Henning von Holtzendorff
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
who became famous for his Dec 1916 memo to Kaiser Wilhelm II about unrestricted submarine warfare
Submarine warfare
Naval warfare is divided into three operational areas: surface warfare, air warfare and underwater warfare. The latter may be subdivided into submarine warfare and anti-submarine warfare as well as mine warfare and mine countermeasures...
against the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He received the Pour le Mérite
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
in 1917 and was made a Grand Admiral
Grand Admiral
Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, generally being the highest such rank present in any particular country. Its most notable use was in Germany — the German word is Großadmiral.-France:...
in 1918.
Admiral Holtzendorff claimed that unrestricted submarine warfare would starve the British into submission within five months, well before the Americans could act. And even if the "disorganized and undisciplined" Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
did intervene, he assured Wilhelm II, "I give your Majesty my word as an officer, that not one American will land on the Continent."
Career
Holtzendorff served as a commander in the High Seas Fleet from 1909-1913. He was forced into retirement due to his opposition of rapid German naval expansion in direct competition with the British Royal Navy. When World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, he was recalled to duty to serve as head of the German Navy General Staff. Holtzendorff had been converted during his "retirement" to a strong belief in unrestricted submarine warfare. He published a memo in December 1916 that was presented to Kaiser Wilhelm II, and approved at the Pless Conference
Pless conference
The Pless conference was a conference held at the castle of Prince Pless located in the Duchy of Pless on January 8, 1917. The conference involved the German army and navy arguing which division should take command of German activity in World War I...
in January 1917. The belief that aggressive adoption of submarine warfare would starve Britain and bring about its demise was predicted with the statement to the German Third Supreme Command that "England will be forced to sue for peace within five months as the result of launching an unrestricted U-boat war".
Holtzendorff was retired in 1918 after his policy succeeded in destroying British ships, but failed to destroy Britain before the Americans joined the war. He died in 1919.