Ludwig von Reuter

From Kaiserreich

Ludwig von Reuter (born in February, 9 1869 at Guben, Prussia, now part of Germany), is a German admiral. He is the current commander of the Kaiserliche Marine and State Secretary of the Imperial Naval office.

Biography

Von Reuter was born in Guben into a Prussian military family. By the time the Weltkrieg began, he was captain of the battlecruiser SMS Derfflinger, which he also commanded during the Battle of Dogger Bank. In September 1915 he became Commodore and commanding officer of the Fourth Scouting Group of five light cruisers, which he also commanded during the Battle of Jutland. Promoted to Rear Admiral, he commanded the two German battleships SMS Kaiser and SMS Kaiserin during the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1917.

After the French armistice and the exile of French government in Africa, Rear Admiral von Reuter received the order to intercept the elements of the French Navy that had stayed in Toulon, assuring the evacuation of the French population fleeing revolution at home. Rear Admiral Pierre Ronarc'h refused to surrender to the Kaiserliche Marine, deciding that French sips would be handed over to the victorious Central Powers. To prevent this, he ordered to scuttle all the presents ships. As the High Command considered that Von Reuter's mission had been fulfilled, he was appointed Vice Admiral.

Then State Secretary of the Imperial Naval Office Eduard von Capelle died in 1931, the Naval office decided, with the approval of the Kaiser, to name Von Reuter admiral and to put him in charge of the German Navy, making him responsible of one of the biggest navies in the world, a post that he still holds.