Reinhard Scheer

Infobox Military Person
name= Reinhard Scheer
lived= September 30, 1863 – November 26, 1928
placeofbirth=Obernkirchen, Hesse
placeofdeath=Marktredwitz, Germany


caption= Reinhard Scheer
nickname=
allegiance=Deutsches Reich
branch=navy|German Empire
serviceyears= 1879-1928
rank=
commands=
unit=
battles= World War I
Battle of Jutland
awards=Pour le Merite with oakleaves
laterwork=

Reinhard Scheer (September 30, 1863 – November 26, 1928) was an Admiral in the German Imperial Navy. He was in command of the Kaiserliche Marine High Seas Fleet at the Battle of Jutland, one of the largest naval battles in history.

Scheer was born in Obernkirchen, Hesse. He was of average height with piercing eyes, a black moustache and sometimes goatee beard, hair cut short. He came from a middle class background, as did several other successful German officers at that time. ['Castles' p. 553] In 1899, he married Emillie Mohr, who was murdered October 9, 1920 by an intruder in their home. They had a daughter, Marianne, born 1902. A strict disciplinarian, Scheer was popularly known in the Navy as the “Man in the Iron Mask” due to his severe appearance.

As a young Lieutenant he received the nickname 'Bobschiess' on account of his likeness to his own terrier, which he encouraged to bite his friends. Nonetheless he was described as cheerful, quick witted, without pretensions and admired by his colleagues. He was happy to talk to junior officers, but always expected tasks to be carried out rapidly and meticulously. Then he might, maddeningly, abandon careful plans and do something entirely unexpected. Like Tirpitz, he believed that German ships were better designed than British equivalents, and that an all-out submarine offensive was necessary as the only means for the smaller German fleet to take on the larger British Grand Fleet. It was his view that the High seas fleet should take on an active, offensive role, attempting to goad the British into unwise reaction. ['Castles' p. 554, 555 citing Weizsäcker p.30]

Naval Career

He entered the navy on 22 April 1879 aged 15, and trained on the sailing ship SMS Niobe. He saw service on the armoured frigate SMS Friedrich Karl, and the armoured corvette SMS Hertha, on which ship he went around the world visiting Australia,China and Japan. He served twice with the German East Africa Cruiser Squadron, where he met Lieutenant Henning von Holtzendorff. He later served on the cruiser SMS Prinzess Wilhelm commanded by Holtzendorff. Between sea tours he was posted ashore for four years studying torpedos. This was followed by a posting to the light cruiser SMS Sophie as torpedo officer. He returned to shore as an instructor at the Torpedo research Command in Kiel. ['Castles' p. 554]

Scheer attracted the attention of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz who placed him in the Navy Office torpedo section. He became commander of a destroy squadron in 1900, writing a book on torpedo use by destroyers. In 1903 he became Chief of the Central Division of the Navy Office, which was concerned with changes to the Navy Law to expand the fleet. He became respeccted as an authority on naval issues within the ministry and the fleet, and was appointed director of the torpedo inspectorate. He became Kapitän zur See in 1905 and took a sea command of the battleship SMS Elsass in 1907. On 1 December 1909 he became chief of staff to Holtzendorff, who by now had become Commander in Chief of the High seas fleet. In 1910 he was promoted to Rear Admiral. ['Castles' p. 554 ]

In 1911 he returned to shore and became chief of the general naval department, again working for Tirpitz. In January 1913 he was placed in command of the 2nd battle squadron of six pre-dreadnought battleships. In December 1914 he was moved to the 3rd battle squadron containing modern König and Kaiser class dreadnought battleships. ['Castles' p. 555 ]

Command of the High Seas fleet

Vice Admiral Scheer became Commander in chief of the High Seas Fleet in January 1916 when Hugo von Pohl became too ill to continue in that role. On May 30, he led the fleet into the Battle of Jutland. Although not defeating the British Royal Navy, he successfully evaded the destruction of his fleet by the numerically superior Royal Navy, his ships inflicting heavy losses upon the British. Scheer was offered a knighthood for his leadership at Jutland by German Kaiser Wilhelm II, but he turned down that offer (his subordinate at Jutland, Bavarian-born Vice-Admiral Franz Hipper who led the battlecruisers, did not turn down such an offer from his king, Ludwig III of Bavaria, and eventually became Franz Ritter von Hipper). After Jutland, Scheer did not believe anymore that the British could be defeated by the High Seas Fleet in battle, and became a strong advocate of the submarine warfare against Britain.

Chief of Naval Staff

Scheer replaced Admiral von Holtzendorff as chief of the naval staff on 11 August 1918 when the latter became ill with heart disease. Admiral Hipper replaced Scheer as commander of the High Seas Fleet. Despite the steadily worsening situation following America's entry to the war, Scheer immediately called for a crash program to build 450 new submarines. American pressure upon Germany to end the sinkings of allied shipping instead resulted in an order from the Kaiser on 20 October to end such attacks, prompted by Prince Max of Baden, recently appointed Chancellor with the task of negotiating a peace with America. Scheer commented, "The navy does not need an amistice". ['Castles' p. 772 citing Herwig p.240] On 21 October, Scheer ordered the submarines to return to harbour and take part in actions against military vessels with the High seas fleet.

Scheer and the naval staff determined to make one last attempt to attack the British Grand Fleet. As in the past, the plan was to lure British ships forward, but now all the submarine fleet would be lying in wait for them, while irrespective of the odds the German fleet would engage the enemy rather than flee any superior force. The objective was to inflict any possible damage on the British Navy before an armistice called a halt to the war. The operation was kept secret from the Chancellor and the Kaiser, although the chancellor later stated that he would have approved it. The attack was to take place on 30 October with the German battle cruiser squadron raiding the Thames and the High Seas fleet bombarding Flanders. The two would then combine in anticipation of the Grand Fleet coming south from Scotland. It was hoped that a significant success against the British fleet might positively affect peace negotiations. ['Castles' p.773-774]

News of the operation spread through the fleet and was not well received. Seamen started jumping off the ships of the battlecruiser squadron as it left harbour. On SMS Markgraf a seaman called for three cheers for the American president, and was supported by the crew. Hipper was obliged to abandon the plan as the Wilhelmshaven mutiny spread through the fleet and the ensuing revolution through Germany. ['Castles' p.775-776]

Post-War

In 1920, Scheer's memoirs, "Germany's High Seas Fleet in the World War" was published in English.

In 1928, Scheer accepted an invitation to visit his old adversary at the Battle of Jutland, Admiral John Jellicoe, in England, but just prior to his trip he died in Marktredwitz. He is buried in the cemetery in Weimar. His tombstone just bears the dates of his life and the single word "Skagerrak" (The German name for the Battle of Jutland).

The heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer launched by Nazi Germany in 1933 was named after Reinhard Scheer at the launch by his daughter Marianne.

Table showing rank and date of promotion

Rank	Date of promotion
Cadet	April 1879
Sea Cadet	June 1880
Leutnant zur See	November 1882
Oberleutnant zur See	December 1885,
Kapitänleutnant.	April 1893
Korvettenkapitän	April 1900,
Fregattenkapitän	January 1904
Kapitän zur See	March 1905
Konteradmiral	January 1910
Vizeadmiral	December 1913
Admiral	June 1916
Retired	December 1918

Reference and further reading

* [http://www.100megsfree2.com/jjscherr/scherr/vonscheer.htm Admiral Reinhard Scheer]

* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/scheer.htm First World War.com Who's Who: Reinhardt Scheer]

* [http://www.richthofen.com/scheer/ "Germany's High Seas Fleet in the World War"] online at the War Times Journal website
*cite book |author=Robert Massie |title= |location=London |publisher=Jonathan Cape |year=2004 |isbn=0224 040928
*Cite book |author= Arthur Marder |title=From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow (5 Vols) |year= 1961-1970 |location= London |publisher= Oxford University Press
*cite book |last=Herwig | first= Holger H. |title=The German Naval Officer corps |publisher= Clarendon Press |year= 1973
*cite book |last=weizäcker |first=Ernst von |title=Memoirs |location=Chicago |year=1951 |publisher= Regnery
* [http://www.100megsfree2.com/jjscherr/scherr/vonscheer.htm Scheer family]