Hugo von Pohl
| Hugo von Pohl | |
|---|---|
Hugo von Pohl, 1915
|
|
| Born |
25 August 1855 Breslau, Province of Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | 23 February 1916 (aged 60) |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire
|
| Service/branch |
 Kaiserliche Marine
|
| Years of service | 1876–1916 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held |
SMS Elsaß German High Seas Fleet |
| Battles/wars | First World War |
Hugo von Pohl (25 August 1855 – 23 February 1916) was a German admiral who served during the First World War. He joined the Navy in 1872 and served in various capacities, including with the new torpedo boats in the 1880s, and in the Reichsmarineamt (Imperial Navy Office) in the 1890s. He eventually reached the rank of Vizeadmiral and held the position of Chief of the Admiralty Staff in 1913. He commanded the German High Seas Fleet from February 1915 until January 1916. As the commander of the surface fleet, he was exceedingly cautious, and did not engage the High Seas Fleet in any actions with the British Grand Fleet. Pohl was an outspoken advocate of unrestricted submarine warfare, and he put the policy into effect once he took command of the fleet on 4 February 1915. Seriously ill from liver cancer by January 1916, Pohl was replaced by Reinhard Scheer that month. Pohl died a month later.
Hugo von Pohl was born in Breslau, Prussian Silesia, on 25 August 1855. He entered the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) as a cadet in April 1872. At the age of 24, Pohl was promoted and given command of the sailing corvette SMS Carola. In the 1880s, he served with then-Korvettenkapitän Alfred von Tirpitz in his so-called "Torpedo Gang", which advocated a greater emphasis on torpedo boats in the German fleet. Pohl took command of the spar torpedo vessel Ulan, an early, experimental torpedo boat, in 1882. Two years later, in late September 1884, he was involved in an experiment with new torpedo boat designs from Schichau, Thornycroft, AG Vulcan, and AG Weser; Pohl commanded one of the Schichau boats. During the exercises, Pohl's boat collided with the boat commanded by August von Heeringen. The former's boat sprung a leak, while the latter's rudder was damaged, but both safely returned to port.
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