Alfred von Tirpitz
Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (German pronunciation: [ˈalfʁeːt fɔn ˈtɪʁpɪt͡s] ⓘ; 19 March 1849 – 6 March 1930) was a German grand admiral, State Secretary of the German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the German Imperial Navy from 1897 until 1916.
Alfred von Tirpitz | |
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Von Tirpitz in 1903 | |
| Born | 19 March 1849 Küstrin, Province of Brandenburg, Prussia (today Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Poland) |
| Died | 6 March 1930 (aged 80) Ebenhausen, Bavaria, Germany |
| Buried | Munich Waldfriedhof |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Prussia (1869–1871) German Empire (1871–1916) |
| Service/ | Prussian Navy |
| Years of service | 1869–1916 |
| Rank | Grand admiral |
| Commands held | Torpedo Inspectorate SMS Preussen SMS Württemberg East Asia Squadron Imperial Naval Office |
| Battles/wars | Franco-Prussian War World War I |
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Prussia never had a major navy, nor did the other German states before the German Empire was formed in 1871. Tirpitz took the modest Imperial Navy and, starting in the 1890s, turned it into a world-class force that could threaten Britain's Royal Navy. However, during World War I, his High Seas Fleet proved unable to end Britain's command of the sea and its chokehold on Germany's economy. The one great engagement at sea, the Battle of Jutland, ended in a narrow German tactical victory but a strategic failure. As the High Seas Fleet's limitations became increasingly apparent during the war, Tirpitz became an outspoken advocate for unrestricted submarine warfare, a policy which would ultimately bring Germany into conflict with the United States. By the beginning of 1916, he was dismissed from office and never regained power. Following his dismissal, he would become Chairman of the far-right German Fatherland Party, an ideological precursor to the Nazi Party.