# Wilhelm Meisel

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__NOTOC__
{{refimprove|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox military person
|honorific_prefix   = 
|name               = Wilhelm Meisel
|honorific_suffix   = 
|image              = Wilhelm Meisel.jpg
|image_upright      = 
|alt                = 
|caption            = Meisel in 1941
|native_name        = 
|native_name_lang   = 
|birth_name         = 
|other_name         = 
|nickname           = 
|birth_date         = {{birth date|1891|11|4|df=y}}
|birth_place        = [Zwickau](/source/Zwickau)
|death_date         = {{death date and age|1974|9|7|1891|11|4|df=y}}
|death_place        = [Mülheim](/source/M%C3%BClheim)
|burial_place       = 
|burial_label       = 
|burial_coordinates = <!--{{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}}-->
|allegiance         = [German Empire](/source/German_Empire)<br />[Weimar Republic](/source/Weimar_Republic)<br />[Nazi Germany](/source/Nazi_Germany)
|branch             = [Imperial German Navy](/source/Imperial_German_Navy)<br />''[Reichsmarine](/source/Reichsmarine)''<br />''[Kriegsmarine](/source/Kriegsmarine)''
|branch_label       = Branch
|service_years      = 1913–1945
|rank               = ''[Admiral](/source/Admiral_(Germany))''
|service_number     = 
|unit               = [SMS ''Hertha''](/source/SMS_Hertha_(1897))<br />[SMS ''Moltke''](/source/SMS_Moltke)<br />[SMS ''Stralsund''](/source/SMS_Stralsund)<br />[SMS ''Kaiserin Augusta''](/source/SMS_Kaiserin_Augusta)
|commands           = [Heavy cruiser ''Admiral Hipper''](/source/German_cruiser_Admiral_Hipper)
|battles            = [World War I](/source/World_War_I)
----
[World War II](/source/World_War_II)
|battles_label      = 
|awards             = [Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross](/source/Knight's_Cross_of_the_Iron_Cross)
|memorials          = 
|spouse             = <!--Add spouse if reliably sourced-->
|children           = 
|relations          = 
|other_work         = 
|signature          = 
|signature_size     = 
|signature_alt      = 
|website            = <!--{{URL|example.com}}-->
|module             = 
}}

'''Wilhelm Meisel''' (4 November 1891 – 7 September 1974) was an [Admiral](/source/Admiral) of the ''[Kriegsmarine](/source/Kriegsmarine)'' of [Nazi Germany](/source/Nazi_Germany) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) and a recipient of the [Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross](/source/Knight's_Cross_of_the_Iron_Cross).

Meisel was born in Zwickau and joined the Navy as a midshipman in 1913. During the First World War he served on the battlecruiser {{SMS|Moltke}}, the light cruiser {{SMS|Stralsund}} and the {{SMS|Möwe|1914|6}}. He later served as a staff officer on Torpedo boats and was interned in Scapa Flow. After the scuttling of the [High Seas Fleet](/source/High_Seas_Fleet) he was held as a POW by the British and repatriated in 1921.

During the 1920s Meisel commanded a torpedo boat flotilla and held several staff posts and commanded the {{Ship|German cruiser|Karlsruhe}} in 1929.

During World War II Meisel commanded a destroyer flotilla in the [invasion of Poland](/source/invasion_of_Poland) of 1939 and was appointed commander of the [heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper](/source/German_cruiser_Admiral_Hipper) in 1940. He was made Chief of Staff of Naval Group west in 1943 and [Chief of Naval staff](/source/Seekriegsleitung) in 1943.

== Awards ==
* [Iron Cross](/source/Iron_Cross) (1914) 2nd Class (17 March 1915) & 1st Class (15 April 1917)<ref name="Dörr p54">Dörr 1996, p. 54.</ref>
* [Hanseatic Cross](/source/Hanseatic_Cross) of Hamburg (June 1916)<ref name="Dörr p54" />
* [Albert Order](/source/Albert_Order) of Saxony, 2nd Class with Swords (May 1916)
* [The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918](/source/The_Honour_Cross_of_the_World_War_1914%2F1918) (December 1934)<ref name="Dörr p54" />
* [Spanish Cross](/source/Spanish_Cross) in Silver (6 June 1939)<ref name="Dörr p55">Dörr 1996, p. 55.</ref>
* [Clasp to the Iron Cross](/source/Iron_Cross) (1939) 2nd Class (26 October 1939) & 1st Class (8 May 1940)<ref name="Dörr p54" />
* [Destroyer War Badge](/source/Destroyer_War_Badge) (July 1941)<ref name="Dörr p55" />
* [High Seas Fleet Badge](/source/High_Seas_Fleet_Badge) (1 November 1941)<ref name="Dörr p55" />
* [Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross](/source/Knight's_Cross_of_the_Iron_Cross) on 26 February 1941 as ''[Kapitän zur See](/source/Kapit%C3%A4n_zur_See)'' and commander of the heavy cruiser "Admiral Hipper"<ref>Fellgiebel 2000, p. 307.</ref><ref>Scherzer 2007, p. 535.</ref>
* [Order of the Rising Sun](/source/Order_of_the_Rising_Sun), 2nd class (Japan)<ref name="Dörr p55" />

==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist|25em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book
  |last=Dörr
  |first=Manfred
  |year=1996
  |title=Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2: L–Z
  |trans-title=The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy—Volume 2: L–Z
  |language=German
  |location=Osnabrück, Germany
  |publisher=Biblio Verlag
  |isbn=978-3-7648-2497-6
}}
* {{Cite book
  |last=Fellgiebel
  |first=Walther-Peer
  |year=2000
  |orig-date=1986
  |title=Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile
  |trans-title=The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches
  |language=German
  |location=Friedberg, Germany
  |publisher=Podzun-Pallas
  |isbn=978-3-7909-0284-6
}}
* {{Cite book
  |last=Scherzer
  |first=Veit
  |year=2007
  |title=Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives
  |trans-title=The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives
  |language=German
  |location=Jena, Germany
  |publisher=Scherzers Militaer-Verlag
  |isbn=978-3-938845-17-2
}}
{{Refend}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box
| before = ''Konteradmiral'' [Günther Lütjens](/source/G%C3%BCnther_L%C3%BCtjens)
| after  = ''Kapitän zur See'' [Friedrich Bonte](/source/Friedrich_Bonte)
| title  = Acting Führer der Torpedoboote (F.d.T.) 1933–1939
| years  = 21 October 1939 – 25 October 1939
}}
{{succession box
| before=Admiral [Kurt Fricke](/source/Kurt_Fricke)
| after= Chief of the ''[Seekriegsleitung](/source/Seekriegsleitung)''
| title=Chief of Staff of the ''[Seekriegsleitung](/source/Seekriegsleitung)''
| years=21 February 1943 – 30 April 1944
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Chiefs of Staff of the Wehrmacht}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Subject bar
| portal1=Biography
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meisel, Wilhelm}}
Category:1890s births
Category:1974 deaths
Category:Admirals of the Kriegsmarine
Category:German military personnel of the Spanish Civil War
Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom
Category:Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I
Category:Military personnel from Saxony
Category:Military personnel of the Kingdom of Saxony
Category:People from Zwickau
Category:Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class
Category:Recipients of the Hanseatic Cross (Hamburg)
Category:Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Category:Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class
Category:Reichsmarine personnel

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Wilhelm Meisel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Meisel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Meisel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.