Erich Raeder

Erich Johann Albert Raeder (April 24, 1876 - November 6, 1960) was a naval leader in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. Raeder attained the high rank of Großadmiral (Grand Admiral) in 1939, becoming the first person to hold that rank in wartime since Alfred von Tirpitz. Raeder led the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) for the first half of World War II but was eventually demoted and replaced by Karl Dönitz in 1943. He was sentenced to life in prison during the Nuremberg Trials, but was later released and wrote his autobiography.

Biography

Raeder was born in a middle-class family in Wandsbek, one of seven districts of the City of Hamburg, Germany. His father was a headmaster. He joined the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in 1894 and rapidly rose in rank, becoming Chief of Staff for Franz von Hipper in 1912. He served in this position during World War I as well as in combat posts, taking part in the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915 and the Battle of Jutland in 1916. After the war Raeder continued to rise steadily in the navy hierarchy, becoming a Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) in 1922 and a Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) in 1925. In October 1928 Raeder was promoted to Admiral and made Commander in Chief of the Reichsmarine, the Weimar Republic Navy (Oberbefehlshaber der Reichsmarine).

Although he generally disliked the Nazi party, he strongly supported Adolf Hitler's attempt to rebuild the Kriegsmarine, while apparently disagreeing equally strongly on most other matters. On 20 April 1936, just a few days before Raeder's sixtieth birthday, Hitler presented him with the rank of Generaladmiral (General Admiral). In his quest to rebuild the German Navy, Raeder faced constant challenges from Hermann Göring's ongoing quest to build up the Luftwaffe.

Nevertheless he was promoted to Großadmiral (Grand Admiral) in 1939, and later that year suggested Operation Weserübung, the invasions of Denmark and Norway in order to secure sheltered docks out of reach of the Royal Air Force, as well as provide direct exits into the North Sea. These operations were eventually successfully carried out, although with relatively heavy losses. The Germans had taken over a heavy water plant in Norway in preparation for building a nuclear device.

Raeder was not a supporter of the Operation Sealion, the planned German invasion of the British Isles. He felt that the war at sea could be conducted far more successfully via an indirect strategic approach, by increasing the numbers of U-boats and small surface vessels in service. This, in addition to a strategic focus on the Mediterranean theater including a strong German presence in North Africa, plus an invasion of Malta and the Middle East.

He argued strongly against Operation Sealion because of his doubts about a decisive German air superiority over the English Channel and the lack of regional German naval superiority. Air superiority was prerequisite to counter the expected catastrophic harassment of the German invasion force by the Royal Air Force.

Since such requirements were not met, the invasion was postponed indefinitely due to the Luftwaffe's failure to obtain air superiority during the Battle of Britain. Instead the German war machine was diverted to Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of Soviet Union, which he vigorously opposed.

A series of failed operations after that point, combined with the outstanding success of the U-boat fleets under the command of Karl Dönitz led to his eventual demotion to the rank of Admiral Inspector of the Kriegsmarine in January of 1943, and eventually to resignation and retirement in May of 1943. Karl Dönitz succeeded him in the post of the Commander in Chief of the Navy on 30 January 1943.

After the war he was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Nuremberg Trials, for waging a "war of aggression." This much criticized sentence was later reduced, and due to ill health he was released on 26 September 1955, later writing an autobiography, Mein Leben, in 1957. Erich Raeder died in Kiel, on 6 November 1960.

Sources

Alexander, Bevin (2000). How Hitler Could Have Won World War II, New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-609-80844-3

External links

The Reichsmarine 1919-1935 by Jason Pipes
Kriegsmarine - The Navy 1935-1945 by Jason Pipes
Admiral Erich Raeder: True to his Profession by Michael Harris
Biography of Großadmiral Raeder by Michael Miller

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