Felix von Bendemann
Encyclopedia
Felix von Bendemann was an Admiral of the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine
).
Bendemann was born in Dresden
, Kingdom of Saxony
. He was the son of the painter Eduard Julius Friedrich Bendemann (1811–1889) and Lida Schadow, who was the daughter of the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow
. The painter Rudolf Bendemann was his brother.
in 1870-71. He was in the Prussian Navy
as an officer on the gunboat SMS Meteor in Key West
when the war began. On October 23 the news of the outbreak of war reached the ship’s captain, Eduard von Knorr
. The SMS Meteor sailed for Cuba where, on November 9 they fought the only serious naval battle of the war with the French aviso
Bouvet commanded by capitaine de frégate Alexandre Franquet. After an artillery exchange and an attempts by the Bouvet to ram the Meteor, both ships were incapacitated. Although the French left the scene of battle, the outcome was indecisive. As a result of this wartime conduct, he was honored with the then rarely given Iron Cross
.
Bendeman was enrolled in the German Imperial Naval Academy (Marineakademie) in 1874. In his class would be three other future admirals: Otto von Diederichs
, Viktor Valois
and Gustav von Senden-Bibran
.
Lieutenant-Commander (Korvettenkapitän) Bendemann commanded the SMS Olga in 1884 as part of the newly formed West African-cruiser squadron (Westafrikanische Geschwader), again under Rear Admiral Eduard von Knorr, to carry out "gunboat diplomacy
" in Germany’s Western African area of interest, the colony of Kamerun
, against a local revolt. Troops landed from Knorr’s SMS Fürst Bismarck
and the Olga stormed the rebels and by 22 December succeeded in defeating the rebels. This led to treaties with France and Britain recognizing Cameroon as a German Colony. Afterward, a pleased Kaiser Wilhelm I awarded Bendemann the Prussian Order of the Royal Crown
, 3rd Class with Swords.
He and the German navy suffered a misfortune on 16 February 1894. While Captain of the SMS Brandenburg
taking a trial trip with forced drought the main boiler-tube burst, the explosion causing the death of over forty men.
From March 14 through December 31, 1899, he served as Chief of the Admiralty Staff
(Admiralstab). In this position he expressed his concern for what he saw as Germany's hopeless situation with a weak navy and facing Britain in isolation. One solution he saw an alliance with the United States, which was already a valuable trading partner of Germany.
He also favored such realpolitik
actions as the violation of Danish
neutrality, in case of war with Great Britain, by immediately occupying the waterways of the Danish archipelago (The Belts
) to deny the Royal Navy
access to the Baltic Sea
and Russia
.
From February 1900 until 1902, he commanded the German East Asia Squadron
(Ostasiengeschwader) from his flagships the SMS Irene
, and then the SMS Hertha
. When Bendemann took command of the East Asia Squadron, he found it unprepared for the challenges presented by the Boxer Rebellion
. He actually had to borrow charts from the Russians and maps from the British in order to operate in the Yellow Sea
. Nevertheless, he forcefully advanced the idea of taking the Taku Forts and the ships under his command were able to make a noteworthy contribution in the Battle of Taku Forts. On 8 June 1900 he brought the large cruisers SMS Hansa
, SMS Hertha
and the small cruisers SMS Gefion
and SMS Irene
before the Taku Fort (together with warships of other nations) to landing detachments of Seebatallione
(marines) for the protection of their citizens in Tientsin
From 1903 through 1907, he was head of the North Sea Naval Station Marinestation der Nordsee
in Wilhelmshaven
.
Admiral von Bendemann died in Halensee
(Berlin
) on October 31, 1915.
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
).
Bendemann was born in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Kingdom of Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
. He was the son of the painter Eduard Julius Friedrich Bendemann (1811–1889) and Lida Schadow, who was the daughter of the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow
Johann Gottfried Schadow
Johann Gottfried Schadow was a German sculptor.-Biography:Schadow was born in Berlin, where his father was a poor tailor....
. The painter Rudolf Bendemann was his brother.
Naval career
Bendemann and three brothers served in the Franco-Prussian WarFranco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
in 1870-71. He was in the Prussian Navy
Prussian Navy
Throughout the centuries, Prussia’s military consistently concentrated on its land power, and never sought a similar power at sea. Yet historically there were always Prussian naval forces , beginning in the days when "Prussia" meant only the Margraviate of Brandenburg.- The Navy of Electoral...
as an officer on the gunboat SMS Meteor in Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
when the war began. On October 23 the news of the outbreak of war reached the ship’s captain, Eduard von Knorr
Eduard von Knorr
Ernst Wilhelm Eduard von Knorr was a German admiral of the Kaiserliche Marine who helped establish the German colonial empire.-Life:...
. The SMS Meteor sailed for Cuba where, on November 9 they fought the only serious naval battle of the war with the French aviso
Aviso
An aviso , a kind of dispatch boat or advice boat, survives particularly in the French navy, they are considered equivalent to the modern sloop....
Bouvet commanded by capitaine de frégate Alexandre Franquet. After an artillery exchange and an attempts by the Bouvet to ram the Meteor, both ships were incapacitated. Although the French left the scene of battle, the outcome was indecisive. As a result of this wartime conduct, he was honored with the then rarely given Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
.
Bendeman was enrolled in the German Imperial Naval Academy (Marineakademie) in 1874. In his class would be three other future admirals: Otto von Diederichs
Otto von Diederichs
Ernst Otto von Diederichs was an Admiral of the German Imperial Navy, serving in the predecessor Prussian Navy and the Navy of the North German Confederation.-Education, war and peace:Diederichs entered the Prussian...
, Viktor Valois
Viktor Valois
Victor Valois , was a vice-admiral in the German Imperial Navy. He graduated from the post-graduate Naval War College, the German Imperial Naval Academy 1872-1918 in 1874 in a class with three other future admirals: Otto von Diederichs, Felix von Bendemann, Gustav von Senden-Bibran.He married...
and Gustav von Senden-Bibran
Gustav von Senden-Bibran
Gustav Freiherr von Senden-Bibran was an admiral of the German Imperial Navy. His father was a Silesian landowner who had served in the Austro-Hungarian Calvary. He entered the Prussian Navy at age 15, never married, and dedicated his life to building a strong German Navy...
.
Lieutenant-Commander (Korvettenkapitän) Bendemann commanded the SMS Olga in 1884 as part of the newly formed West African-cruiser squadron (Westafrikanische Geschwader), again under Rear Admiral Eduard von Knorr, to carry out "gunboat diplomacy
Gunboat diplomacy
In international politics, gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power — implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force....
" in Germany’s Western African area of interest, the colony of Kamerun
Kamerun
German Cameroon was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.-History:-1800s:...
, against a local revolt. Troops landed from Knorr’s SMS Fürst Bismarck
SMS Fürst Bismarck (1896)
SMS Fürst Bismarck"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was Germany's first armored cruiser, built for the Kaiserliche Marine before the turn of the 20th century. She was named for the German statesman Otto von Bismarck...
and the Olga stormed the rebels and by 22 December succeeded in defeating the rebels. This led to treaties with France and Britain recognizing Cameroon as a German Colony. Afterward, a pleased Kaiser Wilhelm I awarded Bendemann the Prussian Order of the Royal Crown
Order of the Crown (Prussia)
The Order of the Crown was Prussia's lowest ranking order of chivalry. Instituted in 1861 as an award equal in rank to the Order of the Red Eagle, it could only be awarded to commissioned officers , but there was a medal associated with the order which could be earned by non-commissioned officers...
, 3rd Class with Swords.
He and the German navy suffered a misfortune on 16 February 1894. While Captain of the SMS Brandenburg
SMS Brandenburg
SMS Brandenburg was the lead ship of the Brandenburg-class pre-dreadnought battleships, which included , , and built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the early 1890s. She was the first pre-dreadnought built for the German Navy; earlier, the Navy had only built coastal defense ships and...
taking a trial trip with forced drought the main boiler-tube burst, the explosion causing the death of over forty men.
From March 14 through December 31, 1899, he served as Chief of the Admiralty Staff
German Imperial Admiralty
The German Imperial Admiralty was an imperial authority in the German Empire. By order of Kaiser Wilhelm I the Northern German Federal Navy Department of the North German Confederation , which had been formed from the Prussian Navy Department , became on 1 January 1872 the German Imperial Admiralty...
(Admiralstab). In this position he expressed his concern for what he saw as Germany's hopeless situation with a weak navy and facing Britain in isolation. One solution he saw an alliance with the United States, which was already a valuable trading partner of Germany.
He also favored such realpolitik
Realpolitik
Realpolitik refers to politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations, rather than ideological notions or moralistic or ethical premises...
actions as the violation of Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
neutrality, in case of war with Great Britain, by immediately occupying the waterways of the Danish archipelago (The Belts
The Belts
The Belts are two straits in the Danish archipelago, Little Belt and Great Belt.See also the march across the Belts.See also danish straits....
) to deny the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
access to the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
German East Asia Squadron
The German East Asia Squadron was a German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914...
(Ostasiengeschwader) from his flagships the SMS Irene
SMS Irene
SMS Irene was a protected cruiser or Kreuzerkorvette of the Kaiserliche Marine launched on 23 July 1887 from the Vulcan Shipyard in Stettin, Germany . The cruiser was named after Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, sister-in-law of Kaiser Wilhem II...
, and then the SMS Hertha
SMS Hertha
Seiner Majestät Schiff Hertha was a protected cruiser of the Victoria Louise class, built for the Kaiserliche Marine before the turn of the 20th Century. Hertha was the first ship of the class laid down, in October 1895, and also the first completed, in July 1898...
. When Bendemann took command of the East Asia Squadron, he found it unprepared for the challenges presented by the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
. He actually had to borrow charts from the Russians and maps from the British in order to operate in the Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
. Nevertheless, he forcefully advanced the idea of taking the Taku Forts and the ships under his command were able to make a noteworthy contribution in the Battle of Taku Forts. On 8 June 1900 he brought the large cruisers SMS Hansa
SMS Hansa (1898)
Seiner Majestät Schiff Hansa was a German Victoria Louise class protected cruiser launched from Stettiner Maschinenbau AG Vulcan shipyard in 1898 for service in the Kaiserliche Marine...
, SMS Hertha
SMS Hertha
Seiner Majestät Schiff Hertha was a protected cruiser of the Victoria Louise class, built for the Kaiserliche Marine before the turn of the 20th Century. Hertha was the first ship of the class laid down, in October 1895, and also the first completed, in July 1898...
and the small cruisers SMS Gefion
SMS Gefion
SMS Gefion was a light cruiser of the Kaiserliche Marine launched in 1893. The cruiser was named after Gefjon of Norse mythology. Under the 1891 naval regulations she was classified as a corvette-cruiser, but in 1899 was reclassified to light cruiser...
and SMS Irene
SMS Irene
SMS Irene was a protected cruiser or Kreuzerkorvette of the Kaiserliche Marine launched on 23 July 1887 from the Vulcan Shipyard in Stettin, Germany . The cruiser was named after Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, sister-in-law of Kaiser Wilhem II...
before the Taku Fort (together with warships of other nations) to landing detachments of Seebatallione
Seebatallione
The Seebatallione [sea battalions] were naval infantry troops or marines serving in the Prussian navy, the navy of the North German Confederation, the Imperial German Navy, the Wehrmacht, and briefly in the modern Federal German Navy, the Bundesmarine....
(marines) for the protection of their citizens in Tientsin
From 1903 through 1907, he was head of the North Sea Naval Station Marinestation der Nordsee
Marinestation der Nordsee
The Marinestation der Nordsee of the German Imperial Navy Kaiserliche Marine at Wilhelmshaven, Germany came out of the efforts of the navy of the North German Confederation. The land was obtained for the Confederation from the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg by Prince Adalbert of Prussia through the...
in Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
.
Admiral von Bendemann died in Halensee
Halensee
Halensee is a locality of Berlin in the district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Until 2004 the former neighbourhood established about 1880 was part of the Wilmersdorf locality, and until 2001 of the same-named former borough...
(Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
) on October 31, 1915.
Honors
- 1870—Honored with the then rarely given Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
- 1884—Prussian Order of the Royal CrownOrder of the Crown (Prussia)The Order of the Crown was Prussia's lowest ranking order of chivalry. Instituted in 1861 as an award equal in rank to the Order of the Red Eagle, it could only be awarded to commissioned officers , but there was a medal associated with the order which could be earned by non-commissioned officers...
, 3rd Class with Swords. - 1905—Bendemann was raised to the Prussian nobility (knighted).
- 1906—Japan's Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun was conferred on May 8, 1906, recognizing his actions as Commander of the Squadron during the Boxer RebellionBoxer RebellionThe Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
. - 1909—Inducted as member 390 of the Gesetzlose Gesellschaft zu BerlinGesetzlose Gesellschaft zu BerlinThe Gesetzlose Gesellschaft zu Berlin , is a social society founded in Berlin in 1809 in the aftermath of the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt to press for the reform of Prussian government and society....
. - 'Mount Bendemann' and 'Bendemann Harbour' in New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
were named in his honor by his friend Wilhelm Knappe, who was German colonial commissioner (ReichskommissarReichskommissarReichskommissar , in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and the Nazi Third Reich....
) in the area, 1887-1910.
External links
- http://www.michaeltillheinze.de/f_k1990/f_k900308.htm
- http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_von_Bendemann