Tirpitz and the Imperial German Navy

Illustrations

Father, Rudolf Tirpitz, 1811–1905. Courtesy of Agostino von Hassell. Newlyweds Alfred and Marie, 1884. Courtesy of Agostino von Hassell. Tirpitz and Marie in Sardinia, ca. 1888. Courtesy of Agostino von Hassell. Tirpitz and Ilse, early 1890s. Courtesy of Agostino von Hassell. Left to right: Ahlefeld, Prinz Heinrich, Tirpitz, early 1890s. Courtesy of Agostino von Hassell. Tirpitz ca. 1905, at the height of his power. Courtesy of Agostino von Hassell. Tirpitz in March 1896, on the eve of departing for Asia. Courtesy of Agostino von Hassell. Admiral Eduard von Capelle, Tirpitz’s Chief Aide for the Navy Laws. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Admiral August von Heeringen, Tirpitz’s agitator for the first two Navy Laws, later Chief of the Admiralstab. Hildebrand, 6:68. The Emperor in all his glory, ca. 1910. Hildebrand, 1:62. Left to right: von Diedrichs, Fischel, Fritze, Zeye, Meuss, von Prittwitz, Büchsel, Koester, Funke, Oldekop, Kirchhoff, von Holtzendorff, Vüllers. Mantey. Left center: Tirpitz (Chief of Staff), von der Goltz (Commanding Admiral); right front: von Senden (Chief of the Naval Cabinet). Mantey. SMS Zieten, ca. 1879, Tirpitz’s first command, an early torpedo vessel. Note torpedo tubes in the bow. Courtesy of Agostino von Hassell. William II, Tirpitz, and Holtzendorff, ca. 1912. Courtesy of Agostino von Hassell. D-1, the Imperial Navy’s first destroyer, ca. 1886. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. SMS Siegfried, early 1890s, coastal battleship later replaced by the powerful Dreadnought SMS Helgoland. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. HMS Dreadnought, the first of its type, 1906. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. SMS Nassau, the first German Dreadnought. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. SMS Goeben, ca. 1914, the battlecruiser that helped bring the Ottoman Empire into the war. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. Spee’s squadron departs Valparaiso, Chile, on 18 November 1914 for its rendezvous with destiny in the Falklands. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. U-boats in harbor, ca. 1912. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. SMS Blücher, armored cruiser sunk at the Dogger Bank, 24 January 1915. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. Tirpitz as Reichstag Deputy, ca. 1925. Courtesy of Agostino von Hassell. ...