Prince Heinrich Wilhelm Adalbert of Prussia (29 October 1811 – 6 June 1873) was a son of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg. He was a naval theorist and admiral. He was instrumental during the

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

in founding the first unified German fleet, the Reichsflotte. During the 1850s he helped to establish the Prussian Navy.

Biography

Adalbert was born in Berlin, the son of Prince William, the youngest brother of King Frederick William III. As a young man, Adalbert entered the Prussian army and by 1839, had become commander of the Guards Artillery brigade, a position he held until 1842. Several journeys led him between 1826 and 1842 to the Netherlands,

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

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, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, Greece, and Brazil. He recognized during his many sea voyages the importance that sea power had for a modern commercial and industrial nation. He studied carefully the theory of

naval warfare Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. The Military, armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy. Naval operations can be ...

and in 1836 wrote a plan for the construction of a Prussian fleet, which would be centered on three

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

s. The cost of the ships meant that it had no chance of being enacted. Prussia at that time was a land power focused on Continental Europe, possessing practically no navy of its own; rather, it relied on the allied powers of Britain, the Netherlands, and Denmark. During the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Du ...

of 1848–1851, however, the failure of this strategy became apparent: Britain and the Netherlands remained neutral and Denmark became the enemy. Within a few days, the Danish navy had destroyed German maritime commerce in the

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

and the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

. In 1843, upon returning from the cruise to Brazil, Adalbert was made the General Inspector of Artillery. He recruited then-Major Albrecht von Stosch as his

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

in 1847; Stosch would go on to become the first chief of the

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

in 1871. During the

, and contemporaneously during the First Schleswig War against Denmark, the German National Assembly embarked on a project to establish a unified German fleet to combat the Danish

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

of the northern German states. The assembly named Prince Adalbert to lead the (Naval Technical Commission), along with Karl Rudolf Brommy, Jan Schröder, among others; he was also placed in charge of Prussia's own initiative to build a fleet. He presented his recommendations in a "Memorandum on the Construction of a German Fleet" (''Denkschrift über die Bildung einer deutschen Flotte'') (

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, 1848). In this memorandum, still regarded highly for its insights on naval strategy, Adalbert distinguished between three fleet models: *A naval force intended solely for defensive actions in relation to coastal defense; *An offensive naval force intended for national defense, and for the most necessary protection of commerce; or *An independent naval power. Adalbert favored the middle solution, because it would not provoke the great sea powers (such as Britain), but would provide the German navy with significant value as an ally. In 1849 his cousin, King Frederick William IV, ordered Adalbert to resign his office in the fledgling Imperial Navy. The reactionary king mistrusted the National Assembly because of its revolutionary nature, and had already turned down its offer to assume the German Imperial crown. Despite the setback, Adalbert continued to give active support to the construction of a fleet. In 1852 Adalbert argued that Prussia needed to build a naval base on the North Sea. He arranged the Jade Treaty of 20 July 1853, in which Prussia and the

Grand Duchy of Oldenburg The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (, also known as Holstein-Oldenburg) was a grand duchy within the German Confederation, North German Confederation and German Empire, that consisted of three widely separated territories: Oldenburg, Eutin and Bir ...

jointly withdrew from a region on the west bank of the Jade bay, where from 1854 onward Prussia established the fortress, naval base and city of

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

. On 30 March 1854, Adalbert was named Admiral of the Prussian Coast and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. In the summer of 1856, while on a training cruise of Prussian warships, he led Prussian forces at the Battle of Tres Forcas. He was shot by Riffians during the fighting. During the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

of 1864 (also known as the "Danish-Prussian War") he commanded the Prussian Navy, though operational command of its main unit, the Baltic Squadron, fell to Eduard von Jachmann. He spent time aboard the aviso , and on 14 April he conducted a sweep into the Bay of Pomerania that resulted in an encounter with the Danish

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

and the steam frigate . opened fire at long range, leading to an indecisive two-and-a-half-hour battle in which easily outran the more powerful Danish vessels and escaped back to Swinemünde. After the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870–1871, which led to the creation of the German Empire, Adalbert laid down his title of "Prince-Admiral" and retired from the now-renamed Imperial Navy. He died two years later of liver disease, aged 62, in Karlsbad. Adalbert was married to the dancer Therese Elssler (Frau von Barnim); their only son, Adalbert v. Barnim (born 22 April 1841), died in July 1860 during an expedition on the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:

Ancestry

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adalbert Of Prussia 1811 births 1873 deaths People from the Province of Brandenburg House of Hohenzollern Prussian princes People of the Revolutions of 1848 German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Imperial German Navy admirals Prussian naval officers Writers from Berlin German military writers Military theorists German male non-fiction writers Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class Grand Crosses of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Burials at Berlin Cathedral