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Reinhard Scheer (30 September 1863 – 26 November 1928) was an Admiral in the German ''Kaiserliche Marine''. Scheer joined the navy in 1879 as an officer cadet; he progressed through the ranks, commanding cruisers and battleships, as well as major staff positions on land. At the outbreak of World War I, Scheer was the commander of the II Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet. He then took command of the III Battle Squadron, which consisted of the newest and most powerful battleships in the navy. In January 1916, he was promoted to Admiral and given control of the High Seas Fleet. Scheer led the German fleet at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916, one of the largest naval battles in history. Following the battle, Scheer joined those calling for unrestricted submarine warfare against the Allies, a move the Kaiser eventually permitted. In August 1918, Scheer was promoted to the Chief of Naval Staff; Admiral Franz von Hipper replaced him as commander of the fleet. Together they planned a final battle against the British Grand Fleet, but war-weary sailors mutinied at the news and the operation was abandoned. Scheer retired after the end of the war. A strict disciplinarian, Scheer was popularly known in the Navy as the "man with the iron mask" due to his severe appearance.〔 In 1919, Scheer wrote his memoirs; a year later they were translated and published in English. He wrote his autobiography in 1925. Scheer died at Marktredwitz. He is buried in the municipal cemetery at Weimar. The admiral was commemorated in the renascent Kriegsmarine by the heavy cruiser , built in the 1930s. ==Early career== Scheer was born in Obernkirchen, Lower Saxony.〔Sweetman, p. 389〕 He came from a middle-class background, which initially hampered his naval career, as the Kaiserliche Marine was dominated by wealthy families.〔Tarrant, p. 49〕 Reinhard Scheer entered the navy on 22 April 1879 aged 15 as a cadet. His first sea assignment was aboard the sail-frigate . His first cruise aboard ''Niobe'' lasted from June to September 1879. During the cruise he was trained in navigation and engineering. Following his return to Germany in September, Scheer was assigned to the Naval School in Kiel to continue his officer training. He received only a "satisfactory" rating on his cadet evaluation in 1879, but received the second highest grade in his class for the Sea Cadet's Exam the following year. Following his graduation from the Naval School, Scheer embarked on a six-month-long special training program for gunnery, torpedo warfare, and infantry training. Afterward, he was assigned to the gunnery training ship .〔 Scheer was for a short time assigned to the armored frigate . For his last year in cadet training, he was assigned to the frigate , which conducted a world tour. The ship sailed to Melbourne, Australia, Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki in Japan, and Shanghai, China during the trip.〔Sweetman, p. 390〕 Following his commission into the German navy, he was transferred to the East Africa Squadron; his first tour with the unit lasted from 1884 to 1886. He was assigned to the crew of the frigate . Here he was promoted to ''Leutnant''. He also made important connections in Africa; among those he befriended was ''Leutnant'' Henning von Holtzendorff, who would later serve as commander of the High Seas Fleet.〔 During the assignment, on December 1884, Scheer participated in a landing party that suppressed a pro-British indigenous chieftain in Kamerun.〔Sandler, p. 318〕 After his return to Germany in 1886, Scheer took part in torpedo training aboard , from January to May 1888. In May 1888, Scheer returned to the East Africa Squadron as a torpedo officer aboard the corvette . This tour lasted until early summer 1890, at which point Scheer returned to Germany, where he was made an instructor at the Torpedo Research Command in Kiel. Thus far in his career, Scheer had made a strong reputation for himself as a torpedo specialist. While stationed in Kiel, Scheer met Alfred von Tirpitz, who took note of his expertise. In 1897, following von Tirpitz's promotion to Secretary of State of the Imperial Navy Office, he transferred Scheer to the ''Reichsmarineamt'' (RMA) to work in the Torpedo Section.〔 After promotion to ''Korvettenkapitän'', Scheer commanded the light cruiser .〔Herwig, p. 139〕 Scheer was promoted to ''Kapitän zur See'' in 1905 and took command of the battleship in 1907, a command he held for two years.〔Sweetman, pp. 391–392〕 A report dated 1 December 1909 recommended Scheer for promotion; he became chief of staff to the commanding officer of the High Seas Fleet, Admiral Henning von Holtzendorff,〔Sweetman, p. 392〕 under whom Scheer had served on the cruiser SMS ''Prinzess Wilhelm''.〔Massie, p. 554〕 Scheer reached flag rank less than six months after taking his post on von Holtzendorff's staff, at the age of 47. He held the Chief of Staff position until late 1911, when he was transferred back to the RMA under Alfred von Tirpitz. Here, he held the position of Chief of the General Naval Department through 1912.〔 Following this appointment, Scheer returned to a sea command, in the form of squadron commander for the six battleships of the II Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet in January 1913.〔Sweetman, pp. 392–393〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Reinhard Scheer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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