Wolfgang Wegener was an officer in the German Navy

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

, retiring in 1926 with the rank of Vizeadmiral (Vice-Admiral).

He is noted as the originator of a series of influential works, published between 1915 and 1929, outlining the so-called Wegener Thesis. This thesis criticised the naval strategy adopted by Germany in the First World War, and proposed an alternative strategy based on threatening the sea lines of communication

Sea lines of communication

Sea lines of communication is a term describing the primary maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistics and naval forces...

 of the United Kingdom with both surface and sub-surface forces. The Wegener thesis is often regarded as a significant contribution to German naval strategy in the Second World War, although the extent to which this was actually the case is disputed .

Personal life

Wolfgang Wegener was the son of Dr Eduard Wegener, (5 August 1837, Luckow

Luckow

Luckow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....

 - 20 February 1909, Stettin), a medical consultant, and Martha Zitelmann (13 May 1847, Jasenitz - 13 April 1923, Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...

). He married Therese Gierke, in Berlin on 22 June 1901; they had three sons and a daughter. One of his sons, Edward Wegener (1904–1981), also reached the rank of Vice Admiral.

Career

Wegener was educated at the König-Wilhelms-Gymnasium (King Wilhelm high school). Through the influence of his uncle by marriage, the future Grand-admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 Henning von Holtzendorff

Henning von Holtzendorff

Henning von Holtzendorff was a German admiral during World War I who became famous for his Dec 1916 memo to Kaiser Wilhelm II about unrestricted submarine warfare against the United Kingdom...

, he entered the service of the Imperial German navy in 1894. He served on the cruiser Deutschland from 1897–1899, reaching the rank of Leutnant zur See

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

. He became a gunnery specialist, serving as First Gunnery Officer on the armoured cruiser Blücher

SMS Blücher

SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser to be built by the German Imperial Navy . She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be the specifications of the British s...

from 1909 to 1910. From 1912 to 1917, he served as chief of staff to the Admiral commanding the First Battle Squadron, reaching the rank of Fregatenkapitan

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 in 1917. From 1917 to 1918 he commanded firstly the light cruiser Regensburg

SMS Regensburg

SMS Regensburg"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a light cruiser built for the German Imperial Navy by AG Weser in Bremen shortly before World War I. She was laid down in 1912, launched on 25 April 1914, and completed by 3 January 1915. Regensburg...

and then another light cruiser, Nurnberg

SMS Nürnberg (1916)

SMS Nürnberg was a Königsberg class light cruiser built during World War I by Germany for the Imperial Navy. The ship was named after the previous light cruiser Nürnberg, which had been sunk at the Battle of the Falkland Islands.-Construction:...

. Following the Armistice, he continued to serve in the new Reichsmarine

Reichsmarine

The Reichsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the Reichswehr, existing from 1918 to 1935...

, being appointed Kapitän zur See

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 on 21 January 1920, and Konteradmiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 in 1923. His final appointment was as Inspector of Gunnery, based at Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...

. He retired in 1926 with the rank of Vice Admiral

Vice Admiral

Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

.

External links

• Wegener family web page (in German)