Editing Conrad Helfrich

{{Short description|Dutch Luitenant-Admiraal of World War II}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Conrad Emil Lambert Helfrich
| nickname      = Ship a day Helfrich
| image         = File:Portret van luitenant-admiraal Helfrich ter gelegenheid van zijn 60ste verjaard…, Bestanddeelnr 254-2252.jpg
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = Helfrich in 1946
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1886|10|11|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Semarang]], [[Dutch East Indies]]
| death_date    = {{dda|1962|09|20|1886|10|11|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[The Hague]], Netherlands
| allegiance    = Netherlands
| branch        = [[Royal Netherlands Navy]]
| serviceyears  = 1903–1948
| rank          = [[Lieutenant admiral]]
| unit          = 
| commands      = [[ABDACOM|ABDAFLOAT]]
| battles       = {{tree list}}
* [[World War II]]
** [[Dutch East Indies Campaign]]
* [[Indonesian National Revolution]]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards        = [[Order of the Netherlands Lion|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion]]<br/>[[Order of Orange-Nassau|Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau]]<br/>[[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] (United Kingdom)<br/>[[Virtuti Militari|Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari]] (Poland)
| relations     = 
| laterwork     = 
| signature     = Conrad Helfrich sign.svg
| signature_alt = Cursive signature in ink
}}

[[Lieutenant Admiral]] '''Conrad Emil Lambert Helfrich''' (11 October 1886&nbsp;– 20 September 1962) of the [[Royal Netherlands Navy]] was a leading Dutch naval figure of [[World War II]]. He was born in [[Semarang]].

==World War II==
Helfrich was appointed overall commander of all forces in the [[Netherlands East Indies]] in October 1939.<ref name="Klemen">{{cite web |last = Klemen |first = L |url = http://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/helfrich.html |title = Vice-Admiral Conrad Emil Lambert Helfrich |date = 1999–2000 |work = Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 |url-status = live |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110726052802/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/helfrich.html |archivedate = 26 July 2011 }}</ref> At the outbreak of the war in the Pacific he gave instructions to wage war aggressively. His small force of [[submarine]]s sank more Japanese ships in the first weeks of the war than the entire British and US navies together, an exploit which earned him the nickname "Ship-a-day Helfrich".<ref name="Dutchman">{{cite magazine |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,884450,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080307112423/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,884450,00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 7 March 2008 |title=World Battlefronts: Dutchman's Chance |date= 23 February 1942|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> Admiral Helfrich worked tirelessly to establish co-operation with the Allied navies in the area since he knew that the Dutch could not hope to protect the [[Dutch East Indies]] by themselves.

===Java Sea===
When a combined command ([[ABDA]]) was finally created in January 1942, he was bypassed for the post of commander of the navy, in favour of Admiral [[Thomas C. Hart]] of the [[United States Navy]]. Helfrich's mission to defend [[Java (island)|Java]] at all costs clashed with Hart's desire to conserve as many naval units as possible. On 12 February 1942, Helfrich succeeded Hart as commander of the American–British–Dutch–Australian naval forces in the Pacific and immediately went on the offensive.<ref name="Dutchman" /> The courage of the "Striking Force" was to no avail in the face of the overwhelming superiority of the Japanese navy and after the disastrous [[Battle of the Java Sea]], most of the ABDA ships under his command had been put out of action and ABDA itself was dismantled. Helfrich spent the remainder of the war in [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]] preparing the return of Dutch administration to the Dutch East Indies.

===Japanese surrender===
[[File:Helfrich NETHERLANDS 1945.jpg|thumb|305px|Tokyo Bay, Japan – Surrender of Japanese aboard ''USS Missouri''. Lieutenant-Admiraal C.E.L. Helfrich, representing the Kingdom of the Netherlands, signs the instrument of surrender. He is being watched by a compatriot and by General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander, at the microphone.]]
In 1945, he was given command of all Dutch naval forces and promoted to lieutenant admiral. On 2 September 1945, he signed the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender]] aboard the battleship {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.<ref name="Klemen" />

Helfrich returned to the Dutch East Indies on 1 October 1945, where he commanded the Dutch forces in the Dutch East Indies until 24 January 1946 when the post of commander of the armed forces in the East was abolished. During that time, Commander Helfrich had to deal with the [[Indonesian National Revolution|Indonesian struggle for independence]]. He was a fierce opponent of compromising with [[Sukarno]] and, supported by Chief of the General Staff Hendrik Johan Kruls, he objected to the [[Linggarjati Agreement]] of 15 December 1946, but without effect.{{CN|date=November 2024}}

He remained in command until his retirement from the navy on 1 January 1949.<ref name="Klemen" />

He wrote his memoirs which were published in 1950 and he died in The Hague, on 20 September 1962.<ref name="Klemen" />

==Honours and awards==
For his services during the World War, Helfrich received several awards. He was Commander of the [[Order of Orange-Nassau]] with Swords, Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Netherlands Lion]], Honorary [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] (UK) and awarded the Silver Cross (5th grade) of the [[Virtuti Militari]] (Poland). He had also received the [[Expedition Cross]].

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite web |first= Klemen |last= L |date= 2000 |title= Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 |url= https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/index.html }}

==External links==
* [https://archive.today/20130116061938/http://www.absofacts.com/biografie/data/helfrichconradel.htm]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930042846/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,885896-1,00.html "World Battlefronts: Home Is The Sailor"]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. March 9, 1942.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helfrich, Conrad Emil Lambert}}
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1962 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Semarang]]
[[Category:Royal Netherlands Navy admirals]]
[[Category:Admirals of World War II]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Royal Netherlands Navy]]
[[Category:Royal Netherlands Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau]]
[[Category:Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari]]
[[Category:Dutch military personnel of the Indonesian National Revolution]]
[[Category:Dutch people of the Dutch East Indies]]