Anton von Petz
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Anton Freiherr von Petz (* 21st January 1819 in Venitze, Transylvania , † 7 May 1885 in Trieste ) was an imperial Austro-Hungarian Vice Admiral and knights of the Maria Theresa Order .
Life
After graduating from the Venice Naval College in 1837, Petz joined the Imperial and Royal Navy as a cadet . He took part in the allied British-Turkish-Austrian expedition against Muhammad Ali Pascha of Egypt in 1840 on board the SMS Guerriera under the command of Archduke Friedrich . Numerous embarkations followed, including a trip with the frigate SMS Bellona to England as adjutant to Archduke Friedrich in 1842 . Petz then spent three years as a professor of mathematics at the Naval College. During the blockade of Venice in 1848 he was first lieutenant on the SMS Vulcan . In the following years he was entrusted with the command of a few smaller ships. In 1859, during the Sardinian War, he was Director of Equipment in the Naval Arsenal of Venice and Adlatus of the Naval Commander.
In the sea battle near Lissa on July 18, 1866, he led SMS Kaiser from the II. Division of the fleet, which consisted of wooden ships. In order to cover some ships of his division, he rammed the Italian ironclad RN Rè di Portogallo with the wooden ship SMS Kaiser . He damaged its bulwark cladding, but also suffered severe damage himself. Numerous enemy shell hits led to further destruction, but also heavy casualties among the crew. The commodore wanted to bring his blazing ship to safety in the port of San Giorgio di Lissa , but the Italian ironclad RN Affondatore tried to prevent him. With his last grenades he was able to repel the enemy and steer the ship safely into port. After the battle, to whose victorious outcome he had contributed his own, he received the Knight's Cross of the Maria Theresa Order on August 29, 1866 and was promoted to Rear Admiral . Petz was raised to the baron status in 1867.
From October 1, 1866 to September 27, 1867 he was in command of the Fiume Naval Academy . He then served as Adlatus of the Port Admiral of Pula . In 1869 he was entrusted with the command of the expedition to East Asia - Siam , China and Japan - and South America, which mainly had economic backgrounds and was supposed to serve the conclusion of corresponding contracts with states of the two regions. With the frigate SMS Donau and the corvette SMS Erzherzog Friedrich , he set out on the long journey on October 16, 1869. After completing their assignments, the expedition returned home in early 1871. The SMS Donau crossed the Pacific and returned through the Strait of Magellan and the South Atlantic to Pula on March 1st, while the SMS Archduke Friedrich made the return journey through the Suez Canal and reached its home port on January 26th. Petz ended his career as Vice Admiral and Maritime District Commander of Trieste.
Petz was married to Elisabeth von Narischkine (born August 3, 1825 in Moscow , † November 1, 1882 in Trieste ). He is buried in the Cimitero Militare of Trieste.
literature
- Christian Ortner : The sea war in the Adriatic 1866. in: Viribus Unitis. Annual report 2010 of the Army History Museum, Vienna 2011, ISBN 978-3-902551-19-1 , pp. 100–124.
- U. Schöndorfer: Petz Anton Frh. From. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 8, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-7001-0187-2 , p. 14.
- Heinrich Bayer von Bayersburg: Austria's admirals. 2 volumes, Vienna 1960/62.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Petz, Anton von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Petz, Anton Freiherr von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austro-Hungarian Vice Admiral |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 21, 1819 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Venitze , Transylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 7, 1885 |
| Place of death | Trieste |