DÖNITZ, KARL
Dönitz, Karl
(September 16, 1891–December 24, 1980)
German Admiral
T
he scourge of Brit-
ish and American
shipping, Dönitz
was a brilliant submarine
strategist and progenitor
of the deadly wolfpack
tactics. Twice during
World War II his U-boats
nearly brought England
to its knees and wrecked
havoc off the American
coastline. By war’s end he
was handpicked to lead
the crumbling Third Reich
as its final führer.
Karl Dönitz was born
in Grunau, near Berlin,
on September 16, 1891,
the son of an engineer.
After graduating from the
Realgymnasium, he dis-
played interest in a naval
career and joined the im-
perial navy in 1910. He
rose to lieutenant two years later and per-
formed service aboard the light cruiser Bres-
lauin 1913. When World War I commenced
the following year, the Breslaudodged pursu-
ing British forces and sought refuge in neutral
Turkish waters. Dönitz then weathered nearly
two years of inactivity before transferring to
the U-boat service. He served as a watch offi-
cer on several submarines until 1918, when he
received command of his own vessel, UB-68.
On the night of October 4, 1918, Dönitz en-
gaged a British convoy, was forced to surface
because of mechanical difficulties, and was
captured. He was exchanged shortly after the
war ended; despite his mishap, Dönitz re-
mained impressed by the potential of sub-
marines in wartime.
During the interwar period, Dönitz stayed
in the navy, awaiting the day when Germany
could operate submarines
again. The Treaty of Ver-
sailles, however, forbid
their possession for the
next 16 years, and he re-
verted back to surface
vessels. Donitz proved
himself an excellent offi-
cer and, after a stint
of commanding torpedo
boats, transferred to
naval headquarters in- Four years later he
returned to sea duty in
the Baltic and rose to
command a destroyer
flotilla in 1930. He subse-
quently functioned as
head of the Admiralty
Staff Division with the
North Sea High Com-
mand until 1934, when he
took charge of the heavy
cruiser Emden. Dönitz’s
destiny was dramatically altered after Janu-
ary 1933, when the Nazi regime of Adolf
Hitlercame to power. One of Hitler’s first of-
ficial acts was to renounce the Treaty of Ver-
sailles and commence a total rearmament of
air, land, and sea forces. Dönitz figured promi-
nently in this scheme when Adm. Erich
Raeder appointed him head of the newly res-
urrected U-boat force in September 1935.
Dönitz threw himself into his task with energy
and enthusiasm. Because no textbooks ex-
isted for underwater warfare, he authored
several training manuals based upon his own
wartime experiences. However, it was in the
realm of tactics that Dönitz proved himself to
be a genius. Throughout World War I, U-boats
had frequently suffered heavy losses because
they were arrayed singly against Allied con-
voys in broad daylight. Henceforth, German
Karl Dönitz
Sovfoto/Eastfoto/PNI