The Seekriegsleitung or SKL (Maritime Warfare Command) was a higher command staff section of the Kaiserliche Marine and the Kriegsmarine of Germany during the World Wars.

World War I

The SKL was established on August 27, 1918, on the initiative of Admiral Reinhard Scheer, who became its first commander, simultaneously to being the Chief of the German Imperial Admiralty Staff. It led the planning and execution of naval combat and directed the distribution of naval forces. Up to this point, that was done by several staffs and the individual theater commanders; including the Supreme Army Command under General Erich Ludendorff, whose decisions led to the unrestricted submarine warfare and the entrance of the United States into the war. When the war ended, the SKL was absorbed into the admiralty.

World War II

The SKL was reestablished in 1937 and deeply linked in the Naval High Command, the Commander-in-Chief also being the commander of the SKL with the Commander of the Naval Command Department (Marinekommandoamt) as the Chief of Staff. Though the competences of the SKL initially were equal to their role in World War I, they were narrowed when the Naval Command Department was split from it. The command was limited to except-domestic sea-areas, where the naval group commands did not possess the operational guidance. Also, the submarine war split and were, under the Commander of the submarines (Befehlshaber der U-Boote), directly subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief. In 1944, the SKL was tasked with the command of fleet units operating as transports, blockade runners, auxiliary cruisers and supply shipping.

SKL command

The Commanders of the Seekriegsleitung were:

No.	Portrait	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Scheer, ReinhardAdmiral Reinhard Scheer (1863–1928)	28 August 1918	14 November 1918	78 days
2		Raeder, ErichGroßadmiral Erich Raeder (1876–1960) (as Commander-in-Chief)	1 June 1935	30 January 1943	7 years, 243 days
3		Dönitz, KarlGroßadmiral Karl Dönitz (1891–1980) (as Commander-in-Chief)	30 January 1943	1 May 1944	1 year, 92 days
4		Fricke, KurtAdmiral Wilhelm Meisel (1891–1974)	1 May 1944	22 May 1945	1 year, 21 days

The Chiefs of Staff of the Seekriegsleitung were:

No.	Portrait	Chief of Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Guse, GüntherVice Admiral Günther Guse (1886–1953)	1 October 1937	31 October 1938	1 year, 30 days
2		Schniewind, OttoAdmiral Otto Schniewind (1887–1964)	31 October 1938	12 June 1941	2 years, 224 days
3		Fricke, KurtAdmiral Kurt Fricke (1889–1945)	13 June 1941	21 February 1943	1 year, 253 days
4		Fricke, KurtAdmiral Wilhelm Meisel (1891–1974)	21 February 1943	22 July 1945	2 years, 151 days

References