Konteradmiral z.V. Dr. jur. Paul Meixner

Born: 4 June 1891, Wien / Austria

Died: 8 June 1950, Wien / Austria 

Promotions:

Imperial and Royal (k. u. k.) Austro-Hungarian Navy:

• Seekadett: 18 June 1910

• Seefähnrich: 1 July 1912

• Fregattenleutnant: 1 May 1913

• Charakter als Linienschiffsleutnant: 1 January 1920

German Kriegsmarine:

• Charakter als Kapitänleutnant a.D.: 23 May 1940

• z.V.-Offizier: 20 August 1940

• Patent Kapitänleutnant z.V. (RDA May 1940)

• Korvettenkapitän z.V. (from 1942 Sonderführer Kapitän zur See): 1 April 1941

• Fregattenkapitän z.V. (later Sonderführer Kapitän zur See): 1 February 1943

• Kapitän zur See z.V.: 1 April 1943

• Konteradmiral z.V. (RDA 1 June 1944): 12 May 1944

Commands & Assignments:

• 18 June 1910: Entered the Imperial and Royal (k.u.k.) Austro-Hungarian Navy as a Sea Cadet.

• 18 June 1910-9 August 1914: Training and various land and sea assignments.

• 3 August 1914-12 July 1915: Second Officer of the torpedo boat "57T" (ex-"Narwal").

• 13 July 1915-28 August 1915: At the disposal of the Submarine Station.

• 29 August 1915-17 October 1916: Second Officer of the submarine "U 16." [On 17 October 1916, the "U 16," commanded by Linienschiffsleutnant Orest Ritter von Zopa, torpedoed and sank the Italian destroyer "Nembo" off Strade Bianche. The "U 16" apparently surfaced right under the escorted steamer "Bormida" and, damaged irreparably, sank at coordinates 40°08'N/19°30°E. Two members of the crew were lost but 14 survivors, including the commander and Fregattenleutnant Meixner, were rescued by the Italians and made prisoners of war.]

• 17 October 1916-February 1919: Prisoner of war in Italian captivity.

• 1 January 1920: Separated from the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

• 23 May 1940: Accepted for service in the German Kriegsmarine with the rank of Charakter als Kapitänleutnant a.D. (Honorary Retired Kapitänleutnant).

• 23 May 1940-27 July 1940: Detached to the Kriegsmarine Service Center at Aalborg-Aarhus.

• 28 July 1940-9 September 1940: Preparation for Operation “Seelöwe” (Sea Lion) in Emden, the proposed invasion of Great Britain.

• 10 September 1940-17 January 1941: Detached to the Naval Harbor Detachment at Calais, France.

• 18 January 1941-17 October 1941: Leader of the Sea Transport Center and then the Sea Transport Main Center at Tripoli, Libya.

• 21 February 1941-31 August 1941: At the same time, Naval Liaison Officer to the Commanding General of the Africa Corps.

• 1 September 1941-30 January 1942: At the same time, Naval Liaison Officer to the Commander-in-Chief of Panzer Army Africa.

• 18 October 1941-October 1942: Chief of the German Sea Transport Center North Africa.

• October 1942-7 December 1942: At the same time, delegated with the post of Chief of the German Naval Command North Africa.

• 30 January 1942-22 September 1942: At the same time, Naval Liaison Officer to the Commander-in-Chief of Panzer Army Africa.

• 21 February 1941-October 1942: At the same time, Naval Liaison Officer to the Italian Admiral of Libya.

• 8 December 1942-28 February 1943: Chief of the German Naval Command North Africa.

• 5 March 1943-11 May 1943: Chief of the German Naval Command Tunisia and, at the same time, Chief of Staff of the Italian Naval Command Tunisia.

• 11 May 1943-February 1946: Prisoner of war in British captivity. 

Decorations & Awards:

• German Cross in Gold: 11 February 1943, Sonderführer Kapitän zur See z.V, Chief of Naval Transport Command.

• German Cross in Silver: 6 June 1942, Korvettenkapitän z.V., Chief of Naval Transport Command North Africa.

• Iron Cross, 1st Class (1939)

• Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1939)

• War Merit Cross, 1st Class with Swords

• War Merit Cross, 2nd Class with Swords

• Austrian Silver Military Merit Medal (“Signum Laudis”)

• Austrian Bronze Military Merit Medal (“Signum Laudis”)

• Austrian 1912/1913 Mobilization Cross

• Austrian Karl Troop Cross

• Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918

• Austrian War Commemorative Medal with Swords

• Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Navy U-Boat Badge

• “AFRIKA” Campaign Cuff-Title 

NOTE: Meixner was one of the extraordinarily rare recipients of both the German Cross in Gold and Silver in World War II. He was also the only former Austro-Hungarian naval officer to see active service as an admiral in the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. 

A note of the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Navy U-Boat Badge that Meixner prominently wore as a "war badge" which it was not. 

“The Submarine badge was not an award! It was given to U-Boat personnel (excluding officers and officer candidates) while they were attached to a particular boat. The badges were the property of individual boats and had to be given back when not on duty with a particular boat e.g. if participating in training courses on land or on extended leave at home or whilst awaiting an appointment to another submarine or boat etc.” 

SOURCES: Hildebrand, Hans H. & Henriot, Ernest. "Deutschlands Admirale, 1849-1945, Band 2 (Habicht-Orth)." Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, Germany, 1989; Scheibert, Horst. "Die Träger des Deutschen Kreuzes in Gold (Kriegsmarine, Luftwaffe, Waffen-SS) und Deutschen Kreuzes in Silber (Heer, Kriegsmarine, Luftwaffe, Waffen-SS)." Podzun-Pallas Verlag, Friedberg, Germany, n.d.; various photographic evidence & WWI naval internet sources.

A Captain’s Sacrifice

An Honorable German: Captain Hans Langsdorff in Montevideo after the battle of the Rio Plata.

Knowing from the reports of his damage control parties that her oil purification plant had been ruined and the hole in her bows needed patching up before any sustained attempt was made to cross the Atlantic and return to German waters, Langsdorff suspected that he would need at least a fortnight in port to make good these defects. Even if the Uruguayan president Alfredo Baldomir could be persuaded to interpret his nation’s neutral status in a novel way so as to grant him such a respite, Langsdorff realised that the British would use the interval to bring up a host of naval reinforcements that would be waiting offshore for him once he emerged from the harbour once again. Entering the port of Montevideo at 2350 hours on 13 December, therefore, Langsdorff left himself with only two options: one was to remain there indefinitely – interned for the duration of the war – the other was to leave port after his ship had been patched up and fight his way out probably against overwhelming odds. Neither option looked particularly desirable, but he was soon left with yet a third that was easily the worst of them all. Assailed diplomatically on all sides, President Baldomir chose ultimately to grant the Graf Spee only a 72-hour stay in Uruguayan waters. As this wasn’t nearly long enough for her to be made seaworthy again, what would Langsdorff do to resolve his dilemma?

Matters were simplified somewhat by the diplomatic exchanges that took place over the next three days and by the fact that neither Hitler nor Raeder wished to see their pocket battleship permanently marooned in Uruguayan or Argentinean waters. Langsdorff was no fool. He recognised that he was in a trap of his own making. While he was prepared to pay the ultimate price for committing that cardinal error, he saw no earthly reason why others who were not responsible for making this mistake, namely, his ship’s company and their prisoners, should be forced to do the same. After deciding that the Allies should not have the satisfaction of sinking or capturing the Graf Spee, Langsdorff made meticulous preparations to ensure that his officers and men would have the final word in deciding the fate of their own boat. In a final defiant gesture, the pocket battleship that had caused the Allies so much agitation sailed out from Montevideo harbour in the early evening of 17 December with a skeleton crew on board. While four miles offshore, those aboard left her for the last time and at 2200 hours the scuttling charges they had laid now did their work and she was blown apart. Accepting the ultimate blame for the loss of his own ship, Kapitän zur See Hans Langsdorff committed suicide in Buenos Aires two days later by shooting himself in the temple with his own revolver. When told of Langsdorff death, Hitler is cruelly reputed to have observed: ‘He should have sunk the Exeter.’