Karl Dönitz (16 Sep. 1891 - 24 Dec. 1980)
Dönitz was Kommodore and Fuhrer der Unterseeboote (Commander of Submarines) when the war began. The Kriegsmarine, the German navy, was unprepared for the war’s outbreak, having planned to extensively overhaul and expand the navy (the Z Plan) by 1945. However despite this he utilised the navy to some success, sinking several British Royal Navy vessels and attacking merchant shipping lines.
In 1941, when the United States joined the war, Dönitz began submarine warfare on the east coast of the United States, Operation Drumbeat, which targeted shipping and caught the Americans completely unawares. The new submarines used, the Type VIIs, also led to further success in the Atlantic.
When Allied forces managed to successfully defend from U-boat attacks, Dönitz launched an investigation which would lead to the introduction of a new encryption device, the M4. Allied cryptographers could not break this new code for nearly a year, allowing the Kriegsmarine fair success in the Atlantic. Furthermore, in 1942 the creation of more Type VII U-boats allowed Dönitz to launch unprecedented submarine attacks, causing a skyrocketing increase in Allied shipping losses.
In 1943, Dönitz became the Commander in Chief of the Navy and Grand Admiral of the Naval High Command, just when the Atlantic war was turning towards the Allies. Dönitz was confident that German technology would ensure German success (German submarines were the most advanced in the world by war’s end). In the end the strength of the Royal Navy, teamed with American vessels, proved too much for the Kriegsmarine and many of her ships were sank.
In 1945 Dönitz became the Reichpräsident upon Hitler’s suicide, as well as Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. In this role he understood the German army’s inability to fight further, but ensured that German troops would not surrender to the Soviets for fear of reprisals. Dönitz ordered the German surrender on May 7th 1945.
For more information on Karl Dönitz:
Dönitz, Karl. Memoirs: ten years and twenty days (Virginia: Greenwood Press) 1976.
Padfield, Peter. Dönitz: The Last Führer (London: Cassell), 2001.
Zabecki, David T. 6th edn. Dönitz: A Defense (Bennington, VT: Merriam Press), 2008.
In 1941, when the United States joined the war, Dönitz began submarine warfare on the east coast of the United States, Operation Drumbeat, which targeted shipping and caught the Americans completely unawares. The new submarines used, the Type VIIs, also led to further success in the Atlantic.
When Allied forces managed to successfully defend from U-boat attacks, Dönitz launched an investigation which would lead to the introduction of a new encryption device, the M4. Allied cryptographers could not break this new code for nearly a year, allowing the Kriegsmarine fair success in the Atlantic. Furthermore, in 1942 the creation of more Type VII U-boats allowed Dönitz to launch unprecedented submarine attacks, causing a skyrocketing increase in Allied shipping losses.
In 1943, Dönitz became the Commander in Chief of the Navy and Grand Admiral of the Naval High Command, just when the Atlantic war was turning towards the Allies. Dönitz was confident that German technology would ensure German success (German submarines were the most advanced in the world by war’s end). In the end the strength of the Royal Navy, teamed with American vessels, proved too much for the Kriegsmarine and many of her ships were sank.
In 1945 Dönitz became the Reichpräsident upon Hitler’s suicide, as well as Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. In this role he understood the German army’s inability to fight further, but ensured that German troops would not surrender to the Soviets for fear of reprisals. Dönitz ordered the German surrender on May 7th 1945.
For more information on Karl Dönitz:
Dönitz, Karl. Memoirs: ten years and twenty days (Virginia: Greenwood Press) 1976.
Padfield, Peter. Dönitz: The Last Führer (London: Cassell), 2001.
Zabecki, David T. 6th edn. Dönitz: A Defense (Bennington, VT: Merriam Press), 2008.