35 Facts About Reinhard Scheer

Carl Friedrich Heinrich Reinhard Scheer was an Admiral in the Imperial German Navy.

At the outbreak of World War I, Reinhard Scheer was the commander of the II Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet.

Reinhard Scheer then took command of the III Battle Squadron, which consisted of the newest and most powerful battleships in the navy.

In 1919, Reinhard Scheer wrote his memoirs; a year later they were translated and published in English.

Reinhard Scheer is buried in the municipal cemetery at Weimar.

The admiral was commemorated in the renascent Kriegsmarine by the heavy cruiser Admiral Reinhard Scheer, built in the 1930s.

Reinhard Scheer came from a middle-class background, which initially hampered his naval career, as the Kaiserliche Marine was dominated by wealthy families.

Reinhard Scheer entered the navy on 22 April 1879 aged 15 as a cadet.

Reinhard Scheer received only a "satisfactory" rating on his cadet evaluation in 1879, but received the second highest grade in his class for the Sea Cadet's Exam the following year.

Reinhard Scheer made important connections in Africa; among those he befriended was Leutnant Henning von Holtzendorff, who would later serve as commander of the High Seas Fleet.

Reinhard Scheer reached flag rank less than six months after taking his post on Holtzendorff's staff, at the age of 47.

Reinhard Scheer held the Chief of Staff position until late 1911, when he was transferred back to the RMA under Tirpitz.

Reinhard Scheer remained with the II Battle Squadron until January 1915, by which time World War I had begun.

Reinhard Scheer thereafter took command of the III Battle Squadron, which consisted of the most powerful battleships in the German fleet: the dreadnoughts of the Kaiser and Konig classes.

Reinhard Scheer advocated raids on the British coast to lure out portions of the numerically superior Royal Navy so they could be overwhelmed by the German fleet.

Reinhard Scheer was highly critical of Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, who he felt was overcautious.

Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer became Commander in chief of the High Seas Fleet on 18 January 1916 when Pohl became too ill to continue in that post.

Reinhard Scheer intended to use the submarines to support the fleet by stationing the U-boats off major British naval bases.

At 18:55, Reinhard Scheer decided to conduct another 16-point turn to launch an attack on the British fleet; he later explained his reasoning:.

Reinhard Scheer then ordered the fleet to adopt the night cruising formation, which was completed by 23:40.

Reinhard Scheer argued that it was the only option to defeat Great Britain.

Reinhard Scheer spent the majority of the remainder of the year debating the issue with the naval command.

In later 1917, Reinhard Scheer began to use light elements of the fleet to raid British convoys to Norway in the North Sea.

On 23 April 1918, Reinhard Scheer sent the entire High Seas Fleet to intercept one of the convoys.

In June 1918, Reinhard Scheer was informed that the state of Admiral Holtzendorff's health would not permit him to remain in his post as chief of the naval staff much longer.

Two weeks later, on 11 August 1918, Reinhard Scheer was promoted to the Chief of Naval Staff; his subordinate Franz von Hipper succeeded him in command of the High Seas Fleet.

Reinhard Scheer then called for a crash program to build a vastly increased number of U-boats.

Reinhard Scheer stipulated that, at a minimum, at least 16 additional U-boats be constructed per month in the last quarter of 1918.

Reinhard Scheer intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy, to achieve a better bargaining position for Germany regardless of the cost to the navy.

Reinhard Scheer wrote his memoirs of the Great War in 1919, which were translated into English the following year.

Reinhard Scheer wrote his autobiography, entitled Vom Segelschiff zum U-Boot, which was published on 6 November 1925.

In 1928, Reinhard Scheer accepted an invitation to meet his adversary from Jutland, Admiral of the Fleet Jellicoe, in England.

However, at the age of 65, Reinhard Scheer died at Marktredwitz before he could make the trip.

Reinhard Scheer was buried in the municipal cemetery at Weimar.

The heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer was named after Reinhard Scheer and christened by his daughter Marianne.