At age 15 he entered the navy and saw service at several branches at sea and on land. Among them were posts on missions, as a commanding officer and in cadet training. His wish to become commander of a ship was granted in 1901 when he assumed command of the armoured cruiserPrinz Adalbert. He held that command until 1907. From 1908 to 1910 he commanded the Braunschweig-class battleship Hessen and was afterwards promoted to Konteradmiral to command the II Squadron of the Offshore Fleet. Later he was commander of the naval artillery.
At the beginning of World War I, he was commander of the IV Squadron, made up of old Wittelsbach-class ships. During the Battle of Jutland, Schmidt commanded the I Squadron and used it as a vanguard to break through the British lines at night. In 1917 he led Operation Albion, a special task force for the occupation of the Baltic Sea islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa off the Estonian coast. For his achievements he was awarded the Pour le Mérite order. Upon his request, he was retired in 1918 with the rank of Admiral à la Suite, and following the Great War, he, like many of his former comrades of similar age, did not join the Reichsmarine. He remained loyal to the spirit of the Imperial Navy.
Apart from his nomination as Honorary Chairman of the Munich Naval Association (Marineverein München), he was appointed the Honorary Leader of the Gau of Bavaria.
References
Hanns Möller. Geschichte der Ritter des Ordens pour le mérite im Weltkrieg, Vol. II: M-Z, Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935, pp. 274–275.
February 21, 2023
ehrhard, schmidt, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, september, 2013, learn, wh. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message For the Kaiserliche Marine ship see SMS Viceadmiral E Schmidt Ehrhard Schmidt 18 May 1863 18 July 1946 was an admiral of the Kaiserliche Marine Imperial German Navy during World War I Ehrhard SchmidtEhrhard Schmidt centre and his staffBorn18 May 1863Offenbach am Main Grand Duchy of HesseDied18 July 1946 1946 07 18 aged 83 Aschau am Inn GermanyAllegiance German EmpireService wbr branch Imperial German NavyYears of service1878 1918RankAdmiralAwardsPour le MeriteCareer EditAt age 15 he entered the navy and saw service at several branches at sea and on land Among them were posts on missions as a commanding officer and in cadet training His wish to become commander of a ship was granted in 1901 when he assumed command of the armoured cruiser Prinz Adalbert He held that command until 1907 From 1908 to 1910 he commanded the Braunschweig class battleship Hessen and was afterwards promoted to Konteradmiral to command the II Squadron of the Offshore Fleet Later he was commander of the naval artillery At the beginning of World War I he was commander of the IV Squadron made up of old Wittelsbach class ships During the Battle of Jutland Schmidt commanded the I Squadron and used it as a vanguard to break through the British lines at night In 1917 he led Operation Albion a special task force for the occupation of the Baltic Sea islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa off the Estonian coast For his achievements he was awarded the Pour le Merite order Upon his request he was retired in 1918 with the rank of Admiral a la Suite and following the Great War he like many of his former comrades of similar age did not join the Reichsmarine He remained loyal to the spirit of the Imperial Navy Apart from his nomination as Honorary Chairman of the Munich Naval Association Marineverein Munchen he was appointed the Honorary Leader of the Gau of Bavaria References EditHanns Moller Geschichte der Ritter des Ordens pour le merite im Weltkrieg Vol II M Z Verlag Bernard amp Graefe Berlin 1935 pp 274 275 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ehrhard Schmidt amp oldid 1132758622, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
