My Memoirs

by Alfred von Tirpitz

In the early twentieth century an arms race erupted between Germany and Great Britain. The German Empire aimed to build a navy that could challenge British dominance of the seas. The man behind these developments was Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. In just twenty years he took the Imperial German Navy and turned it into a world-class force. How did he manage to revolutionize the Germany Navy? And how successful was he in achieving his ambitions? Tirpitz’s book My Memoirs was written shortly after the end of the First World War and through the course of its two volumes he explains how he was able build the Imperial Navy from scratch. The first volume sheds life on his life prior to the First World War during the height of the arms race, while the second volume provides vivid insight into the mind of Tirpitz and the actions of the Imperial Navy during the war. Within the book he covers the major naval conflict of the war, the Battle of Jutland, as well as why decided to shift tactics towards submarine based raids in the later stages of the war. This book is essential reading for anyone who wishes to learn more from a German perspective of World War One and how the German Navy rose from nothing to become an effective and threatening force. Alfred von Tirpitz was a German Grand Admiral, and Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the German Imperial Navy from 1897 until 1916. He was instrumental in modernizing and developing the German Imperial Navy. His book My Memoirs was first published in 1919 and he passed away in 1930.

Genres: World War I

621 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1923

Reviews

[Tim Deaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not light reading, but if you're interested in understanding the history around World War I (1914-1918), this may be right down your alley.

Von Tirpitz was essentially the creator of the German navy at a time when England had been the unquestioned master of the world's oceans for a century. He did so because he saw it as essential in order to protect Germany's international trade which, as it grew, was also competing more and more with that of England.

Apparently, many considered Von Tirpitz and his efforts as a primary cause of World War I. This memoir, written during the year after the war (1919), is his own effort to refute those charges. It is also a detailed autobiography and a well-written picture of his era.

[GuyBanff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and Chilling

These memoirs written in 1919 by the legendary Admiral Von Tirpitz are a riveting window on history, looking back over the politics of German naval armament, German naval strategy in The Great War, and even a chilling foreshadowing of the further catastrophe of WWII through the interpretation of the
peace by a German patriot.

I have never read a memoir that was so starkly rooted in Germany and Europe's tragedy of the 20th Century.

[? · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old salt tells the tale.

[Ira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting to see the strategic thinking behind important decisions, whether they were agreed and carried out or not, and the disappointments when they weren't. The excellent introduction contextualises it really well, and makes this relatively old document come alive with timeless questions about capabilities, politics, technology and desirable outcomes under circumstances of emergencies and changing contingencies. Good work from a daring and original publisher.

[Heribert Feilitzsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishingly human face to this man who has been painted as the originator of the submarine war Germany fought in WWI. He is more of an administrator, brilliant political juggler, and strategic planner.

[Marianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating account of the First World War from a German point of view. Essential reading for a serious study of the causes and consequences of the war.

[Marek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dla każdego polskiego polityka lektura przed snem.(może byśmy mieli marynarkę wojenną)