Tirpitz, Admiral Alfred von (1849–1930)

Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was a distinguished German naval officer. His early career was as a torpedo specialist, in which capacity he served in both the torpedo research establishment and the torpedo boat service. This was followed by the command of several major warships, after which he was appointed to a succession of ever more important executive positions. He was progressively Chief of Staff of the Baltic Naval Station, Chief of Staff of the High Command, Commander of the East Asian Cruiser Squadron, and ultimately secretary of state at the Imperial Naval Office. He held this post for nearly 19 years, during which time he presided over a massive expansion of the German fleet. For this reason, Tirpitz has frequently been hailed as “the architect” of the German High Seas Fleet, even of modern German naval power. It is often the case that such eulogistic epithets prove upon closer inspection to be gross hyperboles, if not actually distortions. However, in Tirpitz's case such designations are entirely justified, although one might add the important rider that, as well as being the creator of the modern German navy, Tirpitz was also the man who did most to ensure its ultimate failure when the test of war came in 1914. Keywords: nineteenth century; twentieth century; biography; first world war; maritime history