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Wilhelm Marschall (30 September 1886 – 20 March 1976) was a German admiral during World War II. He was also a recipient of the ''Pour le Mérite'' which he received as commander of the German U-boat during World War I. The ''Pour le Mérite'' was the Kingdom of Prussias highest military order for German officers until the end of World War I. ==Biography== Marschall was born in Augsburg, Kingdom of Bavaria, in 1886. In 1906 he entered the Kaiserliche Marine as a Seekadett. During World War I he served as a watch officer on . In 1916 he was educated as a U-boat commander and captained both and by war's end. While in the Reichsmarine, Marschall served primarily as a ''Vermessungsoffizier'' (surveying officer) and in different staff positions. At the end of 1934 he became commander of the pocket battleship ''Admiral Scheer''. As a Konteradmiral in 1936, he joined the Naval High Command and headed the operations division. During the Spanish Civil War Marschall commanded the German naval forces off of the Spanish coast. He was promoted to Admiral and Flottenchef (fleet commander) in 1939. Admiral Marschall, flying his flag in battleship ''Gneisenau'', led the German naval force which intercepted and sank the British auxiliary cruiser on 23 November 1939, while on patrol off Faroe Islands.〔Garzke, William H.; Dulin, Robert O. (1985). Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II. Naval Institute Press, p. 135. ISBN 978-0-87021-101-0〕 On 8 June 1940, during the latter part of the Norwegian Campaign,Marschall and part of his force (flagship ''Gneisenau'', and her sister-ship ''Scharnhorst'') fell in with British aircraft carrier and two destroyers ( and ) about 280 miles west of Harstad, Norway. In a two-hour action, ''Glorious'' and her accompanying destroyers were all sunk, in exchange for damage to ''Scharnhorst'' (struck by one of ''Acasta's'' torpedoes). Although the battle was a German victory, Marschall had engaged ''Glorious'' despite orders to avoid action. Marschall's differences with the High Command on this subject, and the severe damage to ''Scharnhorst'' during the engagement, ensured that Marschall was replaced as ''Flottenchef'' by Admiral Günther Lütjens. Marschall led the inspection of naval education for two years beginning in the summer 1940. In 1942 Marschall was named commanding admiral of occupied France and replaced Alfred Saalwächter as commander of Marinegruppenkommando West. On 1 February 1943 he was promoted to Generaladmiral, but was replaced as western commander by Theodor Krancke and deactivated later that spring. During the remainder of the war, Marschall was reactivated twice, once as Sonderbevollmächtigter (special agent) for the Danube, and once as commander of the Marineoberkommando West shortly before war's end. From 1945–47 he was held as a prisoner of war. Marschall died in Mölln, West Germany, in 1976. 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「Wilhelm Marschall」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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