Anton house

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Anton House (1914)

Anton Johann Haus (born June 13, 1851 in Tolmein , Austrian Empire ; † February 8, 1917 in Pola , Austria-Hungary ), Dr. rer. techn. hc, was Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy from 1913 , and from 1916 in the rank of Grand Admiral .

Life

family

The ancestors had moved from Windischgrätz to Tolmein, where Anton Haus's grandfather was mayor. Anton Haus grew up with his father, the landlord Josef Matthias Haus, and his mother Marija Walter (1817–1892), daughter of the Slovenian painter Franz Walter .

Haus had two sisters, (Matilda, Katharina) and a brother (Gustav). One sister was the composer Katharina von Escherich (Kitty). Haus married his cousin Anna Karoline Trenz (1857-1924) in 1887. Haus became the uncle of Ana Kessler, who married the Slovenian poet Oton Župančič in 1913 , as well as Vera Albendet and Mici Čop .

The American physicist Hermann A. Haus was his grandson.

Military career

After joining the Navy in 1869, Haus became a teacher at the Fiume Naval Academy . During this time he published his book Basics of Oceanography and Maritime Meteorology (1891). In 1901 he was given command of the armored cruiser SMS Kaiserin and Queen Maria Theresia , with which he supported the other great powers in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion in China . After the situation had calmed down, he stayed in Beijing until 1902 .

After his return to Austria-Hungary , Haus was promoted to Vice Admiral in 1907 in recognition of his services . In the same year he took part in the peace conference in The Hague from May to October as the envoy from Austria-Hungary . In 1912 Haus was appointed fleet inspector and on February 24, 1913, after Rudolf Montecuccoli had retired , he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.

First World War

When Italy began to change sides during the First World War in 1915, Haus ordered the fleet to be on constant alert. When war was declared, he let it run out and, in one stroke of the hand, destroyed the Italian railway lines along the Adriatic coast to the surprise of the Italians with artillery fire. The Austro-Hungarian troops thus gained time that was needed to reinforce the newly formed front in the mountains. Haus thus prevented the planned rapid deployment of the Italians in Veneto and made a decisive contribution to stabilizing the situation. The front lasted until 1918.

Despite all criticism - especially from the German side - Haus, who had proven himself to be an excellent strategist, took the view that the Austro-Hungarian navy had to avoid unnecessary risks in order to bind as many enemy forces as possible as “ Fleet in Being ” to protect the long Istrian and Dalmatian coast from enemy action and possible landing operations . Under his leadership, the fleet was therefore mainly used as a deterrent weapon in the Mediterranean ; operations in the North Sea and the Atlantic were not taken part, but left to the German Navy . In this attitude he was supported by the emperor and the high command of the navy . His successors, Karl Kailer von Kaltenfels and Maximilian Njegovan , kept this line.

In 1916, Haus was the first and only commander in the Austro-Hungarian Navy to receive the title of Grand Admiral.

death

Burial in Pola on board the "SMS Viribus Unitis"
Grave of Anton von Haus in the Hütteldorfer Friedhof
Coat of arms of the Grand Admiral's descendants, 1918

Haus died of pneumonia on February 8, 1917 in Pula on board his flagship SMS Viribus Unitis at the age of 66 . On October 27, 1917, Emperor Karl I posthumously awarded him the Commander's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order , which automatically raised his descendants to the status of baron on the basis of the statutes of the order . The family was able to retain their title of nobility in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . House was buried in the presence of Emperor Karl in Pula, which became Italian in 1918. At the instigation of the naval association, he was transferred to Vienna in 1925 and received an honorary grave in the Hütteldorfer cemetery . In the graves directory of Bestattung Wien he is listed as Anton Johann Haus Freiherr von Hohernwart . In the same grave are his wife Anna and his son, the doctor Otto Maximilian Haus and his wife Ilona, ​​geb. Hynek is buried.

Trivia

The gray color scheme of the kuk Kriegsmarine introduced in 1913/14 was jokingly referred to as Hausian in marine jargon .

Museum reception

In the Marine Hall of the Vienna Military History Museum a marble portrait bust, Anton House is representative of Miklós Ligeti issued. In addition, portraits of the Grand Admiral can be seen.

literature

Web links

Commons : Anton Haus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ With the posthumous award of the Commander's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order, his descendants became Freiherren Haus von Hohernwart.
  2. ↑ Search for the deceased at www.friedhoefewien.at
  3. ^ Army History Museum / Military History Institute (ed.): The Army History Museum in the Vienna Arsenal . Verlag Militaria , Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-69-6 , p. 165
predecessor Office successor
Rudolf Montecuccoli Navy commander
1913–1917 		Karl Kailer von Kaltenfels ; Maximilian Njegovan
personal data
SURNAME House, Anton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES House, Anton Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austro-Hungarian Grand Admiral
DATE OF BIRTH June 13, 1851
PLACE OF BIRTH Tolmein
DATE OF DEATH February 8, 1917
Place of death Pula