Günther Lütjens

Günther Lütjens
Born	25 May 1889(1889-05-25) Wiesbaden, Hesse-Nassau
Died	27 May 1941(1941-05-27) (aged 52) Atlantic Ocean
Buried at	(48°10′N 16°12′W)
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kaiserliche Marine Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1907–1941
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	Karlsruhe (1934-1935) Admiral Hipper (1940) Gneisenau (flagship) and Scharnhorst (1940-1941) Bismarck (flagship) and Prinz Eugen (1941)
Battles/wars	Wars: World War I World War II Campaigns: Battle of the Atlantic Norwegian Campaign Operations: Operation Berlin Operation Weserübung Operation Rheinübung Battles: Battle of the Denmark Strait Last battle of the battleship Bismarck †
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Günther Lütjens (25 May 1889 – 27 May 1941) was a German Admiral whose military service spanned almost 30 years. Lütjens is best known for his actions during World War II, primarily his service as admiral of the squadron comprising Bismarck and her consort, Prinz Eugen, during the Operation Rheinübung sortie.

Early career

Günther Lütjens was born in Wiesbaden and entered the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) in 1907. He spent his initial years on Freya. After receiving his commission, he served onboard Elsass until 1910, and from 1910-1913 aboard König Wilhelm.

World War I

From 1913 until the end of World War I, Lütjens was commander of torpedo boats along the Flemish coast, leading raids against Dunkirk. On 24 May 1917, Lütjens was promoted to Kapitänleutnant.

Inter-war period

Captain Günther Lütjens in 1933, wearing the new Kriegsmarine uniform and his World War I Iron Cross

After the war, he worked as an officer at the Warnemünde Ship Transportation Agency from 1918 until 1921, when he returned to the newly-reorganized German Navy, by that time with the rank of Commander. Lütjens served until 1925 in the 3rd Torpedo Boat Flotilla and eventually became its commanding officer.

In 1933, he received command of Karlsruhe. Lütjens first met Karl Dönitz, future Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine at Wilhelmshaven in July 1935. At that point, Dönitz had been entrusted with the rebuilding of the U-Boat arm but had spent the summer at sea commanding Emden. After arriving at port, he met with Admiral Erich Raeder. Raeder informed Dönitz that:

Lütjens is to become chief of the Officer Personnel Branch at Naval Headquarters with the task of forming an officer Corps for the new Navy we are about to build.

Dönitz was given command of the U-Boat arm at the same time.

In 1936, Lütjens was appointed Chief of Personnel of the Kriegsmarine. In 1937, he became Führer der Torpedoboote (Chief of Torpedo Boats), with Z1 Leberecht Maass as his flag ship, and was promoted to Rear Admiral.

In November 1938, Lütjens was one of only three flag officers who protested, in writing, against the anti-Jewish "Kristallnacht" pogroms.

World War II

Operation Weserübung

At the outbreak of World War II, Lütjens was Commander of Scouting Forces. In April 1940, during the invasion of Denmark and Norway (Operation Weserübung), he served as Vice Admiral, commanding the distant cover forces in the North Sea — which consisted of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau — and fighting an inconclusive battle with the battlecruiser HMS Renown. In June 1940, he became Commander of Battleships and the third Flottenchef (Fleet Commander) of the Kriegsmarine in World War II, a position comparable to the British Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet.

His predecessor — Vizeadmiral Wilhelm Marschall — had repeated differences with the German High Command over the extent the Flottenchef should be bound to orders while operating at sea. Operating from Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, Marschall had realized the Allies were retreating from Norway and ignored his original orders by attacking the retreating British forces, sinking Glorious and her escorting destroyers Acasta and Ardent, but also receiving a torpedo hit on Scharnhorst. This failure to follow orders resulted in Marschall being replaced by Lütjens. Since the first Flottenchef had been removed for similar reasons, Lütjens was determined to follow his orders to the letter to avoid suffering the same fate.

Operation Berlin

Main article: Operation Berlin (Atlantic)

On 28 December 1940, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, on which Admiral Lütjens had raised his flag, left Germany for an Atlantic raid. However, due to weather the German force had to return to port: Gneisenau to Kiel and Scharnhorst to Gdynia.

On 22 January 1941, the mission was renewed. Still with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, Admiral Lütjens choose to pass between Iceland and Faroe Islands. As the cruiser HMS Naiad briefly sighted the German battlecruisers group, on 28 January, he decided to retire northbound, until beyond 70 °N. After rendezvous on 30 January, with tanker Adria the German group refuelled, which due to bad weather wasn't completed until 2 February. Then Admiral Lütjens headed for the Denmark Stait, and on 4 February, ran into the Atlantic. On 8 February, the German warships were in sight of the convoy HX-106, some 41 ships, eastbound from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Liverpool, England, escorted by HMS Ramillies, armed with eight excellent 15-inch guns. The captain of the Scharnhorst offered to draw off the British battleship, so that the Gneisenau could sink the merchant ships. Lütjens strictly followed Seekriegsleitung's directive not to engage enemy capital ships. The presence of HMS Ramillies was sufficient to deter the attack.

After rendezvous between Iceland and Canada, with tankers Esso Hamburg and Schlettstadt, on 15 February, the German group, on 22 February, 500 nautic miles east of Newfoundland, sinked five ships (about 25,700 tons) from a westbound convoy, which were sailing escortless towards American harbours.

Admiral Lütjens's group then steered to the coasts of West Africa, and sighted, off Freetown, on 7 March, the convoy SL-67, escorted by HMS Malaya. Once again, Admiral Lütjens decided not to attack the convoy due to the presence of the British battleship.

With the supply ships Uckermark and Ermland (previously named Altmark ), Gneisenau and Scharnhorst steered westbound to North Atlantic. On 15 March, several tankers were sighted steaming without escort. Three tankers were captured, and six sinked, and ten ships more were sinked on 16 March. Sighted by HMS Rodney escorting the convoy HX-114, Admiral Lütjens's group was chased by the Home Fleet on the way to return to Germany by the Denmark Strait, as he steered to Brest. Sighted by an aircraft from HMS Ark Royal on 20 March, Admiral Lütjens managed to evade British warships, and reached Brest on 22 March. The Operation had lasted exactly two months, and the journey of 17,800 nmi (20,500 mi; 33,000 km) in 59 days was a record for German capital ships.. Although 22 ships had been sinked by the battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, Admiral Lütjens was fully aware that the attack of the eastbound convoys, carrying troops, and heavy armament, and escorted by old slow battleships, had to be conducted by more powerful battleships as Bismarck or Tirpitz and even both, accompanying Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. But on 6 April, Flying officer Kenneth Campbell succeeded in torpedoing Gneisenau, and putting her out of action for several months, as Tirpitz was not yet completed.

Operation Rheinübung

The plan

Plans were then made for Lütjens to command Operation Rheinübung, taking all four modern German battleships and battlecruisers—Bismarck, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Tirpitz—on a raid into the Atlantic. For various reasons, Tirpitz and the two battlecruisers could not be made ready for the operation, so it proceeded with only Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen.

On 8 April 1941, Lütjens met with Admiral Dönitz in Paris. Dönitz made the following assessment of the plan:

I met Admiral Lütjens, the Admiral commanding the fleet, in Paris. I knew Lütjens well and held him in high esteem. During the same years we had been in command of the cruisers Karlsruhe and Emden respectively. At the end of our overseas tours of duty we had returned to Germany in company. In the years immediately before the war, while I was senior Officer, submarines, Lütjens had been officer commanding Torpedo Boats. We were often together, both socially and on duty, we held the same views on naval matters and saw eye to eye in most things. At our conference in Paris we defined the support to be given to the Bismarck by U-Boats in the following terms:
1. The U-Boats would carry on as usual in their normal positions
2. If while the surface ships were at sea any opportunity arose for joint action with U-Boats, every effort should be made to exploit it to the full. For this purpose an experienced U-Boat Officer would be appointed for duty to the Bismarck.
3. On the radio frequency used by the U-Boats, the Admiral commanding the fleet would be kept constantly informed of the dispositions of the boats and the intentions of the U-Boat Command.

Rheinübung initiated

In the early hours of 19 May 1941, Bismarck and Prinz Eugen left Gotenhafen and proceeded through the Baltic Sea and out towards the Atlantic. Unbeknownst to Lütjens, the British had intercepted enough intelligence to suggest that a German naval operation might occur in the area, and had already sent the heavy cruisers HMS Norfolk and Suffolk to monitor the strait. When the Swedish cruiser Gotland spotted the two German ships on 20 May, a message was sent to Allied forces that eventually made its way to the British Admiralty.

On 21 May, Lütjens ordered a fuel stop in a fjord near Bergen. While Prinz Eugen was refueled, Lütjens for some reason declined to refuel the Bismarck. This was in spite of the fact that Bismarck had not left port with full fuel tanks and had spent ¹⁄₉ of her remaining fuel to get to Bergen. Lütjens also knew that a German tanker—the Weissenberg—was waiting for him in the Arctic, only an additional day's sailing away, but farther from prying Allied eyes. By this time, the British Admiralty, concerned by the Swedish report of two large German warships in the strait, had dispatched reconnaissance planes to scan the area. When one of these planes spotted the two German ships refueling near Bergen, the British immediately dispatched a task force consisting of the battlecruiser HMS Hood and battleship HMS Prince of Wales to intercept them. When further air reconnaissance revealed that Bismarck had left Bergen on 22 May, the British launched the Home Fleet Battle Fleet, led by battleship HMS King George V. However, Lütjens remained unaware that the British were tracking him until 23 May, when his ships encountered Norfolk and Suffolk. Though shots were fired, no serious damage resulted to either side, and the outgunned British cruisers quickly withdrew, though they remained in radar range and continued to shadow the German ships.

Lütjens did not have long to determine how to shake his British pursuers before, in the early hours of 24 May 1941, Prinz Eugen's hydrophones detected two large British ships approaching. Hood and Prince of Wales had intercepted him.

Battle of the Denmark Strait

Main article: Battle of the Denmark Strait

Vice Admiral Lütjens in April, 1940

Lütjens' first instinct was to attempt to outrun the British ships, scrupulously obeying his orders to "avoid engagements with equal or superior forces unless forced to by the enemy". This was reinforced when the lead British ship was quickly identified as Hood, pride of the British Navy and arguably the most feared capital ship in the world at the time. Even after Hood began to fire on the two ships and it became obvious that an engagement was inevitable, Lütjens at first refused to allow his ships to return fire, much to the agitation of Captain Ernst Lindemann, who is said to have argued with Lütjens over how to proceed, and after multiple inquiries by first gunnery officer Adalbert Schneider, "Permission to open fire?", finally snapping, "I will not allow my ship to be shot out from under my ass. Open fire!". Finally, the order to return fire was given, though whether the order was given by Lütjens, or an impatient Lindemann, cannot be confirmed.

During the brief "Battle of the Denmark Strait" that followed, Hood quickly exploded and sank, killing all but three of her crew, after a shell from Bismarck penetrated her rear powder magazine. Bismarck took a hit to the bow which passed through the waterline and caused a leak in the forward fuel tank. Prince of Wales subsequently sustained seven hits from the German ships, and, with significant damage to the bridge and most of her guns malfunctioning, was forced to withdraw. With the battle over, Lütjens once again stuck to his orders—ignoring Lindemann's desire to follow Prince of Wales and "finish her off"—and allowed the damaged British ship to escape.

Pursuit by the British

After assessing the amount of Bismarck's fuel remaining and estimating its range and operational capacity (the ship had not completed its refuelling in Norway) Lütjens ordered Prinz Eugen to initiate commerce raiding on her own, while Bismarck headed for St. Nazaire. To keep the British from detecting Prinz Eugen''s departure, Lütjens ordered Bismarck to steam directly towards Norfolk and Suffolk, forcing them to withdraw once more, while Prinz Eugen used the distraction to escape out of range of British radar.

In light of these developments, Lütjens addressed the crew as follows:

Seamen of the battleship Bismarck! You have covered yourself with glory! The sinking of the battle cruiser Hood has not only military, but psychological value, for she was the pride of England. Henceforth the enemy will to try to concentrate his forces and bring them into action against us. I therefore released Prinz Eugen at noon yesterday so that she could conduct commerce warfare on her own. She has managed to evade the enemy. We, on the other hand, because of the hits we have received, have been ordered to proceed to a French port. On our way there the enemy will gather and give us battle. The German people are with you, and we will fight until our gun barrels glow red-hot and the last shell has left the barrels. For us, seamen, the question is victory or death.

In subsequent maneuvering on 25 May, Bismarck was able to elude the British for nearly four hours after Lütjens, taking advantage of his pursuers' zig-zag pattern of movement, performed a ¾ clockwise turn behind them. Bismarck's crew was unaware that the maneuver was successful, however, because they could only detect British radar, not gauge the strength of the signals, which only the British knew had become too weak to monitor. Unaware that his British pursuers—by now joined by the Home Fleet—had "lost" him, and in spite of Captain Lindemann's by-now-usual objections, Lütjens—still attempting to follow his orders to the letter—transmitted a 30-minute radio message to his superiors. This was intercepted by the British, who were able to plot Lütjens's approximate course. However, a plotting error caused the pursuing ships to veer too far to the north, allowing Bismarck to once again evade them through the night.

A British reconnaissance aircraft sighted Bismarck in the early morning hours of 26 May by following its oil slick. At this point, the Home Fleet and Norfolk following from the north were joined by HMS Rodney, while Force H and light cruiser HMS Dorsetshire approached from the south, and light cruiser HMS Edinburgh from the west. Bismarck's low speed and southeasterly heading away from its known pursuers made it very easy for the new attackers to the south to catch up.

At dusk on 26 May, Swordfish torpedo aircraft from HMS Ark Royal attacked. Though much of the damage was superficial, one torpedo jammed Bismarck's rudders and steering gear, rendering it largely unmaneuverable. Divers were put over the side but reported they could not clear the damage as the sea was then too rough. The crew was still able to steer Bismarck somewhat by adjusting the revolution speed of her propellers, but it reduced the ship's top speed to 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) and effectively left it circling in the water. Throughout the night she was the target of incessant torpedo attacks by HMS Cossack, Sikh, Maori, Zulu, and Piorun .

Lütjens recognised the gravity of the situation. At 23:58 on 26 May, Lütjens transmitted to Group West, the Naval HQ:

To the Führer of the German Reich, Adolf Hitler. We will fight to the last in our trust in you, my Führer, and our firm confidence in Germany's victory.

Hitler replied at 01:53 on 27 May:

I thank you in the name of the whole German nation - Adolf Hitler. To the crew of the battleship Bismarck: all Germany is with you. What can be done will be done. Your devotion to your duty will strengthen our people in the struggle for their existence - Adolf Hitler

Death

On the morning of 27 May 1941, during which Bismarck's final battle took place, Lütjens sent a request for a U-Boat to pick up Bismarck's war diary. In this last transmission, Lütjens included: "Ship no longer manoeuvrable. We fight to the last shell. Long live the Führer".

King George V and Rodney—accompanied by several cruisers and destroyers—inflicted severe damage on Bismarck. Although Bismarck's upper works were almost completely destroyed, her engine rooms were still functioning but filling up with smoke. Rather than risk her being captured, one of the remaining senior officers gave the order to scuttle and then abandon ship. Many of the crew went into the water, but a few sailors from the lower engine spaces also got out alive. 118 crew members were saved, while 2,106 died; many hundreds who had survived the sinking of the ship were left to die in the water by the British because of concerns that German U-boats might be in the vicinity. Lütjens was among those who lost their lives — probably killed when a 14 in (360 mm) salvo fired by King George V destroyed the bridge, killing many senior officers.

Ship named after Lütjens

FGS Lütjens of the Deutsche Marine was named after Günther Lütjens; she was decommissioned in 2003.

Unrealistic film portrayal in Sink the Bismarck!

In the 1960 film, Sink the Bismarck!, Lütjens is portrayed as egotistic, overconfident and a Nazi enthusiast angered over Germany's humiliation and his own lack of recognition at the end of World War I. In reality, Lütjens was pessimistic of the chance of success of Bismarck's mission and did not agree with Nazi policies; he was one of the few officers who refused to give the Nazi salute when Hitler visited Bismarck before its first and final mission, deliberately using instead the traditional naval salute.

Lütjens also wore by choice the dirk of the Kaiserliche Marine, rather than the more modern Kriegsmarine dirk which bore a swastika. The film also makes a mistake in the sequence of events aboard Bismarck, showing Lütjens ordering Captain Ernst Lindemann to open fire on Hood and Prince of Wales. In the event, Lütjens actually ordered Lindemann to avoid engaging Hood, but Lindemann disobeyed and ordered the ship's gun crews to open fire on Hood and Prince of Wales.

Promotions

• 3 April 1907: Seekadett
• 21 August 1908: Fähnrich zur See
• 28 September 1910: Leutnant zur See
• 27 September 1913: Oberleutnant zur See
• 24 May 1917: Kapitänleutnant
• 1 April 1926: Korvettenkapitän
• 1 October 1931: Fregattenkapitän
• 1 July 1933: Kapitän zur See
• 1 October 1937: Konteradmiral
• 1 January 1940: Vizeadmiral
• 1 September 1940: Admiral

Relevant commands

• 16 September 1934 – 23 September 1935: Commander of the light cruiser Karlsruhe.
• 24 September 1935 – 15 March 1936: Chief of Staff Naval Group North in Wilhelmshaven.
• 16 March 1936 – 7 October 1937: Chief of the officer Personnel Branch at Naval Headquarters (Marinepersonalamt. MPA) in Berlin.
• 8 October 1937 – 20 October 1939: Commander of Torpedo Boats (Führer der Torpedoboote. F.d.T.).
• 21 October 1939 – ?? April 1940: Commander of Reconnaissance forces (Befehlshaber der Aufklärungsstreitkräfte. B.d.A.).
• 11 March 1940 – 23 April 1940: Deputy Chief of Fleet (Flottenchef i.V.).
• 18 June 1940 – 7 July 1940: Deputy Chief of Fleet (Flottenchef i.V.).
• 8 July 1940 – 27 May 1941: Chief of Fleet (Flottenchef).

Auszeichnungen

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (6 October 1915)
  • 1st Class (17 August 1916)
• Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords (24 November 1917)
• Oldenburgisches Friedrich August-Kreuz 2nd and 1st Class
• Knight's Cross 2nd Class of the Order of the Zähringer Lion
• Hanseatic Cross Hamburg (18 June 1917)
• Honour Cross for Combatants (12 September 1934)
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 1st to 4th Class (2 October 1936)
• Komtur mit Stern des ungarischen Verdienstordens (20 August 1938)
• German Red Cross Decoration 1st Class (17 September 1938)
• Memel Medal (26 October 1939)
• Sudetenland Medal (20 December 1939)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross
  • 2nd Class (4 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (25 October 1939)
• Wound Badge (1939) in Black (20 February 1939)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 June 1940 as Vizeadmiral and commander-in-chief of the reconnaissance forces
• Destroyer War Badge (11 November 1940)
• High Seas Fleet Badge (9 May 1942)
• Mentioned three times in the Wehrmachtbericht on 22 March 1941, 25 May 1941 and 28 May 1941

Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
Sunday, 25 May 1941	Wie ebenfalls durch Sondermeldung bekanntgegeben wurde, stieß ein deutscher Flottenverband unter Führung des Flottenchefs Lütjens im Seegebiet um Island auf schwere britische Seestreitkräfte. Nach einem kurzen schweren Gefecht versenkte das Schlachtschiff "Bismarck" den britischen Schlachtkreuzer "Hood," das größte Schlachtschiff der britischen Flotte. Ein weiteres Schlachtschiff der neuesten englischen "King George"-Klasse wurde beschädigt und zum Abdrehen gezwungen. Die deutschen Seestreitkräfte setzten ohne Verluste ihre Operation fort.	As also mentioned in a special report, a German task force under the leadership of chief of fleet Lütjens encountered, in the sea area of Iceland, heavy British sea forces. The battleship "Bismarck" sank the British battlecruiser "Hood," the largest battleship of the British fleet, after a short and heavy battle. A further battleship of the newest English "King George" class was damaged and forced to retreat. The German sea forces continued their operation without loss.
Wednesday, 28 May 1941	Wie schon gestern bekanntgegeben, wurde das Schlachtschiff "Bismarck" nach seinem siegreichen Gefecht bei Island am 26. Mai abends durch den Torpedotreffer eines feindlichen Flugzeuges manövrierunfähig. Getreu dem letzten Funkspruch des Flottenchefs Admiral Lütjens ist das Schlachtschiff mit seinem Kommandanten Kapitän zur See Lindemann und seiner tapferen Besatzung am 27. Mai vormittags der vielfachen feindlichen Übermacht erlegen und mit wehender Flagge gesunken.	As reported yesterday, the battleship "Bismarck," after its victorious battle near Iceland, was on 26 May hit by a torpedo from an enemy aircraft and left unmanoeuvrable. True to the last radio message from chief of fleet Admiral Lütjens, the battleship was defeated by overwhelming enemy forces and sank with flag flying together with its commander Kapitän zur See Lindemann and its brave crew, on 27 May before noon.

References

Bibliography

• Ballard, Robert (2007). Robert Ballard's Bismarck: Germany's greatest battleship surrenders her secrets. Chartwell Books. ISBN 978-0785822059.
• Dönitz, Karl. Ten Years and Twenty Days. Da Capo Press: New York. ISBN 0-306-80764-5.
• Dörr, Manfred (1996). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2:L–Z (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 3-7648-2497-2.
• Jackson, Robert . The Bismarck. Weapons of War: London, 2002. ISBN 1-86227-173-9.
• Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-355-0.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.

External links

• Media related to Günther Lütjens at Wikimedia Commons
• Bismarck: Portrait of the Men Involved
• Admiral Günther Lütjens
• Günther Lütjens
• collection of links to Günther Lütjens
• Maritime Quest - Admiral Günther Lütjens
• Scharnhorst and Gneisenau: Operation Berlin
• The Battle of Hood and Bismarck

Military offices
Preceded by Admiral Wilhelm Marschall	Chief of Fleet of the Kriegsmarine 11 March-23 April 1940 (acting) 18 June-7 July 1940 (acting) July 1940-27 May 1941	Succeeded by Generaladmiral Otto Schniewind