Wilhelm Meisel

For the last living veteran of the Silesian Uprisings, see List of last surviving veterans of military insurgencies and wars § Silesian_Uprisings.
Wilhelm Meisel
Born (1891-11-04)4 November 1891
Zwickau
Died 7 September 1974(1974-09-07) (aged 82)
Mülheim
Allegiance  German Empire (to 1919)
 Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Kaiserliche Marine
 Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1913–45
Rank Admiral
Unit SMS Hertha
SMS Moltke
SMS Stralsund
SMS Kaiserin Augusta
Commands held heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper
Battles/wars

World War I

World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Wilhelm Meisel (4 November 1891 – 7 September 1974) was an Admiral of the Kriegsmarine during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Biography

Meisel was born in Zwickau and joined the Navy as a midshipman in 1913. During the First World War he served on the battlecruiser SMS Moltke, the light cruiser SMS Stralsund and the SMS Möwe. He later served as a staff officer on Torpedo boats and was interned in Scapa Flow. After the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet he was held as a POW by the British and repatriated in 1921.

During the 1920s Meisel commanded a torpedo boat flotilla and held several staff posts and commanded the German cruiser Karlsruhe in 1929.

During World War II Meisel commanded a destroyer flotilla in the Polish Campaign of 1939 and was appointed commander of the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper in 1940. He was made Chief of Staff of Naval Group west in 1943 and Chief of Naval staff in 1943.

Awards

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dörr 1996, p. 54.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Dörr 1996, p. 55.
  3. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 307.
  4. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 535.

Bibliography

  • 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. 
  • Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Navy]. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-87943-355-1. 
  • 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. 
Military offices
Preceded by
Konteradmiral Günther Lütjens		 Acting Führer der Torpedoboote (F.d.T.) 1933–1939
21 October 1939 – 25 October 1939 		Succeeded by
Kapitän zur See Friedrich Bonte
Preceded by
Admiral Kurt Fricke		 Chief of Staff of the Seekriegsleitung
21 February 1943 – 30 April 1944 		Succeeded by
Chief of the Seekriegsleitung
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