Admiral von Schröder, the commander-in-chief of the Marine Corps in Flanders.
August Ludwig von Schröder, German Admiral of the Imperial Navy. Born on July 17, 1854, in Hintzenkamp near Eggesin in Pomerania; died on July 23, 1933, in Berlin-Halensee. With the outbreak of the First World War, Schröder was reactivated and appointed Commanding Admiral in Flanders. He commanded not only naval forces but, above all, large parts of the marine infantry. From a single naval battalion, the Marine Division Flanders was formed within a few months, and finally, on December 15, 1914, the Marine Corps Flanders. These forces were already involved in fierce fighting in Flanders in 1914 and participated in all the Battles of Flanders until 1918. Due to his resolute leadership in these sometimes extremely bloody battles, Ludwig von Schröder became known as the Lion of Flanders.
The Flemish Marine Corps was a major German military formation during the First World War. Its name derived from the Belgian region of Flanders, where the corps was formed for coastal defense. It was also responsible for naval and air operations originating from Flanders in the English Channel and as far as the Irish Sea. Admiral Ludwig von Schröder served as its commanding officer from its founding until December 1918. Like the colonial troops, the Flemish Marine Corps was an imperial force, as it belonged neither to the Prussian Army nor was subordinate to the Prussian Navy.
Original photographic print from 1918.
Below the photograph on the right, with an embossed coat of arms.
Size 175 x 270 mm.
With minimal signs of age and use, a small worn spot on the lower unprinted edge, otherwise in very good condition.
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Historical information about the article:
From November 1914, the Flemish ports of Bruges, Zeebrugge, and Ostend became bases for countering shipping traffic around England and in the North Sea. SM U 12 was the first boat to arrive in Zeebrugge on November 9, 1914; others followed, and from these boats the Flanders U-boat Flotilla was formed on March 29, 1915. As the flotilla had already grown to 38 boats by July 1917, and more boats continued to join, the Flanders U-boat Flotilla was divided into the 1st Flanders U-boat Flotilla and the 2nd Flanders U-boat Flotilla on October 1, 1917. To protect the U-boats in port, U-boat shelters were built. Construction of the first U-boat bunker in the northern torpedo boat harbor of Bruges began in August 1917. The bunker was the first to be constructed of reinforced concrete and consisted of eight boxes. Each box was 62 m long and 8.80 m wide. Despite numerous air raids, this bunker was neither seriously damaged nor penetrated by a bomb.
August Ludwig von Schröder (* July 17, 1854 in Hintzenkamp near Eggesin in Pomerania; † July 23, 1933 in Berlin-Halensee) was a German admiral.
naval career
Ludwig Schröder joined the newly formed Imperial German Navy on May 31, 1871. He served as a naval officer on various ships, including as commander of the aviso SMS Blitz, the training ship SMS Moltke, and the battlecruiser SMS Vineta. He also commanded the cruiser division on the West Indies Station. Elevated to the hereditary nobility in 1912, he retired in 1913.
World War I
With the outbreak of the First World War, Schröder was reactivated and appointed Commanding Admiral in Flanders. He commanded not only naval forces but, more importantly, large parts of the marine infantry. From a single naval battalion, the Flanders Marine Division was formed within a few months, and finally, on December 15, 1914, the Flanders Marine Corps. These forces were already involved in fierce fighting in Flanders in 1914 and participated in all the Battles of Flanders until 1918. Due to his resolute leadership in these sometimes extremely bloody battles, Ludwig von Schröder became known as the Lion of Flanders. In 1921, the Admiral established the Flanders Cross for these troops.
In the final stages of the war, he was head of the Baltic naval station. On the Kaiser's orders, he was supposed to take action against the mutinous sailors in Kiel, but this order was not countersigned by Chancellor Prince Max von Baden because Schröder was considered too harsh.
In the post-war period, Belgium demanded his extradition. Ludwig von Schröder was the first chairman of the National Association of German Officers (NVDO) in the 1920s.
He was buried in the Invalidenfriedhof cemetery in Berlin. His son was General Ludwig von Schröder.
Honors
Elevation to the hereditary nobility in 1912
Pour le Mérite with oak leaves
Pour le Mérite on October 20, 1915
Oak leaves on December 23, 1917
Order of the Red Eagle, First Class with Oak Leaves
Prussian Crown Order, 1st Class
Grand Cross of the Bavarian Military Merit Order with Swords
Grand Cross of the Order of Albrecht with golden star and swords
Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown with Swords
1917 Honorary citizen of the city of Ueckermünde
1933–1947 Admiral von Schröder Straße, opposite the former Imperial Naval Office in Berlin-Tiergarten, in return today named after the revolutionary sailor Albin Köbis.
(From Wikipedia).
The Flemish Marine Corps was a major German military formation during the First World War. Its name derived from the Belgian region of Flanders, where the corps was formed for coastal defense. It was also responsible for naval and air operations originating from Flanders in the English Channel and as far as the Irish Sea. Admiral Ludwig von Schröder served as its commanding officer from its founding until December 1918. Like the colonial troops, the Flemish Marine Corps was an imperial force, as it belonged neither to the Prussian Army nor was subordinate to the Prussian Navy.
Setup, structure and deployment
Immediately after the outbreak of war in August 1914, the Imperial Navy formed a naval brigade from its three existing sea battalions and naval artillery, which was expanded into a naval division later that same month. After the 2nd Naval Division was formed on November 8, 1914, both were merged into the Flanders Marine Corps on November 15. In addition to personnel from the Imperial Navy, the corps also included a small number of Landwehr units from the IX Army Corps in Altona and the X Army Corps in Hanover.
The corps was largely recruited from surplus naval personnel of the Imperial Navy. This surplus had arisen due to conscription, which also applied to the Imperial Navy. Mobilization had resulted in the drafting of many reservists who could not be deployed on the ships.
The 3rd Marine Division was formed on June 1, 1917. Besides three marine infantry regiments, it also consisted of hussars from Hussar Regiment No. 7, engineers, and field artillery. It was directly subordinate to the Supreme Army Command.
The Marine Corps was last subordinate to Army Group "Crown Prince Rupprecht". The corps was presumably disbanded at the beginning of 1919; however, at the latest with the founding of the Provisional Imperial Navy on April 16, 1919.
Seaplane
At the end of 1914, the Naval Air Command of the Marine Corps was established under Captain Hans Herr, and on December 7th, the Zeebrugge seaplane station was set up. In 1915, two naval land aviation detachments were formed, which were later renamed naval field aviators. On December 21st, a British coastal town, Dover, was bombed for the first time, followed by London in 1916.
Outline June 1917
Commander: Lieutenant Commander Gerhard Stubenrauch (1880–1931).
Seaplane station Flanders I – Zeebrugge (First Lieutenant of the Reserve Friedrich Christiansen), 35 C-aircraft
Seaplane station Flanders II – Ostend, 16 C-aircraft
Sea Front Squadron Nieuwmunster, 18 fighter planes
Group Commander of the Coastal Air Force (Corvette Captain Franz Schröter)
Coastline I - Zeebrugge
Küsta II – Ostend
Küsta III – Uitkerke
Küsta IV – Utikerke
Schusta I - Uitkerke
Schusta II – Uitkerke
Naval hunting group
Jasta I - Jabbeke
Jasta II – Jabbeke
I Field – Vlissegern, 6 aircraft
II Field – Gistel, 6 aircraft
Group leader of the remotely guided missile (Lieutenant Commander of the Reserve von Ketelhodt)
Remote-controlled train I, two remote-controlled boats and one remote-controlled airplane
Remote control train II, likewise
Submarines
With the arrival of U-12 in Zeebrugge on November 9, 1914, the Flanders-backed submarine war in the English Channel and the Irish Sea began. The Flanders U-boat Flotilla was formed on March 29, 1915. In October 1917, the flotilla was split (I and II). Lieutenant Commander Karl Bartenbach (1881–1949) became commander of the Flanders U-boats on March 29, 1915. Together, the two flotillas sank 2,554 ships and vessels and lost 80 U-boats with 145 officers and more than 1,000 crew members.
Destroyers and torpedo boats
On April 28, 1915, the Flanders Torpedo Boat Flotilla was formed under Lieutenant Commander Kurt Aßmann. It operated in conjunction with seaplanes and served to defend against enemy invasion attempts, protect minesweepers, rescue downed aircrews, and also participate in offensive operations against Dover or the French coast. By mid-May 1918, the Flanders Torpedo Boat Flotilla consisted of two half-flotillas: the 1st under Lieutenant Commander Densch and the 2nd under Lieutenant Commander Günther Lütjens.
At the end of February 1916, a half-flotilla of torpedo boat destroyers was formed under the command of Lieutenant Commander Paul Cleve, comprising the boats V47, V67, and V68. Immediately after the Battle of Jutland, a second half-flotilla was formed, which included G102. They primarily engaged in guerrilla warfare at sea, destroying British mines and minefields that hampered the operations of German U-boats. At times, they received considerable reinforcements from Wilhelmshaven and conducted raids as far as Calais. At the end of September 1918, the units were evacuated from Flanders.
Flanders Minesweeping Half-Flotilla
In mid-May 1918, it consisted of two groups with a total of seven old torpedo boats under the command of Captain at Sea of the Reserve Schladebach and a boat detachment with an unknown number of fishing boats, tugboats, launches and motorboats under the command of Corvette Captain of the Reserve Zedel.
Coastal batteries
The coastal batteries were divided into the eastern and western coastal defenses. Near Ostend were also two anti-aircraft batteries, "Grand Duke" and "Friedrich." In addition, there were special batteries directly subordinate to the harbor commander: "Blücher," "Eylau," "Gneisenau I," "Seekamp," and "Württemberg." The batteries often bore the names of decommissioned naval vessels from which their guns had been salvaged.
Coastal Defense West
Battery "Kaiser Wilhelm" in Knokke on the Zegemeer, 4 30.5 cm guns, range 37,500 m.
Battery "Hessen" in Uitkerke: 4 28-cm guns, range 27,700 m.
Battery "Braunschweig" in Knokke, 4 28-cm guns.
Battery "Hertha" in Wenduine, 4 21-cm guns
Battery "Schleswig-Holstein", 2 17-cm guns, range 24,000 m.
Battery "Augusta" in Heist (Duinbergen), 3 15-cm guns, range 24,000 m.
Battery "Hamburg" in Knokke, 4 10.5 cm guns, range 12,700 m.
Battery "Bremen" in Knokke, 4 10.5 cm guns.
Battery "Lekkerbek" in Knokke, 2 8.8 cm guns, range 7,000 m.
Battery "Schützennest" in Knokke, 6 5-cm guns, range 3,000 m.
Zeebrugge Harbor Protection Group
Battery "Friedrichsort" west of Zeebrugge, 4 17-cm guns, range 21,300 m.
Battery "Lübeck" in Zeebrugge, near the harbor pier, 2 15-cm guns, range 18,700 m.
Battery "Mole", components unclear.
Battery "Kanal" in Zeebrugge, 4 8.8 cm guns.
Battery "Leopoldskanal" in Zeebrugge, 2 5.2 cm guns, range 7,100 m.
Battery "Kaiserin" in the dunes of Blankenberge, 4 15-cm guns, range 18,700 m.
Blankenberge Harbor Protection Group
"Groden" battery, 4 28cm howitzers, range 10,400m.
Battery "Medium", 3 10.5 cm guns, range 12,700 m.
Battery "Harbor", 4 8.8 cm guns, range 7,000 m.
Coastal Defense West
Battery "Deutschland" between Bredene and Klemskerke, also called Battery "Jacobinessen" after the location of a farm, 4-38.0 cm guns, range 38,000 m.
Battery "Pommern" in the park of Moere (Gistel), 1-38.0 cm, range 47,000 m. The gun was originally intended for a unit of the Bayern class.
"Tirpitz" battery near Stene southwest of Ostend, 4-28.0 cm, range 35,000 m.
Battery "Preußen" near Bredene, 4-28.0 cm, range 27,400 m.
"Hannover" battery near Vlissegem, 3-28.0 cm, range 27,000 m.
Mariakerke close combat group
Battery "Oldenburg" in Raversijde near Leffingen, 4-17.0 cm, range 18,300 m. It was disguised as isolated farmhouses or barns.
Battery "Gneisenau" in Ostend on the dike, 4-17.0 cm, range 18,300 m.
Battery "Cecilie" in Mariakerke, 4-15.0 cm, range 15,800 m.
Battery "Aachen" near Raversijde, 4-15.0 cm, range 18,700 m. The battery, which was blown up at the end of the war, is now part of the Atlantic Wall open-air museum.
Battery "Beseler" in Mariakerke, 4-15 cm.
"Antwerpen" battery in Raversijde, 4-10.5 cm, range 12,200 m.
East End Port Protection Group
"Hindenburg" battery, 4-28.0 cm, model 1887, range 12,300 m.
Battery "Schlesien", 4-17.0 cm, range 24,000 m.
Battery "Ludendorff", 4-15.0 cm, range 18,700 m.
Battery "Irene", 3-15.0 cm, range 12,600 m.
Uniforms
The Flanders Marine Corps initially wore a mix of uniforms. Seamen wore the uniforms of the naval battalions, while sailors wore blue or white sailor suits over which they wore field-gray work clothes. In 1915, the corps was issued a uniform of field gray, to which naval rank insignia were added as shoulder boards or sleeve stripes, or in combination. Enlisted men continued to wear naval headgear.
(From Wikipedia).
Zeebrugge is a locality within the Lissewege district of the city of Bruges on the North Sea coast of Belgium, in the province of West Flanders. Zeebrugge has a population of 3,865 (2008).
Story
Zeebrugge originated as a fishing village on the North Sea coast. In 1134, a storm surge carved a channel into the Zwin inlet, giving the city of Bruges, located about 15 kilometers inland, direct access to the North Sea. However, the Zwin channel silted up considerably from the 15th century onwards and could not be restored even with hydraulic engineering measures.
Around 1870, Bruges was once again completely surrounded by land. However, the burgeoning industries in the city increasingly demanded the restoration of the former direct connection to the North Sea, particularly to facilitate more efficient trade with England. Therefore, construction of the new overseas port of Zeebrugge began in 1892. The first port complex was inaugurated in 1907 by King Leopold II of Belgium.
During the First World War, Zeebrugge was occupied by the German Empire and used as a submarine and seaplane base. Therefore, in 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres, the British planned an offensive towards Zeebrugge, which, however, failed. On April 23, 1918, the Royal Navy launched a raid against Zeebrugge and Ostend, an unsuccessful attack on the naval base that, on the contrary, resulted in heavy losses for them. The British nevertheless celebrated the operation as a success because their sunken landing craft temporarily blocked the harbor entrance. In October 1918, Zeebrugge was once again the scene of fierce fighting.
Zeebrugge gained public attention through the capsizing of the RoRo ferry Herald of Free Enterprise on March 6, 1987, in which 193 people died.
Description
Zeebrugge itself is divided into three quarters: the center, the station district, and the beach district. A large marina is located in the center. The beach district is also known as Bad Zeebrugge.
Near Zeebrugge lies the port of Bruges-Zeebrugge, the most modern and second largest port in Belgium (after Antwerp). The port is also considered one of the most modern in Europe.
Traffic
Due to its geographical location, Zeebrugge is a major transport hub for all types of traffic from all directions. It is connected to the E40 and E403 motorways via Bruges by the N31 expressway, and to the E34 motorway via the N34. The coastal tram provides rail access and links to all Belgian coastal towns.
From the port, P&O Ferries offers daily ferry services to Hull (departing in the evening, arriving in the morning).
Buildings and sights
Church
Boudewijn Canal, a twelve-kilometer-long canal navigable for seagoing vessels between Bruges and Zeebrugge
lighthouse
a neighborhood house
Seafront, a maritime theme park
(From Wikipedia).
The Imperial Navy was formed after the founding of the German Empire in 1871 from the navy of the North German Confederation. The Imperial Constitution of April 16, 1871, usually refers to the navy of the Empire as the Kriegsmarine (War Navy), but also, in one instance, as the Imperial Navy. For naval use, the latter designation was adopted on February 1, 1872. It existed until the end of the First World War in 1918.
The names of ships in the Imperial Navy were preceded by the abbreviation SMS (for "His Majesty's Ship") – similar to the tradition in the British Navy (HMS = His/Her Majesty's Ship).
1871 to 1890
On February 1, 1872, their existing naval authorities were merged to form the Imperial Admiralty, whose first chief was General of the Infantry Albrecht von Stosch. The Emperor held supreme command.
Initially, the main task was coastal defense and the protection of German maritime trade routes, although the first overseas stations were soon established. In the 1880s, the Imperial Navy participated in the acquisition of colonies in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Kiel on the Baltic Sea and Wilhelmshaven on the North Sea were designated Imperial naval ports under the Imperial Constitution.
The navy's duties also included representing the Reich abroad, particularly overseas. As was common practice at the time, the Prussian Navy had already deployed cruisers abroad to support the diplomatic representation of Prussia's, and later the Reich's, interests, especially vis-à-vis smaller states. A prime example of this form of cooperation between diplomacy and the navy, classic gunboat diplomacy, was the so-called Eisenstuck Affair in Nicaragua from 1876 to 1878.
1890 to 1914
Under the naval enthusiast Kaiser Wilhelm II (1888-1918), the navy gained in importance, and a large maritime arms industry developed. The Kiel Canal (formerly Kaiser Wilhelm Canal) was completed in 1895, allowing for the rapid deployment of naval forces between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
From 1889 onwards, the command structure changed. The Naval Cabinet, the Supreme Naval Command, and the Imperial Naval Office (Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz served as its State Secretary from 1897 to 1916) were established. In 1898, the Reichstag passed a new naval law that stipulated further expansion. The Supreme Naval Command was replaced by the General Staff in 1899, and the Kaiser once again assumed supreme command. With the help of his "Intelligence Bureau" and the German Naval League, Tirpitz skillfully generated widespread enthusiasm for the navy throughout the German Empire through effective propaganda.
Naval armament, like that of other navies of the time, was characterized by rapid technological development. New weapon systems were introduced one after another, such as the sea mine, the torpedo, the submarine, and naval aviation with airplanes and airships. Although all these developments had already been used in simple models during the American Civil War, their significance for future naval warfare was initially hardly recognized.
A shift in doctrine towards defensive warfare and naval battles, culminating in the construction of the High Seas Fleet, led to an arms race with England. The isolation of the German Empire resulting from the Anglo-German rivalry had a decisive influence on the outbreak of the First World War.
One of the major problems of the Imperial German Navy until near the end of the First World War was its lack of internal coordination. Since the Kaiser himself held supreme command, there was a lack of coordination between the various directly subordinate naval offices with direct access to the Kaiser, the so-called "Immediate Offices," of which there were sometimes up to eight. These included the State Secretary of the Imperial Naval Office, the Chief of the High Seas Fleet, and the chiefs of the naval stations.
Organizationally, the High Seas Fleet formed the core of the Imperial Navy from the beginning of the 20th century. Alongside it were the East Asia Squadron, the Mediterranean Division, and various land-based units, such as the naval stations in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
High Seas Fleet
Until the end of the 19th century, it was common practice to keep fleets active only during the summer months, while most ships were laid up during the winter. After reactivation in the spring, extensive exercises were necessary to make the ships ready for combat. For this purpose, the Imperial Navy assembled its so-called training fleet annually, commanded by an admiral. Around 1900, the training fleet was renamed the battle fleet and in 1906 the High Seas Fleet. Its first commander was the Emperor's brother, Prince Henry. The High Seas Fleet formed the core of the Imperial Navy.
At the outbreak of war in August 1914, their strength was:
14 battleships
22 ships of the line
8 coastal defense ships
5 Large Cruisers (Battlecruisers)
7 Large Cruisers (Armored Cruisers)
12 small cruisers
89 torpedo boats (in fleet service)
19 submarines
At that time, the battleships, battleships and coastal defense ships formed six squadrons, the cruisers formed five reconnaissance groups, the fleet torpedo boats were divided into eight flotillas, and the submarines into two flotillas.
In addition to the units listed above, the High Seas Fleet included four harbor flotillas with light cruisers and torpedo boats.
The commanders of the High Seas Fleet in the First World War were:
1914 - 1915 Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl
1915 - 1916 Admiral Hugo von Pohl
1916 - 1917 Admiral Reinhard Scheer
1917 - 1918 Admiral Franz Ritter von Hipper
East Asia Squadron
The East Asia Squadron emerged in 1897 from the former Cruiser Squadron. It was an independent unit tasked with supporting German interests in the Asia-Pacific region. After the outbreak of the First World War, the squadron, under Vice Admiral Graf Spee, attempted to break through to Germany around South America, but was intercepted and destroyed by superior British forces near the Falkland Islands.
World War I
The First World War quickly exposed the conceptual flaws of German naval armament. Great Britain imposed a distant blockade on the German Empire, keeping its battle fleet out of range of the High Seas Fleet. The naval battles of the First World War (including the Battle of Dogger Bank and the Battle of Jutland) were therefore not decisive for the overall course of the war.
At the end of the war, according to a fleet order of October 24, 1918, the Imperial German Navy was to engage in a final major battle ("honorable demise") against the Royal Navy. This was prevented by the sailors' revolt, which culminated in the November Revolution, marking the end of the German Empire.
The German Reich suffered losses in naval warfare of 1,569 officers, 8,067 warrant officers and petty officers, and 25,197 enlisted men. The naval memorial in Laboe near Kiel, inaugurated in 1936 on the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland, commemorates them.
Scuttling of the High Seas Fleet
After the end of hostilities, the High Seas Fleet was interned in Scapa Flow, Scotland, in accordance with the armistice terms. The ships had been disarmed and manned only by skeleton crews. When the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the associated surrender of large parts of the fleet to the victorious powers became known in the summer of 1919, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter ordered the High Seas Fleet under his command to be scuttled on June 21, 1919. With that, the core of the Imperial German Navy was destroyed.
While the scuttling of the ship allowed the navy to regain some of the prestige it had lost during the war and especially the revolution, it also had harsh consequences. The Allies demanded not only the surrender of other, in some cases quite modern, ships that were intended to form the basis of the new Imperial Navy, but also the majority of the remaining German merchant fleet.
The ships, rendered unusable by the sinking, still had considerable scrap value. Furthermore, they blocked the best anchorages in Scapa Flow. Therefore, most of them were raised and scrapped before World War II. Even today, however, high-quality steel is occasionally recovered from the wrecks for use in medical equipment. This steel is valuable because it was not exposed to atmospheric radiation during the period of above-ground nuclear testing and is therefore well-suited for the construction of such instruments.
balance sheet
While the navy had played no practical role in the Wars of German Unification of 1866 and 1871, it was built up in the following years with careful consideration and in accordance with the needs of the Reich. After Bismarck's dismissal in 1890, the great naval arms race began under Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tirpitz, which was one of the main, but not the only, causes of the First World War. It was one element of a flawed alliance and armament policy.
The First World War revealed that the High Seas Fleet was poorly conceived and badly managed. It failed to make a decisive contribution to the outcome of the war, and the discontent of its sailors erupted in mutinies that significantly contributed to the end of the monarchy.
(From Wikipedia).