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Hellmuth von Ruckteschell

August 19, 2023

Hellmuth von Ruckteschell (22 March 1890 − 24 September 1948) was a German naval officer during World War II; he was one of the most successful merchant raider commanders of Nazi Germany, serving as the captain of the commerce raiders Widder and Michel. After the war Ruckteschell was convicted of war crimes and died in prison.

Hellmuth von Ruckteschell
Born(1890-03-23)23 March 1890
Hamburg, German Empire
Died24 September 1948(1948-09-24) (aged 58)
Fuhlsbüttel Prison, Hamburg, Allied-occupied Germany
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branchKriegsmarine
Years of service1910–45
RankKapitän zur See
Commands heldGerman auxiliary cruiser Widder
German auxiliary cruiser Michel
UB-34
U-54
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Naval career

Born in 1890 in Hamburg, Ruckteschell joined the German navy in 1908. In 1916, with the rank of Oberleutnant zur See, he transferred to the U-boat arm. He served as Watch Officer on U-3 and U-57, before being given his own command in July 1917, first of UB-34, then in March 1918, of U-54. He earned a reputation as an overly aggressive commander, which caused him to be placed on a black-list of officers the Allied powers considered to have breached the laws of war. After the end of World War I, he left Germany returning in the early 1930s.

Ruckteschell was recalled to duty in the Kriegsmarine in 1939 and given command of an auxiliary minelayer. He next took command of the Widder and sailed her into the Atlantic Ocean on 6 May 1940, commencing a five-month cruise that would sink or capture ten enemy merchant ships. When he brought Widder into port at Brest, he refused the Naval Command's order to take the ship to Hamburg, because the passage through British controlled territory was too risky. Instead, he assumed command of the commerce raider Michel for her first cruise (9 March 1942 to 1 March 1943), during which he captured or sank fifteen ships. Von Ruckteschell was relieved when he arrived in Japan at his own request for health reasons.

Ruckteschell was one of the more successful raider captains. The success of a commerce raider is measure by both the tonnage destroyed and the time spent at large. Ruckteschell accounted for 152,727 gross register tons (GRT) (second only to Ernst-Felix Krüder of Pinguin) and stayed at large for 538 days, (second only to Bernhard Rogge of Atlantis); however, Ruckteschell accomplished this over two voyages. Of the 13 voyages by 10 raiders, Michel and Widder claimed 15 ships of 94,363 GRT, and 10 ships of 58,464 GRT (4th and 6th highest), and stayed at large for 358, and 180 days ( 4th and 9th longest).

War crimes trial

Ruckteschell was the subject of one of the first war crimes investigations undertaken by the British Admiralty. It was alleged that on several occasions Ruckteschell had continued firing on merchant vessels after they had surrendered. This contravened the laws of naval warfare, the Admiralty requested that Ruckteschell and his crew members be detained for interrogation. Ruckteschell spent the last years of the war on the staff of the German naval attaché in Japan. He was eventually located in an internment camp near Kobe and was sent back to Germany for trial.

The British charges submitted to the United Nations War Crimes Commission claimed "at least one clear case of mass murder and several equally clear cases of the sinking of vessels whose crew were on the vessels when they were fired on, and were not picked up subsequently when on boats, rafts and in the water."[1]

Charges

  • 1. Regarding SS Davisian, which was attacked on 10 July 1940 by Widder.
The charge was that he continued to fire after the radio was knocked out and the signal to surrender acknowledged. It was charged that the Widder's gunners continued to fire for eight minutes after a signal was sent indicating that the Davisian's crew was abandoning ship.
The defence maintained that no signal had been seen or received and that three seamen on board the Davisian were seen heading towards her ship's gun.
  • 2. Regarding SS Anglo Saxon, attacked on 21 August 1940 by Widder.
The charge was that Ruckteschell fired on the lifeboats, and failed to ensure the crew's survival. Able Seaman Robert Tapscott of the Anglo Saxon, although unavailable to attend Ruckteschell’s trial, testified that the Widder had opened fire on the boats and rafts as they moved away from the sinking ship.
The defence maintained Ruckteschell was firing over their heads at the ship, and that the boats attempted to escape and were lost sight of in the dark.
Ruckteschell was found guilty of "not providing for the safety of the crew".
  • 3. Regarding SS Beaulieu, attacked on 4 August 1940 by Widder.
The charge was that he failed to ensure the safety of the survivors. Ruckteschell chose to leave 28 of them adrift over 1,200 mi (1,900 km) from the nearest land.
The defence maintained it was dark, and that Widder had searched for them for 2½ hours without success.
He was initially found guilty on this charge, but was later acquitted on appeal in August 1947.
The charge was that he continued to fire after she had surrendered.
The defence maintained that the surrender signal was not seen. Also, that there was confusion on the bridge of Michel whether the ship was using a radio.

Trial

The trial was held in Hamburg between 5 and 21 May 1946. Ruckteschell chose as his defence counsel Dr. Otto Zippel, who had earlier represented Karl-Heinz Moehle. Zippel tried to define the limitations of international law, called Vizeadmiral Bernhard Rogge as an expert witness, and questioned the testimony of the British sailors. In closing, he asserted that "the law has recognized that in matters of sea even clever people are more liable to commit an error than in other walks of life".[1]

The British military court convicted Ruckteschell on three of the four charges - Charges 1, 2, and 3 were upheld, while Charge 4 was rejected - and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment. Three years were later remitted from his sentence on 30 August 1947, when he was acquitted of one more of the charges.

The trial raised serious concerns about further war crimes trials involving naval affairs, since only one junior naval officer had sat as a judge during the trial, and army officers could not be expected to have a good knowledge of naval warfare. Zippel stated during the appeal that "a court composed of experienced sea officers would have arrived at a different judgment in the case". Royal Navy officers acknowledged that there was a real chance of a miscarriage of justice and the naval authorities actually discouraged further naval-related war crimes trials because of the difficulty of finding suitable naval officers to take part in them.[citation needed] Ruckteschell's trial was the last held under the Royal Warrant on behalf of the Royal Navy.[1]

Ruckteschell died in the Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel prison on 24 June 1948, shortly after he had been informed that he was going to be released due to his deteriorating heart condition.

Awards

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Madsen, Chris (1998). The Royal Navy and German Naval Disarmament, 1942-1947. Taylor & Francis. pp. 181–182. ISBN 0-7146-4373-4.
  2. ^ a b Thomas 1998, p. 228.
  3. ^ a b Scherzer 2007, p. 643.
  4. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, pp. 366, 502.
  5. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 64.

References

  • Dörr, Manfred (1996). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2: L–Z [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy—Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2497-6.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • August Karl Muggenthaler : German Raiders of World War II (1977) ISBN 0-7091-6683-4
  • Paul Schmalenbach : German Raiders 1895-1945 (1977 ) ISBN 0 85059 351 4
  • Stephen Roskill : The War at Sea 1939-1945 Vol I (1954) ISBN (none)
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.

August 19, 2023
hellmuth, ruckteschell, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, jan. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Hellmuth von Ruckteschell news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Hellmuth von Ruckteschell 22 March 1890 24 September 1948 was a German naval officer during World War II he was one of the most successful merchant raider commanders of Nazi Germany serving as the captain of the commerce raiders Widder and Michel After the war Ruckteschell was convicted of war crimes and died in prison Hellmuth von RuckteschellBorn 1890 03 23 23 March 1890Hamburg German EmpireDied24 September 1948 1948 09 24 aged 58 Fuhlsbuttel Prison Hamburg Allied occupied GermanyAllegiance Nazi GermanyService wbr branchKriegsmarineYears of service1910 45RankKapitan zur SeeCommands heldGerman auxiliary cruiser WidderGerman auxiliary cruiser MichelUB 34U 54Battles warsWorld War I World War IIAwardsKnight s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Contents 1 Naval career 2 War crimes trial 2 1 Charges 2 2 Trial 3 Awards 4 Notes 5 ReferencesNaval career EditBorn in 1890 in Hamburg Ruckteschell joined the German navy in 1908 In 1916 with the rank of Oberleutnant zur See he transferred to the U boat arm He served as Watch Officer on U 3 and U 57 before being given his own command in July 1917 first of UB 34 then in March 1918 of U 54 He earned a reputation as an overly aggressive commander which caused him to be placed on a black list of officers the Allied powers considered to have breached the laws of war After the end of World War I he left Germany returning in the early 1930s Ruckteschell was recalled to duty in the Kriegsmarine in 1939 and given command of an auxiliary minelayer He next took command of the Widder and sailed her into the Atlantic Ocean on 6 May 1940 commencing a five month cruise that would sink or capture ten enemy merchant ships When he brought Widder into port at Brest he refused the Naval Command s order to take the ship to Hamburg because the passage through British controlled territory was too risky Instead he assumed command of the commerce raider Michel for her first cruise 9 March 1942 to 1 March 1943 during which he captured or sank fifteen ships Von Ruckteschell was relieved when he arrived in Japan at his own request for health reasons Ruckteschell was one of the more successful raider captains The success of a commerce raider is measure by both the tonnage destroyed and the time spent at large Ruckteschell accounted for 152 727 gross register tons GRT second only to Ernst Felix Kruder of Pinguin and stayed at large for 538 days second only to Bernhard Rogge of Atlantis however Ruckteschell accomplished this over two voyages Of the 13 voyages by 10 raiders Michel and Widder claimed 15 ships of 94 363 GRT and 10 ships of 58 464 GRT 4th and 6th highest and stayed at large for 358 and 180 days 4th and 9th longest War crimes trial EditRuckteschell was the subject of one of the first war crimes investigations undertaken by the British Admiralty It was alleged that on several occasions Ruckteschell had continued firing on merchant vessels after they had surrendered This contravened the laws of naval warfare the Admiralty requested that Ruckteschell and his crew members be detained for interrogation Ruckteschell spent the last years of the war on the staff of the German naval attache in Japan He was eventually located in an internment camp near Kobe and was sent back to Germany for trial The British charges submitted to the United Nations War Crimes Commission claimed at least one clear case of mass murder and several equally clear cases of the sinking of vessels whose crew were on the vessels when they were fired on and were not picked up subsequently when on boats rafts and in the water 1 Charges Edit 1 Regarding SS Davisian which was attacked on 10 July 1940 by Widder The charge was that he continued to fire after the radio was knocked out and the signal to surrender acknowledged It was charged that the Widder s gunners continued to fire for eight minutes after a signal was sent indicating that the Davisian s crew was abandoning ship The defence maintained that no signal had been seen or received and that three seamen on board the Davisian were seen heading towards her ship s gun 2 Regarding SS Anglo Saxon attacked on 21 August 1940 by Widder The charge was that Ruckteschell fired on the lifeboats and failed to ensure the crew s survival Able Seaman Robert Tapscott of the Anglo Saxon although unavailable to attend Ruckteschell s trial testified that the Widder had opened fire on the boats and rafts as they moved away from the sinking ship The defence maintained Ruckteschell was firing over their heads at the ship and that the boats attempted to escape and were lost sight of in the dark Ruckteschell was found guilty of not providing for the safety of the crew 3 Regarding SS Beaulieu attacked on 4 August 1940 by Widder The charge was that he failed to ensure the safety of the survivors Ruckteschell chose to leave 28 of them adrift over 1 200 mi 1 900 km from the nearest land The defence maintained it was dark and that Widder had searched for them for 2 hours without success He was initially found guilty on this charge but was later acquitted on appeal in August 1947 4 Regarding MV Empire Dawn attacked on 11 September 1942 by Michel The charge was that he continued to fire after she had surrendered The defence maintained that the surrender signal was not seen Also that there was confusion on the bridge of Michel whether the ship was using a radio Trial Edit The trial was held in Hamburg between 5 and 21 May 1946 Ruckteschell chose as his defence counsel Dr Otto Zippel who had earlier represented Karl Heinz Moehle Zippel tried to define the limitations of international law called Vizeadmiral Bernhard Rogge as an expert witness and questioned the testimony of the British sailors In closing he asserted that the law has recognized that in matters of sea even clever people are more liable to commit an error than in other walks of life 1 The British military court convicted Ruckteschell on three of the four charges Charges 1 2 and 3 were upheld while Charge 4 was rejected and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment Three years were later remitted from his sentence on 30 August 1947 when he was acquitted of one more of the charges The trial raised serious concerns about further war crimes trials involving naval affairs since only one junior naval officer had sat as a judge during the trial and army officers could not be expected to have a good knowledge of naval warfare Zippel stated during the appeal that a court composed of experienced sea officers would have arrived at a different judgment in the case Royal Navy officers acknowledged that there was a real chance of a miscarriage of justice and the naval authorities actually discouraged further naval related war crimes trials because of the difficulty of finding suitable naval officers to take part in them citation needed Ruckteschell s trial was the last held under the Royal Warrant on behalf of the Royal Navy 1 Ruckteschell died in the Hamburg Fuhlsbuttel prison on 24 June 1948 shortly after he had been informed that he was going to be released due to his deteriorating heart condition Awards EditAuxiliary Cruiser Badge with diamonds Iron Cross 1914 2nd Class 10 October 1915 amp 1st Class 3 November 1916 2 Clasp to the Iron Cross 1939 2nd Class 22 June 1940 amp 1st class 1940 2 Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight s Cross on 31 October 1940 as Korvettenkapitan der Reserves and commander of auxiliary cruiser Widder HSK 3 3 4 158th Oak Leaves on 23 December 1942 as Kapitan zur See der reserves and commander of auxiliary cruiser Michel HSK 9 3 5 Notes Edit a b c Madsen Chris 1998 The Royal Navy and German Naval Disarmament 1942 1947 Taylor amp Francis pp 181 182 ISBN 0 7146 4373 4 a b Thomas 1998 p 228 a b Scherzer 2007 p 643 Fellgiebel 2000 pp 366 502 Fellgiebel 2000 p 64 References EditDorr Manfred 1996 Die Ritterkreuztrager der Uberwasserstreitkrafte der Kriegsmarine Band 2 L Z The Knight s Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy Volume 2 L Z in German Osnabruck Germany Biblio Verlag ISBN 978 3 7648 2497 6 Fellgiebel Walther Peer 2000 1986 Die Trager des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 1945 Die Inhaber der hochsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile The Bearers of the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 1945 The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches in German Friedberg Germany Podzun Pallas ISBN 978 3 7909 0284 6 August Karl Muggenthaler German Raiders of World War II 1977 ISBN 0 7091 6683 4 Paul Schmalenbach German Raiders 1895 1945 1977 ISBN 0 85059 351 4 Stephen Roskill The War at Sea 1939 1945 Vol I 1954 ISBN none Scherzer Veit 2007 Die Ritterkreuztrager 1939 1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer Luftwaffe Kriegsmarine Waffen SS Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbundeter Streitkrafte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives The Knight s Cross Bearers 1939 1945 The Holders of the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army Air Force Navy Waffen SS Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives in German Jena Germany Scherzers Militaer Verlag ISBN 978 3 938845 17 2 Thomas Franz 1998 Die Eichenlaubtrager 1939 1945 Band 2 L Z The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939 1945 Volume 2 L Z in German Osnabruck Germany Biblio Verlag ISBN 978 3 7648 2300 9 Portals Biography Military of Germany World War I World War II Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hellmuth von Ruckteschell amp oldid 1158567753, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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