German Naval Admiral. The last commander of the Imperial German Navy, he entered the German navy as a cadet on April 22, 1879, and was promoted to Sea Cadet on June 15, 1880. His career saw him rise from Lieutenant of the Sea (November 16, 1882, to full Admiral (June 5, 1916). He retired on December 17, 1918, just after Germany’s defeat in World War I. He became Commander in Chief of the High Seas Fleet on January 24, 1916 and led it with considerable skill in its most famous action, against the British Grand Fleet in the Battle of Jutland (Skagerrakschlacht, or Battle of the Skagerrak, to the Germans) on May 31, 1916. From August 1918 he became Chief of Staff of the Navy. Jutland was a tactical victory, but both fleets retreated for the duration of the war into their hiding places apart from occasional ventures. He became a strong advocate for absolute submarine warfare. He developed the so-called Scheer Program with industry, intending to construct 36 submarines monthly. But the boredom and inaction in the surface fleet, especially while the German army was bleeding on the various battle fronts, led to discontent in the ranks and, eventually, mutiny. It was the revolt of his cherished and highly favored High Seas Fleet that ultimately convinced Kaiser Wilhelm II to abdicate his throne in November 1918. The mutinies and resulting revolution hit Scheer badly. After retiring from the navy, he tried to live quietly in Weimar with his family, but on October 9, 1920, there was a forced entry to his house. His wife and maid were murdered in a cellar and his daughter wounded. The perpetrator, a painter, committed suicide in an adjoining cellar.
German Naval Admiral. The last commander of the Imperial German Navy, he entered the German navy as a cadet on April 22, 1879, and was promoted to Sea Cadet on June 15, 1880. His career saw him rise from Lieutenant of the Sea (November 16, 1882, to full Admiral (June 5, 1916). He retired on December 17, 1918, just after Germany’s defeat in World War I. He became Commander in Chief of the High Seas Fleet on January 24, 1916 and led it with considerable skill in its most famous action, against the British Grand Fleet in the Battle of Jutland (Skagerrakschlacht, or Battle of the Skagerrak, to the Germans) on May 31, 1916. From August 1918 he became Chief of Staff of the Navy. Jutland was a tactical victory, but both fleets retreated for the duration of the war into their hiding places apart from occasional ventures. He became a strong advocate for absolute submarine warfare. He developed the so-called Scheer Program with industry, intending to construct 36 submarines monthly. But the boredom and inaction in the surface fleet, especially while the German army was bleeding on the various battle fronts, led to discontent in the ranks and, eventually, mutiny. It was the revolt of his cherished and highly favored High Seas Fleet that ultimately convinced Kaiser Wilhelm II to abdicate his throne in November 1918. The mutinies and resulting revolution hit Scheer badly. After retiring from the navy, he tried to live quietly in Weimar with his family, but on October 9, 1920, there was a forced entry to his house. His wife and maid were murdered in a cellar and his daughter wounded. The perpetrator, a painter, committed suicide in an adjoining cellar.
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