Otto Ferdinand Maximilian Leopold Freiherr von der Goltz (April 19, 1838 – December 20, 1906) was an Admiral of 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 ...

(Kaiserliche Marine).

Biography

Born into

Von der Goltz Von der Goltz is the name of an old and influential German noble family whose members occupied many important positions in the Kingdom of Prussia and later in the German Empire. History The family can trace their lineage from East Brandenburg ...

noble family, he was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

as the son of Amadeus Bogislaw Ferdinand von der Goltz (1804-1851) and his wife, Louise Hampel (1812-1894). He joined 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 ...

in 1853, and became an ''

Fähnrich zur See ''Fähnrich zur See'' (Fähnr zS or FRZS) designates in the German Navy of the Bundeswehr a military person or member of the armed forces with the second highest Officer Aspirant (OA – german: Offizieranwärter) rank. According to the salary ...

'' (midshipman) in 1859, and ''

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 an ...

'' (lieutenant) in 1865, and ''

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 off ...

'' in 1870. He was then at the Navy Ministry. As captain (

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 ...

), he made several trips as the commander of the corvette to South America (

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 ...

) and

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. Between 1877 and 1882 he was the senior director of the shipyard in Kiel and reorganized the yard. He was then chief of the Mediterranean Squadron during the conflict in Egypt and in 1883 briefly became commander of the

German East Asia Squadron The German East Asia Squadron (german: Kreuzergeschwader / Ostasiengeschwader) was an Imperial German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at the Battle of the ...

(Ostasiengeschwader) before being appointed as the ''

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) and chief of the

German Imperial Admiralty The German Imperial Admiralty (german: Kaiserliche Admiralität) was an imperial naval authority in the German Empire. By order of Kaiser Wilhelm I the Northern German Federal Navy Department of the North German Confederation (1866–71), whi ...

. Five years later he was made ''

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 ...

'' and appointed commander (Marinetstationschef) of the North Sea Naval Station (

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 ...

) at Wilhelmshaven. In 1889 he became commanding admiral of the Kaiserliches Oberkommando der Marine (Naval High Command) and in 1892 Goltz finally became a full

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

. On 13 May 1895 von der Goltz resigned from his position for health reasons. He died on 20 December 1906 in Potsdam.

Honours

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

: ** Knight of the

Royal Order of the Crown The Order of the Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne, nl, Kroonorde) is a national Order (decoration), order of the Belgium, Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors. History The Order was established on October 15, 189 ...

, 2nd Class, ''18 October 1881'' ** Knight of the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...

, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves, ''18 January 1886''; 1st Class, ''27 January 1892'' * : Honorary Grand Cross of the

Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honou ...

, ''2 April 1891''Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) ''The Knights of England'', I, London
p. 342
/ref>

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goltz, Max von der 1838 births 1906 deaths Admirals of the Imperial German Navy Military personnel from Königsberg People from the Province of Prussia Prussian naval officers Barons of Germany Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George