy) Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Nazis executed by the Soviet Union Nazis executed by the Soviet Union by firing squad Nazis executed for war crimes People who have received posthumous pardons