Guido von Usedom
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Guido von Usedom | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 2, 1854 Quanditten, East Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | February 24, 1925 (aged 70) Schwerin, Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Weimar Republic |
| Allegiance |  German Empire Ottoman Empire |
| Service/ |  Imperial German Navy Ottoman Navy |
| Years of service | 1871–1918 (German Navy) 1914–1918 (Ottoman Navy) |
| Rank | Admiral Mushir |
| Battles/wars | Boxer Rebellion |
| Awards | Pour le Mérite with oak leaves |
Guido von Usedom (October 2, 1854 – February 24, 1925) was a German admiral that served in the Boxer Rebellion and World War I. His most notable service was in the Dardanelles Campaign.
Biography
Early years
Guido came from the Pomeranian noble family Usedom and was the son of Lieutenant Kuno von Usedom (1804–1855). He joined the
In October 1895, Usedom, with the rank of
The Boxer Rebellion
Usedom was deployed with Hertha in the Mediterranean and East Asia. At the beginning of the Boxer Rebellion, the commander of the East Asia Squadron, Vice Admiral Felix von Bendemann, ordered a landing corps to be formed from the crews of all German cruisers to help protect the European embassies in Beijing. Usedom became the leader of the entire German expeditionary force of around 500 men, which was subordinate to the British commander of the foreign armed forces involved, Vice Admiral Edward Seymour. Usedom simultaneously served as its Chief of Staff.
On June 10, 1900, the entire expeditionary force left
Due to his experience with the landing corps, Usedom was released from the leadership of Hertha in September 1900 and assigned to the staff of the commander-in-chief of the allied troops in
Before the First World War
In August 1902, Usedom took command of the imperial yacht SMY Hohenzollern, which he held until October 1904. He then became Inspector of the I. Marine Inspection and in this capacity was promoted to Rear Admiral on March 14, 1905. At the same time he was from September 1905 the deputy director, and from January 1906 director, of the Imperial Shipyard Kiel. On August 21, 1908 he was promoted to Vice Admiral and with his retirement at the end of 1910 was given the character of Admiral.
Head of the Sonderkommando Turkey during World War I
In August 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, Usedom was reactivated and sent to Constantinople as head of the Special Command Turkey. Because of increasing signs for a Triple Entente operation against the Dardanelles, and thus the risk of a siege and eventually fall of the capital of the Ottoman Empire, increased Usedom was seconded to the Ottoman Navy. Given the rank of Mushir, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Straits.
Having extremely limited resources, Usedom expanded his coastal positions while having inadequate garrisons in the forts further inland. By mid-February 1915, Usedom managed to man the heavy artillery in the most important forts along the straits and to lay extensive minefields in the straits. The French battleship Bouvet and the British battleships Irresistible and Ocean were sunk by these mines in the course of the Dardanelles campaign.
The further course of the beginning
References
- ^ Elmar B. Potter, Chester W. Nimitz, Jürgen Rohwer: Seemacht. Von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. München 1974, ISBN 3-7637-5112-2. S. 367 ff.
Literature
- Dermot Bradley (eds.), Hans H. Hildebrand, Ernest Henriot: Deutschlands Admirale 1849–1945. The military careers of naval, engineering, medical, weapons and administrative officers in the rank of admiral. Band 3: P–Z. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1700-3, S. 473–475.
- Hans H. Hildebrand, Albert Röhr, Hans-Otto Steinmetz: Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe. Band 3, 1. Auflage, Herford 1981, ISBN 3-7822-0211-2.