Georg Alexander von Müller
| Georg Alexander von Müller | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
March 24, 1854 Chemnitz, Kingdom of Saxony |
| Died | April 18, 1940 (aged 86) Hangelsberg |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire
|
| Service/branch |
 Kaiserliche Marine
|
| Years of service | 1871–1919 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | Chief of the German Imperial Naval Cabinet |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Pour le Mérite |
Georg Alexander von Müller (March 24, 1854 – April 18, 1940) was an Admiral of the Imperial German Navy and a close friend of the Kaiser in the run up to the First World War.
Müller grew up in Sweden, where his father worked as a professor of agriculture.
He joined the Imperial Navy in 1871 and served in many different positions, including commander of a gunboat in East Asia, then officer on the staff of Prince Heinrich of Prussia. He was Adjutant from 1904 to Kaiser Wilhelm II. He was named to the Prussian nobility (Adelstitel) in 1900. In 1906 he succeeded Gustav von Senden-Bibran as Chief of the German Imperial Naval Cabinet, serving until the end of the German Empire in 1918. As chief of the Naval Cabinet, he dealt not only with technical issues, but also with the Court and many politicians. By the start of the First World War he had become an ally of Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg in his attempts to control and moderate the Kaiser's actions.
As one of the Kaiser's principal military decision makers in the run-up to the First World War, he was more of a pro-war opinion than not. During the October 1911 Second Moroccan Crisis, he told the Kaiser that "there are worse things than war." He saw a coming racial war in which the German race must be upheld against the Slav and Roman races.
He was serving in this position at the start of the First World War. On 30 August the Kaiser named his brother Grossadmiral Prince Heinrich of Prussia as commander of the Baltic Sea Squadron (Oberfelshaber der Ostseestreikraefte). Müller advised against this as the Prince had held the largely ceremonial post of Navy Inspector General and was not really qualified for the post. The Kaiser agreed but saw the Baltic theater as not critical and intended to give his brother a capable staff. Only a few days later, Müller objected the mining by Prince Heinrich’s forces on 5 August of an area of Danish territorial waters, thus treating Danish neutrality. Finally, after it was reported that Heinrich had lost his nerve at the prospect of battle with the Russians, other arrangements were made on 9 October 1914 to keep him from commanding any important actions.
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