William Michaelis

William Michaelis
Chief of the Admiralty (acting) Weimar Republic
In office 22 March 1920 – 1 September 1920
Born	19 July 1871(1871-07-19) Bischofsburg, East Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	5 January 1948 (aged 76) Putbus, Rügen
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire (1889–1918) Weimar Republic (1919–1920)
Service/branch	Kaiserliche Marine Reichsmarine
Years of service	1889–1920
Rank	Vizeadmiral
Commands	SMS "Thüringen"
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Iron Cross (1914) Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class with Swords

William Otto Ernst Michaelis (19 July 1871 – 5 January 1948) was a German officer of the Kaiserliche Marine and the Vorläufige Reichsmarine, finally Vice Admiral (Vizeadmiral) and acting head of the Naval Command within the Reichswehrministerium.

Life

• 13 April 1889 Joined the Imperial German Navy (other Kadetts of the Crew 1889 were, for example, Admiral Hans Zenker and Konteradmiral Magnus Otto Bridges von Levetzow)
  • 1889/1890 attended the Naval School (Marineschule)
  • 1890/1891 maritime training on the S. M. Panzerschiff "Kaiser"
  • 1892 further training on the S. M. Panzerschiff "Kronprinz", then again Marineschule
    • The squadron undertook a trip to Scotland and Norway in the winter. During the maneuvers in August and September 1892, which were carried out with 19 ships and 28 torpedo boats, the new fleet tactics worked out by Alfred Tirpitz were used. The Kronprinz remained in service until 4 October 1892. On this day it was last decommissioned in Wilhelmshaven.
    • In November 1890, all ships present helped fight a major fire in Alexandria. In December, the squadron commander visited Constantinople with the Aviso "Pfeil" and was received by the Sultan with part of his officer corps. The ships then visited a number of Ottoman ports, including Smyrna and Salonika again. Italian and Austrian ports were also called again before the journey home began at the end of March 1891. At the beginning of April, one last visit took place in Lisbon, during which the Portuguese King Carlos I visited the "Kaiser". On 18 April 1891, the squadron returned to Wilhelmshaven.
• 1900 Adjutant of the I. Matrosendivision in Kiel
• 1902 Referent in the Artillerie-Versuchskommando
• 1905 Militärische Abteilung (A. I.) of the Allgemeines Marinedepartement (A.) in the Reichs-Marine-Amt (R. M. A.)
• 1907 Erster Offizier (executive officer/XO) on SMS "Kaiser Karl der Große")
• 1909 Admiralstabsoffizier/I. Geschwader (on board SMS "Hannover")
• 1911 Admiralstab der Marine in Berlin
• 1 October 1913 to 3 February 1915 Commandant of the Battleship SMS „Thüringen“
• 4 February 1915 to 28 January 1916 Chief of Staff (Flottenstabschef) of the Command of the High Seas Forces (Chef des Stabes der Hochseestreitkräfte, im Reichsmarineamt)
• 6 February 1916 to 30 September 1918 Chief of the Mobilization Department, Military Issues of Maritime Law and Military Interests of the Navy, Imperial Naval Office/General Naval Department
• 1 October 1918 to 30 September 1919 Director of the General Naval Department, Imperial Naval Office, from 15 July 1919 Admiralty (Direktor im Allgemeinen Marinedepartments im Reichsmarineamt)
• 1 October 1919 to 1 July 1920 Director of the Naval Command Office, Admiralty (Direktor des Kommandoamts in der Admiralität)
• 22 March 1920 to 30 August 1920 At the same time, Acting Chief of the Admiralty (mit der Vertretung des Chefs der Admiralität beauftragt)
• 31 August 1920 to 31 December 1920 Placed at the Disposal of the Chief of the Admiralty, then Naval Command
• 31 December 1920 Retired

Promotions

• 13 April 1889 Kadett
• 15 April 1890 Seekadett
• 17 May 1892 Unterleutnant zur See
• 10 December 1894 Leutnant zur See (renamed Oberleutnant zur See in April 1899)
• 23 March 1901 Kapitänleutnant
• 10 November 1906 Korvettenkapitän
• 10 April 1911 Fregattenkapitän
• 14 December 1912 Kapitän zur See (Captain at Sea)
• 17 December 1919 Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral)
• 31 December 1920 Charakter als Vizeadmiral (Honorary Vice Admiral)

Awards and decorations

• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class (RAO4)
• Prussian Order of the Crown (Kronenorden), 3rd Class
• Crown to the Red Eagle Order 4th Class (PAO4mKr)
• Ehrenkreuz des Großherzoglich Mecklenburgischen Greifenordens (MG2c)
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz)
• Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow (mit der Schleife)
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
• Bavarian Military Merit Order (Königlich Bayerischer Militärverdienstorden, III. Klasse mit der Krone und Schwertern ), 3rd Class with Crown and Swords (BMV3mKr⚔)
• Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class with Swords on 13 December 1917
• Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer

Writings

• "Kaiser Wilhelm II. und seine Marine. Kritische Beobachtungen während des Kaisermanövers in der Nordsee Herbst 1912. Aus den Erinnerungen von Vizeadmiral William Michaelis" (Kaiser Wilhelm II and his Navy - critical observations made during the royal manoeuvres in the North Sea in autumn 1912, from the memoirs of vice admiral William Michaelis), reprinted 1976
• "Tirpitz' Wirken vor und während des Ersten Weltkriegs" (The Work of Tirpitz before and after the First World War), paper of 1934