He was a Navy Marshal of Germany in World War II; he was the founder of the "Wolf Pack Tactics"; he was Hitler's successor; he was the famous German military figure - Karl Dönitz.
On September 16, 1891, in a small town on the outskirts of Berlin, Karl Dönitz was born into an ordinary family. His father was an engineer, and little Dönitz had an older brother, which was originally a happy family of four, but the weather was unpredictable. When Dönitz Jr. was 4 years old, his mother died tragically. In order to allow the young Dönitz to achieve something in the future, his father was strict with him.
In 1910, at the age of 19, Dönitz joined the Imperial German Navy and was admitted to the Naval Academy shortly thereafter. After graduation, Dönitz was assigned to serve on the cruiser HELA as a probationary officer in the Navy. During this period, Dönitz excelled in his performance, and the following year he was appointed acting second lieutenant of the Navy on a cruiser.
In 1914, when World War I broke out, Dönitz was sent to the front and involved in the war against Russia. In February 1918, during his tenure as captain of the submarine, he performed well, leading a team to sink 5 transport ships, for which he was awarded a Knight's Cross. In October of the same year, Dönitz was severely damaged by an escort ship while commanding a submarine on a mission. He was captured by the British shortly afterwards and did not return to Germany until 1920.
According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany could not possess submarines, and even the number of navies could not exceed 1500. It was not until the signing of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement in 1935 that Germany was able to regain its submarine force.
In October 1935, Dönitz was promoted to colonel and returned to service in the submarine force. Since his return, Dönitz has devoted himself to the study of submarine tactics.
Based on the actual combat experience and his own summary in the First World War, Dönitz created the "wolf pack tactic" of assembling multiple submarines to attack the enemy fleet. However, to achieve the desired effect, at least 300 U-boats are needed. In order to put this theory and tactic into practice, Dönitz began to lobby for the construction of a submarine fleet.
On 28 January 1939, Dönitz was promoted to commodore and submarine commander.
In September 1939, Germany blitzed Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and World War II broke out in full swing. At this time, Dönitz's submarine force under command consisted of only 57 U-boats. Far below the actual combat expectations envisioned by Dönitz.
Despite Dönitz's persuasion, Hitler ordered Dönitz to command the submarine fleet in a direct confrontation with the British fleet. As a result, although several British warships were sunk, Dönitz also lost many submarines, seriously delaying the progress of wolf pack tactics.
In 1940, Dönitz commanded a submarine force that caused great trouble for the British, sinking 1.49 million tons of British supplies between July and October alone. Dönitz was also awarded the rank of vice admiral for his leadership.
In December 1941, when Germany declared war on the United States, Dönitz preemptively commanded U-boats to attack passing ships on the east coast of the United States. In the early days of the war, it caused huge losses to the United States.
At the end of 1942, with the increasing supply of U-boats, Dönitz was finally able to implement his own "wolf pack tactics", which proved to be really effective, always able to severely damage Allied shipping at a small cost. As a result, Britain's fuel and supplies were strained.
Due to the huge role played by the U-boats under Dönitz's command on the battlefield, in January 1943 Dönitz was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and awarded the rank of Admiral.
In 1943, with the equipping of Allied ships with new radars, anti-submarine aircraft and aircraft carriers, the tide of war began to turn. Although Dönitz was still confident in the "wolf pack tactics", the effect was much worse than before, even if the general commander was changed, the effect was minimal, and in the end, the German army had to abandon the wolf pack tactic.
In April 1945, Hitler committed suicide by drinking a bomb in Berlin. Following his last words, Dönitz was appointed to succeed him as Supreme Commander of the German Armed Forces. Faced with the situation of soviet troops approaching the city, seeing that there was no hope of reaching an armistice agreement with the West, in order to reduce the casualties of the population, Dönitz arranged for 2 million civilians and 300,000 soldiers to retreat to the West.
In May 1945, with the destruction of the city of Berlin, Dönitz and a number of other generals were captured by the British.
He was released and returned to China in October 1956. After that, Dönitz lived a mundane life of seclusion. He died of a heart attack on December 24, 1980, at the age of 89.
Throughout Dönitz's life, it is full of changes and legends. He has experienced the supreme glory of the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht and the life of a prisoner of the order. Putting aside his position, his unique tactical thinking and advanced military theory have left valuable experience in world military history.
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