In this function, he was involved in the conceptual planning of Operation Sealion, the never attempted amphibious landing of German forces in England.

Prinz Eugen, stationed in the Baltic Sea, supported the German fighting retreat in the coastal region of the Eastern Front.

Reinicke, as a prisoner of war, co-captained Prinz Eugen under the leadership of his US Navy counterpart, Captain Arthur H. Graubart,[Note 2] during US sea trials.

[4] On 2 July 1923 he transferred to the light cruiser Berlin before he started the main cadet course at the Naval Academy at Mürwik on 30 March 1924.

The trip continued to Japan, Alaska, Cape Horn, Rio de Janeiro, the Azores and Spain before they returned home on 14 March 1928.

[5] Reinicke, who had been promoted to Kapitänleutnant (Captain Lieutenant) on 1 June 1934, was given command of the torpedo boat Möwe in the 4th Torpedoboat-Demi-Flotilla on 29 September.

Admiralstabsoffizier (Asto—officer of the admiralty staff) with the Befehlshaber der deutschen Seestreitkräfte vor Spanien (Commander of the German naval forces against Spain), Admiral Rolf Carls, a position he held until 30 September 1937.

[5][Tr 13] World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland.

Together with Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Kurt Fricke they devised a concept which proposed a landing 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of the Isle of Wight.

[1] While moored at Brest, the German ships were exposed to constant attacks by the Royal Air Force Bomber Command.

The German Admiralty considered two options, a return of the ships via the Denmark Strait, or the shorter but more dangerous route through the English Channel.

[11] The kick-off conference for the Channel Dash planning was held on 12 January 1942 when the admirals Großadmiral Raeder, Generaladmiral Alfred Saalwächter and Vizeadmiral Ciliax were summoned to Hitler's Wolf's Lair in Rastenburg (now Kętrzyn in Poland).

Reinicke accompanied Ciliax to this meeting while Raeder brought his chief of staff Vizeadmiral Fricke and Saalwächter was supported Friedrich Ruge.

[17] Prinz Eugen left Gotenhafen on 10 October to support the defensive land battles in the vicinity of Memel.

While on the return voyage to Gotenhafen on 15 October, Prinz Eugen inadvertently rammed the light cruiser Leipzig amidships north of Hela.

According to his account, Von Schuschnigg met Reinicke, whom he described as a "decent man who was certain to come out of this war badly" in a one-to-one conversation.

[18] Von Schuschnigg also witnessed the execution by firing squad of another cadet on Prinz Eugen who had been sentenced to death for cowardice in the face of the enemy.

[17] Supported by the destroyer Z25 and torpedo boat T33, Reinicke led Prinz Eugen in the bombardment of Soviet forces in Samland near Königsberg from 29–31 January.

The objective was to support the XXVIII Army Corps under command of General der Infanterie Hans Gollnick in its breakout attempt from the bridgehead at Cranz.

Beginning on 10 March, Prinz Eugen supported the defensive land battles in the area of Danzig, Gotenhafen and finally Hela.

The German forces were evacuated from Hela in mid-April 1945 and Prinz Eugen then patrolled the sea lanes near Rügen.

[3] Once there, Prinz Eugen was decommissioned at 16:00 on 7 May and together with the light cruiser Nürnberg were turned over to Royal Navy control the following day.

The cruiser was commissioned into the US Navy on 5 January 1946 as the unclassified miscellaneous vessel USS Prinz Eugen with the hull number IX-300.

A composite American-German crew, including Reinicke, under the command of US Navy Captain Arthur H. Graubart, took the ship to Boston where they arrived on 23 January.