Karl von Müller (naval officer)

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Karl Friedrich Max von Müller (born June 16, 1873 in Hanover , † March 11, 1923 in Braunschweig ) was a German sea ​​captain and the last commander of the small cruiser SMS Emden .

Karl von Müller (1915)
Commemorative medal
Nail picture Isern Kerl in Emden after the likeness of frigate captain Karl von Müller. Design by Liebsch

Life

origin

Karl comes from the von Müller family, who was raised to hereditary nobility in 1838 . He was the son of the Prussian Colonel Hugo von Müller (1840-1911) and his wife Charlotte, born von Bennigsen (1841-1918), a daughter of Major General Karl von Bennigsen (1789-1869) on Bennigsen and Arnum. His uncle Rudolf von Bennigsen (1824–1902) was a national liberal politician, his brother Richard (* 1869) was major general and president of the Reichsamt für Landesaufnahme .

Military career

Müller was from June 10th to September 1912 Admiral Staff Officer of the High Seas Fleet and then worked in the Reichsmarineamt until April 1913 . In May 1913 he was appointed commander of the small cruiser SMS Emden , which was then part of the East Asia Squadron under Rear Admiral Maximilian von Spee .

After the beginning of the First World War , Müller led cruiser warfare with his ship in the Indian Ocean . 16 British merchant ships were sunk through the Emden in two months; another seven ships applied. Furthermore, oil stores in Madras ( British India ) were destroyed, the Russian cruiser Schemchug and the French torpedo boat destroyer Mousquet sunk in the port of Penang (Malaysia).

During the destruction of the cable station on the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean by deploying a landing corps, the Emden was caught by the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney , shot down and put on the beach. 133 crew members of the Emden were killed, 202 men became prisoners of war , including Karl von Müller. He spent this in Malta , then in England. From January 1918 he was interned in Holland. During this time, on March 19, 1918, the order Pour le Mérite was awarded .

After returning to Germany, Müller was appointed head of department in the general naval department of the Reichsmarinamt in October and promoted to captain on October 1, 1918 . After the collapse of the German Empire , Müller submitted his departure on January 11, 1919 and moved back to his hometown of Blankenburg .

He joined the German National People's Party and was a member of the Braunschweig State Parliament . Despite a feverish cold, he drove to an important state parliament session in Braunschweig in February 1923 . Here he died from the effects of lung and pleurisy . Karl von Müller was buried in the Blankenburg cemetery. His grave is still preserved.

Because of his chivalry and boldness, Müller was especially respected by his opponents.

family

On June 25, 1920 in Halberstadt , Müller married Jutta von Hanstein (* October 12, 1893 in Stade), the daughter of the Prussian Major General Friedrich Bernhard Moritz von Hanstein, and became the father of the daughters Elfriede (* 1921) and Karla (* 1923). After Karl's death, his widow and daughters took the von Müller-Emden name on March 16, 1934 .

Honors

In addition to the Pour le Mérite, Müller received the following awards:

Captain-v.-Müller-Strasse, Hanover

Karl von Müller is an honorary citizen of the city of Emden. A plaque of honor is attached to the former house. A street was named after him in Blankenburg, Emden and Hanover. In addition, the barracks in Emden, which have since been closed, were named after Karl von Müller. The Bundeswehr's NBC Defense Battalion 110 was stationed there until October 1997.

On September 2, 1915, the nail picture De Isdern Keerl van Emden was set up in Emden , whose face was designed after Müller's likeness. The symbol of war burned on September 6, 1944 in a heavy air raid on the city in the town hall.

Movies

The fate of the cruiser SMS Emden was filmed twice by Louis Ralph , in 1926 as a silent film under the title Our Emden , and in 1932 as the sound film Kreuzer Emden . Both times Ralph himself played the main role of the captain Karl von Müller. In 2013 the film The Men of Emden , which describes the path of the Emden landing train , was released. Müller is shown here as a secondary character.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldatisches Führertum . Volume 9, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1941], DNB 986919780 , p. 212, no. 2840.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Marine-Kabinett (ed.): Ranking list of the Imperial German Navy for the year 1918. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1918, p. 14.
personal data
SURNAME Müller, Karl von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Müller, Karl Friedrich Max von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sea captain, commander of the small cruiser Emden
DATE OF BIRTH June 16, 1873
PLACE OF BIRTH Hanover
DATE OF DEATH March 11, 1923
Place of death Braunschweig