Ludwig Ritter von Fautz (20 August 1811 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

– 23 February 1880 in Penzing, now

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) was vice admiral and commander of the Austrian Navy.

Life

He was born as son of Anton Moritz Fautz (textile manufacturer and Draper Master) and Florentina Troclét in Vienna. His brothers were Lieutenant Colonel August von Fautz Knight of the Order of Leopold (died 28 July 1859 in Friedek

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

), battalion commander in the Infantry Regiment No. 23 ''Baron Airoldi'' and Anton von Fautz, Major of the ''Arcièren Life Guard'' in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

of the Austrian Emperor. After joining the Navy on 8 March 1826 was Fautz in 1829 as a naval cadet in the bombing Moroccan Atlantic ports, in response to the hijacking of an Austrian ship by Moroccan pirates there. In First Italian War of Independence he was involved under Vice Admiral Hans Birch Dahlerup in the blockade of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

and the bombardment of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

as commander of the steamer SMS volcano and SMS Curtatone. He suffered a severe injury (liver shot), the consequences of which he suffered until his death. He received for this application on 14 June 1849 for "proven bravery" the Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold Award. Also at the action of the land forces standing under the command of General Lazarus of Mamula against the Bocche di Cattaro 1849 Fautz took part as the squadron commander. In the sailing frigate SMS Venus he undertook numerous training cruises for the Naval College in the Mediterranean and travelled to England in 1849, to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Lisbon and Madeira in 1850, and in 1851 to the

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 Greate ...

, where he visited St. Thomas,

La Guaira La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during ...

and also

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba. Fautz was also honored with the Military Merit Cross of Austria-Hungary, Knight Commander of the papal

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

, the Greek

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 ...

, Privy Counselor and Grand Officer of the

Order of Guadalupe There were three Imperial Orders of the Mexican Empire, which were Orders of chivalry created to reward Heads of state and prominent people during the two periods of the Mexican Empire—the ' ( es, Orden Imperial de Guadalupe), the ''Imperial Orde ...

. In March 1852 Fautz was captain of a ship of the line and was one of the first Austrian captains who commanded a steam-powered and armoured battleship. With 27 December 1854 he was raised a ''

Ritter Ritter (German for "knight") is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second-lowest rank within the nobility, standing above " Edler" and below "Freiherr" (Baron). As with most titles a ...

'' (hereditary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

) of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

and 1856 he was appointed Rear Admiral. Since August 1856 he was under Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian chief of the newly created Marine Registry Board of the Emperor, 1852/1853, 1855 and 1859/1860 squadron commander and his Deputy from 1858–1860. In the period 1860–1865 was Fautz commander of the entire Austrian navy since 1864 as Vice Admiral, from July 1865 – with the abolition of the Navy Department – until March 1868, he served as chief of the Naval Section ( secretary of state) in k.u.k. ''Ministry of War''. He was replaced by

Wilhelm von Tegetthoff Wilhelm von Tegetthoff (23 December 18277 April 1871) was an Austrian admiral. He commanded the fleet of the North Sea during the Second Schleswig War of 1864, and the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. He is often considered by some Austrian historia ...

with whom he had numerous differences years earlier. In 1869 he entered the final retirement and plunged into the adventures of a late marriage (28 August 1869 with the fifteen years old Hermine Müllern von Schönenbeck), in which he was even fathered (the son was the Imperial Lieutenant Commander Gustav Heinrich Ritter von Fautz 1878–1922).Antonio Schmidt-Brentano'' The Austrian admirals'' Volume I, 1808–1895 , Library Verlag, Osnabrück 1997, pp. 122–126.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fautz, Ludwig Von 1811 births 1880 deaths Military personnel from Vienna Austro-Hungarian admirals Wars of Italian Independence 1848 in Italy Imperial Knights 19th-century Austrian military personnel