Considered to be the second oldest branch of the Imperial German Forces, the navy
of the Kaiser considered itself to be on a par with the British fleet, its
ancient enemy. Indeed, up to the outbreak of the war, it was common for German
naval officers to raise a toast to ‘Der Tag,’ the day of reckoning with the old
foe.
With the launching of a modern battleship in 1906/07, England entered into a
perilous competition with the Germans for control of the high seas. At the
beginning of the First World War, Germany had 13 Dreadnought battleships and 6
battle cruisers. These were hardly enough to wrest control of the High Seas
from an ancient enemy that had dominated the oceans since at least the 17th
century. Sadly, in two engagements with British forces, the Germans suffered a
draw. Of course, one can say that the Battle of Jutland, in 1916, was a victory
for the German navy but the fact that it never again sallied forth from its
protected ports shows that this, if anything, was a shadow victory which
ultimately led to mutiny in 1918 and the fall of the Hohenzollern dynasty.
Indeed, the greatest defeat of the German navy occurred when they were ordered
to dock their capital ships at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands in 1918. Some
small honor was reserved to these formerly grand battleships. On the date of
June 21, 1919, when the British guard squadron was on exercises, Admiral von
Reuter sent a special code signal to all ships interned—Condition Z.
Immediately, all sea cocks were opened and the once impressive might of the
German naval presence was scuttled, sinking to the bottom of the bay. The
British, embarrassed by the loss of the High Seas fleet, could only re-float
SMS Baden. 15 capital ships were forever lost. It was a sad ending to the first
code that sent the High Seas Fleet into battle—the enigmatic code, ‘Siegfried
ist Tod!’ (Siegfried is Dead) that was wire sent to all ships on the eve of the
First World War.
Under Hitler, in spite of previous naval conventions, Germany was determined to
rebuild its naval might. This meant that the Germans envisioned an active
presence for their larger naval units, called, in German, ‘schimmmende
Verbaende’ or fleet units.
Obviously, with the outbreak of the Second World War, it became obvious that
personnel assigned to larger surface ships should have their own war badge.
The so-called ‘Flotten Kriegsabzeichen’ was designed by the firm of Adolf Bock
of Berlin. It was instituted on the date of April 30, 1941, but was, in effect,
also retroactive to those personnel who had served on major engagements. For
example, the crews of SCHARNHOST, GNEISENAU, LUTZOW, ADMIRAL HIPPER, KOLN,
EMDEN, KARLSUHE and KONIGSBERG received the medal for their service in the
Norwegian campaign of 1940.
In his acceptance of the merit of the badge, Dr. h.c. Raeder, Supreme Commander
of the Kriegsmarine, noted that “Im Kampf gegen England haben die
Schlachtschiffe und Kreuzer auf weitreichenden wagemutigen Unternehmungen dem
Gegener empflinderliche Verluste an Schiffsraum zugefuegt und damit den
Blockadering um England immer enger gezogen.”
Under normal circumstances, the badge was issued to crewmembers who served 12
weeks at sea on battleships or cruisers; it could also be issued to those who
were wounded or died in the service of the High Seas Fleet. Additionally,
support personnel who assisted in High Seas operations were authorized to wear
the badge.
It was authorized to be worn on the lower left breast of the uniform. At the
beginning of the war, the badge was made of tombak and later, in the war, it
was made of fine zinc.
The badge itself depicts a battleship, sailing directly into the viewer. It is
surrounded by a wreath of gilt oak leaves upon which rests a spread winged
National Socialist eagle clutching a swastika in an oak wreath. There is a
stylized bow to the bottom of the badge. It measures 44mm wide by 57 mm high:
the eagle measures 31x14mm. The badge has a straight vertical pin.
The war- time badges tend to lose their gold tone and are often found in a
neutral gray finish which, while not considered desirable, certainly attests to
their being worn in the field.
The battleship and the ocean waves are rendered in a gray metal, initially in
silver.
It’s interesting to note that a naval painter designed the badge and that the
first issue of these badges was produced by the firm of Fa. Schwerin u. Sohn in
Berlin. Later copies bear a large RS hallmark and are suspect.
According to Dr. Klietmann, a version of this badge with 14 diamonds surfaced
in England in 1967. It was in the private collection of a Dr. Hynes in London.
Unfortunately, little is known of this badge and there are no official records
of it being awarded. Dr. Klietmann believed that this badge might have been
issued post-1945 for merit. For the casual collector, the dimensions of the
badge are 56x43.8mm with a wing-span of 31.5mm. Since only one of these
variations exist, it would be highly suspect if several should suddenly appear
without provenance.
One might note that the RS badges, which are copies, measure 56.6x43mm. This
should alert the collector to the details of the badge in size.
It should further be noted that the badge could be authorized by the captain of
a ship with the approval of a standing Commodore or a Rear Admiral.
In closing, I would like to note the following true story that shows how this
prestigious award was desired by Kriegsmarine personnel. It is said that a
certain Seaman, Markquardt by name, wanted to win the various war badges of the
Kriegsmarine. He secured almost all by changing his duty station through a
friend. In the end, he was qualified to receive the High Seas fleet badge,
which he desired most. He sought to obtain it by serving on Bismarck—end of
story.
Some collectors believe that the profile of the battleship in the badge is
indeed the Bismarck, but this is a fantasy, though, left to our imaginations,
it might be a romantic way of remembering the pride of the German fleet that
died, fighting, as a battleship should do.
References:
Angolia, John R, LTC, ‘For Fuhrer and Fatherland,’ 1976.
Klietmann, Dr. Kurt Gerhard. ‘Deutsche Auszeichnungen, ’ 1971.
Littlejohn, David & Col. C.M. Dodkins, ‘Orders, Decorations, Medals and
Badges of the Third Reich,’ 1977.