Wilhelm Canaris

[Mikael]

I want more info on Canaris, military intelligence service.
Image and all is apreciated.

[AJK]

Admiral Wilhelm CANARIS (1 Jan 1887 - 9 Apr 1945)
29 Sep 1930 - 23 Sep 1932: Chief of Staff, North Sea Naval Station
1 Oct 1932 - 28 Sep 1934: Commandant, Battleship “Schlesien”
29 Sep 1934 - 1 Jan 1935: Commandant of Swinemünde
2 Jan 1935 - 12 Feb 1944: Chief of Counter Intelligence (Abwehr), Armed Forces High Command
(1 May 1935: Promoted to Konteradmiral)
(1 Apr 1938: Promoted to Vizeadmiral)
(1 Jan 1940: Promoted to Admiral)
13 Feb 1944 - 20 Mar 1944: Attached to Armed Forces High Command (OKW)
21 Mar 1944 - 30 Jun 1944: Attached to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy
1 Jul 1944 - 23 Jul 1944: Chief of Special Staff for Economic Warfare, OKW
23 Jul 1944 - 9 Apr 1945: Arrested, tried and executed for involvement in the July 20, 1944 plot to kill Hitler

[USAF1986]

Admiral Wilhelm Franz Canaris

Born: 1 January 1887, Aplerbeck/Kreis Hörde
Hanged: 9 April 1945 in Flossenbürg concentration camp, Bavaria (for his role in the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler).

Promotions:
• Seekadett: 1 April 1905
• Fähnrich zur See: 7 April 1906
• Leutnant zur See: 28 September 1909
• Oberleutnant zur See: 29 August 1910
• Kapitänleutnant: 16 November 1915
• Korvettenkapitän: 1 January 1924
• Fregattenkapitän: 1 June 1929
• Kapitän zur See: 1 October 1931
• Konteradmiral: 1 May 1935
• Vizeadmiral: 1 April 1938
• Admiral: 1 January 1940

Commands & Assignments:
• 1 April 1905: Entered the Imperial German Navy as a Sea Cadet.
• 1 April 1905-31 March 1906: Initial training and training aboard the school ship Stein.
• 1 April 1906-5 October 1907: Naval School and Special Courses.
• 23 November 1907-28 October 1909: Assigned to light cruiser Bremen on the South American station.
• 27 November 1909-30 September 1911: Company Officer in the I. Torpedo-Division (including six months’ sick leave for catarrhal apicitis of the lung in 1910).
• 4 January 1910-28 January 1910: At the same time, Watch Officer aboard the torpedo boat V 163.
• 29 January 1910-2 April 1910: At the same time, Watch Officer aboard the torpedo boat V 162.
• 4 April 1910-15 June 1910: At the same time, Watch Officer aboard the torpedo boat S 145.
• 6 August 1910-10 September 1910: At the same time, Watch Officer aboard the torpedo boat S 145.
• 13 March 1911-25 March 1911: At the same time, Watch Officer aboard the torpedo boat S 145.
• 7 July 1911-8 July 1911: At the same time, Watch Officer aboard the torpedo boat S 145.
• 26 August 1911-13 September 1911: At the same time, Watch Officer aboard the torpedo boat S 145.
• 1 October 1911-14 March 1915: Watch Officer aboard the light cruiser Dresden in the Caribbean Sea. [See details below.]
• 15 March 1915-3 August 1915: Interned in Chile.
• 4 August 1915-4 October 1915: Escaped from internment and returned to Germany aboard the Dutch steamer Frisia.
• 5 October 1915-28 October 1915: At the disposal of the Chief of the Baltic Sea Naval Station and then the I. Naval Inspectorate.
• 15 November 1915-28 November 1915: Commander of the torpedo boat T 11, torpedo school ship Württemberg.
• 30 November 1915-20 October 1916: Special Command in Spain of the Admiral Staff of the Navy. [Working as a Naval Intelligence operative in Spain, Canaris set up a supply system for U-boats in the Mediterranean and a network of paid agents that obtained information about enemy shipping movements. After being ordered to return home for U-boat training, Canaris was picked up by the German submarine U 35 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Lothar Arnauld de la Perière off the coast of Spain on 1 October 1916 and transported to Cattaro.]
• 29 November 1916-1 January 1917: Commander of the torpedo division boat D 9.
• 2 January 1917-1 June 1917: Submarine training at the U-Boat School.
• 2 June 1917-11 September 1917: Commander of the submarine U 16.
• 16 September 1917-30 September 1917: At the disposal of the Leader of Mediterranean Sea U-Boats. [Canaris carried out staff duties at Cattaro until a submarine was available for him to command.]
• 1 October 1917-27 November 1917: Admiral Staff Officer and Deputy to the Leader of Mediterranean Sea U-Boats.
• 28 November 1917-17 January 1918: Commander of the submarine UC 27.
• 18 January 1918-13 March 1918: Commander of the submarine U 34. [While commanding this boat, Canaris sank three merchant vessels totaling 16,174 tons and damaged a fourth ship on a war patrol in the Mediterranean Sea that lasted from 19 January-16 February 1918.]
• 14 March 1918-30 April 1918: Admiral Staff Officer and Staff Leader of Mediterranean Sea U-Boats.
• 1 May 1918-10 May 1918: Construction training, submarine UB 128.
• 11 May 1918-30 November 1918: Commander of the submarine UB 128. [After accepting his boat from the Kiel shipyards, Canaris sailed her to Cattaro in August 1918. He returned his boat to Germany when the Adriatic submarine bases were lost due to the breakup of Austria-Hungary.]
• 1 December 1918-14 February 1919: At the disposal of the Inspectorate of the U-Boat Service.
• 15 February 1919-23 July 1920: Assigned to the Reich Naval Office/Admiralty as Liaison Officer to the Garde-Kavallerie-Schützendivision [Guard Cavalry Rifle Division] commanded by Generalleutnant von Hofmann, and then on the personal staff of Gustav Noske, the Reich Defense Minister. [Canaris served as a key member of the military court that tried the eight Freikorps members accused of murdering Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, the heads of the German Communist Party (ex-Spartacus League) that attempted to seize control of the government in Berlin on 11 January 1919. On 15 January 1919, the two revolutionaries were taken into custody and then clubbed and shot to death by members of the Garde-Kavallerie-Schützendivision. After being convicted in a trial “stage managed” by Canaris, the defendants were allowed to conveniently escape from prison using contacts, money and papers supplied by Canaris. Although Canaris was arrested for complicity in abetting the escape, he was soon released and then cleared of the charges by a board of court martial drawn from officers of the Garde-Kavallerie-Schützendivision!]
• 22 November 1919: Married Erika Waag with whom he had two daughters, Eva (born 16 December 1923 in Kiel) and Brigitte (born 16 January 1926 in Berlin).
• 24 July 1920-18 June 1923: Admiral Staff Officer on the staff of the Baltic Sea Naval Station.
• 19 June 1923-14 May 1924: First Officer of the light cruiser Berlin. [This training cruiser was commanded by Kapitän zur See Wilhelm Friedrich (gen. Wilfried) von Loewenfeld from 2 July 1922-30 September 1923. Loewenfeld commanded the famous III. Marine-Brigade during the Freikorps-era and was investigated for his role in the Kapp Putsch. Canaris served aboard this ship with Cadet Reinhard Heydrich whom he took a liking to.]
• 15 May 1924-3 October 1924: At the disposal of the Chief of the Baltic Sea Naval Station.
• 4 October 1924-30 September 1926: Office Head in the Fleet Department of the Navy Command.
• 1 October 1926-21 June 1928: On the staff of the Chief of the Navy Command.
• 22 June 1928-28 September 1930: First Officer of the pre-dreadnought battleship Schlesien (commanded by Kapitän zur See Max Bastian from 1 October 1928-23 September 1929).
• 29 September 1930-23 September 1932: Chief of Staff of the North Sea Naval Station.
• 1 October 1932-28 September 1934: Commander of the pre-dreadnought battleship Schlesien.
• 29 September 1934-1 January 1935: Commandant of Swinemünde.
• 2 January 1935-25 April 1935: Delegated with the leadership of the Abwehr (Military Intelligence) Department/Reich Defense Ministry. [Canaris succeeded Kapitän zur See Conrad Patzig as chief of the Abwehr Department. Later achieving the rank of Admiral, Patzig served as chief of the Navy Personnel Office in the Navy High Command from 4 October 1937-31 October 1942.]
• 26 April 1935-6 February 1938: Chief of the Abwehr Department/Reich War Ministry.
• 7 February 1938-31 May 1938: Chief of the Armed Forces General Affairs Office Group/Armed Forces High Command.
• 1 June 1938-7 November 1939: Chief of the Foreign Office Group/Abwehr in the Armed Forces High Command
• 8 November 1939-12 February 1944: Chief of the Foreign Office/Abwehr in the Armed Forces High Command. [The Foreign Office/Abwehr was responsible for armed forces espionage, counterespionage, sabotage and foreign intelligence.]
• 13 February 1944-20 March 1944: At the disposal of the Armed Forces High Command. [Effective 12 February 1944, the Abwehr was absorbed into the Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA as a single German intelligence service under control of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler.]
• 21 March 1944-30 June 1944: At the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine. [During this period, Canaris was unemployed and under house arrest at Burg Lauenstein.]
• 30 June 1944: Retired from the Kriegsmarine.
• 1 July 1944: Placed at the disposal of the Kriegsmarine
• 1 July 1944-23 July 1944: Chief of the Special Staff for Mercantile Warfare and Economics Combat Measures/Armed Forces High Command.
• 23 July 1944-9 April 1945: Imprisoned by the Gestapo and released from active military service. [On this date, Canaris was personally taken into custody by SS-Brigadeführer Walter Schellenburg, the Chief of the SD, his former rival, host and riding companion. Not at all surprised, Canaris addressed Schellenberg when he called on him: “Somehow I felt it would be you.”]

Decorations & Awards:
• German Cross in Silver: 11 November 1943, Chief of the Foreign Office/Abwehr in the Armed Forces High Command.
• Prussian Crown Order, 4th Class
• Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914) with 1939 Bar
• Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914) with 1939 Bar
• War Merit Cross, 1st Class with Swords
• War Merit Cross, 2nd Class with Swords
• Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 1st Class (25-year Service Cross)
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 3rd Class (12-year Service Medal)
• Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration
• Austrian War Commemorative Medal with Swords
• Turkish War Medal (“Iron Crescent”)
• Venezuelan Order of the Liberator (also known as the Order of the Bust of Simon Bolivar), 5th Class – Höhne states Venezuelan President Juan Vicente Gómez, who deposed former President Cipriano Castro, personally presented Fähnrich zur See Canaris this decoration on 13 May 1909. This decoration appears in the Rangliste der Kaiserlich Marine, 12 May 1914; however it is not in the post-World War I Rangliste der Deutschen Reichsmarine.
• Imperial German Navy U-Boat Badge – World War I award

Canaris and the Cruise of the Dresden

Upon the outbreak of World War I, the Dresden, commanded by Fregattenkapitän Fritz Lüdecke, served as an independent surface raider and sank the British freighters Hyades (3,352 tons) and Holmwood (4,223 tons) on 21 August and 26 August 1914 respectively. On 12 October 1914, after rounding Cape Horn, the Dresden linked up with the German East Asia Cruiser Squadron commanded by Vizeadmiral Maximilian Graf von Spee. Based at Tsingtau, China, von Spee’s squadron sortied into the Pacific Ocean shortly before the outbreak of World War I. Upon the outbreak of war, Vizeadmiral Graf von Spee planned to take his squadron home via Cape Horn. On 1 November 1914, the German squadron engaged four British cruisers commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher G.F.M. Cradock in the Battle of Coronel off the coast of Chile. The British armored cruisers Monmouth and Good Hope were sunk with all hands, including Admiral Craddock aboard the latter ship, but the light cruisers Glasgow and Otranto managed to escape the debacle. On 16 November 1914, the Dresden also caught and sank the British freighter North Wales (3,691 tons).

On 8 December 1914, Graf von Spee’s squadron was surprised off the Falkland Islands by a powerful British force commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee centered on the battlecruisers Invincible and Inflexible. In the ensuing Battle of the Falklands, the British decimated the German squadron sinking the armored cruisers Scharnhorst (lost with all hands including Graf von Spee) and Gneisenau (190 survivors out of 765 crewmembers) and the light cruisers Nürnberg and Leipzig. The light cruiser Dresden was the only German ship to escape the battle.

After sinking the British three-masted sailing barque Conway Castle (1,694 tons) on 27 February 1915, Lüdecke sought out a neutral country for internment, as his ship's stocks of coal and ammunition were nearly exhausted. Arriving in the Chilean Más a Tiera Islands on 9 March 1915, Lüdecke requested internment for his ship and crew, but a formal answer from the Chilean government never arrived. On 14 March 1915, a British naval force composed of the armored cruiser Kent, the light cruiser Glasgow and the auxiliary cruiser Orama located the Dresden and opened a fierce bombardment that inflicted severe damage on the German ship killing seven crewmembers and wounding many more. In order to buy time to extinguish fires, place scuttling charges and evacuate the wounded, Lüdecke sent Canaris to parley with the British commander, Captain John Luce, aboard the Glasgow. After treating with Captain Luce for as long as possible, Canaris returned to the Dresden, which was then sunk with scuttling charges. While the German wounded were evacuated by the British, the remainder of the crew, including Canaris, was left on the island until Chilean warships arrived five days later to take them to the mainland.

SOURCES: Hildebrand, Hans H. & Henriot, Ernest. Deutschlands Admirale, 1849-1945, Band 1 (Ackermann-Gygas). Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, Germany, 1988; Heinz Höhne, Canaris: Hitler’s Master Spy (translated by J. Maxwell Brownjohn), Doubleday & Company, Inc., New York, NY, 1979; Walter, John. The Kaiser’s Pirates: German Surface Raiders of World War I. The Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1994; Rangliste der Deutschen Reichsmarine, 5 January 1928; various internet sources of World War I naval combat.

[Requin Marteau]

Bonjour,

The decoration on the right side could be the Spanienkreuz (first photo).
What is this Ribbon (Officer class) ?

Crdl
Thierry

[graveland]

The decoration on the right side could be the Spanienkreuz (first photo).

A pic of Canaris wearing the Spanienkreuz mit Schwertern, here:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... t#p1894414

[hucks216]

List of awards (Bundesarchiv PERS-6 105)