Tirpitz and the Imperial German Navy

3. The Aspirant, 1865–1870

24 Basic Training On 24 April 1865 seventeen-year-old Alfred Tirpitz arrived at the newly established Prussian Baltic base of Kiel and swore the oath that marked the beginning of his career. On 15 May he boarded a large ship for the first time in his life, the corvette Arcona, then serving as a watch ship for Kiel harbor. Senior officers did not pay much attention to cadets, who were left in the care of the petty officers. Tirpitz, like many others, suffered from homesickness. He missed his mother and his indulgent home life in Frankfurt. He also witnessed, with distaste, his first flogging.1 On 14 June Tirpitz and his comrades of the crew of 1865 boarded the British-built sailing frigate Niobe, their seagoing home for the next year.2 Its captain was one of the navy’s most distinguished officers, Commander Carl Batsch. Among his cadet shipmates were six who later became admirals : Wilhelm Büchsel, Oscar Klausa, and Iwan Oldekop, who were personally close to Tirpitz; Otto von Diedrichs, a few years older than the others because of prior service in the merchant marine; plus Richard Geissler and Oscar Boeters.3 Niobe, purchased from England in 1862, was a replacement for the ill-fated Amazone. Twelve of its twenty-eight guns were removed to make room for cadets and ships’ boys. The ship departed Kiel for a few weeks on the Baltic, which gave the cadets their first taste of seasickness. They were given new uniforms and a short home leave before their first great nautical adventure. They received a small monthly stipend but had to pay many of their own expenses. Families had to subsidize their sons, which 3 The Aspirant, 1865–1870 The Aspirant, 1865–1870 25 limited the naval officer corps to those who could afford it. This practice made the group more socially homogeneous.4 Batsch planned a cruise to the Azores, the Canaries, and the Cape Verde Islands. Niobe was scheduled to return to Kiel by mid-April 1866.5 After some short trips around Danzig it passed through the Fehmarn Belt, the nautical border with Denmark, and exchanged stiff salutes with ships and fortifications of its recent enemy.6 In Kiel it joined the Prussian brig Rover. The cadets were given a few days ashore and a chance to mingle with other cadets and officers. Aboard Rover were Lieutenant Eduard von Knorr and Sea Cadet Gustav von Senden-Bibran, who would later play important roles in Tirpitz’s career.7 Also in Kiel was the Austrian screw sloop Erzherzog Friedrich. On 30 September Niobe and Rover set off from Kiel. Held back by contrary winds in the Skagerrak, Niobe arrived at Plymouth on 5 October. Years later Tirpitz reflected on his first visit to England: As a sea-cadet I soon found from my own experience that Prussians were still esteemed in England. Between 1865 and 1870 our real supply base was Plymouth where Nelson’s three-deckers . . . lay in long rows up the river. Here we felt ourselves almost more at home than in the peaceful and idyllic Kiel. . . . In the Navy Hotel at Plymouth we were treated like British midshipmen , even in regard to prices. . . . Our tiny naval officer corps looked up to the British navy with admiration, and our seamen sailed in those days quite as much in English-built ships as on German. . . . We grew up in the British navy like a creeping plant.8 Sound chains, faultless rope, and smooth-running engines were English products then. “In those days, we could not imagine that German guns could be equal to English.”9 Jörg Duppler has documented how dependent on Britain the Prussian/German Navy was in its early days. Engines, guns, and ships were better when imported. Dockyard repairs of any complexity were done abroad, mainly in Plymouth. German ships abroad, especially outside Europe, used British bases for supplies and services, including coal.10 In the age of sail, ships could operate for months without touching land. Steam and the consequent frequent re-coaling made access to bases indispensable. In peacetime this meant that the Prussian Navy depended heavily on the European imperial powers. 26 Tirpitz and the Imperial German Navy Ships of many flags crowded Plymouth Harbor. The cadets saw Nelson ’s flagship, HMS Victory, visited the Royal Dockyards, and attended a performance of Macbeth at a local theater.11...