Karl Doenitz: The Most Influential Naval Officer

Karl Doenitz was one of the most influential naval officers throughout Germany’s warfare history. Doenitz, younger of two sons, was born to Emil Doenitz and Anna Beyer on September 16, 1881, in Grunau, Germany. His dad was a well-known engineer, and his mother stayed home to care for both him and his brother. At the age of three, Karl’s mom fell ill and died on March 6, 1895. Out of the respect for the boys, and the love Emil had for his wife, he vowed he would never get married again. This left Emil to raise both boys on his own. When Karl was six years old, his father moved the family to Jena. Emil was relocated to the main headquarters of the company he worked for. Karl and his brother enrolled in public school at Realschule, where both received an excellent education. It wasn’t long upon Doenitz’s completion of high school, at the age of
Doenitz felt this would be Germany’s main source of naval weaponry in future wars. His views on things concerning the navy and war often brought him many disagreements with other naval officers. In 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany, leaving them unprepared. At the time there were only 57 U-Boats in service. Although there were few, the U-Boats were extremely successful in the war. “Doenitz's U-boats nearly won the war for Germany, sinking a large percentage of the allied ships carrying essential supplies to Britain and the Soviet Union. This success was partly due to faulty anti-U-boat strategy that the Allies were slow to abandon. However, it was mostly the result of Doenitz’s imaginative coordination of reconnaissance aircraft, supply vessels and multiple-U-boat wolf-packs, all of which allowed his U-boats to strike where they were most effective and least expected.” On April 21, 1940, Karl Doenitz was awarded the Knight Cross of the Grand Cross by Adolf Hitler for his influence on the War at