Otto Weddigen

Otto Eduard Weddigen
Birth name	Otto Eduard Weddigen
Born	15 September 1882 Herford, Westphalia, German Empire
Died	18 March 1915(1915-03-18) (aged 32) Pentland Firth, Scotland
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	German Navy
Years of service	1901–1915
Rank	Kapitänleutnant
Commands	U-9, 1 August 1914 – 11 January 1915 U-29, 16 February 1915 – 18 March 1915
Battles/wars	U-boat Campaign (World War I)
Awards	Pour le Mérite Iron Cross First & Second Class
Spouse(s)	Irma Victorine Prencke (m. 1914)

Otto Eduard Weddigen (15 September 1882 – 18 March 1915) was an Imperial German Navy U-boat commander during World War I. He was awarded the Pour le Mérite, Germany's highest honour, for sinking four British warships.

Weddigen was born in Herford, in the Prussian Province of Westphalia to Eduard and Thusnelde Weddigen (née Humfeld). After a year at the Wilhelmsplatz public school, Weddigen attended the Friedrichs-Gymnasium in his hometown of Herford from 1890 to 1901.

He started his military career in the Kaiserliche Marine in 1901 as an officer cadet. In contrast to the army which was still dominated by the Prussian nobility, the Imperial navy offered young men from the middle class opportunities for advancement. In 1902 he was promoted to ensign and in 1904 to lieutenant. In May 1906 Weddigen was transferred to the East Asia Squadron, which was stationed in the German colony of Kiautschou in China . He became officer of the watch on the river gunboat Vaterland and was promoted to first lieutenant. In 1907 he served as officer of the watch on the gunboat Tiger.

Returning to Germany in October 1908, Weddigen joined the U-boat force, which was then being set up. From April 1909 to September 1910 he served as watch officer on U-1, U-2 and U-4. He then received his first own command with U-4. During the next year, he also commanded U-3 and U-5 for a time before becoming commander of U-9, one of the Navy's newest U-boats, on 1 October 1911. Later on 25 April 1912, Weddigen was promoted to Kapitänleutnant.

A few days after the start of World War I, Weddigen set sail from Heligoland with U-9 and nine other submarines for her first mission. This first war action by the German submarines failed. Two boats were lost and U-9, battered and with technical problems, had to return to the Imperial Shipyard in Wilhelmshaven. Weddigen used the weeks of rest to marry Irma Victorine Prencke, a friend from his childhood.

On 20 September 1914, U-9 set out from the naval base on Heligoland on a reconnaissance mission westwards. In the early hours of 22 September 1914, while patrolling in the region of the southern North Sea known to the British as the "Broad Fourteens", U-9 intercepted three British warships of the Seventh Cruiser Squadron. The warships which were sailing in line were sighted about 50km north of Hoek van Holland. Weddigen fired off all six of his torpedoes, reloaded while submerged, and in less than an hour sank the three British armoured cruisers HMS Aboukir, HMS Hogue and HMS Cressy.

According to the report of the commander of the Cressy, Bertram W. L. Nicholson, an observation post on the HMS Aboukir had apparently mistaken the periscope of U-9 for a piece of driftwood . A chance hit in the Aboukir 's weapons magazine caused a huge explosion and chaos on board the British ship. To make matters worse, when HMS Cressy rushed to help, its crew consisted almost exclusively of less well-trained reservists.

In a later report, Weddigen openly admitted that, in addition to military skill, a large portion of luck was also involved in the operation, which was successful for the Germans, and he clearly highlighted what he considered to be the brave conduct of the opposing soldiers. The British lost 62 officers and 1,397 other men were killed, leaving 837 survivors which were rescued by a British fishing boat and the Dutch passenger steamers Flora and Titan. Despite being pursued by British ships, U-9 managed to return to Heligoland unscathed. It was then given a triumphant reception in Wilhelmshaven. Weddigen was celebrated as a war hero in the German Empire. The sinking of three enemy ships within a very short period of time, established submarines as a means of warfare. For the German submarine force, it was a success that had not been thought possible until then. Weddigen was awarded the Iron Cross, Second and First Class, by Kaiser Wilhelm II . The other crew members received the Iron Cross, Second Class. From then on, the boat U-9 was allowed to display the Iron Cross on its turret.

Barely three weeks later on 15 October 1914, after Weddigen sank the British cruiser HMS Hawke off Aberdeen and three merchant ships, as one of the first German naval officers, he was awarded Prussia's highest military order of bravery, the Pour le Mérite by the Kaiser on 24 October 1914. He also received the highest military honours of the other kingdoms of the German Empire: The Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph of the Bavaria (making him one of only six non-Bavarians to receive this), the Knight's Cross of Saxony's Military Order of St. Henry and the Knight's Cross of Württemberg's Military Merit Order.

Due to an injury, in January 1915, Weddigen was forced to hand over command to his first officer, Johannes Spieß. After his recovery, he took over command of U-29 on 13 February 1915. Unlike the U-9 which operated with petroleum, U-29 had diesel engines.

On 10 March 1915, U-29 set sail from Zeebrugge for its first mission under Weddigen. It reached its area of operations in the Irish Sea and was able to sink four ships with a total of 12,934 GRT over the next few days. On the return march around Scotland, U-29 encountered the Grand Fleet on 18 March 1915, east of the Pentland Firth (between the Scottish mainland and the Orkney Islands). The Grand Fleet was on its way home to its base at Scapa Flow. After a missed shot at the battleship HMS Neptune, the U-boat's periscope was sighted by the battleship HMS Dreadnought. Weddigen was unable to get to depth in time. At around 13:40, the Dreadnought rammed the U-29, which briefly shot to the surface with its bow. The boat's number was identified. The U-29 then sank, with Otto Weddigen and his entire crew killed. It was the only significant combat action of the HMS Dreadnought during the First World War.

During the inter-war period, the resurgent Wehrmacht named a newly built barracks in Herford as Otto-Weddigen-Kaserne (renamed Harewood Barracks) in his honour due to the linkage with Weddigen's birthplace. Although the Wehrmacht unit housed inside the barracks was Panzer Abwehr Abteilung 6, an Army anti-tank unit, the occupants nevertheless signified the naval connection to Weddigen by placing two large anchors at the base of a large National Socialist Reichsadler at the entrance to the barracks. Ironically, ever since 1945 the barracks has been occupied by British Army soldiers from the Royal Armoured Corps, various other tank units and finally the Royal Corps of Signals. The barracks was scheduled to close with the withdrawal of British Forces in Germany in 2020.

• Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs – The U-Boats at War. London, UK: Cassell Military Classics. pp. 11–12. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.

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