August von Heeringen

August von Heeringen (26 November 1855-29 September 1927) was a Prussian admiral of the German Empire. He headed the Imperial Navy News Office (Nachrichtenbureau der Reichsmarine) and served as the Chief of the German Naval General Staff (Admiralstab) 12 March 1911 - 31 March 1913, and was present at the famous War Council of 8 December 1912.

He worked with leaders of the German Empire such as Kaiser Wilhelm II, and admirals Alfred von Tirpitz, Georg Alexander von Müller, Gustav von Senden-Bibran, and Friedrich von Hollmann to build a strong German navy. He saw it as a means to secure Germany's position on the world stage. Also, he saw a great national navy as a unifying force for an empire still divided into various kingdoms.

At the Kaiser's request in January 1913, he was involved in efforts to plan a coordinated wartime use of the Italian and Austrian fleets in the Mediterranean to prevent French troop movements from North Africa. Austro-Hungarian naval policy, 1904-14 by Milan N. Vego; Taylor & Francis, 1996, 213 pages. pp.117-8.