Wolfgang Wegener (September 16, 1875 in

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

October 29, 1956 in

Berlin-Zehlendorf Zehlendorf () is a locality within the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin. Before Berlin's 2001 administrative reform Zehlendorf was a borough in its own right, consisting of the locality of Zehlendorf as well as Wannsee, Nikolassee and ...

) was an officer in 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 ...

, retiring in 1926 with the rank of ''

Vizeadmiral (abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to Vice admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian Navy there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Kont ...

'' (vice-admiral). He is noted as the originator of a series of influential works, published between 1915 and 1929, outlining the so-called Wegener Thesis. This thesis criticized the naval strategy adopted by Germany in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and proposed an alternative strategy based on threatening the

sea lines of communication Sea lines of communication (abbreviated as SLOC) is a term describing the primary maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistics and naval forces. It is generally used in reference to naval operations to ensure that SLOCs are open, or in ...

of the United Kingdom with both surface and sub-surface forces. The ''Wegener thesis'' is often regarded as a significant contribution to German naval strategy in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, although the extent to which this was actually the case is disputed.

Personal life

Wolfgang Wegener was the son of Dr Eduard Wegener, (5 August 1837, Luckow20 February 1909,

), a medical consultant, and Martha Zitelmann (13 May 1847,

Jasenitz Jasienica (german: Jasenitz) is a district of Police, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Police, Poland, a town in the Pomerania Region. In the Pomerania during the High Middle Ages, High and Pomerania during the Late Middle Ages, Late Middle Ages, the v ...

13 April 1923,

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 ...

). He married Therese Gierke, in Berlin on 22 June 1901; they had three sons and a daughter. One of his sons, (19041981), also reached the rank of Vice Admiral.

Career

Wegener was educated at the ''König-Wilhelms-Gymnasium'' (King Wilhelm high school). Through the influence of his uncle by marriage, the future Grand-admiral

Henning von Holtzendorff Henning Rudolf Adolf Karl von Holtzendorff (9 January 1853 – 7 June 1919) was a German admiral during World War I, who became famous for his December 1916 memo about unrestricted submarine warfare against the United Kingdom. He was a recipient ...

, he entered the service 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 ...

in 1894. He served on the cruiser from 1897 to 1899, reaching the rank of ''

Leutnant zur See ''Leutnant zur See'' (''Lt zS'' or ''LZS'') is the lowest officer rank in the German Navy. It is grouped as OF1 in NATO, equivalent to an Ensign in the United States Navy, and an Acting Sub-Lieutenant in the British Royal Navy. The rank was int ...

''. He became a gunnery specialist, serving as First Gunnery Officer on the armored cruiser from 1909 to 1910. From 1912 to 1917, he served as chief of staff to the Admiral commanding the First Battle Squadron, reaching the rank of ''

Fregattenkapitän Fregattenkapitän, short: FKpt / in lists: FK, () is the middle field officer rank () in the German Navy. Address In line with ZDv 10/8, the official manner of formally addressing military personnel holding the rank of ''Fregattenkapitän'' ...

'' in 1917. From 1917 to 1918, he commanded firstly the light cruiser and then another light cruiser, . Following the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

, he continued to serve in the new

Reichsmarine The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the ''Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the ''K ...

, being appointed ''

Kapitän zur See Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

'' on 21 January 1920, and ''

Konteradmiral ''Konteradmiral'', abbreviated KAdm or KADM, is the second lowest naval flag officer rank in the German Navy. It is equivalent to '' Generalmajor'' in the '' Heer'' and ''Luftwaffe'' or to '' Admiralstabsarzt'' and ''Generalstabsarzt'' in the '' ...

'' in 1923. His final appointment was as Inspector of Gunnery, based at

. He achieved the rank of ''

'' in 1926. Not long after, he was forced into retirement by the "uniformity" policies (which included stifling of different opinions in the naval ranks) of Adm.

Erich Raeder Erich Johann Albert Raeder (24 April 1876 – 6 November 1960) was a German admiral who played a major role in the naval history of World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank, that of grand admiral, in 1939, becoming the f ...

.''World at War magazine'', Issue #26, Oct/Nov 2012, "Theory into Practice: German Surface Raider Strategy", David March.

References

External links

Wegener family web page
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wegener, Wolfgang 1875 births 1956 deaths Military personnel from Szczecin People from the Province of Pomerania German naval historians Vice admirals of the Reichsmarine German military writers Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I German male non-fiction writers