Organization of the Kriegsmarine
As World War II unfolded, the Kriegsmarine expanded to cover additional regions and responsibilities, most significant of which was the occupation of France and the Battle of the Atlantic.
[1] The following personnel served as commander-in-chief of the German Navy from the inception of the Kriegsmarine in 1935 until the downfall of Nazi Germany ten years later.
Internal to the OKM were several additional offices, the most important of which was the Seekriegsleitung (SKL), which coordinated naval warfare and operational plans.
The position did not actually command an at-sea fleet, but was more comparable to a modern-day Chief of Naval Operations or Inspector of the Navy.
[citation needed] Navy type commanders were permanently assigned administrative officers which oversaw the development, deployment, and in some cases operational activities of the various classes of German naval vessels.
Others, such as Karl Dönitz who commanded the German U-boat force, exercised near total independence and held enormous authority, both operationally and administrative.
The Navy Group Commands were the highest operational authority of the Kriegsmarine and held direct tactical control of all naval vessels and personnel in their region of responsibility.
The original Navy group commands were formed from the preexisting Baltic and North Sea Fleets which had existed under the Reichsmarine.
However, Arnauld de la Perière was killed in a plane crash shortly after assuming this post with command then transferred to Admiral Karlgeorg Schuster.
Sub-commands to the Navy Group South also existed for naval forces operating off of the coasts of Tunisia and North Africa.
Four additional transport flotillas, based in specific geographical regions, were located in Danzig, the Netherlands, Niederrhein and along the Ruhr river.
Another type of local command was the sea defense zone (Seeverteidigung), which was a tactical operational area intended to defend the German coast line against actual attack by enemy forces.
[5] Naval ports were led by a command staff with lower departments covering maintenance, medical care, supply, as well as personnel administration.
For crews who berthed in shore facilities, instead of on board ship (especially in the case of in-port submarines), these personnel were administratively reportable to the port authorities.
During actual invasion of coastal regions by enemy forces, these units became part of the sea defense zones.
The following were the four primary staff and support units: German commerce raiders were nominally independent, reporting to the Seekriegsleitung for administrative purposes.
German vessels operating off of South America, such as Admiral Graf Spee, were also considered on "extended detached duty" and reported directly to OKM.
The officers and crew of Graf Zeppelin existed in a unique state, since the vessel was not commissioned and those on board were mainly involved in construction as well as upkeep.
The direct authority for this "housekeeping crew" was vague and those assigned to Graf Zeppelin appeared to have rotated between various higher commands depending upon the location and status of the aircraft carrier[8]
