Reinhard Scheer

Reinhard Scheer
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Name	Reinhard Scheer
Birth date	7 February 1863
Birth place	Obernkirchen, Kingdom of Hanover
Death date	26 November 1928
Death place	Essen, Weimar Republic
Allegiance	German Empire
Branch	Imperial German Navy
Rank	Großadmiral
Battles	Battle of Jutland, World War I

Reinhard Scheer was a senior officer of the Imperial German Navy who commanded the High Seas Fleet during the decisive naval engagement of the First World War, the Battle of Jutland. A career Kaiserliche Marine officer, he combined traditional battleship doctrine with more aggressive fleet-in-being tactics and later sought to adapt German naval strategy to changing circumstances after 1916. Scheer's leadership influenced the operations of the German Empire's surface forces and his postwar writings contributed to debates among former Prussian Navy and Reichsmarine officers.

Early life and naval career

Born in Obernkirchen in the former Kingdom of Hanover, Scheer entered service in the Prussian Navy and later the Imperial German Navy, joining amid the expansion driven by Alfred von Tirpitz and the Naval Laws (Germany). He served aboard cruisers and battleships, gaining experience with fleets that ranged from peacetime training squadrons to deployments in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Scheer's early postings brought him into contact with figures such as Maximilian von Spee, August von Heeringen, and Henning von Holtzendorff, shaping his understanding of gunnery, signaling, and fleet maneuver. His rise followed the institutional reforms enacted under the influence of the Kaiser Wilhelm II naval expansion program and intersected with innovations in armor and turbine propulsion introduced on ships like SMS Nassau and SMS Helgoland.

Rise to command and pre-war service

Promoted through the ranks, Scheer commanded squadrons and served on the Admiralty Staff, where he worked alongside leaders including Vizeadmiral Hugo von Pohl and Vizeadmiral Franz von Hipper. He held commands during the pre-war buildup that involved interactions with shipbuilding yards at Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, and with naval policy set in collaboration with Alfred von Tirpitz and advisors around the German General Staff. Scheer’s pre-war roles emphasized line-of-battle tactics and cruiser warfare; he observed exercises involving formations modeled after engagements such as Battle of Tsushima and doctrines discussed at the Institute of Naval Warfare. His perspective on fleet employment evolved amid debates with proponents of unrestricted commerce raiding represented by admirals like Wilhelm Souchon.

World War I: command of the High Seas Fleet

At the outbreak of World War I, Scheer held senior positions that brought him into operational control of battle squadrons, and in 1916 he succeeded Hipper and Pohl in higher command roles, ultimately becoming commander of the High Seas Fleet. Under Scheer the fleet pursued the strategy of conducting decisive raids and provocative sorties into the North Sea to lure elements of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet into contact. Scheer coordinated with the Kaiserliche Marine staff and wartime political actors in Berlin and the Admiralty liaison channels, engaging with the constraints imposed by submarine warfare policies and the evolving strategic imperatives dictated by the Western Front and naval blockade considerations. He orchestrated fleet movements intended to support the U-boat campaign and to exploit opportunities created by raids from commanders like Franz von Hipper and cruiser groups active near the Dogger Bank.

Battle of Jutland and tactics

Scheer’s command came to a head at the Battle of Jutland (Skagerrakschlacht), where he executed a plan to engage part of the Grand Fleet under Jellicoe and Beatty, David with a combination of battleline squadrons and battlecruiser forces. Scheer coordinated maneuvers involving battleships such as SMS König and SMS Derfflinger and battlecruisers like SMS Lützow, aiming to concentrate fire while managing the risk of entrapment by superior numbers. During the engagement he employed "battle turnaway" maneuvers and ordered torpedo attacks by destroyer screens, interacting tactically with commanders including Hipper and his own squadron captains. The battle produced contested assessments: the British Royal Navy claimed strategic success in maintaining the blockade, while German narratives emphasized the tactical accomplishments and material losses inflicted on HMS Indefatigable and other units. Scheer’s decisions—timing of the fleet advance, use of visibility and smoke, and the orchestration of retirement under fire—remain central to analyses by historians from John Keegan to Paul Halpern and naval theorists examining command and control under gunfire.

Post-war life and legacy

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 and the scuttling at Scapa Flow, Scheer retired to private life in the Weimar Republic, contributing to memoirs, professional debates, and publications that engaged with figures such as Erich Raeder and later commentators on the Reichsmarine. He defended aspects of the High Seas Fleet’s conduct and critiqued strategic choices made by political and naval authorities during the war years. Scheer’s career influenced interwar naval thought in Germany and informed discussions at naval institutions in London and Paris about the future of battleship doctrine, alongside contemporaries like William S. Sims and Julian Corbett. His reputation persists in scholarship assessing the transition from battleship dominance to the era of naval aviation and submarine warfare.

Honours and promotions

Scheer received numerous German and foreign decorations over his career, reflecting service recognized by monarchs and allied dignitaries before 1918. His promotions culminated in the rank of Großadmiral, and he was awarded orders associated with Prussian, Bavarian, and other German states, as did senior officers such as Paul von Hindenburg and August von Mackensen in parallel military cultures. Postwar, Scheer’s honors feature in naval registers alongside lists of recipients of the Pour le Mérite and other Imperial decorations, and his name appears in historical studies that compare his trajectory with that of contemporaries like Erich Raeder and Maximilian von Spee.

Category:Imperial German Navy admirals Category:People of World War I