Curt von Prittwitz and Gaffron

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Curt von Prittwitz and Gaffron, imperial German admirals à la suite
Curt von Prittwitz and Gaffron (around 1880)

Bernhard Otto Curt von Prittwitz and Gaffron (born July 16, 1849 on Gut Sitzmannsdorf, district of Ohlau , province of Silesia ; †  February 16, 1922 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf ) was an imperial German admiral and a member of the Prussian manor house .

In more recent times he is also called Kurt (with K ), but in his personal papers and in the records of his children he is spelled Curt (with C ) in keeping with the times .

family

The coat of arms of the von Prittwitz and Gaffron family

Prittwitz comes from an old, widely branched Silesian noble family and was the son of the state elder and landowner Constantin von Prittwitz , lord of Gut Sitzmannsdorf, and Olga von Zitzewitz .

His first marriage was on July 16, 1887, his 38th birthday, in Kaiserswaldau , district of Hirschberg ( Lower Silesia ), Luise von Schönberg (born October 8, 1855 at Bolmstad estate, Småland province , Sweden ; † December 10, 1903 in Kiel ), the daughter of the royal Saxon lieutenant a. D. Hans von Schönberg (1830–1896, Ober-Reinsberg house in Saxony), landowner on Bolmstad, and Camilla Rittner .

From this first marriage come the daughter Agnes (1888-1969), who married the German major general Günther von Dewitz (1885-1940) in 1908 , and the son Heinrich von Prittwitz and Gaffron (1889-1941), German lieutenant general and in 1941 killed as commander of the 15th Panzer Division in Tobruk ( Libya ).

In his second marriage, Prittwitz married on June 5, 1906 in Lüben (Lower Silesia) Wanda von Uechtritz and Steinkirch (born May 1, 1863 on Gut Ober-Herzogswaldau, district of Lüben ; † July 11, 1944 in Lottin , district of Neustettin , Pomerania ), the Daughter of the royal Prussian district administrator and Rittmeister Ernst Louis von Uechtritz and Steinkirch (1820–1891), landowner on Ober-Herzogswaldau and provost of the noble women's monastery in Barschau (Lüben district), and Olga von Meier (1823–1898).

See also: von Prittwitz family

Military background

education

Sailing frigate Gefion
(auctioned by Denmark in 1852)
Cruiser corvette Augusta
Sailing frigate Thetis (1867) (bought by England in 1855)
Sailing frigate Vineta
Armored frigate King Wilhelm

Prittwitz was born as the second of seven children on the Sitzmannsdorf family estate and also spent his first years there. At the age of 10, his parents sent him to the high school in the district town of Ohlau and then to the Maria-Magdalenen-Gymnasium in Breslau , which he left at Easter 1866 with the school leaving certificate.

In the year of the Austro-Prussian War and probably stimulated by the establishment of the Imperial Fleet by Prince Adalbert of Prussia , Prittwitz joined the Navy as a cadet on April 21, 1866 - in contrast to his three brothers Carl , Heinrich and Leonhard , who were officers in the Prussian Landwehr and lawyers were - and after a short preparation on land received his first nautical training on the sailing frigate Gefion in Kiel .

In the fall of 1866 he made his first long sea voyage on the sailing frigate Niobe to the West Indies , at the end of which, after nine months in an exam , he demonstrated very good knowledge of navigation and good knowledge of artillery , which is why he was promoted to midshipman on August 27, 1867 .

Midshipman

Several voyages on various ships followed - in the summer of 1867 across the Baltic Sea to Pillau and Danzig on the corvettes Hertha and Gazelle , from September 1867 a 10-month voyage on the corvette Augusta back to West India and Central America and after returning on the Aviso Prussischer Eagles in the Baltic Sea to Finland . In 1868 he was on the sailing frigate Thetis and in 1869 on the armored frigate Kronprinz . After another ten months at the Kiel Naval School , he passed his naval officer examination in June 1870 and was promoted to sub-lieutenant on August 6, 1870 (today: lieutenant in the sea ).

Sub-lieutenant

During the Franco-Prussian War , Prittwitz was on board the gunboat Habicht , which was deployed in the outpost service at the mouth of the Elbe against the blockade by the French fleet. After a brief command of the 1st Sailors Division , Prittwitz went on July 1, 1871, on board the corvette Vineta , which took him to the West Indies for the third time on a two-year voyage and then to North and South American ports. Here the ship took part in an enterprise against the Republic of Haiti , which had refused to pay a German merchant the 60,000 marks owed . Only after the occupation by the US Corvette Union and Mont Organise was this payment made.

After his return he came to the artillery training ship Renown in Wilhelmshaven during the summer of 1873 . In the autumn of 1873 he was assigned to the Kiel Naval School as an inspection officer and was promoted to lieutenant in the sea on December 21, 1873 (today: Oberleutnant zur See ). He interrupted this command in June 1875 for a four-week voyage on the yacht Grille , with which he also went on a trip to the Baltic Sea in autumn 1875 and on which Kaiser Wilhelm I was also a guest for a few days.

lieutenant

From October 1875 to September 1877 Prittwitz was navigation officer on board the corvette Luise , with which he circumnavigated the world for the first time via Rio de Janeiro , Cape Horn , Australia , the Sulu Archipelago and East Asia , back via Singapore and Aden . He then took part in three courses at the Marine Academy in Kiel from 1877 to 1880 . On May 14, 1878, he became lieutenant captain and, after completing his first course at the academy, officer on watch on the armored frigate King Wilhelm . Here Prittwitz experienced the collision of his ship with the tank frigate Großer Kurfürst during a storm and fog voyage in the English Channel on May 31, 1878 , which then sank. After completing the second academy course, he became a navigational officer on the Kronprinz .

Lieutenant captain

Prittwitz began his fifth long voyage in October 1880 as first officer on the Habicht , which had been to Australia for two years. On the way home, the Habicht anchored off Port Said in order to protect German interests during the Egyptian unrest . When Alexandria was enclosed by the English ( see here ), Prittwitz occupied the Prussian hospital and the German consulate general on July 16, 1882 with 28 marines , which were already badly damaged.

Cruiser frigate Gneisenau

After returning, Prittwitz was appointed adjutant at the Baltic Sea naval station in Kiel for two years . In the autumn of 1884 he started another trip around the world as first officer of the cruiser frigate Gneisenau . The trip went around the Cape of Good Hope to Zanzibar and then crossed the Indian Ocean and the South Seas . On this trip Prittwitz was promoted to Korvettenkapitän on March 15, 1885 . In the summer of 1885 the Gneisenau belonged to the squadron under Commodore Carl Paschen , which brought about the unconditional recognition of the German protectorate over German East Africa by the Sultan of Zanzibar .

Corvette Captain

A year later, in October 1886, Prittwitz became the commander of the 2nd Division of the 1st Sailor Division in Kiel. Here he got married on his 38th birthday. Daughter Agnes was born in August 1888 , while the father had a six-month command at the disposal of the chief of the Baltic Sea naval station in Kiel. In April 1889, however, Prittwitz went back to sea as the commandant of the Alexandrine , so that he could not witness the birth of his son Heinrich , but was already back in the South Pacific after the voyage through the Suez Canal . In October 1889 a landing corps of his ship undertook a punitive expedition against the Tubtus tribe on the north coast of Neumecklenburg , where the German merchant Hoppe had been murdered.

In September 1890 Prittwitz was called back home: he had been appointed chief of staff at the North Sea naval station in Wilhelmshaven . On March 17, 1891, he became a sea captain , took part as a referee in the naval maneuvers in 1891 and 1892 and in 1892 led an admiral staff training voyage on the yacht Grille .

Sea captain

On October 1, 1892 Prittwitz was given command of the flagship of the German navy , the armored frigate King William . With him he sailed the German waters for two years and made trips to Norway, the Orkney and Scotland .

This was followed by another land command as head of the nautical department in the Reichsmarineamt in Berlin, until on October 1, 1896, he was appointed commander of the Liner Wörth , a ship of the completely new Brandenburg class . It was an honor for Prittwitz that he was twice in command of the best and strongest ship of its time. As commander of the Wörth , he was based in Wilhelmshaven and also visited ports in Russia , Norway , Ireland and Scotland on training trips in the North and Baltic Seas .

His next position took him in October 1898 as chief shipyard director of the Imperial Shipyard to Danzig , where he was promoted to Rear Admiral on November 13, 1899 . In Danzig, Prittwitz had Kaiser Wilhelm II as a private guest in his house.

Rear admiral

Armored cruiser Prince Bismarck

The following years brought frequent changes and advancement: In autumn 1901 he became 2nd Admiral of the 1st Squadron in Kiel and went to Norway with Elector Friedrich Wilhelm . In 1902 he came to Wilhelmshaven as inspector of the 2nd naval inspection and on October 1, 1903, he received his appointment as chief of the cruiser squadron ( East Asia squadron ) stationed in East Asia with the armored cruiser Fürst Bismarck as the flagship .

Just as Prittwitz and his squadron had left for East Asia, his wife died on December 10, 1903 in Kiel of the consequences of a bowel obstruction; contact with the husband and father was hardly possible, especially since this was made even more difficult by the Russo-Japanese war . Prince Heinrich of Prussia and Princess Irene wanted to take care of the two children, but they were cared for privately.

Vice admiral

Garden party with Vice Admiral Curt von Prittwitz in Kiel (1907)

On the Kaiser's birthday, January 27, 1904, Prittwitz became Vice Admiral and - in the meantime he was with his squadron a. a. also been in Tschemulpo (today: Incheon, South Korea ) in September 1904 (known from the battle of Tschemulpo ) - recalled from East Asia in the following year 1905. He had to start his way back aboard the mail steamer Sachsen , since the Trans-Siberian Railway was not usable for him even after the end of the war against Japan ( Treaty of Portsmouth of September 5, 1905).

In Kiel, Prittwitz remained for almost a year at the disposal of the chief of the Baltic Sea naval station, Admiral Prince Heinrich of Prussia. During this time Prittwitz married for the second time on June 5, 1906 in Lüben .

At the end of September 1906, to crown his military career, Prittwitz was appointed chief of the Baltic Sea naval station and - after commanding the Wörth and the East Asia Squadron - he was Prince Heinrich of Prussia's successor in office for the third time. On May 18, 1907, he received the patent for admiral. His private house became the focus of social events and the emperor was often a guest.

Admiral à la suite

Grave site in the Berlin Invalidenfriedhof

In 1910, Prittwitz finally became a member of the Prussian manor house. On October 21, 1910, with a handwritten letter from the emperor, he was granted his farewell with the provision that he would continue to be included in the naval rankings à la suite of the naval officer corps.

He closed his military personnel file himself with the following document:

“During my period of service from April 21, 1866 to October 21, 1910, the greatest historical period of the German people fell, the development of the navy from the sailing frigate and cabin boy briggs to the turbine cruiser, to the torpedo and motor boats. I have crossed the line 24 times, mostly under sail, I have crossed the Indian Ocean 12 times, between Aden and Capstadt on the one hand and Singapore and Melbourne on the other, and I have visited the South Seas 5 times. Twice every two years I was the commander of a liner, once of a cruiser abroad. I was chief of the cruiser squadron and chief of the Baltic Sea naval station. My heart is full of gratitude and joy. signed v. Prittwitz , admiral à la suite of the naval officer corps, member of the manor house. "

After his retirement he chose to live in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, Nikolsburger Platz 3. He died on February 16, 1922 of the effects of jaundice and was buried in the Invalidenfriedhof .

personality

Curt von Prittwitz and Gaffron, Admiral à la suite

Prittwitz liked to quote the Dutch Admiral Michiel de Ruyter (1607–1676) about his view of service as an Imperial German naval officer : “I don't want to be praised by anyone, if I only do my duty and carry out my orders as I should . "

In an unpublished manuscript it can be read that politics was not his business, but that he “sought his way more by acting than talking” . It goes on there: “Superiors and comrades valued him because of his excellent qualities as an officer ..... He was not an amusing companion with displayed amiability. For this he possessed a great ability, which his subordinates respected in him just as much as his uncontrollable justice. It was inevitable that, despite his severity and seriousness, a wealth of anecdotes were spun about his personality in which this respect and admiration was expressed. .... “ Even after his retirement from active service, Prittwitz was respected and revered by everyone for his outstanding human qualities and his constant temperament.

Orders and decorations

literature

Footnotes

  1. ^ Robert von Prittwitz : Das v. Prittwitz noble family , Wilhelm Gottl publishing house. Korn, Breslau 1870, page 182.
  2. ^ Genealogical handbook of the nobility , noble houses A volume XVII, volume 81 of the complete series, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 1983, ISSN  0435-2408 .
  3. ^ Genealogical handbook of the nobility , Adelige Häuser A Volume VII, page 383, Volume 34 of the complete series, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 1983, ISSN  0435-2408 .
  4. ^ Alfred von Tirpitz : Memories , Leipzig 1919, page 18.
  5. ↑ Schlesische Zeitung from 1882, No. 510 (page 2) and No. 941 (sheet 1).
  6. ^ Honorary ranking of the Imperial German Navy, 1914–1918 . Processing: Rear Admiral a. D. Stoelzel, Berlin 1930, page 114.
  7. ↑ (Hans-Georg von Prittwitz?): Kurt v. Prittwitz and Gaffron , unpublished manuscript in the family archive, compiled from his personal papers and records of his children, undated (around 1965)
  8. ^ Ranking list of the Imperial German Navy from 1910, Berlin supplement, page 92.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 3, 2006 .
personal data
SURNAME Prittwitz and Gaffron, Curt von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Prittwitz, Kurt von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German admiral, member of the Prussian manor house
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1849
PLACE OF BIRTH Sitzmannsdorf estate, Ohlau district , Lower Silesia
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 1922
Place of death Berlin-Wilmersdorf