French novelist Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin, whose
nom de plume was George Sand.
The record of Maurice, comte de Saxe, is one of
notable military success. Rising from small beginnings,
he became one of France’s most important military lead-
ers, serving his adopted country through two major Eu-
ropean wars. His skill in maneuvering and tactics led to
victory in many battles, and his two-volume work on
military strategy, published posthumously, was studied
for a century after his death.
References: White, Jon Manchip, Marshal of France: The
Life and Times of Maurice, Comte de Saxe [1696–1750]
(London: Hamish Hamilton, 1962); “Saxe: ‘My Reveries
Upon the Art of War,’ ” in Roots of Strategy: A Collection of
Military Classics, edited by Thomas R. Phillips (London:
John Lane the Bodley Head, 1943); Bruce, George, “Fon-
tenoy,” in Collins Dictionary of Wars (Glasgow, Scotland:
HarperCollins Publishers, 1995), 90.
Scheer, Reinhard (Arthur Scheer) (1863–1928)
German admiral
Born as Arthur Scheer in the village of Oberkirchen,
Hanover (Germany), on 30 September 1863, Reinhard
Scheer was a minister’s son who began his service in the
German navy in 1879 as a cadet. Over the next 20 years,
he rose in rank, being promoted to oberleutnant zur see
(lieutenant) in 1885 and kapitänleutnant (lieutenant) in
- He served in Cameroon, East Africa, and became
commander of the 1st Torpedo Division in 1903. In
1910, he was raised to konteradmiral (rear admiral, two-
star) and named as chief of staff of the German High
Seas Fleet under Admiral Henning von Holtzendorff.
Three years later, he became commander of a battle
squadron with the rank of vice admiral.
During his naval career, Scheer continually advo-
cated the use of submarines as a strategic weapon, and
when the First World War began, he recommended that
they hunt and sink Allied ships off the coast of England.
On 24 January 1916, nearly a year and a half into the
war, Scheer was named as commander of the German
High Seas Fleet. Almost immediately, he was involved
in a historic sea engagement: the Battle of Jutland (31
May–1 June 1916), the only major conflict between
fleets in the First World War. As historians Anthony
Bruce and William Cogar explain:
It originated in a plan developed by Admiral Rein-
hard Scheer, commander of the High Seas Fleet
since January 1916, to lure the British Grand
Fleet from its base in order to bring it to battle.
Early in 31 May 1916 the High Seas Fleet left
the Jade Estuary and moved into the North Sea
parallel to the west coast of Denmark. Admiral
Franz von Hipper, commander of the German
scouting forces, led the way toward the Skaggerak
with five battle cruisers and 35 other fast ships at
his disposal. The main German fleet, consisting
of 59 vessels, including 22 battleships (of which
16 were dreadnoughts), was a long way behind.
Radio messages intercepted by the British Admi-
ralty had warned of the German sortie, and the
Grand Fleet was ordered to sail immediately. The
main British fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe,
left its base at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands
on 30 May. It comprised 99 ships, of which 24
were dreadnoughts. Sixty miles (96 km) ahead
of Jellicoe was Admiral David beatty’s scouting
force, which had left the Firth of Forth on the
same day. It consisted of 52 ships, including six
battle cruisers and an associated squadron of four
super-dreadnoughts.Historian George Bruce writes: “Beatty and Hipper
sighted each other, and Hipper turned to link up with
Scheer, after which the two groups shelled each other.
Beatty then turned back to lure the Germans into Jelli-
coe’s hands and in the process lost two of his battleships,
but the manoeuvre accomplished, the entire British fleet
soon formed a line east and southeast into which the Ger-
mans were sailing into a net. Just when their destruction
seemed certain, the weather closed down and rescued
the Germans, who later, under the cover of darkness,
skillfully made their escape. The Royal Navy lost three
battle cruisers, three light cruisers and eight destroyers;
Germany [lost] four cruisers and five destroyers, but the
morale of the German navy had been destroyed.”
Scheer was credited with the maneuver that led to
the Germans being saved by their escape, raised to the
rank of full admiral, and awarded the Order of Pour le
Mérite for his service. Nonetheless, Jutland was a critical
defeat for the Germans, whose High Seas Fleet never
ventured out again, as Jellicoe said. Whereas previously
they had been able to dispute control of the seas in theScheeR, ReinhARD