Franz von Hipper (born Franz Hipper; 13 September 1863 – 25 May 1932) was an admiral in the German Imperial Navy, (Kaiserliche Marine) who played an important role in the naval warfare of World War I. Franz von Hipper joined the German Navy in 1881 as an officer cadet. He commanded several torpedo boat units and served as watch officer aboard several warships, as well as Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht . Hipper commanded several cruisers in the reconnaissance forces before being appointed commander of the I Scouting Group in October 1913.
He is most famous for commanding the German battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group during World War I, particularly at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. During the war, Hipper led the German battlecruisers on several raids of the English coast, for which he was vilified in the English press as a "baby killer". His squadron clashed with the British battlecruiser squadron at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, where the armored cruiser was lost. At the Battle of Jutland, Hipper's flagship was sunk, though his ships succeeded in sinking three British battlecruisers. In 1918, he was promoted to succeed Admiral Reinhard Scheer as commander of the High Seas Fleet.
After the end of the war in 1918, Hipper retired from the Imperial Navy with a full pension. He initially lived under an alias and moved frequently to avoid radical revolutionaries during the German Revolution of 1918–1919. After the revolution settled, he moved to Altona outside Hamburg. Unlike his superior, Reinhard Scheer, he never published a memoir of his service during the war. Hipper died on 25 May 1932. The Kriegsmarine commemorated him with the launching of the heavy cruiser in 1938.
Early life Franz Hipper was born to Anton and Anna Hipper in Weilheim in Oberbayern, some south of Munich, on 13 September 1863. His father, a shop-keeper, died when Franz was three. When Franz turned five, he began his education at a Catholic grammar school in Munich.Philbin, p. 1 At the age of ten, Franz attended the Gymnasium in Munich. Hipper graduated from the Gymnasium in 1879 with the degree of Obersekundareife—the rough equivalent of a high school diploma.The Obersekundareife was a secondary school graduation that also included the promotion to the educational stage of Obersekunda. The graduate was thus qualified for upper class.Philbin, p. 2
After completing his education, Hipper signed up as a volunteer reserve officer (Einjährig-Freiwilliger), a one-year volunteer position in the German military. After basic officer training in 1879, Hipper decided to join the navy. He went to Kiel, where he took the Pressen, courses designed to prepare officers for the naval entrance examination, which he successfully passed. On 15 April 1881, at the age of 17, Franz Hipper became an officer of the Imperial German Navy. Among the fellow cadets of the 1881 class was Wilhelm Souchon, who went on to command the Mediterranean Division at the outbreak of World War I.Waldeyer-Hartz, p. 12
Naval career
Peacetime career After Hipper joined the German Navy in 1881 as a probationary sea cadet, he served on the sail-frigate from April to September 1881. He was then transferred to the Naval Cadet School in Kiel, which he attended from September 1881 to March 1882. Upon graduation, he attended the 6-week Basic Gunnery School on the training ship , from April to May 1882. Following gunnery training, Hipper was assigned to the training ship for sea training, which lasted from May to September 1882. He was then transferred to the steam corvette for a world cruise; this was begun in October 1882 and completed two years later in October 1884. Upon reaching Germany, Hipper returned to Kiel to attend Naval Officer School from November 1884 to April 1885.Philbin, p. 4 On 24 April, Hipper was assigned as a divisional drill officer; he was tasked with training recruits for the First Naval Battalion, based in Kiel. Hipper held this position for seven months.Philbin, p. 7
In October 1885, Hipper went through the Executive Officer School in Kiel, which he completed on 16 December. On 4 January 1886, Hipper was assigned as a division officer for the Second Seaman's Artillery Division, Coastal Defense Artillery. He remained in this post until 3 March 1887, at which point he was assigned as the watch officer aboard Friedrich Carl. This began a three-and-a-half-year stint serving as watch officer aboard several ships, including the corvettes and , the armored frigate , and the aviso .Philbin, p. 8 Hipper attended the Torpedo Officer Course aboard the corvette from October 1890 to January 1891. He was then designated as a torpedo specialist; he returned to Friedrich der Grosse as a torpedo officer in October 1891. In April 1892, he went to join the crew of the newly commissioned coastal defense ship , again as a torpedo officer.Philbin, pp. 10–11 He served in this position only briefly, before being reassigned as the company commander of the Second Torpedo Unit, based in Wilhelmshaven, in October 1892.Philbin, p. 11 Hipper then took part in torpedo boat instruction from January to February 1893.
In 1894–95, Hipper served as the senior watch officer aboard the new battleship , under the command of Prince Heinrich.Philbin, p. 9 While aboard Wörth, Hipper was promoted to Senior Lieutenant and awarded the Bavarian National Defense Service Medal on 29 August 1895.Philbin, p. 10 In September 1895, Hipper was assigned as the commanding officer of the Second Torpedo-boat Reserve Division. He held this position for 21 months, during which time he alternated command of four vessels of the active and reserve units in his division.Philbin, p. 12 In June 1897, Hipper participated in a 17-day Admiralty staff cruise aboard the aviso . After returning from the staff cruise, Hipper was promoted to serve as the commander of the Second Reserve Torpedo-boat Flotilla, a position in which he served for 15 months.Philbin, pp. 12–13
Hipper was transferred to the battleship on 1 October 1898, where he served as navigator. Hipper served for 11 months as navigator aboard the battleship before he was transferred to the Imperial yacht on 19 September 1899. While serving on the Imperial yacht, Hipper was present for the trip to England for Queen Victoria's funeral in 1901 and the cruise to America the following year.Philbin, p. 13 Hipper was awarded a number of medals during his service aboard Hohenzollern, including the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, the Bavarian Military Service Order, and the Order of St. Stanislaus—awarded by the Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Hipper was promoted to the rank of Korvettenkapitän (corvette captain) on 10 June 1901.Philbin, p. 14
After leaving the Imperial yacht, Hipper was assigned to command of the Second Torpedo Unit on 1 October 1902. He held the command until 30 September 1905. His flagship for the first six months of his command was the new cruiser ; he then transferred his flag to the large torpedo boat . While in this command, Hipper was awarded additional commendations, including the Prussian Distinguished Service Cross and the Prussian Royal Crown Order. He was promoted to the rank of Fregattenkapitän (frigate captain) on 5 April.Philbin, p. 15 In January 1906, Hipper attended the 10-day Cruiser Gunnery School on the new armored cruiser . In April 1906, he participated in the Battleship Gunnery Course conducted aboard the battleship .Philbin, p. 5 On 20 April, Hipper was given command of the light cruiser , though his tenure as commander was short-lived. Leipzig departed for the East Asia Squadron in September 1906, at which point Hipper was transferred to command the new armored cruiser . Hipper assumed command of the ship on 30 September. Under Hipper's leadership, the crew of Friedrich Carl won the Kaiser's Prize for the best shooting in the fleet in 1907. Admiral Hugo von Pohl stated in a subsequent report: "He has brought the ship to a higher degree of combat effectiveness, and the ship has won the Kaiser Prize for good shooting. One of the best captains we have in the cruisers. A good example for his officers. Recommended for battleship command and for higher independent commands." On 6 April 1907, Hipper was promoted to Kapitän zur See (captain at sea). Nicholas II awarded Hipper another commendation, the Order of St. Andrew, that year during a meeting with Wilhelm II. During the ceremony, Hipper joined Wilhelm II as one of his "Imperial Captains." On 6 March 1908, Hipper took command of the new cruiser . He was tasked with conducting the shakedown cruise, after which the ship departed for the East Asia Squadron. Hipper again remained in Germany; he was given command of the First Torpedo boat Division, based in Kiel. Here he was responsible for training more than half of the torpedo boats in the entire German navy. Hipper held the position for three years, until he returned to fleet service.Philbin, p. 17
On 1 October 1911, Hipper took command of the armored cruiser , along with the position as chief of staff for Rear Admiral Gustav Bachmann, the Deputy Flag Officer, Reconnaissance Forces.Philbin, pp. 18–l19 In January 1912, Rear Admiral Bachmann was promoted out of his position; on the 26th Hipper succeeded him as the deputy commander. The following day, he was promoted to rear admiral.Philbin, p. 19 After serving as the deputy commander for over a year and a half, Hipper again followed Admiral Bachmann. Admiral Bachmann was promoted to Chief of the Baltic Station and Hipper took over as the commanding officer of the I Scouting Group on 1 October 1913. Erich Raeder was appointed as Hipper's deputy.Philbin, p. 27
World War I
After World War I broke out in 1914 Hipper led his battlecruisers on several raids against the English coastal towns. The first such raid occurred on 2 November 1914. Hipper's force included the battlecruisers , , and , his flagship, and the large armored cruiser , along with four light cruisers. The flotilla arrived off Great Yarmouth at daybreak the following morning and bombarded the port, while the light cruiser laid a minefield. The British submarine responded to the bombardment, but struck one of the mines laid by Stralsund and sank. Shortly thereafter, Hipper ordered his ships to turn back to German waters. On the way, a heavy fog covered the Heligoland Bight, so the ships were ordered to halt until visibility improved and they could safely navigate the defensive minefields. The armored cruiser made a navigational error that led her into one of the German minefields. She struck two mines and quickly sank; only 127 men out of the crew of 629 were rescued.Tarrant, p. 30
A second operation followed on 15–16 December 1914; it targeted the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby. By this time Hipper's squadron had been augmented by the new battlecruiser . Twelve hours after Hipper left the Jade, the High Seas Fleet, consisting of 14 dreadnoughts and 8 pre-dreadnoughts and a screening force of 2 armored cruisers, 7 light cruisers, and 54 torpedo boats, departed to provide distant cover for the bombardment force.Tarrant, p. 31 The Royal Navy had the capability to intercept and decode the German naval code, as a result of the capture of the light cruiser at the outbreak of the war. On 14 December, the British intercepted messages relating to the plan to bombard Scarborough. Vice Admiral Beatty's four battlecruisers, supported by six dreadnoughts and several cruisers and smaller vessels, were to ambush Hipper's battlecruisers.Tarrant, p. 32