Background
Meisel was born in Zwickau and joined the Navy as a midshipman in 1913.
Meisel was born in Zwickau and joined the Navy as a midshipman in 1913.
The Knight"s Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. During the First World War he served on the battlecruiser SMS Moltke, the light cruiser SMS Stralsund and the SMS Möwestern He later served as a staff officer on Torpedo boats and was interned in Scapa Flow.
After the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet he was held as a Prisoner Of War by the British and repatriated in 1921.
During the 1920s Meisel commanded a torpedo boat flotilla and held several staff posts and commanded the German cruiser Karlsruhe in 1929. During World World War II Meisel commanded a destroyer flotilla in the Polish Campaign of 1939 and was appointed commander of the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper in 1940.
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