This is the order of battle of the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) on the outbreak of World War I in August 1914.

Commanders and locations of the Imperial German Navy

Kaiser Wilhelm II

The overall commander of the Imperial German Navy was Kaiser Wilhelm II. All authority over the navy was vested in the Kaiser, and he was ultimately responsible for all decisions regarding the navy.[1] Under the Kaiser were a number of organisational bodies responsible for various aspects of the navy's administration and operation, each of which was directly responsible to the Kaiser:

The departmental heads within the Imperial Naval Administration were:[1]

Nautical DepartmentVice-Admiral Max von Grapow
Armaments DepartmentVice-Admiral Gerhart Gerdes
Shipyard DepartmentVice-Admiral Karl Dick
Naval Construction DepartmentVice-Admiral Friedrich Schrader
German DepartmentRear-Admiral Friedrich Bodicker
States DepartmentVice-Admiral Harald Dähnhardt
  • The Admiralty Staff was formed in 1899 to replace the Naval High Command, and operated as an organisation intended to gather intelligence and prepare operational plans for presentation to and approval of the Kaiser.[2]
  • The Inspector-General of the Navy was a post held intermittently, intended to undertake inspection of the navy itself to ensure it was operating at maximum efficiency. The Inspector-General's office was divided into a number of individual inspectorates related to different areas of the Navy's operations.[note 1]

Training schools

Mürwik Naval School
The officers' training ship König Wilhelm

The navy had a number of establishments to train its personnel, both generally and in specific technical areas. In addition, a number of ships were on the strength of training establishments to provide practical experience.

German naval bases

Kiel and Wilhelmshaven were the main bases of the Imperial German Navy, and were connected by the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal
The light cruiser Dresden passing the Levensau High Bridge during a transit of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal
The Imperial Yacht Hohenzollern

Germany had two major naval bases covering its main areas of interest:[1]

  • Kiel - headquarters of the Baltic Naval Station, which was also responsible for the base at Danzig in East Prussia.
    • Commander, Baltic Naval Station - Vice-Admiral Gustav Bachmann[3]
      • Chief of Staff - Rear-Admiral Georg Hebbinghaus
      • Commander, Kiel Naval Base - Vice Admiral Konrad Henkel-Gebhardi
      • Commander, Kiel Fortress - Vice Admiral Reinhard Koch
      • Commander, Danzig Naval Base - Rear Admiral Franz von Holleben
    • In addition to hosting the fleet units stationed in the Baltic Sea, a number of other units were under the direct command of the Baltic Naval Station commander:
    • As well as the warships of the fleet, a further unit of the Imperial Navy stationed at Kiel was the Imperial Yacht, which was the personal vessel of the Kaiser, used both for his annual cruise to Norway as well as transporting him on overseas visits, but was also available for use as an aviso, or despatch boat.
  • Wilhelmshaven - headquarters of the North Sea Naval Station, which also served as the host base of the High Seas Fleet.
    • Commander, North Sea Naval Station - Vice-Admiral Günther von Krosigk[3]
      • Commander, Wilhelmshaven Naval Base - Rear-Admiral Hugo Kraft
      • Commander, Wilhelmshaven Fortress - Rear-Admiral Friedrich Schultz
      • Commander, Wesermunde Fortress - Vice-Admiral Johannes Schröder
      • Commander, Helgoland Fortress - Vice-Admiral Leo Jacobson
    • As well as hosting the High Seas Fleet, other units were also under the direct command of the North Sea Station commander:
      • 2nd Seaman Division
      • 2nd Marine Artillery Division
      • 3rd Marine Artillery Division
      • 4th Marine Artillery Division
      • 2nd Torpedo Division
      • 2nd Battalion of Marines

In addition to its two major bases in Germany, the Imperial German Navy had a number of units stationed overseas.

Barrack ships

As well as barracks ashore, the navy maintained a number of old and withdrawn ships for use as accommodation for its personnel while in harbour.

High Seas Fleet

Admiral Ingenohl
Friedrich der Grosse, flagship of the High Seas Fleet

The High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte) was the primary formation of the Imperial German Navy, with its main element being the three operational battle squadrons to which the navy's battleships were assigned. The majority of units of the High Seas Fleet were stationed at Wilhelmshaven for operations in the North Sea. A small force was stationed at Kiel for use in the Baltic, which could be quickly reinforced by North Sea-based units via the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal. The High Seas Fleet was under the command of Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl.[4]

Battle squadrons

Scouting groups

Rear-Admiral Hipper, commander of the Scouting Forces
Seydlitz, flagship of the 1st Scouting Group

Torpedo boats

U-boats and Mine warfare

  • 1st Minesweeping Division
    • SMS D3 (Leader)
    • SMS T24
    • SMS T38
    • SMS T42
    • SMS T43
    • SMS T44
    • SMS T45
    • SMS T74
    • SMS T75
    • SMS T76
    • SMS T77
    • SMS T78
    • SMS T79
    • SMS T80
    • SMS T81
  • 2nd Minesweeping Division
    • SMS D6 (Leader)
    • SMS T28
    • SMS T30
    • SMS T39
    • SMS T46
    • SMS T47
    • SMS T49
    • SMS T50
    • SMS T51
    • SMS T52
    • SMS T53
    • SMS T54
    • SMS T55
    • SMS T56
    • SMS T57
  • 3rd Minesweeping Division
    • SMS D8 (Leader)
    • SMS T25
    • SMS T29
    • SMS T31
    • SMS T33
    • SMS T34
    • SMS T35
    • SMS T36
    • SMS T37
    • SMS T40
    • SMS T41
    • SMS T71
    • SMS T72
    • SMS T73
  • Minelayers

Coastal defence

Locations of the North Sea coast defence units

A number of small units were formed whose primary purpose was coastal and harbour defence of the various naval bases in and around Wilhelmshaven. These usually consisted of one or more light cruisers, commanding a number of torpedo-boat destroyers and other vessels.[4] To provide heavy support for coastal defence, one of the reserve squadrons of the High Seas Fleet, consisting of eight obsolete coastal defence ships that were of no use as part of the main battle fleet, was assigned to the North Sea coast.

Baltic Fleet

Prince Heinrich of Prussia
Friedrich Carl, the flagship of the Baltic Fleet

Although part of the High Seas Fleet, the force stationed permanently at Kiel for operations in the Baltic operated with a degree of independence. Grand Admiral Prince Heinrich of Prussia, the brother of Kaiser Wilhelm II, was the commander-in-chief of the Baltic Fleet,[note 2] with Rear-Admiral Robert Mischke in operational command of units at sea.[3][4]

Coast Defence Group Baltic

Battle squadrons

Outpost Half-Flotilla Kiel / Elder

  • Torpedo-Boats
    • SMS T27
    • SMS T58
    • SMS T60
    • SMS T63
    • SMS T65
  • Other ships
    • SMS Delphin
    • SMS Hyane
    • SMS Primus
Airship in flight
Zeppelin L 3 - the Imperial Navy's sole operational airship at the start of the war
Seaplane moored on a submarine
Friedrichshafen FF.29 - one of the first operational aircraft of the Naval Flying Detachment

The Imperial German Navy had a small aviation capability, which was originally formed in 1913 when the Kaiser decreed the foundation of the Naval Aviation Forces (Marinefliegerkräfte). Within the newly formed aviation section were two separate commands - the Naval Airship Detachment, based at Nordholz, near Cuxhaven, and the Naval Flying Detachment, which was split between Kiel, Heligoland and Putzig.[6]

  • Naval Airship Detachment[note 26]
  • Naval Flying Detachment
    • 1st Naval Flying Detachment
      • Kiel Detachment
      • Heligoland Detachment
      • Putzig Detachment

Overseas units

Naval officer in dress uniform looking at the camera
Vice-Admiral Spee
Naval officer in dress uniform looking to the right
Rear-Admiral Souchon

In addition to the main body of the Imperial German Navy stationed in home waters, Germany also maintained a number of overseas deployments of ships. The majority of these were usually of one or two cruisers operating independently, with the primary formation of German warships outside German waters being the East Asia Squadron, under the command of Vice-Admiral Maximilian von Spee, which was stationed at Tsingtao.[7][8] The navy also provided a significant proportion of the garrison at Tsingtao, with approximately 1,200 of the 3,000 strong garrison coming from one of the marine battalions.[9] The other major formation was the Mediterranean Division, commanded by Rear-Admiral Wilhelm Souchon.[10]

Notes

  1. ↑ The different inspectorates were Coast Artillery & Mines; Ship Artillery; Naval Construction; Torpedoes; Depots
  2. 1 2 Prince Heinrich served as both the Inspector-General of the Navy and Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Fleet.
  3. ↑ Hohenzollern was scheduled for replacement in 1914, and was planned to be withdrawn from service at the end of the Kaiser's 1914 Norwegian cruise. A new yacht, also named Hohenzollern, was launched in September 1914, but never completed.
  4. ↑ During a full mobilisation of the battle fleet, Friedrich der Grosse was attached to the 3rd Squadron alongside her Kaiser-class sister ships.
  5. ↑ The remaining three ships of the division were König (flagship, commissioned 10 August 1914); Markgraf (commissioned 1 October 1914); and Kronprinz (commissioned 8 November 1914).
  6. ↑ Derfflinger was commissioned on 1 September and was assigned to the I Scouting Group in late October
  7. ↑ Although remaining part of the 1st Scouting Group, Blücher was deployed to the Baltic on operations for the first three months of the war
  8. ↑ Rear-Admiral Maass also served as the commander of the fleet's Torpedo-Boats
  9. ↑ Graudenz was commissioned on 10 August and assigned to the II Scouting Group
  10. 1 2 3 4 Sunk during the Battle of Heligoland, 28 August 1914
  11. 1 2 Rostock was attached to the battle fleet and Kolberg to the scouting groups as the leaders of the fleet's torpedo boats during fleet actions
  12. ↑ Commodore Karl von Restorff was appointed as commanding officer on 1 January 1915
  13. 1 2 The 3rd and 4th Scouting Groups swapped identities on 25 August 1914
  14. ↑ Prinz Adalbert was transferred to the Baltic Fleet in late August 1914
  15. ↑ The ships of the 5th Scouting Group were assigned to the Baltic Station, but remained under the command of the High Seas Fleet until September 1914
  16. ↑ S143 was sunk on 3 August 1914, and replaced by S138
  17. ↑ Hamburg was attached to the 4th Scouting Group as the leader of the fleet's u-boats during fleet actions
  18. ↑ Königin Luise was requisitioned from the Hamburg America Line on 3 August 1914 for service as an auxiliary minelayer. Two days later, during a minelaying mission to the Thames Estuary, the ship was sunk by British destroyers.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The modern torpedo-boats V25, V26 and V186 were transferred to the North Sea station forming part of the new 9th Flotilla in October 1914. They were replaced by G132-G136.
  20. ↑ In late August 1914, the 6th Scouting Group was split into two, with Augsburg, Gazelle, Lubeck and Magdeburg being utilised as the "Detached Division" for offensive operations in the Baltic Sea.
  21. ↑ The light cruiser Bremen was undergoing a major refit on the outbreak of war. Upon completion of the work in May 1915, Bremen was assigned to the Baltic Fleet.
  22. ↑ Although Freya was mobilised for war service, she was employed primarily as a training ship
  23. ↑ Wrecked following grounding at Osmussaar, 26 August 1914
  24. ↑ Panther had completed an overhaul at Danzig and was due to be deployed to the Caribbean on the outbreak of war.
  25. 1 2 The 4th and 5th Squadrons were detached from the High Seas Fleet to provide heavy support to the Baltic Fleet in August 1914.
  26. ↑ The airship detachment had a single operational airship on the outbreak of war. By the end of 1914, another five had been commissioned
  27. ↑ Cormoran was undergoing repairs on the outbreak of war. As a result of the work not being finished, the ship was stripped of weapons to be used to reinforce the defences of Tsingtao, and decommissioned, with her name and crew being transferred to a captured Russian merchant ship that was converted into an armed merchant cruiser.
  28. ↑ Prinz Eitel Friedrich was a liner operated by Norddeutscher Lloyd on its routes in the Far East. On the eve of war, she was ordered from Shanghai to Tsingtao for conversion into an armed merchant cruiser, and was commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 5 August 1914.
  29. ↑ Goeben had been scheduled to be replaced by Moltke in June 1914[11]
  30. 1 2 Sold to the Ottoman Navy on 11 August 1914

References

  1. 1 2 3 Watson, Graham. "Introduction to Die Kaiserliche Marine 1914-1918". Organisation of the Imperial German Navy 1914-1918. naval-history.net. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  2. ↑ Herwig p.22
  3. 1 2 3 Watson, Graham. "Flag Officers of the Imperial German Navy 1914-1918". Organisation of the Imperial German Navy 1914-1918. naval-history.net. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Alton, Dave (2 September 2002). "Imperial German Navy Deployment, 1914". The WWI Document Archive. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  5. ↑ Tarrant, p. 286
  6. ↑ Neumann, Arndt (14 September 2014). "100 Years of German Naval Aviation: A Continuous Change from the Beginning". Joint Air Power Competence Center. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  7. ↑ Bassett, p. 55
  8. ↑ "The Great War in the South Atlantic". The Critic. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  9. ↑ "Aufstellung des III. Seebataillons". Gesichte der Marine-Infanterie (1675-1919) (in German). Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  10. ↑ Bassett, p. 40
  11. ↑ Staff, p. 15.
  • Bassett, Ronald (1981). Battle-Cruisers: A History 1908-1948. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-28164-0.
  • Herwig, Holger H. (1980). 'Luxury Fleet', The Imperial German Navy 1888-1918. London: The Ashfield Press. ISBN 0-948660-03-1.
  • Staff, Gary (2006). German Battlecruisers: 1914–1918. Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-009-3.
  • Tarrant, V. E. (1995). Jutland: The German Perspective. London: Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 0-304-35848-7.
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