Friedrich Ruge

class="fn" colspan="2" style="background-color: #B0C4DE; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Friedrich Ruge
colspan="2" style="background-color: #B0C4DE; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" |
colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa; line-height: 1.5em;" | File:Friedrich Ruge, Vice Admiral of the German Navy of the Bundeswehr.png “What does a sea officer have to be able to do first and foremost? He must be able to lead people. He must be able to lead ships. And he must be able to wield weapons. Everything else takes a back seat.”
Birth name	Friedrich Oskar Ruge
Birth date	24 December 1894(1894-12-24)
Place of birth	Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
Death date	3 July 1985 (aged 90)
Place of death	Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany West Germany
Service/branch	Kaiserliche Marine Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine File:Flag and Coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Germany.png Amt „Blank“ File:Flag and Coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Germany.png Federal Ministry of Defence File:Deutsche Marine der Bundeswehr.png German Navy (Bundeswehr)
Years of service	1914–1918/20 1920–1935 1935–1945 1955 1955–1957 1956–1961
Rank	Vizeadmiral
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Iron Cross Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	∞ 1920 Ruth Greef
Other work	Translator, writer, educator, politician

Friedrich Oskar Ruge (24 December 1894 – 3 July 1985) was a German naval officer, finally Vice Admiral of the German Navy (Deutsche Marine) of the Bundeswehr until the summer of 1961.

Life

File:Friedrich Oscar Ruge I.png

Kommodore Friedrich Ruge

File:Kommodore Friedrich Ruge inspecting the sailors of the Kriegsmarine.png

Kommodore Friedrich Ruge inspecting the sailors of the Kriegsmarine

File:Friedrich Ruge, signature.JPG

Signature

File:Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel und Vizeadmiral Friedrich Ruge bei Besichtigung eines U-Boot-Bunkers in La Rochelle (1944).png

Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel and Vice Admiral Friedrich Ruge visiting a U-boat bunker in La Rochelle, France in 1944 before the invasion.

File:Vizeadmiral Friedrich Ruge (left) and Konteradmiral Eberhard Godt (center) in British captivity, 1945.png

Vice Admiral Friedrich Ruge (left) and Rear Admiral Eberhard Godt (center) in British captivity, 1945

Friedrich visited the elementary school (4. Bürgerschule) in Leipzig from October 1901 to June 1905. In the autumn of 1905, he was transferred to the Leipzig Gymnasium Thomas-Schule, at the same time his father taught at the Leipzig König-Albert-Gymnasium. In November 1907, the family moved into a nice house in Borsdorf, a suburb of Leipzig. In 1910, young Friedrich became member of the Wandervogel movement. In 1911, the family moved to Bautzen, where the father took over the position of Gymanasium director. Friedrich visited this Gymanasium as of November 1911, on 10 March 1914, he passed his Abitur.

Although Ruge wanted to study paleontology, he was also enthusiastic about the navy. His beloved uncle, Reinhold "Hold" Ruge, was an officer and naval doctor. He had instilled in his nephew a love of the navy during the visits to Kiel on the occasion of the school holidays. In 1912, he was able to visit the pre-dreadnought battleship SMS "Hessen for a whoe day. This experience left a deep impression on him. In the third week of March 1914, Friedrich and his father traveled to Flensburg, where the final cadet selection took place at the Marineschule Mürwik. Of 693 applicants, the sea ​​cadet acceptance committee had invited 350. On 1 April 1914, Ruge joined the Imperial German Navy as one of 302 sea ​​officer candidates of the Crew 14 (due to the war, the Crew was later increased to 332 officers).

44 members of the Crew served continuous until the end of WWII. 19 of these were flag officers (admirals), among them Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, Hellmuth Heye, Kurt Böhmer, Hans Mirow, Hans Bütow snd Friedrich Bonte, two were generals of the Luftwaffe, including Ulrich Kessler, the rest all reached the rank of Kapitän zur See (Colonel). Further 75 were reactivated between 1923 and 1938, another 88 served as reserve officers or at disposal (z. V.) of the German Navy. The last documented annual meeting (68th) of the last living members of the Crew 1914 took place in Dortmund in May 1982.

Kaiserliche Marine

• Entered the Navy as a Seekadett and Attended Basic-Training, on Board the Heavy Cruiser ‘Hertha’ (01 Apr 1914-03 Aug 1914)
  • Infantry training (six weeks) in Kiel-Wik, swearing in on 10 May 1914
  • Transfer to the SMS "Hertha" on 12 May 1914
    • Trip abroad to Scandinavia and Scotland (Leith, Edinburgh) in July 1914 with intensive training; because of a intestinal disease, Ruge had to travel to Trondheim in mid-July and get back on board. SMS "Hertha" returned to Wilhelmshaven with high speed on 30 July 1914 as ordered.
• On Board the Liner ‘Lothringen’ (8 Aug 1914-00 Sep 1914)
• On Board the Heavy Cruiser ‘Hertha’ (00 Sep 1914-16 Nov 1914)
• Radio-Course at the Schule für Funkentelegraphie Mürwik (17 Nov 1914-23 Dec 1914)
• On Board the Turbine Cruiser ‘Lübeck’ (24 Dec 1914)
  • 5 January 19 February 1915 Due to intestinal disease hospital ship and convalescent leave
• On Board the Liner ‘Elsaß’ in Wilhelmshaven (20 Feb 1915)
  • Learned Turkish in spring 1915 in the hope of being deployed in the Mediterranean
  • With the old ‘Elsaß’ he experienced his first war mission as a radio operator in the summer of 1915 in the unsuccessful attempts to conquer the city of Riga in a combined operation coming from Libau.
• Naval-School (Marineschule) and Courses togehter with memebrs of the Crew IV/1913 (01 Dec 1915-30 Apr 1916)
  • including school boat course at the torpedo inspection
• Watch-Officer (Wachoffizier) on Board the Torpedo-Boat ‘T 126’ of the Torpedo-Boat-School-Flotilla (01 May 1916-00 Nov 1916)
• Radio, Watch and Artillery Officer on Board the Torpedo-Boat ‘B 110’ of the II. Torpedo-Boat-Flotilla (10 Nov 1916-00 Nov 1918)
  • Spring 1917 Six week artillery course for officers in Kiel
  • The II. Torpedo-Boat-Flotilla was relocated to Libau on 18 September 1917. Torpedo-Boat ‘B 110’ took part in the Operation Albion (Unternehmen „Albion“) in October 1917, in which it was possible to drive the Russian fleet from its position dominating the approach to Riga – which had now been conquered by German troops in September 1917, freeing it from Russian troops.
  • Torpedo-Boat ‘B 110’ took part in the attack on the British anti-U-boat barrage across the Dover Straits came on the night of 14–15 February 1918. It was carried out by Korvettenkapitän Oskar Heinecke’s 2nd Flotilla of the High Seas Fleet, which sailed from Heligoland Bight without stopping in Flanders in order to achieved surprise. Its eight torpedo boats were meant to sail on 13 February but were delayed a day by bad weather and then reduced to seven when one of them suffered condenser problems. The British failed to realise what was happening, assuming that gunfire was aimed at the U-boat spotted by the Shipmates and that any destroyers that they spotted were friendly. Even the captain of a British motor launch fired at by German destroyers assumed that they were British and had mistaken his vessel for a U-boat. The Germans sank seven drifters, one paddle minesweeper and a trawler and severely damaged six drifters, a trawler and a paddle minesweeper; 89 British officers and men were dead or missing.
  • Home leave in the summer of 1918 in Bautzen and Borsdorf, when Torpedo-Boat ‘B 110’ was in the shipyard for overhaul, also course at the company Siemens to introduce the new direction pointer (Richtungswweiser) for the guns of the torpedo boats.
  • Training in the Kieler Förde and Eckernförde Bay in September 1918
  • Ready for deployment in the North Sea (mainly mine detection protection) from the end of September to 29 October 1918, then the revolutionary unrest began.

Post WWI

^{Read more in the Main Article--> Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow}

The signing of the Armistice with Germany on 11 November 1918, at Compiègne, France, effectively ended the First World War. The Allied powers agreed that Germany's U-boat fleet should be surrendered without the possibility of return, but were unable to agree upon a course of action regarding the German surface fleet. The Americans suggested that the ships be interned in a neutral port until a final decision was reached, but the two countries that were approached – Norway and Spain – both refused. Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss suggested that the fleet be interned at Scapa Flow with a skeleton crew of German sailors, and guarded in the interim by the Grand Fleet. The terms were transmitted to Germany on 12 November 1918, instructing them to make the High Seas Fleet ready to sail by 18 November, or the Allies would occupy Heligoland. The first craft to be surrendered were the U-boats, which began to arrive at Harwich on 20 November 1918; 176 were eventually handed over. Admiral Franz von Hipper refused to lead the surface fleet to the surrender, delegating the task to Rear-Admiral Ludwig von Reuter.

Having learned of the possible terms of the Treaty of Versailles in May 1919, von reuter began to prepare detailed plans to scuttle his ships. Admiral Erich Raeder later wrote that von Reuter was informed that the fleet was to be scuttled at all costs. Around 10:00 a.m. on 21 June 1919, von Reuter sent a flag signal ordering the fleet to stand by for the signal to scuttle. At about 11:20 the flag signal was sent: "To all Commanding Officers and the Leader of the Torpedo Boats. Paragraph Eleven of to-day's date. Acknowledge. Chief of the Interned Squadron." The signal was repeated by semaphore and searchlights. Scuttling began immediately: seacocks and flood valves were opened, internal water pipes smashed and drain valves on sewage tanks opened. SMS B 110, under Kapitänleutnant Heinz-Eduard "Harry" Menche, was scuttled by the commandant, Ruge and the other officers.

Ruge had stayed voluntarily with his ship in November 1918, when the list was made, who would be released and who would transfer the ship as part of the internment group, as he later admitted to his fiancée Ruth in one of his many letters. He would become a POW on 21 June 1919 and was placed in Camp 2333/15 in Oswestry/Donington Hall. He had started learning Spanish on the ship and continued to do so as a POW. On 30 January 1920, Ruge and the the first contingent of POWs were released and arrived in Wilhelmsvhaven on 31 January 1920, where they were welcomed like heroes, the celebrations were led by Vice Admiral Adolf von Trotha, since March 1919 Chief of the Admiralty. Leutnant zur See Ruge was then given three months of home leave pending a decision about further naval service.

At that time there were still communist unrest. On 19 March 1920, Ruge became a Zeitfreiwilliger in Saxony. Temporary volunteer associations were auxiliary troops made up of war-experienced and untrained volunteers to secure the young Weimar Republic. When the unrest seized, he was given leave on 31 March 1920. In April 1920, he tried to find out, if he had a future in the new Reichsmarine. He received a telegram from his former commandant Harry Menche in which he was asked to come to Münster (military training area Munsterlager), which Ruge did on 24 Aprl 1920. Their he also met members of the Marine-Brigade „Ehrhardt“ under Hermann Ehrhardt, who was also in Scapa Flow, and members of the Marine-Brigade „von Loewenfeld“. But the Freikorps were dissolved on 31 May 1920 in Sennelager. At the instigation of Menche, Ruge joined the Coastal Defense Battalion or Küstenwehrabteilung I (K.W.A. I) in Kie, stationed in Münster due to the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch. From 10 May to 8 June 1920, he completed a platoon leader course with the Schiffstammdivision der Ostsee. On 16 June 1920, the K.W.A. I relocated to Sennelager. Ruge served as company officer until 4 July 1920.

Reichsmarine / Kriegsmarine

On 6 July 1920, he was finally officially returned to service with the Reichsmarine with rank seniority from 1 April 1920. He was named assistant of the Chief of Staff (Korvettenkapitän Ernst Meusel) of the Marinestation der Ostsee (Baltic Sea Naval Station) in Kiel. In Janaury 1921, Admiral Paul Behncke visited the station. He made a big impression on Ruge.

• Assistant and Adjutant as the Barrier-Test-Command (09 Sep 1920-30 Sep 1923)
  • At the same time, Watch-Officer on the Tender ‘T 168’ (09 Sep 1920-30 Sep 1921)
  • At the same time, Watch-Officer on the Tender ‘M 60’ (01 Oct 1921-30 Sep 1923)
• Platoon-Leader in the Coastal-Defence-Battalion III or Küstenwehrabteilung III (01 Oct 1923-09 Oct 1924)
• Detached to the Technical College in Berlin-Charlottenburg (10 Oct 1924-05 Oct 1926)
• Commandant of the Minesweeper ‘M 136’ of the 1st Minesweeper-Flotilla (11 Oct 1926-01 Oct 1928)
• Advisor in the Inspection of Torpedo and Mine Affairs (02 Oct 1928-17 Oct 1928)
• Advisor in the Barrier Experiment and Instruction Command or Minenreferent beim Sperrversuchskommando (18 Oct 1928-28 Sep 1932)
  • Diploma in English at the University of Kiel in 1930, beginning of his writing career
• Chief of the 1st Minesweeper-Half-Flotilla (29 Sep 1932-29 Sep 1934)
• Admiral-Staff-Officer in the Staff of the Naval-Station of the Baltic Sea (30 Sep 1934-24 Apr 1937)
  • Counter-intelligence, his superior was Admiral Wilhelm Canaris
• Placed to the Disposal of the Leader of Minesweepers (25 Apr 1937-31 May 1937)
• Leader of Minesweepers (01 Jun 1937-31 Aug 1939)
• Leader of Minesweepers East (01 Sep 1939-14 Oct 1939)
  • In the Polish campaign, in this capacity, he took on security tasks in the Danzig Bay when conquering the Western Platte, and Danzig when bombarding the Heia peninsula
• Leader of Minesweepers West; At the same time, in April 1940 was Leader of Warship-Group 10 with Operation Weserübung (15 Oct 1939-16 Feb 1941)
  • The security units were deployed under the command of Commodore Ruge, who was now serving as a flag officer, during the conquest of Norway and Denmark in April 1940.
• Commander of Security West (17 Feb 1941-21 May 1943)
• At the same time, Chief of Special-Staff Tunisia with the Royal Italian Navy (Supermarina) (12 Mar 1943-21 May 1943)
• Commander of the German Naval-Command Italy (22 May 1943-12 Aug 1943)
• Führer-Reserve OKM (13 Aug 1943-09 Nov 1943)
• Admiral with Special Duties with Army-Group B (10 Nov 1943-05 Aug 1944)
  • naval advisor to Erwin Rommel
• Placed to the Disposal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine as head of the construction department or Chef des Konstruktionsamtes beim Oberbefehlshaber der Marine (06 Aug 1944-31 Oct 1944)
• Head of the Warship-Construction Office, OKM or Chef des Amtes für Kriegsschiffbau im Oberkommando der Marine (01 Nov 1944-09 May 1945)
  • During this time, Ruge learned Russian. Shortly after the surrender, Eisenhower's staff requested a group of captured naval officers – including Ruge – who had to report to the victors in Reims about the U-boat situation, telecommunications and the naval situation in World War II.
• In Captivity (09 May 1945-30 Nov 1946)
• Released (30 Nov 1946)

Post WWII

He was a camp interpreter in the Belgian prisoner of war camps in Jabbeke in 2224 and in Zedelgem in 2226. In the Munster camp in 1946, he taught German prisoners of war English as a foreign language and gave geography and history lessons. Released from captivity on 30 November 1946, Ruge owned a writing and translation office in Cuxhaven until 1948. He gave German lessons for the English occupying forces and English lessons, among others, at the adult education center and the customs border school. During the denazification process, he was initially classified as a follower and then as an innocent person. He was one of four Flag Officers who made up the Naval Historical Team at Bremerhaven from 1949 to 1952, sponsored by the United States Navy.

In 1950, Ruge was part of a select group of former Wehrmacht high-ranking officers invited by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to take part in the conference to discuss West Germany's rearmament. The conference resulted in the Himmerod memorandum. During the early 1950s, he advised as to how the navy could be restructured in the new Bundesmarine, as detailed in Searle's Wehrmacht Generals. He entered politics as a political independent to the Cuxhaven Town Council from 1952 to 1954, where he became chairman of the spa committee. He was also a member of the school committee and the main committee. At the end of 1954 the family moved to Tübingen because Friedrich Ruge no longer expected to take on a leading role in the new navy.

In January 1955, Ruge was appointed to the Blank office. By June 1955, this so-called “Blank” office had grown to over 1,300 employees. On 7 June 1955, it was renamed the Federal Ministry “for” Defense and the name was adopted in the Basic Law, which was amended shortly afterwards. On 1 March 1956, after examining the approval of the personnel appraisal committee (February 1956), Chancellor Konrad Adenauer appointed him head of Department VII - Navy (Abteilung VII – Marine) in the Federal Ministry of Defense under Theodor Blank in Bonn. On 5 March 1956, he was given the rank Vice Admiral (Bundeswehr) with effect from 1 March 1956.

With the conversion of this Department VII into the Command Staff of the Navy (Führungsstab der Marine) on 1 June 1957, Vice Admiral Ruge became the first naval inspector in the Bundeswehr (Inspekteur der Marine). Three subordinate higher command authorities were subordinate to him: the command of the naval forces (from 5 March 1958 command of the fleet), the command of the fleet base and the command of naval training. He led the establishment of the Federal German Navy. During his term of office, the sailing training ship Gorch Fock was put into service and he implemented the so-called traditional decree of 1957. As the inspector, he had to distance himself from the two former Grand Admirals Karl Dönitz and Erich Raeder.

Friedrich Ruge retired on 11 August 1961 with effect from 30 September 1961, and in civilian life was President of the Working Group for Defense Research from 1961 to 1971, President of the Bundeswehr Reservists Association from 1962 to 1965 and President of the Society for Military Studies from 1964 to 1965. He served as a military advisor for the American war film The Longest Day (1962). From 1962, he was a lecturer and from 1967 until his death, at the suggestion of Rector Theodor Eschenburg, honorary professor of political science at the Philosophical Faculty in Tübingen. After his wife's death in 1967, he devoted himself intensively to his journalistic work and went on lecture tours to the USA. In 1974, he acted as a referee for the Sandhurst simulation game Operation Sea Lion. In 1978, he was one of the participants at the Bilderberg Conference. A year later, he published his autobiography In vier Marinen.

Death

Vice Admiral Ruge died in Tübingen in 1985. His estate is now in the Federal Archives (Bundesarchive) and at The Citadel Military College in Charleston, South Carolina.

Family

File:Ingeborg Eggert-Sander, geb. Ruge.png

Sister Ingeborg

File:Mutterkreuz für Friedrich Ruges Frau Ruth.png

Cross of Honor of the German Mother (Mutterkreuz) for Friedrich's wife Ruth

Friedrich was the son and first of three children of philologist, geographer, Gymnasium teacher (Senior Director of Studies) and historian Dr. phil. Walther Ruge (1865-1943) and his wife (⚭ 1894) Friederike/Frederike Martha, née von Zahn (b. 17 June 1868 in Leipzig), daughter of lawyer and notary Friedrich Albert von Zahn. His younger sisters were Riccarda (1902–1971) and Annemarie (1904–1992).

Marriage

On 28 August 1920 in Bautzen, Leutnant zur See Ruge married his finacée Ruth Greeff (1897–1967), the daughter of Dr. med. Christoph Ewald Greeff. Friedrich and Ruth had met for the first time in Spring 1908 in Borsdorf and were engaged in December 1916. They had five children:

• Ingeborg (b. 22 June 1922 in Kiel; d. 12 April 2005 in Seevetal)
• Ursula Susanne (b. 31 December 1923 in Kiel; d. 13 June 2002 in Wissembourg)
• Walter (b. 5 January 1930 in Kiel; d. December 1930)
• Wolfgang (b. 26 October 1936 in Kiel)
• Christa (b. 17 January 1938 in Kiel; d. 22 December 2018 in Tübingen)

Promotions

File:Friedrich-Ruge+Seemacht-und-Sicherheit (Tübingen 1955).png

File:Rommel und die Invasion, Friedrich Ruge (1959).png

File:Buch Scapa flow 1919, Friedrich Ruge, herausgegeben 1969.png

• 1 April 1914 Seekadett (Officer Candidate)
• 23 December 1914 Fähnrich zur See (Officer Cadet)
• 13 July 1916 Leutnant zur See (2nd Lieutenant)
• 28 September 1920 Oberleutnant zur See (1st Lieutenant) without Patent
  • 14 May 1921 received Patent as Oberleutnant zur See with effect and rank seniority (RDA) from 28 September 1920
• 1 October 1925 Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant Captain)
• 1 April 1933 Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain / Lieutenant Commander)
• 1 January 1937 Fregattenkapitän (Frigate Captain / Commander)
• 1 September 1939 Kapitän zur See (Captain at Sea)
• 1 February 1940 Kommodore (Flag Officer, rank reintroduced in 1939)
• 1 February 1942 Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral)
• 1 April 1943 Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral)
  • November 1943 Admiral z. b. V. (at special disposal)
• 5 March 1956 Vizeadmiral (Bundeswehr) with effect from 1 March 1956
  • 30 September 1961 Retired

Awards, decorations and honours

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • EK II on 28 August 1917 (another source states 26 August)
  • EK I on 2 March 1918
• Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class
• Deutsche Olympia-Ehrenzeichen, 2nd Class on 21 December 1936
• Sudetenland Medal (Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938) on 20 December 1939
• Homecoming of Memel Commemorative Medal (Medaille zur Erinnerung an die Heimkehr des Memellandes)
• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class (17 September 1939 )
  • 1st Class (2 October 1939)
• Minesweeper War Badge (Kriegsabzeichen für Minensuch-, U-Jagd- und Sicherungsverbände) on 15 February 1940
• Namentliche Nennung im Wehrmachtbericht (reference in the Wehrmachtbericht) on 16 February 1942
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 October 1940 as Kommodore and Leader of the Minesweepers West (Führer der Minensuchboote West)
• Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Grand Officers's Cross on 1 June 1958
• Legion of Merit, Commander's Cross on 21 February 1961
  • another source claims on 2 August 1961
• Grand Cross of Merit with Star and Shoulder Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on 28 September 1961

Honours

• Honorary professor (Prof. h. c.) at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (1967)
• Foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Marine Sciences (1973)
• Corresponding member of the Coronelli World Association of Globe Friends
• A lecture room at the A. Keith Brewer Science Library in Richland Center, Wisconsin (a research center for alternative health, energy science, and sustainable agriculture) was posthumously named the "Admiral Ruge Archives".

Writings (excerpt)

• Entscheidung im Pazifik. Die Ereignisse im Stillen Ozean 1941–1945. Hans Dulk, Hamburg 1951.
• Seemacht und Sicherheit. Eine Schicksalsfrage für alle Deutschen. Schlichtenmayer, Tübingen 1953 (3. Auflage, Bernard & Graefe, Frankfurt 1968).
• Der Seekrieg 1939–45. Koehler, Stuttgart 1954 (franz. 1955, amerik./engl. 1957, russ. 1957, ital. 1961).
  • translated into English in 1957 by Commander M. G. Saunders with a foreword by Fleet Admiral William Daniel Leahy
• Rommel und die Invasion. Erinnerungen. Koehler, Stuttgart 1959 (ital. 1963, franz. 1964, span. 1964).
• Ottern und Drachen, aber entgrätet und für Landratten genießbar. Schlichtenmayer, Tübingen 1955 (3. Auflage, Köhlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Herford 1973, ISBN 3-7822-0079-9).
• Politik, Militär, Bündnis. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1963.
• Politik und Strategie. Strategisches Denken und politisches Handeln. Herausgegeben vom Arbeitskreis für Wehrforschung. Bernard & Graefe, Frankfurt 1967.
• Scapa Flow 1919. Das Ende der deutschen Flotte. Buch & Welt, Klagenfurt 1969, ISBN 0-7110-0426-9 (franz. 1969, engl. 1973).
• Bündnisse in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von UNO, NATO, EWG und Warschauer Pakt. Bernard & Graefe, Frankfurt 1971, ISBN 3-7637-5105-X.
• The Soviets as Naval Opponents, 1941–1945. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland 1979, ISBN 978-0-870216-76-3 (dt. 1981).
• In vier Marinen. Lebenserinnerungen als Beitrag zur Zeitgeschichte. Bernard & Graefe, München 1979, ISBN 3-7637-5219-6.
• Erich Raeder zum 100. Geburtstag (mit Michael Salewski), Nachruf im „Marineforum“, April 1976

Further reading

• André Pecher: Friedrich Oskar Ruge – Lebenswelt, Rolle und Selbstverständnis eines Marineoffiziers von 1914 bis 1945, 2020