Hans Birch Dahlerup

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Hans Birch Dahlerup, lithograph by Eduard Kaiser , 1850

Hans Birch Dahlerup , from 1851 Freiherr von Dahlerup (born August 25, 1790 in Hillerød , Denmark , † September 26, 1872 in Copenhagen ) was a Danish naval officer who was Austrian vice admiral and commander of the Austrian navy from 1849 to 1851 .

Life

Hans Dahlerup, the son of the postmaster from Hillerød, graduated from the Danish Naval Cadet Academy and passed the officer's examination with distinction in 1804. Not quite 16 years old, he was made an officer and immediately embarked when the war against England broke out. On March 21, 1808, the liner "Prinz Christian" was attacked by two British liners and three frigates off the northern tip of Zealand , aground and captured. The young naval officer had to go to England as a prisoner . After his release from captivity, he immediately returned to work and was almost constantly at sea in the years that followed. Since the war lasted until 1812, he was involved in several fighting, in the course of which he was twice captured by the British. After the war, the seaman, promoted to lieutenant in 1813 and lieutenant captain in 1819, gained extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of navigation through service on merchant ships. From 1822 to 1826 he gained an excellent reputation as an artillery teacher at the Naval Academy. He then went to sea as the commander of various ships. During this time he also made a great trip to New York and the West Indies . In 1838 he had the honorable task of bringing the famous sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen and his works from Italy to Denmark . He was also able to make a name for himself as a specialist writer.

In Austrian service

At the end of 1848 the officer, who had meanwhile been promoted to Commodore, received an offer from the Danish Ministry of the Navy to enter Austrian service in order to reorganize the Imperial and Royal Navy . He decided to accept the contract and went to Austria in February 1849. He was received personally in Olomouc by the young Emperor Franz Joseph , appointed naval commander and at the same time promoted to vice admiral and lieutenant field marshal . When he arrived on the Adriatic , he was faced with the difficult task of building a new naval power out of the remnants of the Austrian fleet, which had partially passed over to the Italian insurgents. Due to his determined demeanor and his superior knowledge, he soon succeeded in gaining respect and getting the job started. He set to work with great energy and was able to restore operational readiness in a short time to such an extent that an effective blockade of Venice was possible. He set up a naval base in Trieste and supported the battle of Radetzky's troops with the remnants of the fleet that he had gathered . After the end of the war, he devoted all efforts to reorganizing the Navy. The Trieste naval base was expanded and a new one was built in Pola . New ships were laid down, a marine corps formed, an officers' school established, and modern regulations drawn up. He introduced the German command language, fought against the "sleeping beauty sleeping sickness" inherited from the Venetian era and promoted a clean and efficient administration. For his support he got some German and Nordic naval officers he knew (e.g. Erik af Klint and Ferdinand Julius Wedel-Jarlsberg ). Of course, none of this went off without friction. Occasionally he was also lacking in sensitivity to the different mentality of his subordinates. So after some time resistance against the successful foreigner spread. In 1851 the intrigues against him were so advanced that he decided to take his leave and return to Denmark. As a farewell gift from the emperor, he was raised to the baron class . However, when he arrived in his homeland, the newly appointed baron experienced a great disappointment. In Copenhagen they could not or did not want to keep the promise made at the time to reinstate him with a corresponding rank on his return. Archduke Ferdinand Max , brother of the emperor and later Emperor of Mexico , had become naval commander in 1854. In 1861 he asked him to be head of the marine section when he returned to Trieste as his advisor. Dahlerup gladly followed this call. After a short busy time at the Archduke's side, it hit him hard that Austria was embroiled in a war against his native Denmark in 1864 . Everything was done to avoid a conflict of loyalty for him. But he wanted to have a clear picture and quit the job. He spent the last years of his life in the vicinity of Copenhagen.

Hans Birch Dahlerup died in Frederiksberg Municipality in 1872 at the age of 82 and was buried on Holmens Kirkegård in Copenhagen.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Austrian Military Journal, issue 04/2019, p. 448.
  2. ↑ Austrian Military Journal, issue 04/2019, p. 449 ff.
  3. ↑ Grave of Hans Birch Dahlerup. knerger.de
personal data
SURNAME Dahlerup, Hans Birch
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish naval officer in Austrian service
DATE OF BIRTH August 25, 1790
PLACE OF BIRTH Hillerød Municipality
DATE OF DEATH September 26, 1872
Place of death Copenhagen