# Hans Schmidt — Brown on Resolution character guide

> Hans Schmidt in Brown on Resolution by C. S. Forester.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Herr Hans Schmidt, Herr Schmidt, burly Hans Schmidt

**First appearance:** 0003-iv

## Snapshot

A burly German intelligence operator in the Pacific who broadcasts coded orders from a hidden wireless station, his codebook booby-trapped with a fishhook.

## Who they are

Herr Hans Schmidt runs one of the central ganglia of German Pacific secret service, a heavy, unshaven man who works through the night in nightshirt and trousers sending the messages that direct von Spee's squadron. His meticulousness is his defining trait — he booby-traps his own codebook pocket with a fishhook and refuses to delegate the crucial transmissions. His intercepted signals drive the British pursuit that will eventually bring Penzance and Ziethen together.

## In the story

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/brown_on_resolution_se/chapters/xii)

Mentioned as the fat steward who chaperones Brown on deck.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/brown_on_resolution_se/chapters/xv)

Implied as part of the German landing party; the Lieutenant in command is mentioned but not named.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/brown_on_resolution_se/chapters/xvii)

The German agent in Panama who receives intelligence about the British battle cruiser Leopard transiting the Panama Canal and broadcasts warnings to German naval forces.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/brown_on_resolution_se/chapters/xix)

German agent whose urgent wireless messages, sent in the Most Secret code, alert von Lutz to the British threat.

### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/brown_on_resolution_se/chapters/xx)

German agent whose activities near Panama lead Captain Saville-Samarez to a false deduction about Ziethen's location.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/brown_on_resolution_se/characters/hans_schmidt
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/brown_on_resolution_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/brown_on_resolution_se/characters