Ханс фон Райтер: Германия теңіз күштерінің адмиралы және Скапа Флоу оқиғасы

19/20th century German naval officer

Hans Hermann Ludwig von Reuter (9 February 1869 – 18 December 1943) was a German admiral who commanded the High Seas Fleet when it was interned at Scapa Flow in the north of Scotland at the end of World War I. On 21 June 1919 he ordered the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow to prevent the UK from seizing the ships.

Reuter was born in Guben into a Prussian military family. His father, a colonel in the army, was killed in the Franco Prussian War. In 1885, he became a cadet in the Imperial German Navy at the instigation of his mother. As a midshipman at the age of 17, he was promoted to Unterleutnant zur See in 1888. By 1910, he was a Kapitän zur See, commanding the armored cruiser .

Two months after the outbreak of World War I, he was made captain of the battlecruiser , which he also commanded during the Battle of Dogger Bank. In September 1915, he became commodore and commanding officer of the Fourth Scouting Group of five light cruisers (, , , , ), leading the group during the Battle of Jutland. Promoted to Konteradmiral in November 1916, he was placed in command of the Second Reconnaissance Group, a fleet of six light cruisers including his flagship He commanded the group during the mine sweeping operation that led to the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in November 1917. Faced with a surprise attack by a numerically superior force of British ships, he successfully withdrew his group under fire to the protection of the battleships and
Reuter was vilified in Britain and made a prisoner of war, along with the other 1,773 officers and men of the fleet's remaining rump crews. In Germany, he was celebrated as a hero who had protected the honour of the navy. While most of the imprisoned Germans were soon returned to Germany, Reuter was among several who remained imprisoned in Britain. He was eventually released and finally returned to Germany in late January 1920.

Five months after his return from Britain, Reuter was requested to hand in his resignation from the Navy. The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to drastically reduce the size of its navy leaving Reuter without a suitable command, given his rank and age. Moving to Potsdam, he eventually became a state councillor. He also wrote a book on the scuttling of the High Fleet, Scapa Flow: Grave of the German Fleet. On 29 August 1939, he was made full admiral to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Tannenberg.

Reuter died in Potsdam of a heart attack on 18 December 1943.