- Archduke Leopold Ludwig of Austria
Archduke Leopold Ludwig of Austria (German: Leopold Ludwig Maria Franz Julius Estorgius Gerhard Erzherzog von Ósterreich) (b. Milan6 June 1823 - d. Hórnstein, 24 May 1898) was an Austrian general and admiral who served as "Oberkommandant der Marine" ('High Commander of the Navy') from 1864 to 1868.
He was the eldest son of
Archduke Rainer of Austria (1783-1853) and Archduchess Elisabeth (1800-1856) and a grandson of EmperorLeopold II . Rainer was born in 1823 inMilan , where his father served as Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia from 1818 to 1848. A younger brother, Archduke Rainer Ferdinand (1827-1913), served as Austrian Minister President from 1859 to 1861. Leopold followed his father in a military career, attaining the rank of "Feldmarschall-leutnant" (lieutenant general) in the Austrian Army.When
Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian was preparing to accept the throne ofMexico in March 1864, EmperorFranz Josef I sent Leopold to Miramar to induce Maximilian to sign the Act of Renunciation. The two cousins had never been on friendly terms, and Maximilian viewed Leopold as one of the archdukes who would benefit from the renunciation of his hereditary rights in Austria. Maximilian delayed signing the 'Family Compact', as it was called, until the visit of Franz Josef to Miramar on 9 April 1864. [Joan Haslip, "The Crown of Mexico", pp. 218, 221, 223-226. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971.]Undoubtedly to Maximilian's chagrin and irritation, Leopold was named his successor as "Oberkommandant der Marine" with the rank of "Vizeadmiral" (vice admiral) in April 1864.
During Leopold's tenure as administrative head of the Navy, two notable sea battles were fought by Austrian forces under
Wilhelm von Tegetthoff . On 9 May 1864 Austrian and Prussian warships clashed with a Danish squadron offHelgoland in theNorth Sea ; although tactically indecisive, the battle achieved Tegetthoff's objective of causing the Danish squadron to lift its blockade of theWeser andElbe ports.In the second action, on 20 July 1866 a weaker Austrian squadron under Tegetthoff fell upon and decisively defeated a powerful Italian squadron off
Lissa (nowVis ) in theAdriatic . [Robert Gardiner (ed. dir.), "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905", pp. 266-267. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1979.]Owing to rapid developments in technology and the need to study the lessons of the
Battle of Lissa , ships already under construction when Leopold took office in 1864 were completed but only two major vessels were begun during his tenure: the central battery ironclad "Lissa" and the screw sloop "Helgoland", both laid down in 1867. [Gardiner, pp. 269, 276.]With the organization of the
Dual Monarchy in 1867, the naval service was reconstituted as theAustro-Hungarian Navy . Leopold was succeeded as head of the Navy in March 1868 by Tegetthoff, who received the new title of "Kommandant der Marine" ('Commander of the Navy').Tegetthoff was also named to the new post of "Chef der Marinesektion" (Chief of the Naval Section) of the Imperial War Ministry.Leopold never married, and after stepping down as head of the Navy he faded into obscurity. He died at
Hörnstein on 24 May 1898.Notes
ee also
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Austro-Hungarian Navy
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