- Grand Admiral
Grand Admiral is a historic naval rank, generally being the highest such rank present in any particular country. Its most notable use is in
Germany — the German word is "Großadmiral".France
In
Bourbon Restoration France, the rank was an honorific one equivalent to that of Marshal in theFrench Army .Germany
In the
German Navy , the rank was the equivalent of a British Admiral of the Fleet or a United States Fleet Admiral. It was created in 1901, and likeField Marshal s its holders were authorised to carry a baton. ["The Times ",1 January 1901 .]World War I
Before and during
World War I , the following men were made Grand Admirals of the GermanKaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy):*Emperor Wilhelm II (1901)
*King Oscar II of Sweden (1901)
*Hans von Koester (28 June 1905 )
*Prince Heinrich von Preußen (4 September 1909 )
*Alfred von Tirpitz (27 January 1911 )
*Henning von Holtzendorff (31 May 1918 )World War II
Before and during
World War II , the following men were made Grand Admirals of the GermanKriegsmarine :*
Erich Raeder , then-Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine, was made a Grand Admiral on1 April 1939
*Karl Dönitz , commander of the U-Boat Fleet and later successor toAdolf Hitler , was made a Grand Admiral on30 January 1943 upon succeeding Raeder as Commander-in-Chief.The Kriegsmarine also used the rank of
General Admiral ("Generaladmiral") which was senior to a fullAdmiral , but junior to a Grand Admiral.Italy
The rank of Grand Admiral (in Italian, "Grande Ammiraglio") was created by
Benito Mussolini in 1924. It was established primarily to honourPaolo Thaon di Revel , who had been head of the ItalianRegia Marina during World War I — he was the only person to be awarded the rank. It was equivalent toMarshal of Italy in the army.Peru
The rank of Grand Admiral of Peru (in Spanish, "Gran Almirante del Perú") was created by
Peruvian Congress in 1967. It was posthumously awarded toMiguel Grau Seminario who was a renowned Peruvian naval officer of German ancestry and hero of theNaval Battle of Angamos during theWar of the Pacific (1879-1884).Austria-Hungary
Anton Haus , commander of the Austro-Hungarian navy for part ofWorld War I , was given the title of Grand Admiral ("Großadmiral") in 1916. No other active-duty officer (except members of the Imperial family) was ever given this rank (although Haus's immediate successor,Maximilian Njegovan , was promoted to Grand Admiral on theretired list in 1918).Footnotes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.