Ludwig Samson Heinrich Arthur Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen (18 June 181526 April 1881) was a

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n general.

Early life

Born in Darmstadt, on the day of Waterloo, Ludwig was a descendant from the old family of von der Tann, which had branches in

, the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

and the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

provinces, and attached his mother's name (she being the daughter of an Alsatian nobleman, Freiherr von Rathsamhausen) to his father's in 1868 by license of the king of Bavaria.

Ludwig I en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

, the second king of Bavaria, stood sponsor for the child, who received his name and also "Arthur", in honour of

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

. He received a careful education, and in 1827 became a page at the Bavarian court, where a great future was predicted for him.

Military career

Von der Tann entered the military under the

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

branch in 1833, and was after some years placed on the general staff. He attended the manoeuvres of the Austrian army in Italy under Field Marshal Radetzky and, in a spirit of adventure, joined a French military expedition operating in Algiers against the

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n frontier.

First Schleswig War

On his return he became a close personal friend of the Bavarian Crown Prince Maximilian (afterwards King Maximilian II). In 1848 he was promoted to major, and in that year he distinguished himself greatly as the leader of a

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

light corps in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswi ...

between Denmark and a coalition of German states. At the close of the first campaign he was awarded 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 ...

by the king of

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 ...

, and his own sovereign awarded him the

Military Order of Max Joseph The Military Order of Max Joseph (german: Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden) was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in th ...

and promoted him to lieutenant-colonel. In 1849 he served as chief of staff to the

n contingent at the front and distinguished himself at the lines of

Dybbøl Dybbøl is a small town with a population of 2,339 (1 January 2022)Haynau's headquarters in the Hungarian War before returning to Schleswig-Holstein to serve as von Willisen's chief of staff in the Idstedt campaign.

Austro-Prussian War

Then came the threat of war between Prussia and Austria, and von der Tann was recalled to Bavaria. The crisis ended with the surrender of Olmütz (November 1850), and he saw no further active service until 1866, rising in the usual way of promotion to colonel (1851), major-general (1855), and lieutenant-general (1861). In the earlier years of this period he was the ''aide-de-camp'' and constant companion of King Maximilian. In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 he served as chief of staff to Prince Karl Theodor of Bavaria, who commanded the South German contingents. The almost entirely unfavorable outcome of the military operations led to vehement attacks on him in the press, but the unreadiness and ineffectiveness of the troops and the general lack of interest in the war on the part of the soldiers had foredoomed the South Germans to failure in any case.

Franco-Prussian War

He continued to enjoy the favour of the king and was promoted to the rank of general of the infantry (1869), but the bitterness of his disappointment of 1866 never left him. He was grey-haired at forty-two, and his health was impaired. In 1869 von der Tann-Rathsamhausen, as he was now called, was appointed commander of the I. Bavarian Corps. This corps he commanded during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, and it was in this war that he secured his reputation as one of the foremost of German soldiers. His gallantry was conspicuous at the battles of Wörth and Sedan. Transferred in the autumn to an independent command on the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, he conducted the operations against d'Aurelle de Paladines, at first with marked success, and forced the surrender of

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Coulmiers Coulmiers () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. History This was the site of the defeat of the Prussian Army in the Battle of Coulmiers, November 9, 1870. See also *Communes of the Loiret department The following ...

to give way before a numerically larger French force; but reinforced, he fought several successful engagements under the

Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin This list of dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg dates from the origins of the German princely state of Mecklenburg's royal house in the High Middle Ages to the monarchy's abolition at the end of World War I. Strictly speaking, Mecklenburg's ...

near Orléans. After the end of the war he was reappointed commander-in-chief of the I. Bavarian Corps, a post which he held until his death in 1881 at

Meran Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...

. He received the Grand Cross of the Bavarian Military Order, and from the King of Prussia the first class of the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

and the ''

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...

''. In 1878 the German emperor named von der Tann honorary colonel of a Prussian infantry regiment, gave him a life pension, and named one of the new

Strassburg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the E ...

forts after him.

Honours and awards

;Commemoration *A gunboat of the Schleswig-Holstein navy, ''Von der Tann'', named after him in 1849. *The German World War I battlecruiser SMS ''Von der Tann'' was named after him. *The 11th Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment (part of the 6th Royal Bavarian Division formed in 1900 in Regensburg) was designated "Von der Tann" in his honor. * Naming of "Fort Tann" Fort No. 8 at Strasbourg by Kaiser Wilhelm I (1873) * Honorary Citizen of the City of Munich (1871) * Monument on ''Marktplatz von Tann'' ( Rhön) (1900) * Naming of ''Von-der-Tann-Straße'' in Erlangen (1900), Munich, Dortmund, Wuppertal (1901), Hamburg, Nuremberg, Neustadt and Regensburg (1901) * Composer Andreas Hager wrote in 1880 in his homage to "General von der Thann march", as the parade of his regiment (Royal Bav. 11th Infantry Regiment "Von der Thann") has been assigned. ;Orders and decorations ;Military appointments * Presentation ''

à la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake, and entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia, these w ...

'' of the 1st Field Artillery Regiment "Prince Leopold", ''24 July 1878'' * Appointment as Chief of the Royal Prussian 2 Lower Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 47, ''8 August 1878''

Notes

References

Attribution: *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tann-Rathsamhausen, Ludwig, Freiherr von und zu der 1815 births 1881 deaths Military personnel from Darmstadt Bavarian generals Barons of Germany People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Burials at the Alter Nordfriedhof (Munich) Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Max Joseph Grand Crosses of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Recipients of the Military Merit Cross (Mecklenburg-Schwerin), 1st class Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword