Hans von Koester

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Hans von Koester
Grand Admiral
AwardsOrder of the Black Eagle
Signature

Hans Ludwig Raimund von Koester (29 April 1844 – 21 February 1928) was a German naval officer who served in the

Grand Admiral
.

Career overview

Born Hans Ludwig Raimund Koester in 1844 in Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, he entered the Prussian Navy as a Kadettenanwärter (Cadet candidate) on 21 June 1859. He had an active seagoing career in the service, which became the North German Federal Navy in 1866, and then the Imperial German Navy in 1871. His first command was the naval brig Undine which he took on a 15-month voyage to North, Central, and South America in 1874–75.

SMS Prinz Adalbert

Promoted to

Kapitän zur See in 1881. Appointed commander of the Segelfregatte (sail frigate) Niobe in 1883, Koester next took command of the Panzerkorvette (armored corvette - later battleship) Württemberg in 1884.

König Wilhelm in 1890

In 1887 he was named commander of the Panzerfregatte (armored frigate - later armored cruiser) König Wilhelm

, long the largest ship in the fleet.

From 1884 to 1887 he served 2.5 years as chief of staff of the

Baltic Sea Naval Station in Kiel. In this capacity he strongly encouraged development of Kiel
as a naval harbor and garrison town.

When Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz presented his plan for a great battle fleet in June 1897, Koester objected on the grounds that there simply were not the personnel to cover such an expansion of the navy, and that the resources would be much better spent elsewhere.[2]

He was promoted to

Naval War College (Marineacademie) to Berlin.[5] In the meantime, he was raised to the German nobility
in 1900 as Hans von Koester.

On 18 September 1902 he was decorated with the Order of the Black Eagle.[6] Koester was awarded the 'Diamonds' distinction of this order on 21 June 1909.

Koester became the first active-duty German naval officer to attain the rank of Grossadmiral (

Grand Admiral) on 28 June 1905; the previous recipients of this rank were Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and King Oscar II of Sweden (both in 1901). Named a member for life of the Prussian House of Lords
(Herrenhaus) on 17 September 1905, Koester was retired at his own request on 31 December 1906.

Elected president of the Deutsche Flottenverein (German Fleet Association) in 1908, he held this position until October 1919; thereafter he was honorary president. In this position he worked closely with Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz to raise public support for the navy by promoting "public theater" with navy related activities such as ship launches, which became extremely elaborate after 1900.[7] He represented Germany at the Hudson–Fulton Celebration in New York, 25 September-11 October 1909. Made an honorary citizen of Kiel on his 70th birthday, 29 April 1914, Koester worked during the First World War as a delegate of the Kaiserliche Marine for health care. In 1916-17 he was an advocate of unrestricted submarine warfare.

Koester died in Kiel in 1928 at the age of 83. He was buried in the Nordfriedhof cemetery.

Decorations and awards

He received the following orders and decorations:[8]

National
Foreign

Notes

  • "Germany Sends Von Koester", The New York Times, 23 July 1909.
  • James W. Gerard, My Four Years in Germany, p. 108 New York: George H. Doran Company, 1917.

References

  1. ^ By order of the Kaiser, p. 118
  2. ^ By order of the Kaiser: Otto von Diederichs and the rise of the Imperial German Navy, 1865-1902 by Terrell D. Gottschall; Institute Press, 2003, 337 pages, p. 226.
  3. ^ By order of the Kaiser, p. 150-64
  4. ^ By order of the Kaiser, p. 237
  5. ^ By order of the Kaiser, p. 241
  6. ^ a b "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36877. London. 19 September 1902. p. 7.
  7. ^ The great naval game: Britain and Germany in the age of empire by Jan Rüger; Cambridge University Press, 337 pages. p, 96
  8. ^ Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1908, p. 220
  9. ^ "Königlicher Haus-orden vom Hohenzollern", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1895, p. 175 – via hathitrust.org
  10. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1910), "Großherzogliche Orden", pp. 61, 187
  11. ^ "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1918, pp. 74, 133, retrieved 27 March 2021
  12. ^ Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1927) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1927 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1927] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. p. 17. Retrieved 27 March 2021 – via da:DIS Danmark.
  13. ^ Sveriges statskalender (PDF) (in Swedish), 1897, p. 416, retrieved 29 March 2021 – via gupea.ub.gu.se
  14. ^ "Kung. Svenska Riddareordnarna". Sveriges Statskalender. Liberförlag. 1915. p. 670 – via runeberg.org.
  15. ^ The London Gazette, issue 27704, p. 5191

Sources

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External links


(Saxony) (Norway)

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