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Peter Strasser

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For other people named Peter Strasser, seePeter Strasser (disambiguation).
Peter Strasser
Peter Strasser during WWI
Born1 April 1876
Hanover,Kingdom of Prussia
Died5 August 1918(1918-08-05)(aged 42)
nearWells-next-the-Sea,Norfolk,England
AllegianceGerman Empire
Service/ branchImperial German Navy
Years of service1891–1918
RankKapitän zur See(Captain)
UnitMarine-Luftschiff-Abteilung
CommandsFührer der Luftschiffe (F.d.L.)
Battles / warsWorld War I
AwardsPour le Mérite
Iron CrossFirst class

Peter Strasser(1 April 1876 – 5 August 1918) was chief commander ofGerman Imperial NavyZeppelinsduringWorld War I,the main force operatingbombing campaigns from 1915 to 1917.He was killed when flying the German Empire's last airship raid over the United Kingdom.

Early career

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Strasser was born inHanover,Germany,on 1 April 1876. At the age of 15, he joined the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). After serving on board SMSSteinand SMSMoltke,he entered the Naval academy in Kiel. He quickly rose through the ranks and was promoted toLieutenantin 1895. He served on board SMSMars,SMSBlücher,SMSPanther,SMSMecklenburgand SMSWestfalenfrom 1897 to 1902. He was an excellent gunnery officer and was placed in theGerman Imperial Naval Office(Reichsmarine-Amt) in charge of German shipboard and coastal artillery. In September 1913,[1]he took command of the Naval Airship Division (Marine-Luftschiff-Abteilung[2]). Airships were as yet an unproven technology andKorvettenkapitänStrasser became the new naval airship chief after his predecessor,KorvettenkapitänFriedrich Metzing,[1]drowned in the crash of the very first naval airship, theL 1.Also the single remaining naval airshipL 2was soon lost in another fatal accident.[3]Strasser completed theoretical studies on airships and gained practical experience piloting the civilian airshipLZ 17Sachsen.Another airship,LZ 13Hansawas chartered to train naval crews while new ships were being built. At the start of the war Navy had only one airship operational, theLZ 24 (Navy designation L 3).L 3, under Strasser's personal command, was the only one to participate in the Imperial Navy manoeuvres just before the war.

First World War

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Following the outbreak ofWorld War Iin August 1914, Navy airships were initially confined to anti-submarine, anti-mine and scouting missions. They served in theBattle of Heligoland Bight.

However, on 19–20 January 1915, L3 and L4 participated in the first bombing raids overEngland,attackingGreat Yarmouth,SheringhamandKing's Lynn.Over the next 3 years, bombing campaigns would be launched primarily against Britain, but also onParisand other cities and ports. Strasser would participate in the England raids at least once a month.[3]He decided to test the newly developedspy baskethimself, and almost fell out when it became entangled with theZeppelin's aerial.[3]Initially, bombing was limited to military targets but with great lobbying support ofKonteradmiralPaul Behncke,[1]the Kaiser approved attacks against civilian targets. Official British estimates list 498 civilians and 58 soldiers killed by air attack in Britain between 1915 and 1918. 1,913 injuries are recorded. The Imperial Navy dropped 360,000 kg of bombs, the majority on the British Isles. 307,315 kg were directed at enemy vessels, ports and towns; 58,000 kg were dropped over Italy, the Baltic and the Mediterranean. German army airships carried 160,000 kg of bombs to their designated targets: 44,000 kg hit Belgium and France, 36,000 kg England, and 80,000 kg Russia and south eastern Europe. However, questions remain over whether airships (and more importantly, their irreplaceable crews) would have been better used as a purely naval weapon.

VizeadmiralReinhard Scheerbecame Strasser's superior in January 1916, and tried unsuccessfully to tame Strasser's aggressive pursuit of independence.[1]On 28 November,[citation needed]1916, Strasser was appointed by imperial decree as "Leader of Airships" (Führer der Luftschiffe;F.d.L.).[clarification needed]

Death in the last raid over Great Britain

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Strasser did not live to see the end of the war. On 5 August 1918,[3]during a night raid againstBoston,Norwich,and the Humber Estuary, Strasser'sL 70met a British reconnaissanceD.H.4.[4]Pilot MajorEgbert Cadburyand Gunner MajorRobert Leckieshot down the L 70 just north ofWells-next-the-Seaon theNorfolkcoast. None of the 23 men aboard survived. It proved to be the last airship raid over Great Britain.[4]

Legacy

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Strasser's impact on both the war and history was important for the future ofair warfare.He was instrumental in the development of long range bombing and the development of the rigid airship as an efficient, high altitude, all-weather aircraft. He was a major proponent of the doctrine of bombing attacks on civilian as well as military targets, to serve both as propaganda and as a means of diverting resources from the front line.

We who strike the enemy where his heart beats have been slandered as 'baby killers'... Nowadays, there is no such animal as a noncombatant. Modern warfare istotal warfare.

— Peter Strasser[4]

Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdCastle, Ian (2008).London 1914–17: the Zeppelin menace(1. publ. in Great Britain ed.). Oxford: Osprey. pp. 11–12.ISBN978-1-84603-245-5.
  2. ^Urban, Heinz (2008).Zeppeline der kaiserlichen Marine, 1914-1918(in German) (Dt. Orig.-Ausg., 1. Aufl. ed.). Meersburg: Masuren. p. 560.ISBN978-3-00-022731-8.
  3. ^abcdLehmann, Ernst A.;Mingos, Howard. 1927.The Zeppelins. The Development of the Airship, with the Story of the Zeppelin Air Raids in the World War.Chapter V (online)Archived2011-05-07 at theWayback MachinePublished by I. H. SEARS & COMPANY, Inc. New York (All online chapters - I to VIIArchived2012-02-13 at theWayback Machine)
  4. ^abcLawson, Eric; Lawson, Jane (1996).The first air campaign, August 1914-November 1918.Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. pp. 79–80.ISBN0-306-81213-4.
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