Albert (23 April 1828 – 19 June 1902) was King of Saxony from 29 October 1873 until his death in 1902. He was the eldest son of Prince John (who succeeded his brother Frederick Augustus II on the Saxon throne as King John in 1854) by his wife Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Albert had a successful military career, leading Saxon troops that participated in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Du ...

, the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

, and the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

Early life

Albert's education, as usual with German princes, concentrated to a great extent on

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

matters, but he attended lectures at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

. His first experience of warfare came in 1849, when he served as a captain in the

First War of Schleswig The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Duc ...

against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. When the

broke out in 1866, Albert, then

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

(German: ''Kronprinz''), took up the command of the Saxon forces opposing the Prussian Army of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia. No attempt was made to defend Saxony, and the Saxons fell back into

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and effected a junction with the

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

. They took a prominent part in the battles by which the Prussians forced the line of the Jizera and in the Battle of Jičín. The Crown Prince, however, succeeded in effecting the retreat in good order, and in the decisive Battle of Königgrätz (3 July 1866), he held the extreme left of the Austrian position. The Saxons maintained their post with great tenacity but were involved in the disastrous defeat of their allies. During the operations, the Crown Prince won the reputation of a thorough soldier. After peace was made and Saxony had entered the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...

, he gained the command of the Saxon army, which had now become the XII army corps of the North German army, and in that position, he carried out the necessary reorganisation. He proved a firm adherent of the Prussian alliance. On the outbreak of the

in 1870, he again commanded the Saxons, who were included in the 2nd army under Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, his old opponent. At the Battle of Gravelotte, they formed the extreme left of the German army, and with the Prussian Guard carried out the attack on St Privat, the final and decisive action in the battle. In the reorganisation of the army which accompanied the march towards Paris, the Crown Prince gained a separate command over the 4th army (Army of the Meuse) consisting of the Saxons, the Prussian Guard corps, and the IV ( Prussian Saxony) corps. He was succeeded in command of the XII corps by his brother Prince George, who had served under him in Bohemia. Albert took a leading part in the operations which preceded the battle of Sedan, the 4th army being the pivot on which the whole army wheeled round in pursuit of MacMahon; and the actions of Buzancy and Beaumont on 29 and 30 August 1870 were fought under his direction. In the Battle of Sedan itself (1 September 1870), with the troops under his orders, Albert carried out the envelopment of the French on the east and the north. Albert's conduct in the engagements won for him the complete confidence of the army, and during the Siege of Paris, his troops formed the north-east section of the investing force. During the siege, he blocked French attempts to break out of the encirclement at Le Bourget and Villiers. After the conclusion of the

Treaty of Frankfurt (1871) The Treaty of Frankfurt (; ) was a peace treaty signed in Frankfurt on 10 May 1871, at the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Summary The treaty did the following: * Established the frontier between the French Third Republic and the German Empire ...

, he was left in command of the German army of occupation, a position which he held till the fall of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

. On the conclusion of peace, he was made an inspector-general of the army and a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

King

Albert of Saxony in 1878 by Alfred Diethe

On the death of his father, King John on 29 October 1873, the Crown Prince succeeded to the throne as King Albert. His reign proved uneventful, and he took little public part in politics, devoting himself to military affairs, in which his advice and experience were of the greatest value, not only to the Saxon corps but also to the German army in general. During his reign, the Saxon monarchy became constitutional. In the 1870s, Albert initiated the construction of a Dresden suburb, the Albertstadt. It was then the largest garrison in Germany. Near the former suburb other buildings and places still bear his name: the Albertbrücke, the Alberthafen, the Albertplatz and the

Albertinum The Albertinum () is a modern art museum. The sandstone-clad Renaissance Revival architecture, Renaissance Revival building is located on Brühl's Terrace in the historic center of Dresden, Germany. It is named after King Albert, King of Saxony, A ...

. In 1879, he initiated the reconstruction of the Saint Afra School in

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

. In 1897, he was appointed arbitrator between the claimants for the

Principality of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, an ...

Marriage and succession

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

on 18 June 1853, Albert married Princess Carola, daughter of

Gustav, Prince of Vasa Gustav, Prince of Vasa (; 9 November 1799 – 4 August/5 August 1877), born Crown Prince of Sweden, was the son of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and Queen Frederica. His Austrian princely title (from 1829) was actually spelled ''Wasa''. Life and ...

and granddaughter of Gustav IV Adolf, the second to last king of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

of the House of Holstein-Gottorp. The marriage was childless although Carola miscarried many times. They included: * A miscarriage of a daughter in the 4th month of pregnancy (19 December 1853). * A miscarriage of a daughter in the 6th month of pregnancy (16 August 1854). * A miscarriage in the 1st month of pregnancy (22 January 1855). * A miscarriage of a son in the 4th and a half month of pregnancy (17 January 1856). * A miscarriage in the 1st month of pregnancy (4 December 1856). * A miscarriage in the 1st month of pregnancy (30 January 1857). * A miscarriage in the 1st month of pregnancy (30 March 1857). * A miscarriage of a son in the 5th and a half month of pregnancy (11 January 1858). * A miscarriage of a son in the 4th and a half month of pregnancy (20 March 1859). * A miscarriage in the 1st month of pregnancy (30 March 1860). Albert died at his Sibyllenort Palace on 19 June 1902 and was succeeded by his brother, who became King George. He was buried in Dresden on 23 June, among the mourners present were both the German Emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

and the Austrian Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

Honours, decorations and awards

Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Saxony 1806-1918

The King of Saxony bird-of-paradise was named in Albert's honour; the Queen Carola's parotia was named for his wife.

German honours

Foreign honours

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

* Konrad Sturmhoefel: ''König Albert von Sachsen. Ein Lebensbild.'' Voigtländer, Leipzig 1898. * Georg von Schimpff: ''König Albert: Fünfzig Jahre Soldat''. Baensch, Dresden 1893. * Joseph Kürschner (Hrsg.): ''König Albert und Sachsenland: Eine Festschrift zum 70. Geburtstage und 25jährigen Regierungsjubiläum des Monarchen''. Schwarz, Berlin 1898. * ''Dem Gedächtnis König Alberts von Sachsen'', Dresden: v. Zahn & Jaensch, 1902 * Ernst von Körner: ''König Albert von Sachsen: Der Soldat und Feldherr''. Oestergaard, Berlin-Schöneberg 1936. * Bernd Rüdiger: ''Wahre Geschichten um König Albert'', Taucha: Tauchaer Verl., 1994 * * Albert Herzog zu Sachsen: ''Die Wettiner in Lebensbildern''. Styria-Verlag, Graz/Wien/Köln 1995, . * Thomas Eugen Scheerer (Hrsg.): ''Albert von Sachsen – Kronprinz, Soldat, König''. Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr, Dresden 2002. * Arbeitskreis sächsische Militärgeschichte (Hrsg.): ''Sibyllenort und König Albert von Sachsen: Sonderheft zum 100. Todestag von König Albert''. Arbeitskreis Sächsische Militärgeschichte, Dresden 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert Of Saxony 1828 births 1902 deaths Military personnel from Dresden German Roman Catholics Field marshals of Saxony Field marshals of the German Empire House of Wettin Albertine branch Kings of Saxony People of the Austro-Prussian War German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War University of Bonn alumni Burials at Dresden Cathedral Crown princes of Saxony Members of the First Chamber of the Diet of the Kingdom of Saxony Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 1st class Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Max Joseph Grand Crosses of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of William Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Extra Knights Companion of the Garter