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Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (19 March 1849 - 3 June 1930) was a German Grand Admiral, statesman, and later in his life a leading ideologue of the German Conservative Revolutionary Movement. One of the most influential Germans of the late 19th and early 20th century, Tirpitz, in his role as State Secretary of the German Naval Office, contributed to groundbreaking naval developments such as the vast expansion of the German High Seas Fleet between 1898 and 1914, the establishment of the submarine warfare lobby, and the eventual enforced introduction of unrestricted submarine warfare in late 1918.
Tirpitz also played a key role in the large-scale Sammlung ("concentration") of the political right against liberalisation efforts in the later stages of the Weltkrieg. After his political downfall in early 1916 due to a falling out with the Kaiser, Tirpitz dedicated all his efforts to form a strong extra-parliamentary right-wing bloc to counter the influence of both the Emperor and the parliament, culminating in the establishment of the German Fatherland Party (DVLP) in 1917. His ideal vision of the future German state, an authoritarian yet plebiscitary stratocracy built upon populism and united behind a popular leader, inspired a generation of right-wing thinkers for the decade to come.
Even though Tirpitz' ideas fell on fertile ground many years later, especially after the takeover of the DVLP by the so-called "national-revolutionary" faction under Tirpitz' son-in-law Ulrich von Hassell in 1929, his vision of incorporating the working class and minorities such as Catholics into the far-right movement alienated many of his old-guard contemporaries during the 1910s. Tirpitz was isolated by elitist völkisch-reactionary ideologues within the DVLP briefly after its foundation and mostly withdrew from politicala life not long after, dedicating his time to right-wing mass organisation functionary roles, such as within the German Navy League.
Biography[]
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Alfred von Tirpitz was born in Küstrin in the Prussian Province of Brandenburg, the son of a local lawyer and a doctor's daughter.
He joined the Prussian Navy more by accident than design when a friend announced that he was doing so. Tirpitz liked the idea and with the consent of his parents became a naval cadet at the age of 16, on 24 April 1865. He attended Kiel Naval School and became a midshipman upon the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. He was subsequently posted to a sailing ship patrolling the English Channel. In 1869, he obtained the rank of Unterleutnant zur See (sub-lieutenant) and served on board of the SMS König Wilhelm.
During the early years of Tirpitz's career, Prussia and Britain were on good terms and the Prussian Navy spent much time in British ports. Tirpitz reported that Plymouth was more hospitable to German sailors than was Kiel, while it was also easier to obtain equipment and supplies there, which were of better quality than available at home. At this time the British Royal Navy was pleased to assist that of Prussia in its development and Prussian officers had considerable respect for their British counterparts.
On 25 May 1872 Tirpitz was promoted to Leutnant zur See (lieutenant at sea) and on 18 November 1875 to Kapitänleutnant (captain-lieutenant). In the late 1870s, he would assist the construction of British torpedos in Fiume, Austria-Hungary. The experiences he collected there would later be useful when he held high-ranking positions in the German Naval Office.
Rising through the Ranks (1881-1897)[]
On 17 September 1881 he became Korvettenkapitän (corvette captain). Around the same time, he began working with State Secretary for the Navy and future Reichskanzler, Leo von Caprivi, on the development of naval tactics. Caprivi envisioned that German ships would be best used defensively against their most likely enemy, France, but Tirpitz set about developing plans to attack the French home port of Cherbourg.
In 1887, Tirpitz met Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, the future Wilhelm II, for the first time, when he accompanied the crown prince on a torpedo boat to Britain, where the Kaiser was scheduled to attend the Golden Jubilee celebrations of his grandmother, Queen Victoria. One year later however, Caprivi left the Naval Office and retired; Caprivi's successor was not too fond on Tirpitz's tactics anymore, therefore, the latter requested transfer, commanding the cruisers SMS Preussen and then SMS Württemberg. He was promoted to Kapitän zur See (captain at sea) on 24 November 1888 and in 1890 became chief of staff of the Baltic Squadron.
In the early 1890s however, he was once again recalled to Berlin, this time on behalf of the Kaiser himself, who was very pleased with Tirpitz's visions for the future of the navy; Both men were great admirers of large-scale battleships. Tirpitz appointed a staff of officers he had known from his time with the torpedo boats and collected together all sorts of vessels as stand-in battleships to conduct exercises to test out tactics. This brought him into conflict with the Navy Office, which was more in favor of a fleet consisting almost entirely out of cruisers. In 1892, Tirpitz became chief of the naval staff and was made a Konteradmiral (rear admiral) in 1895.
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(In autumn 1895, frustrated by the non-adoption of his recommendations by the Naval Office, Tirpitz asked to be replaced. The Kaiser, not wishing to lose him, asked instead that he prepare a set of recommendations for ship construction. This was delivered on 3 January 1896, but the timing was bad as it coincided with raids into the Transvaal in Southern Africa by pro-British forces against the pro-German Boers. The Kaiser immediately set his mind to demanding cruisers which could operate at a distance and influence the war. The Navy Office was tasked with obtaining money from the Reichstag for a building programme, but failed to gain funding for enough ships to satisfy anyone. IReichskanzler Hohenlohe saw no sense in naval enlargement and reported back that the Reichstag opposed it. The reason was the immediate resignation of most of the Navy Office's staff; Wilhelm therefore impulsively decided to appoint Tirpitz.
Meanwhile, however, Hollmann had obtained funding for one battleship and three large cruisers. It was felt that replacing him before the bill had completed approval through the Reichstag would be a mistake. Instead, Tirpitz was placed in charge of the German East Asia Squadron in the Far East but with a promise of appointment as Secretary at a suitable moment. The cruiser squadron operated from British facilities in Hong Kong which were far from satisfactory as the German ships always took second place for available docks. Tirpitz was instructed to find a suitable site for a new port, selecting four possible sites. Although he initially favoured the bay at Kiautschou/Tsingtao, others in the naval establishment advocated a different location and even Tirpitz wavered on his commitment in his final report. A 'lease' on the land was acquired in 1898 after it was fortuitously occupied by German forces. On 12 March 1896 the Reichstag cut back Hollmann's appropriation of 70 million marks to 58 million, and Hollman offered his resignation. Tirpitz was summoned home and offered the post of Secretary of the Imperial Navy office (Reichsmarineamt). He went home the long way, touring the United States on the way and arriving in Berlin 6 June 1897. He was pessimistic of his chances of succeeding with the Reichstag.)
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The DVLP[]
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Under the Ludendorff Regime[]
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“Inclusionism” and attempted reforms to the DVLP[]
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Achievements, actions and mistakes[]
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Death[]
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