Throughout the centuries, Prussia’s military consistently concentrated on its land power, and never sought a similar power at sea. Yet historically there were always Prussian naval forces, beginning in the days when "Prussia" meant only the principality of Brandenburg. The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and...

The Navy of Electoral Brandenburg

The principality of Brandenburg, the predecessor of the Kingdom of Prussia, possessed its own naval forces from the 16th century onwards. Beginning around the year 1657, under Elector Frederick William I (the "Great Elector"), these developed into an offensive naval force. The Elector designated navigation and commerce as the noblest undertakings of a state, and strove energetically to develop colonies overseas. Frederick William’s descendants had, however, little interest in such overseas adventures and on developing their own naval power. His son Frederick I, from 1701 the King of Prussia, was glad to sell colonial possessions to the Netherlands. At the time of Brandenburg’s elevation to the Kingdom of Prussia, the decline of the Brandenburg Navy had already begun; her end finally arrived with the sale of the colonies. Surrounding but excluding the national capital Berlin, Brandenburg is one of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states). ... Flag of Prussia (1894 - 1918) The Kingdom of Prussia existed from 1701 until 1918, and from 1871 was the leading kingdom of the German Empire, comprising in its last form almost two-thirds of the area of the Empire. ... A rare occurrence of a 5-country multinational fleet, during Operation Enduring Freedom in the Oman Sea. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg. ... In politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a geographically-distant state (or city, in ancient times). ... Friedrich I of Prussia, Kurfürst of Brandenburg, King in Russia (Fredrick I, July 11, 1857 -- February 25, 1913), Hohenzollern, was the first King in Prussia, reigning from January 18, 2001, until his death. ...

The 18th century

The Prussian kings of the 18th century had little interest in maintaining their own navy. Due to the state’s Continental position, lacking natural borders, Prussia had to concentrate its military preparations on land forces. Besides this, the kingdom was able to rely on its many friendly connections with the neighboring naval powers of Denmark and the Netherlands. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

Frederick II ("the Great") took the view that Prussia should never seek to develop its own war fleet. The kingdom could never hope to equal the great fleets of England, France, Spain, Denmark, and Russia; with their few ships, the Prussians would always remain behind those great maritime nations. He believed that naval battles would only rarely decide a conflict, and preferred having the best army in Europe than the worst fleet among the naval powers. Frederick II of Prussia (January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was a king of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty, reigning from 1740 to 1786. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... Army (from French armée) can, in some countries, refer to any armed force. ...

Even so, the Prussian monarch wanted to take part in international maritime commerce, and therefore founded several trading firms (with varying success). One of these, founded in 1772 as the Societé de Commerce maritime, exists today as a foundation named the Preußische Seehandlung (roughly translated as "Prussian Maritime Enterprise").

The 19th century

After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Prussia slowly began to build its own small fleet for coastal defense. Again, more value was placed on the development of a merchant fleet than on a navy. In this connection, the Prussian Maritime Enterprise played a significant role. Its ships were armed to protect against pirates, and flew the Prussian war ensign. This protective fleet existed until around 1850. The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France. ... This article is about sea pirates. ...

One of the first to work for the development of a Prussian Navy was Prince Adalbert of Prussia. He had made a number of journeys and had recognized the value of a fleet to support commercial interests and to protect one’s own navigation. During the Revolutionary era of 1848-1852, at the behest of the Frankfurt National Assembly meeting in the St. Paul’s Church, the prince was given the responsibility of building up an Imperial Fleet [Reichsflotte] -- a mission which the revolutionary parliament had undertaken in the face of the war with Denmark. Heinrich Wilhelm Adalbert Prince of Prussia (October 29, 1811 in Berlin – June 6, 1873 in Karlsbad) was a Prussian naval theorist and admiral. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Frankfurt Parliament is the name of the German National Assembly founded during the Revolutions of 1848 that tried to unite Germany in a democratic way. ...

The German Confederation possessed practically no fleet of its own, but relied upon the allied powers of Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Denmark. During the Schleswig-Holstein War of 1848-1851, the failure of this strategy became clear because Great Britain and the Netherlands remained neutral and Denmark became the enemy. Within a few days, the Danish Navy halted all German maritime trade in the North and Baltic Seas. The Navy of Austria, Prussia’s ally, lay in the Mediterranean and was able to attack only later in the war. The German Confederation (German: Deutscher Bund) was a loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to organize the surviving states of the Holy Roman Empire, which had been abolished in 1806. ... The First war of Schleswig (1848 – 1850), known in Denmark as the Three Years War (TreÃ¥rskrigen), was a military conflict in southern Denmark, contesting the issue of who should control the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. ... Flag of the Royal Danish Navy Ships of the Royal Danish Navy carry the prefix KMD (Kongelige Danske Marine). ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ...

After the failure of the Revolutions of 1848, Adalbert was able to resume his plans for the establishment of a Prussian Navy. He began with the construction of warships and naval education and training. From the middle of the 1850s, one could find Prussian corvettes and frigates upon all the world’s seas. French steam corvette Dupleix (1856-1887) Canadian corvettes on antisubmarine convoy escort duty during World War II. A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, smaller than a frigate. ... Frigate is a name which has been used for several distinct types of warships at different times. ...

Besides Prince Adalbert, other important figures of this early period were Prussian naval officers Karl Rudolf Brommy and Ludwig von Henk, who eventually became an admiral in the Imperial German Navy. Rear Admiral Karl Rudolf Brommy (born September 10, 1804 in Anger near Leipzig, Saxony; died January 9, 1860 in St. ... Ludwig von Henk (March 4, 1820 in Anklam - October 17, 1894 in Berlin) was a German naval officer, who distinguished himself in the Prussian Navy and later in the Imperial German Navy of the Second German Empire. ...

At the same time, the first naval base was established on the North Sea. In the Jade Treaty [Jade-Vertrag] of 1853, the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg withdrew from the so-called Jade District on the Prussian border. Here, in the following years, arose the great naval port which in 1869 received the name Wilhelmshaven. The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Oldenburg (Low German: Ollnborg) is a historical state in todays Germany named for its capital, Oldenburg. ... Wilhelmshaven is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. ...

At this point in time, the Prussian Navy had already ceased to exist. After the Austro-Prussian War (the "German War") of 1866, the North German states had allied under Prussian leadership as the North German Confederation. Out of the Prussian Navy came the Navy of the North German Confederation (Norddeutsche Bundesmarine), which after the Franco-Prussian War changed its name again to became the Imperial Navy of the new German Empire. The Austro-Prussian War (also called the Seven Weeks War or the German Civil War) was a war fought between the Austrian Empire and Prussia in 1866 that resulted in Prussian dominance in Germany. ... Flag of North German Confederation, 1867-1871 The North German Confederation (in German, Norddeutscher Bund), came into existence in 1867, following the dissolution of the German Confederation. ... The Norddeutsche Bundesmarine (Northern German Federal Navy) was the Navy of the North German Confederation. ... The Franco-Prussian War (July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871) was fought between France and Prussia (backed by the North German Confederation) allied with the south German states of Baden, Bavaria and Württemberg. ...

Summary

Even though Prussia consistently understood itself as a Continental land power, its rise and fall were closely bound up with the destiny of the Brandburger-Prussian-German naval forces. It was the ambitious appearance of the Great Elector who prepared Brandenburg’s elevation as the Kingdom of Prussia. At that time, sea power and colonies were among the essential attributes of a European power; such attributes also obviously belonged to smaller and middling powers such as Denmark and the Netherlands.

For 150 years Prussia -- unlike all other European powers -- declined to develop its own navy. Not until the 1848-1852 war against Denmark did Prussia recognize the necessity of having at least a minimal naval force to protect maritime interests. But after only 15 years, Prussia handed over its young naval forces to the rising centralized German state, an act which would have been unthinkable for the Prussian Army. The Navy was handed over first to the North German Confederation and in 1871, as the Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine), to the new German Empire. The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire and existed between 1871 and 1919; it grew out of the Prussian Navy and the Norddeutsche Bundesmarine. ... Flag of the German Empire, 1871–1919: black-white-red The term German Empire commonly refers to Germany, from its foundation as a unified nation-state on January 18, 1871, until the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II on November 9, 1918. ...

The naval preference of the last Prussian king, German Emperor Wilhelm II, prepared the end of the Prussian monarchy. The German naval buildup of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was one of the causes of World War I; and it was the mutinying sailors of the High Seas Fleet who during the November Revolution of 1918 forced the abdication of the Emperor. The Navy continued as the Reichsmarine (Imperial Navy) and later the Kriegsmarine (War Navy), until at the end of World War II, it faced its own end. Wilhelm II of Germany (born Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht von Hohenzollern 27 January 1859–4 June 1941), was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and the last King (König) of Prussia, ruling from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Combatants Entente Powers Central Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties > 5 million military deaths > 3 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War I, also known as the First World War and (before 1939) the Great War, the War of the Nations, War to End All Wars, was a world... German battlecruiser Derfflinger scuttled at Scapa Flow. ... Revolutionaries at machine gun posts, Berlin, November 1918 The German Revolution is a series of events that occurred in 1918-1919, culminating in the overthrow of the Kaiser and the establishment of a democratic republic. ... The German Navy has had several names depending on the political structure of Germany at the time: Deutsche Marine (German Navy) (1848)-(1852) Norddeutsche Bundesmarine (Northern German Federal Navy) (1866-1871) Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) (1872-1918) Vorläufige Reichsmarine (1919-1921) Reichsmarine (State Navy) (1921-1935) Kriegsmarine (War Navy... The Kriegsmarine (or War Navy) was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi regime, superseding the Reichsmarine. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII or World War Two), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the...

See also

• German Navy