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PF/2663/2021/GL/GP-5/

ADMIRAL KARL DONITZ: LAST NAZI LEADER IN HISTORY

References:

A. BNA JSTI office LM No JSC/66/2021/08 dated 18 October 2021.

B. JSSDM-2003.

INTRODUCTION

1. The foundation of successful command is good leadership, professional

knowledge, integrity and loyalty. These major qualities are cut and polished by other
supportive qualities such as, morale, technical knowledge, general knowledge, the
current knowledge vision, intellect, judgment and initiative etc. Admiral Karl Doenitz,
as Commander in Chief of Submarines, demonstrated his innovative operational
thinking. During World War II, he transformed German U-boats into a lethal weapon
against the Allies. As the operational Commander in The Battle of the Atlantic, he
nearly brought Britain to its knees. His tactical wolfpack innovation, concentration,
and U-boat deception has maximized the limited supply of U-boat. He was an expert
at operational maneuvering, shifting his attention and assets within his theater to
take advantage of allied weaknesses. Throughout the conflict, his interpersonal skills
and character attributes inspired his men to extraordinary loyalty. He is still
remembered as an example of operational leadership because he combined theory
and practice in planning and deploying his troops to achieve his goals.

2. During World War II, his brilliant leadership led U-boat operations to the
pinnacle of success. He started from the ground up, building a force of nearly 800 U-
boats and 38,000 submariners. He had a new perspective on his U-boats. He broke
out of the old conceptions of World War I and put them to new uses. He prioritized
concentration, speed, and deceit, and he successfully modified earlier methods for
achieving these goals. The U-boats became an almost tide-turning war instrument
for the axis powers because of his innovative operational strategy. It turned out to be
the most insightful selection made in any country's armed forces before or during
World War II.

3. The paper will analyse the glorious life of Admiral Karl Doenitz. Then the
Admiral’s personality, mindset and significant traits will be highlighted. After that, the

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questionable decisions of the admiral will be described. The paper will analyse the
leadership qualities of Admiral Karl Doenitz through different events of his life.
Finally, the paper will suggest few takeaways based on the lessons learned from
Donitz's leadership.

AIM

4. This paper aims to analyse the leadership traits of German Admiral Karl
Donitz to persuade possible lessons that future leaders may follow.

EVENTFUL LIFE

Early and Personal Life

5. Karl Donitz was born in Berlin, Germany on September 16, 1891. He was the
second child of Emil Donitz and Anna Beyer. His father worked as an engineer at the
firm of Karl Zeiss of Jena, a world leader in the field of optics. When Karl was only
three years old, his mother died on March 6, 1895. In all respects, he and his elder
brother, Friedrich, had a friendly personal relationship with their father. Emil Donitz
never remarried and kept the reminiscence of his wife living into the hearts of his
sons.

6. On 27 May 1916, Donitz married a nurse named Ingeborg Weber, the

daughter of a German general. They had three children, a daughter named Ursula
and sons Klaus and Peter. Both sons were killed during the Second World War. The
younger son Peter was a watch officer on U-954 and got killed on 19 May 1943.
Klaus was killed on 13 May 1944 while taking part in an action. In 1937 Karl Donitz’s
daughter Ursula married the U-boat commander. It is easily understood that, the
commitment to the nation is no need to elaborate further, once it goes through the
family life and the children of the great leader.

Service Life

7. Donitz joined the Imperial German Navy in April 1910. After three years, he
eventually became an officer, serving onboard a German Cruiser named ‘SMS
BRESLAU'. After serving two years, he was transferred to the Naval Air Arm on the
eve of World War-I. There he was appointed as a Flight Observer and Seaplane
Squadron Leader. He was voluntarily transferred to the submarine service and this

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was an exemplary act of his commitment to his objective and dedication to his
nation. He began his service in the U-boat fleet as a Commanding Officer in 1916.
He commanded several ships/U-boats till 1918. Later during WW-I, in September
1918, his U-Boat was operating near Malta in the Mediterranean Sea and sunk by
the British Navy. Then he was apprehended and remained as Prisoner of the War
(POW) in a British camp in Sheffield. Donitz remained in British imprisonment for the
next nine months.

8. After being released in 1919, Donitz joined the German Navy (Known as
REICH MARINE) & appointed as Inspecting Officer of Torpedo Boats. He stayed in
the REICH MARINE for 16 years. In the fall of 1935, Donitz was selected by
General-Admiral Raeder to raise and command the U-boat arm of the navy.

9. Donitz admired Adolph Hitler and was a passionate supporter of the Nazi
Party. In 1942 he was awarded with the Knight's Cross and promoted to the rank of
Admiral. Later in 1943, he was promoted to Grand Admiral. Admiral Raeder was
succeeded as supreme commander of the German Navy by Donitz. He is well
recognized by military strategists for the significant role he played throughout the
war. As a competent tactician, he directed the Battle of the Atlantic against Allied
supply ships. He developed the concept of the "WolfPack" in submarine warfare by
grouping his U-boats to lay in wait for the allied fleet. His co-ordination of
reconnaissance aircraft, re-supply vessels and wolfpack allowed his U-boats to strike
where they would impose the most damage. By 1943, he commanded 212 operative
and 181 training U-boats. His attacks remained effective until the invention of
microwave radar, by which the allies could find and wreak destruction on the U-boat
wolfpack. Donitz was the successor of Hitler by the last will. Upon hearing of Hitler's
death, Donitz took charge as Reich’s president and supreme commander of the
armed forces.

Influence as a Leader

10. The operational leadership exhibited by Grand Admiral Karl Donitz as

Commander in Chief of Submarine during World War-II showed the remarkable
example of his planning, preparation and conduct of the U-boat war in the Atlantic
Theater of Operations against the British, and later the Americans. His objective of
sinking the merchant fleet of the British nearly brought Britain to defeat. He displayed
great talent in his dedicated fight for resources, innovative tactics of using ‘Wolfpack’.
He was also a master of operational maneuver and shifted his focus and assets
within his theater to take advantage of allied vulnerabilities. His personal character
traits served him well as he inspired trust and unparalleled loyalty from his
subordinates. His operational thinking and practice of operational art throughout this

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campaign remain a relevant model of operational leadership and thus his early life
served as the catalyst of great leadership.

SIGNIFICANT LEADERSHIP TRAITS EXEMPLIFIED FROM THE BATTLES

Interpersonal Skills

11. Donitz was a firm believer in knowing his men on a personal level, and he
took advantage of every opportunity to do so. He was known as their 'Uncle' or 'Lion'
throughout the submarine service. Many submariners were familiar with him, and
they seemed to know that he cared about them, as seen by their unwavering
commitment. His ability to combine tactical proficiency, morale, team building, and
training to accomplish his intent was impressive.

Command and Control

12. Donitz always desired to have aircraft under his command and direction in
addition to 'orchestrating' his wolfpack. He was an early proponent of joint operation,
requesting air assets for both search and assault on a regular basis. Donitz was
finally allowed with the use of 40 aircraft after gaining strategically significant bases
in France. After the war, he stated that his lack of air power was one of his gravest
weaknesses. He saw that, in any theater of operation, it is fundamental that all forces
must be committed to the conflict under a single command, which was truly ahead of
his time.

Concept of Employment

13. Donitz's new U-boat strategy was born on the night when his submarine was
sunk during World War-I. He devised his wolfpack tactics to counter allied advances
in radar and convoy use. These strategies had a number of advantages. First, they
utilized concentration to maximize surprise. Second, the attacks would take place at
night to protect his submarines. Third, they would operate as much as possible on
the surface. These tactical changes did achieve surprise, confusion, and uncertainty
and were initially extremely successful. The deployment of wolfpacks also
significantly increased firepower, as a group of submarines could inflict more
damage than four or five submarines acting alone.

Operational maneuver

14. To achieve a decisive result, Donitz combined his tactical wolfpack innovation
with an operational one in the transfer of his forces from one region of the theater to
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another. Early in 1942, an excellent illustration of his operational move occurred. He

chose to deploy his forces in Operation Paukenschlag, one of the most successful
major operations in the Battle of the Atlantic. When the United States finally entered
the war, Donitz correctly predicted that American submarine operations and anti-
submarine capabilities would fall behind those of the British. Donitz saw an
opportunity to exploit these vulnerabilities, lack of preparation and anti-submarine
devices. Donitz exploited a profitable theater 3000-4000 miles away from his nearest
base of operation in Biscay, and the western Atlantic may be regarded an economy
of force afford at its best.

Culminating Point of victory

15. The final withdrawal of U-boats from the Atlantic was Donitz's most difficult
decision throughout the war. Leadership continues to have difficulties in determining
the point at which victory will be achieved. Due to constant battle for resources, he
was unable to quickly reassemble the U-boats and replace the casualties. Even as
late as March 1943, success in the Atlantic was still being accomplished. When 31
submarines were lost in May, he withdrew them from the theatre of operations due to
the high cost and risk. He has delayed too long, given the submarine force's horrific
loss of life.

ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP

Free Rein Leader

16. Donitz believed in leadership as a means of personal interaction and took a

"hands-on" approach to many facets of his command. Donitz focused on the training
and tactics of his personnel to maximize the efficacy of his limited available units due
to the pre-war limitations on German submarine production numbers. Donitz's
training, dedication, and professionalism embedded a strong sense of confidence in
his subordinates and superiors alike. This assurance gave him the free reign he
needed to maximize the effectiveness of the U-boats under his command.

Vision

17. Grand Admiral Karl Donitz is the father of U- boat concept of German naval
war fighting tactic during World War-II. The idea came to his mind during World War-
I when he was a POW in British custody. He visualized the future of war while in the

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detention camps of the British’s as a POW and he named the tactics of U-boats as
“Wolfpack” which means attack as a group to a target.

18. Surrender to the Americans at the latter part of the second world war was the
other significant incident. Saving lives of the thousands of German soldiers and
people was the priority of the grand Admiral after Germany lost the leadership of
Hitler and the continuous defeats of Germans by allied forces. Other than that, he
saw the consequences of surrendering to the Russians will bring them worst results
rather surrendering to the Americans.

19. Donitz immediately planned for implementation of Operation Drumbeat after

Adolf Hitler’s declaration of war on the United States. This targeted shipping along
the East Coast of the United States. Operation Drum beat Carried out by the U-boats
7 and it had dramatic and far-reaching results. The U.S. Navy was entirely
unprepared for anti-submarine warfare. Operation Drumbeat showed the Grand
Admiral a vision on the operation strategies of German Navy.

20. When studying of the leadership qualities of the Grand Admiral Karl Donitz it
was observed that vision and the intellectual qualities was there in his life and most
of the time, he was successes in his decision making due to these qualities.

Courage

21. As per the last will of the German leader Adolf Hitler grand admiral Karl Donitz
was nominated as the successor of the German leader. In a critical time, he took
over the responsibility of nations and was a great difficult step of a leader. Grand
Admiral Karl Donitz took that challenge and led the nation in the distress time.
Without refusing the responsibility he was made a nationwide radio address, in which
he spoke of Hitler’s death and announced that the war would continue “to save
Germany from destruction by the advancing Bolshevik enemy.” However, Donitz
even knew that Germany’s position was untenable and was no longer capable of
offering meaningful resistance. He feared Soviet reprisals against Germans and
high-ranking officers like himself and planned to surrender to western allies.

22. In some difficult times in battle of Atlanta once the allied forces were able to
decode secrets messages to U boats from the command and U boats were under
heavy attack of enemy. At that time admiral sought support from the German Air
force but he was not supported by his sister services. Even though there were many
resistances from outside and inside, admiral himself did not change his stand till he
finished the war. It shows the courage and braveness of the admiral.

Self Confidence

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23. Self-confidence is a significant leadership quality, shown by the Admiral Karl

Donitz from early life of his naval carrier. He believed himself most of the time and
that might be the reason to plan long distance operations like St Lawrence and
Operation Drumbeat. He had confidence in his men and the men under him had
confidence on him, as he was very professional in his subject of U boats.

24. Most of the time he was isolated from the sister services due to many internal
frictions. He never gave up his missions and higher commanders’ orders even
though there were difficulties. Sound knowledge of profession, knowledge of men
under him, equipment and limitations, knowing the enemy and its capabilities are the
good ingredients of self-confidence that he possessed.

CONCLUSION

25. Admiral Donitz had an illustrious life throughout his naval career. His U-boat
was sunk by the British during WWI, and he was taken into British custody as a
prisoner of war. German was brought to the brink of triumph because of his
extensive expertise and great tactics. The Admiral possessed exceptional leadership
qualities and was a skilled practitioner of the operational art. As Commander of the
German Theater of Operations, he was able to make the best of limited resources by
employing operational maneuver and Wolfpack tactics.

26. Despite the failure of national support and strategic blindness, Donitz's
achievements were impressive. No other military leader or commander was as
closely associated with a specific weapon system as Donitz was with the submarine
war in general. His natural skills and abilities as a war planner, combined with his
personality, significantly contributed to morale throughout the war.

27. Admiral Karl Donitz was a master of the operational arts. Despite the
opposition of other military leaders, Donitz had chosen unconditional surrender to the
Americans, in order to save the lives of innocent Germans. Initially, it appeared to be
a bad decision, but in the end, it was proven that Donitz could see the consequences
of surrendering to Russia and went against the tide, by his vision to avoid a terrifying
end to the war. Grand Admiral Karl Donitz was visionary and could see beyond
horizon. He could use his concepts and skills to create new rules. Donitz was gifted
with both creativity and insight. He was a talented unidirectional naval officer who is
still a role model in the way he shapes and defines the elusive concept of leadership.

TAKEAWAYS

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28. On analysing the leadership of the great Naval leader Admiral Karl Donitz, the
takeaways can be summarized as follows:
a. Donitz had the ability to lead from the front, through setting example.
He clearly had the inherent quality to connect with a wide range of people at a
personal level. He was also very compassionate towards his subordinates.
BN Officers may practice leading from the front. They may also try to achieve
the ability to interact with subordinates at personal level to boost their morale
and get the best output.

b. The courage and fighting spirit Donitz showed in battlefield is praise

worthy. Even after staying in prison for ten years, he did not loose hope. BN
officers may strive to be courageous and possess the positive attitude of
persistence.

c. Donitz was a visionary leader. He could successfully project his vision

towards his superiors and subordinates. BN Officers may inculcate this
leadership trait and endeavor to ensure the vision becomes reality.

Chattogram JANNATUL FERDAUS

MUMU
Lieutenant Commander BN
November 2021 Group Leader (Gp-5)

To:

Commander Ripon Kumar Mondol, (E), psc, BN

Directing Staff-2
66th BN Junior Staff Course
South Patenga
Chattogram

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books & Articles

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1. King, Commander J.E. 1995, Admiral Karl Doenitz: A legacy of leadership, Naval
War College, United States Navy.
2. Doenitz, Admiral K. 1958, Ten Years and Twenty Days, Weidenfield & Nicholson
Ltd.
3. Lieutenant Commander S.M Ritchie, R., 2003. The effectiveness of the
leadership of Admiral Karl Doenitz. Geddes Papers , p. 9.
4. N Turner (Producer), 1997, U-Boat War: Sea Wolves, ITN/ Discover Channel.

Websites and Web-pages

1. http: www.answers.com/karl-d-nitz.htm, accessed on 01 Nov 21

2. http://uboat.net/men/doenitz.htm, accessed on 01 Nov 21
3. http://www.joric.com/Conspiracy/Doenitz.htm, accessed on 01 Nov 21
4. http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/450508b.html, accessed on 01 Nov 21
5. http://www.stormingmedia.us/24/2487/A248792.html, accessed on 01 Nov 21
6. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERdoenitz.htm, accessed on 01 Nov 21
7. http://ww.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Doenitz.html
8. http: www.answers.com/karl-d-nitz.htm, accessed on 01 Nov 21
9. http://uboat.net/men/doenitz.htm, accessed on 01 Nov 21
10. http://www.joric.com/Conspiracy/Doenitz.htm, accessed on 01 Nov 21
11. http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/450508b.html, accessed on 01 Nov 21
12. http://www.stormingmedia.us/24/2487/A248792.html, accessed on 01 Nov 21
13. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERdoenitz.htm, accessed on 01 Nov 21
14. http://ww.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Doenitz.html, accessed on 01
Nov 21

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