AGED GERMAN ADMIRAL DIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19013, 7 March 1930, Page 1

AGED GERMAN ADMIRAL DIES.

VON TIRPITZ EMBARKS UPON LAST VOYAGE

(United Press Assn. —By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) (Received March 7, 9.45 a.m.) BERLIN, March 6. The death is reported from Munich of Admiral von Tirpitz.

• Von Tirpitz was born, on March 19. 1849, at Kustrin. He was the son of a high Prussian magistrate, and the descendant of a noble family impoverished by the Thirty Years’ War. In 1865 he entered the Prussian Navy, and by 1903 had been raised to the rank of Admiral. In 1911 he was appointed Admiral of the Fleet. On March 15, 1916, for political reasons, he resigned all his offices. His creative talents were first utilised when torpedoes developed- into an arm suitable

for war, in building torpedo boats and in working out a tactical system for their mass employment. The idea of the offensive use of arms was the guiding note of all Tirpitz’s work. His memoranda, designed to educate the naval officers in modern ideas of their profession, fell into British hands, and in this way influenced British tactical ideas -also. Tirpitz himself considered his tactical abilities to be his greatest gift, and often regretted that afterwards he no longer exercised decisive influence on the further development of sea tactics. As a statesman, Tirpitz pursued the political aim of securing the growing marine interests of Germany, which had become a great industrial exporting and importing State. For this reason he felt the building of a fleet to be a necessity and not a luxury, since it made Germany a more acceptable ally and helped to create a sort of balance pf power at sea. Tirpitz never asked for war, and always believed that war would interrupt Germany’s rise. It was only unwillingly and with hesitation that he adopted the “idea of risk” aimed at Great Britain in his naval estimate for 1900. His aim was to build up a strong Germany with the object of arriving at a rapprochement with Great Britain. Even after the war he contended that the outbreak of the war, which was most unwelcome to him, had prevented the last maturing of his political aims. His naval programme always aimed at leaving Britain a sufficient superiority. During the critical time of Lord Haldane’s visit in 1912, Tirpitz stated that he would have given up his supplementary naval estimate completely for a real neutrality agreement with Britain. He did not entirely approve of the measures taken by the German Government after the Sarajeno murder in 1914 and was for avoiding threatened war at all costs. He did not share the opinion that Britain %vould stand out of the war and foresaw that the sympathies of America would be with Britain. lie was in favour of. a short war and for putting the German Fleet to a decisive battle. He was against any form of annexation, but was only anxious lest the Belgian coast should fall into the hands of the British. The part assigned Tirpitz in the war was unworthy of him. His position at headquarters was unsatisfactory and his advice was rarely taken. The naval battle that he wished for was not fought. He was against using U-boats too early' in the commercial war and named the spring of 1916 as the right moment. Tirpitz was not implicated in the declaration of the U-boat warfare in 1917. After the war had ruined his life’s work, he entered the Reichstag in 1921 as German National Deputy, where he played an important part behind the scenes. He was not a courtier and found recreation hi his country house in the Black Forest. His second book of memoirs, published in 1924, ends with the conclusion that the German people have not showp themselves suitable or ripe to rise to be a world Power.