German Submarine Warfare 1914-1918 in the Eyes - British Naval ...

1 200
1 000
800
600
400
200
0
Table 4: The Imperial German Navy 1914-1918 in 1,000 BRT 27
12
710
B C D U
16
814
32 66 73
717
662 614
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918
Obstinacy to change may be attributed to an administrative caste system that
kept naval matters in the domain of Kaiser Wilhelm, the supreme commander of
the Imperial Navy. The army managed to relegate the Kaiser to a purely symbolic,
honorary role. Not so the navy where His Imperial Majesty took a lively interest in
and exercised power over all naval affairs from strategy to tactics.
Table 5: German Submarines 1914-1918 28
Coastal Subs. Aug. 1914 014
Ocean Going Subs. Aug. 1914
Ordered: 741
Commissioned 342
On Yard at Armistice: 188
Open Orders at Armistice: 251
14
178
169
310
10
82
635
32
106
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Moreover, the command structure was fragmented. The Reichsmarineamt
(Imperial Naval Ministry) in Berlin under Tirpitz and, later, Capelle, was
responsible for financing and constructing ships. The Admiralsstab (Admiralty Staff)
under Holtzendorff in Berlin had responsibility for fleet wide strategic planning. In
Kiel, the Kommando der Hochseeflotte (Commander, High Seas Fleet) under Scheer was
27 Numbers based on: NA, HW 7/1, 2 and 3, and on: Groener, Deutsche Kriegsschiffe.
28 Numbers based on: NA, HW 7/1, 2 and 3, and on: Groener, Deutsche Kriegsschiffe..
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