- Adalbert of Prussia
Heinrich Wilhelm Adalbert von Hohenzollern (
October 29 ,1811 –June 6 ,1873 ) was a Prussianprince from theHouse of Hohenzollern , naval theorist, andadmiral . Adalbert was instrumental during theRevolutions of 1848 in founding the first unified German fleet, theReichsflotte . During the 1850s he helped establish thePrussian Navy .Adalbert was born in
Berlin as the son of Prince William, the youngest brother of King Frederick William III.As a young man, Adalbert entered the
Prussian army and served in the artillery. Several journeys led him between 1826 and 1842 to theNetherlands , Britain, Russia, Turkey,Greece , andBrazil . He recognized during his many sea voyages the importance thatsea power had for a modern commercial and industrial nation. He studied carefully the theory ofnaval warfare and in 1835-36 wrote a first plan for the construction of a Prussian fleet. Prussia at that time was a land power focused on Continental Europe, possessing practically no navy of its own; rather, it relied on the allied powers of Britain, theNetherlands , andDenmark . During theFirst Schleswig War of 1848-51, however, the failure of this strategy became apparent: Britain and the Netherlands remained neutral and Denmark became the enemy. Within a few days the Danish navy had destroyed German maritime commerce in the North Sea and the Baltic.During the
Revolutions of 1848 , the German National Assembly which met at St. Paul’s Church inFrankfurt resolved with "a majority clearly bordering on unanimity" to establish a German Imperial fleet and named Prince Adalbert to lead the so-called Maritime Technical Commission. He presented his recommendations in a "Memorandum on the Construction of a German Fleet" ("Denkschrift über die Bildung einer deutschen Flotte") (Potsdam , 1848). In this memorandum, still regarded highly for its insights on naval strategy, Adalbert distinguished between three fleet models:
*A naval force intended solely for defensive actions in relation to coastal defense;
*An offensive naval force intended for national defense, and for the most necessary protection of commerce; or
*An independent naval power.Adalbert himself favored the middle solution, because it would not provoke the great sea powers (such as Britain), but would provide the German navy with significant value as an ally.
In 1849, his cousin, King Frederick William IV, ordered Adalbert to resign his office in the fledgling Imperial Navy. The reactionary king distrusted the National Assembly because of its revolutionary nature, and had already turned down its offer to take up the German Imperial crown. Despite the setback, Adalbert continued to give active support to the construction of a fleet.
In 1852, Adalbert argued that Prussia needed to build a naval base on the
North Sea . He arranged the Jade Treaty ofJuly 20 ,1853 , in which Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg jointly withdrew from a region on the west bank of the Jade bay, where from 1854 onward Prussia established the fortress, naval base and city ofWilhelmshaven .On
March 30 ,1854 , Adalbert was named Admiral of the Prussian Coast and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. In the summer of 1856, while on a training cruise of Prussian warships, he was shot at bypirates within sight ofMorocco ’s Rif coast and was wounded. During theSecond Schleswig War of 1864 (also known as the "Danish-Prussian War") he commanded the Baltic Squadron, without being able to take an active role in the war.After the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, which led to the creation of the German Empire, Adalbert laid down his title of "Prince-Admiral" and retired from the now-renamed Imperial Navy. He died two years later of liver disease inKarlsbad .Adalbert was married to the dancer Therese Elssler (Frau von Barnim); their only son, Adalbert v. Barnim (born 1841), died in 1860 during an expedition on the
Nile .
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.