Wilhelm Withöft (russian: Вильгельм Карлович Витгефт, tr. ; October 14, 1847 – August 10, 1904), more commonly known as Wilgelm Vitgeft, was a Russia-German admiral in the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...

, noted for his service in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

of 1904-1905.

Biography

Withöft was born in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, and was of

German ancestry , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

faith. He graduated from the

Sea Cadet Corps Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...

in 1868 and subsequently circumnavigated the globe on the

clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...

''Wsadnik''. After his return to Russia, he was promoted to

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

in 1870 and to lieutenant in 1873. From 1875 to 1878 he received specialized training as a

naval artillery Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for naval gunfire support, shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firi ...

and mine warfare expert. Thereafter he served in various functions on ships of the

Russian Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

. In 1885, as a captain of the second rank, he was assigned his first command, that of 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 ...

''Groza''. He subsequently served as an inspector of works for the Marine Technical Committee, and as the Assistant Chief Inspector of Mines, was responsible for testing

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

s. In 1892, Vitgeft took over command of the cruiser ''Voyevoda'' and was promoted to captain 1st rank in 1894. On 26 October 1899 Withöft was promoted to rear admiral and was transferred to the

Russian Pacific Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Pacific Fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Russian Pacific Fleet Great emblem , dates = 1731–present , country ...

. He was awarded the

Order of St. Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

(1st class with Swords) for participation in the Russian-Chinese War of 1900, and was also decorated by the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

with the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

, 2nd class. He served as

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

to Viceroy, Yevgeny Alekseyev, from 1900–1903. After the outbreak of the

of 1904–1905, Vitgeft became chief of the Naval Headquarters in the Far East. Following the death of Admiral

Stepan Makarov Stepan Osipovich Makarov (russian: Степа́н О́сипович Мака́ров, uk, Макаров Степан Осипович; – ) was a Russian vice-admiral, commander in the Imperial Russian Navy, oceanographer, member of the R ...

, Vitgeft was appointed temporary commander of the "First Pacific Squadron", that portion of the Russian Pacific Fleet trapped at Port Arthur by the Japanese blockade. Vitgeft made one aborted attempt to break out of Port Arthur on 23 June. On 7 August, he suffered from a leg wound caused by a shell splinter during the Japanese bombardment of Port Arthur.Kowner, ''Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 410. Viceroy Alekseyev, an admiral, favored an aggressive

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...

so as to enable the First Pacific Squadron to link up with the Vladivostok Squadron and thereby create a naval force powerful enough to challenge the Japanese fleet. Vitgeft believed "in a

fleet in being In naval warfare, a "fleet in being" is a naval force that extends a controlling influence without ever leaving port. Were the fleet to leave port and face the enemy, it might lose in battle and no longer influence the enemy's actions, but while ...

",Forczyk p. 46 which simply stayed at anchor, while at the same time contributing some of his weaponry to the land battle as the safest course to follow. Although passive, Vitgeft's preference was actually more in keeping with the Russian Navy's doctrine, which was building up strength (waiting for the arrival of the

, renamed as the "2nd Pacific Squadron"), and then engaging the Japanese navy in

decisive battle A decisive victory is a military victory in battle that definitively resolves the objective being fought over, ending one stage of the conflict and beginning another stage. Until a decisive victory is achieved, conflict over the competing objecti ...

. Alekseyev appealed to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, and

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

replied that he fully shared the Viceroy's opinion. Faced with an Imperial writ and threat of legal action, Admiral Vitgeft was ordered to sail for

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

immediately.Forczyk p. 48 By 06:15 hours, on 10 August 1904, Admiral Vitgeft, flying his flag in the battleship ''Tsesarevich'', began leading his fleet from the harbor. The Russian fleet consisted of the battleships , , , , , and ''Poltava'', the

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

s , , and , and 14

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s. In the subsequent

Battle of the Yellow Sea The Battle of the Yellow Sea ( ja, 黄海海戦, Kōkai kaisen; russian: Бой в Жёлтом море) was a major naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 A ...

, the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

Combined Fleet The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...

under Admiral

Togo Heihachiro Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

intercepted the Russian fleet. At 18:40 on 10 August 1904, Admiral Vitgeft and his immediate staff were killed instantly when a salvo from the Japanese battleship struck the upper

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

of the Russian flagship ''Tsesarevich''. The shell also jammed the flagship's steering into a shaft port turn, which threw the Russian

line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...

into confusion. Five battleships, a cruiser and nine destroyers escaped back to Port Arthur; however, the damaged ''Tsesarevich'' and three escorting destroyers sailed to Kiaochou, where they were interned by Imperial German authorities under Governor Oskar von Truppel and his chief of staff Korvettenkapitän

Felix Funke Felix Funke (3 January 1865 – 22 July 1932) was a German admiral of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy). Early life Funke was born in Hirschberg (Jelenia Góra), Prussian Silesia. His father Adolf Funke, originally from Magdebu ...

.Forczyk p. 53, 54

Honors

Order of St. Anne 2nd degree 1893 * Saint vladimir (bande)

Order of St Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine the Great, Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev, ...

4th degree, 1893 . * Saint vladimir (bande)

3rd degree, 1898 . * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

1st degree with swords, 1900 * GRE Order Redeemer 3Class

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...

, 3rd degree, 1896 (Greece) * JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 2Class BAR

, 2nd degree, 1900 (Japan) * EST Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana - 5th Class BAR

Order of the Crown, 2nd degree with star and swords, 1900 (Prussia)

References

* Forczyk, Robert. ''Russian Battleship vs Japanese Battleship, Yellow Sea 1904-05.'' 2009 Osprey. . * Kowner, Rotem (2006). ''Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War''. Scarecrow. * Nish, Ian (1985). ''The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War''. Longman. * Sedwick, F.R. (1909). ''The Russo-Japanese War''. The Macmillan Company * Corbett, Sir Julian. "Maritime Operations In The Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905" (1994) Originally a classified report, and in two volumes.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitgeft, Wilgelm 1847 births 1904 deaths 19th-century people from the Russian Empire Military personnel from Odesa Russian people of German descent Imperial Russian Navy admirals People of the Boxer Rebellion Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel killed in the Russo-Japanese War Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class Naval Cadet Corps alumni