Henning Von Holtzendorff

Henning von Holtzendorff (January 9, 1853 - June 7, 1919) was a German admiral during World War I who became famous for his December 1916 memo to Kaiser Wilhelm II about unrestricted submarine warfare against the United Kingdom. He received the Pour le Mérite in 1917 and was made a Grand Admiral in 1918.

Admiral Holtzendorff claimed that unrestricted submarine warfare would starve the British into submission within five months, well before the Americans could act. And even if the "disorganized and undisciplined" Americans did intervene, he assured Wilhelm II, "I give your Majesty my word as an officer, that not one American will land on the Continent."