Andreas Fischer

Andreas Fischer
Captain at Sea Andreas Fischer in the uniform of the Marine Corps Flanders
Birth date	29 February 1872(1872-02-29)
Place of birth	Donaueschingen, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire
Death date	6 December 1946 (aged 74)
Place of death	Überlingen, Baden, Allied-occupied Germany
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	Kaiserliche Marine
Years of service	1889–1919
Rank	Honorary Rear Admiral
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Iron Cross

Andreas Fischer (29 February 1872 – 6 December 1946) was a German naval officer of the Imperial German Navy, commandant of Ostende with the Marine Corps Flanders in WWI, promoted to Honorary Rear Admiral by the Preliminary Reichsmarine in 1919.

Military career (chronology)

• 13 April 1889 Joined the Imperial Navy and attended the Naval School; At this point in time, several Fischers were already serving in the navy, including Gustav Siegfried Reinhold Fischer since 13 April 1888, who was known as Reinhold von Fischer-Loßainen after his ennoblement and was most recently a rear admiral and naval attaché. Even after 1889, several Fischers joined the navy in quick succession; it could not be determined whether there was a relationship.
• Onboard training on the S.M. ironclad “Kaiser”
• Onboard training on the S. M. ironclad “Kronprinz”; The “Kronprinz” remained in service until 4 October 1892. On this day she was decommissioned for the last time in Wilhelmshaven.
• 1892 Service with the 2nd Sailor Division
• 1893 To the disposition of the inspector of the II Marine Inspection in Wilhelmshaven
• Service on the cruiser II class SMS “Prinzeß Wilhelm”, guard ship of the command of the North Sea naval station in Wilhelmshaven
• Spring 1895 Transfer to the training ship SMS “Mars” under Captain at Sea Galster
• 1886/97 Service on the cruiser 2nd class SMS “Kaiserin Augusta”
  • On 6 February 1897, she was sent to the Mediterranean because of an uprising by the Christian population in Crete against Ottoman rule. She was supposed to use the warships of other states to prevent a Greco-Turkish war. She arrived off Crete on 21 February, where regular Greek troops had also been deployed since 15 February. On 25 February 1897, the SMS “Kaiserin Augusta” deployed a landing corps to an international formation in La Canea (Chania) in order to prevent attacks by the insurgents. Some of the international ships fired on the insurgents to make it impossible for the Turkish troops to overrun them. A blockade of the island was declared on 15 March to prevent the fighting from spreading. In addition to the SMS “Kaiserin Augusta”, the British destroyer HMS “Ardent”, the French destroyer “Fancon”, the Italian gunboat “Caprera”, the Imperial Russian gunboat “Grosyashchi” and the k. u. k. Austrian SMS “Tiger” were deployed. When war broke out on 17 April, parts of the international fleet and the “Empress Augusta” were relocated to Athens so as not to allow a revolution there.
  • In November 1897, after the occupation of Kiautschou, the "Kaiserin Augusta", which was currently in Smyrna, was ordered from the Mediterranean to China as the first part of the 2nd Division of the East Asian Cruiser Squadron to reinforce the units there. She took up her landing corps in Crete on 19 November and then sailed for East Asia. In December 1897, she reached the station area in Singapore, long before the ships sent from home. In June 1898, she served as a temporary flagship with squadron leader Otto von Diederichs to Manila, where there were significant differences with the Americans during the Spanish-American War. After the “Manila Incident,” when the Americans felt “provoked” by the strong German naval power, the “Kaiserin Augusta” brought the Spanish captain general and his family to Hong Kong on 13 August 1898. In October 1898, she brought parts of the sea battalion from Tsingtau to Taku, which were supposed to take over the protection of the legation in Beijing. In September 1899, the “Kaiserin Augusta” was reclassified as a “large cruiser” under the naval laws. When the Boxer Rebellion broke out in 1900, she was still in East Asia and, at the beginning of June, was transporting further parts of the III. Seebataillon to Taku to protect the Europeans in Beijing. She also handed over some of her crew to the relief troops. Among the victims of the operation was the first officer (I.O.), Lieutenant Commander Oltmann Buchholz.
• 1900/01 Service on the liner SMS “Württemberg”
  • During the autumn maneuvers of 1900, the ship was assigned to the II Squadron and then became the main ship of the II Reserve Division
• 1902 Artillery officer (AO) on the liner SMS “Württemberg”
  • In addition to the usual training trips, the “Württemberg” was used for autumn maneuvers in 1902 and 1903 and took part in a trip to Norwegian waters in May and June 1903.
• 1903/04 Artillery officer (AO) on the liner SMS “Zähringen”
• 1905/06 Leader of the 1st Imperial German Main Division of the Kiautschou Sailor Artillery
• 1906/07 First officer (I.O.) on the flagship of the cruiser squadron, on the large cruiser SMS “Fürst Bismarck”
• After the SMS “Fürst Bismarck” was decommissioned in June 1909, Fischer was placed at the disposal of the head of the Baltic Sea naval station under Curt von Prittwitz and Gaffron
• Commander of the III. Department of the 1st Shipyard Division in Kiel under Captain Max Wilken (1862–1925)
• Commander of the 1st Department of the 1st Shipyard Division in Kiel under Captain Alfred Begas
• 1 October 1912 to 30 September 1914 Commandant of the small cruiser SMS “Augsburg”
• 18 October 1914 to 11 November 1914 Commander of the cabin boy division in Flensburg-Mürwik
  • 20 October 1914 to 4 November 1914 at the same time commandant of the training ship SMS “Charlotte”
  • 4 November 1914 to 11 November 1914 at the same time commandant of the training ship SMS “König Wilhelm”
• 15 November 1914 to March 1916 Commander of Sailor Regiment 1 of the 1st Marine Brigade/1. Marine Division and Commander of Zeebrugge
  • The 1st Marine Division had to secure the Belgian coast all the way to the Dutch border. The Antwerp port headquarters and the commanderies in Ostend, Zeebrugge, De Haan, Blankenberghe, Knocke, Heyst, Westkapelle, Stalhille, Wenduine and, at times, Raversyde were located in their area. The 2nd Marine Division had the task of covering the right wing of the land army from Schoorbake to the coast. The commanderies of Gistelles, Leffingen, Middelkerke, Slype, Oudenburg, Zaadvoorde, Zevekote, St. Pietres-Kapelle and Snaakskerke were subordinate to her.
• March 1916 to October 1918 Commandant of Ostend at the General Command of the Marine Corps of the Imperial Navy (Flanders Marine Corps)
• October 1918 to 30 November 1918 Leader of a special group in the Flanders Marine Corps
• 1 December 1918 Placed at the disposal of the Admiralty and placed on leave
• 16 March 1919 Retired from naval service

Promotions

• 13 April 1889 Kadett (Officer Candidate; renamed Seekadett in 1899)
• 15 April 1890 Seekadett (Officer Cadet; renamed Fähnrich zur See in 1899)
• 17 May 1892 Unterleutnant zur See (2nd Lieutenant; renamed Leutnant zur See in 1899)
• 11 November 1895 Leutnant zur See (1st Lieutenant; renamed Oberleutnant zur See in 1899)
• 8 February 1902 Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant Captain)
• 15 October 1907 Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain – Lieutenant Commander)
• 27 January 1912 Fregattenkapitän (Frigate Captain – Commander)
• 22 March 1914 Kapitän zur See (Captain at Sea – Captain)
• 23 December 1919 Charakter als Konteradmiral a. D. (Honorary Rear Admiral, retired)

Awards and decorations

• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Friedrichs-Orden, Knight's Cross First Class (WF3a)
• Baden government anniversary medal from 1902 (BdRJM/BRJM)
  • Badische Regierungs-Jubiläums-Medaille von 1902
• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class (RAO4)
• Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, IV. Class (JVAS4/JV4)
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz)
• Prussian Order of the Crown (Kronenorden), 3rd Class
• Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st Class
• Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion, Commander 2nd Class with Swords (BZL2b⚔/BZ2b⚔)
• Cross of Honor and Remembrance of the Flanders Marine Corps (Flandernkreuz)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords

Writings (excerpt)

• Die Seeschlacht vor dem Skagerrak, in: "Unter flatternden Fahnen", Third Volume, Verlag „Deutscher Wille“, Birkenwerder near Berlin (several editions until the 1940s)