Ludwig von Henk (4 March 1820,

Anklam Anklam [], formerly known as Tanglim and Wendenburg, is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the ''Kleines Haff'', the western ...

– 17 October 1894) was a German naval officer, who distinguished himself in the

Prussian Navy The Prussian Navy (German: ''Preußische Marine''), officially the Royal Prussian Navy (German: ''Königlich Preußische Marine''), was the naval force of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1867. The Prussian Navy was created in 1701 from the f ...

and later in the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. He retired as a Vice-Admiral.

Naval career

Henk was born in

, Province of Pomerania. He began his career in merchant ships, making journeys to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. In 1844, he was promoted to captain. After the establishment of the

in 1849, he entered as an auxiliary officer, becoming a ''

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...

'' (''KL''—Captain Lieutenant) in 1855 and a ''

Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The offici ...

'' (Corvette Captain) in 1859. From August to October 1858, he commanded the

aviso An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an '' ...

. In 1861 he went to Berlin as the head of the Hydrographic Bureau in the Prussian War Ministry. In 1865, he became captain of the steam

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

, which was sent to the Mediterranean. During the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

of 1866, Henk was commander of the Prussian North Sea Fleet. Over the winter of 1866–1867, Henk commanded the

steam frigate Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. There were some exceptions like for exam ...

on a cruise to the Mediterranean, in company with the

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

. ''Gazelle'' struck a merchant ship in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

in February 1867; Henk had been asleep at the time of the collision and the investigation placed the blame for it on his executive officer, ''KL'' Johannes Weickhmann. The Admiralty recalled a''Gazelle'' in April due to the damage sustained in the accident. In 1867 was promoted to the rank of ''

Kapitän zur See Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

'' (Captain at Sea). During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, he commanded the

armored frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, part of the North Sea squadron commanded by ''

Konteradmiral ''Konteradmiral'', abbreviated KAdm or KADM, is the second lowest naval flag officer rank in the German Navy. It is equivalent to '' Generalmajor'' in the '' Heer'' and ''Luftwaffe'' or to '' Admiralstabsarzt'' and ''Generalstabsarzt'' in the '' ...

'' (Rear Admiral)

Eduard von Jachmann Eduard Karl Emanuel von Jachmann (2 March 1822 – 21 October 1887) was the first ''Vizeadmiral'' (vice admiral) of the Prussian Navy. He entered the navy in the 1840s after initially serving in the merchant marine. In 1848, Jachmann recei ...

. The Prussian fleet sortied only twice to attack the French blockade fleet in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

, in early August and 11 September 1870, but on both occasions the fleet failed to locate any French vessels. For much of the war, ''König Wilhelm'' struggled with machinery problems that left her confined to port. After war's end became commander of the

Marinestation der Nordsee The Marinestation der Nordsee (North Sea Naval Station) of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) at Wilhelmshaven came out of the efforts of the navy of the North German Confederation. The land was obtained for the Confederation from the G ...

(North Sea naval station). In 1871, he was promoted to flag rank as ''Konteradmiral''and was ordered to Berlin as Director of the Admiralty the following year, where he served as the deputy to

Albrecht von Stosch Albrecht von Stosch (20 April 1818 – 29 February 1896) was a German General of the Infantry and admiral who served as first chief of the newly created Imperial German Navy from 1872 to 1883. Life Born in Koblenz, he was a cousin of Hans Stos ...

, the chief of the Admiralty. Henk was chosen in large part to reduce the threat to the position of Stosch, a general of the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

with no naval experience. Henk was an officer of middle-class background, had initially served in the merchant marine before entering the navy, and though he had been exonerated by the investigation into the ''Gazelle'' collision, it nevertheless had damaged his reputation. Later in 1872, the idea for establishing a permanent "flying squadron" of cruising warships to respond to crises around the world was raised, but Henk rejected it on the grounds that it was excessively expensive; Stosch sided with Henk and the proposal came to nothing.Sondhaus, p. 119 For the majority of his tenure as Director of the Admiralty, Henk was restricted to technical matters after 1874 in a move by Stosch to further limit the challenge Henk might pose to him. As a result, he had authority only on matters of ship building, ordnance, and supply.Sondhaus, p. 105 He remained there until July 1879. During this time he was promoted further (1877) to ''

Vizeadmiral (abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to Vice admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian Navy there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Kont ...

'' (Vice Admiral), and the following year was raised to the hereditary peerage. He retired in 1879 and was given a pension. Between 1890 and 1893, Henk served in the Reichstag as a member of the

German Conservative Party The German Conservative Party (german: Deutschkonservative Partei, DkP) was a right-wing political party of the German Empire founded in 1876. It largely represented the wealthy landowning elite Prussian Junkers. The party was a response to Ge ...

, representing the electoral district of

Ueckermünde Ueckermünde () is a seaport town in northeast Germany, located in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, Western Pomerania, near Germany's border with Poland's Police County. Ueckermünde has a long and varied history, going back to its foundin ...

Wollin Wolin (; formerly german: Wollin ) is the name both of a Polish island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast, and a town on that island. Administratively, the island belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Wolin is separated from th ...

. He died in Berlin.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henk, Ludwig Von 1820 births 1894 deaths People from Anklam People from the Province of Pomerania German Conservative Party politicians Members of the 8th Reichstag of the German Empire Vice admirals of the Imperial German Navy Prussian naval officers Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Military personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania