He was one of the heroes of the Battles of Narvik, during which, in April 1940, while cut off from any supplies in the narrow fjords, his German destroyers desperately fought against British ships until the last shell had been spent. However, he engaged in his final battle with his flag hoisted over battleship Scharnhorst.ĭuring the early stages of World War II, Bey commanded a flotilla of destroyers and took an active part in combat operations in this capacity. In May of the same year, the admiral raised his flag over a brand new battleship, Bismarck, and made a fresh attempt to break through to the ocean-a venture that turned out to be fatal for him.Įrich Bey (1898–1943) dedicated nearly all of his career to serving on destroyers. Impermeable and a man of few words, but unreservedly devoted to his duty, Lütjens enjoyed an impeccable reputation among his superiors and unquestioned authority among his subordinates.įrom January through March 1941, in command of a formation of Scharnhorst-class battleships, he carried out a successful raid in the Atlantic and caused serious damage to British communications. In the summer of 1940, the admiral was assigned the post of commander of the fleet.
He led a raid to the shores of Great Britain, then, having raised his flag over battleship Gneisenau, covered the landings in Norway. Admiral Günther Lütjens (1889–1941) went down in history as the man who led the first, and only, voyage of battleship Bismarck, although he also took part in other significant military operations over the course of his career.Īt the beginning of World War II, Lütjens was appointed as commander of the Kriegsmarine's Scouting Forces.
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