Ludwig von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen | |
|---|---|
 Photograph byFranz Hanfstaengl,c. 1860 | |
| Born | (1815-06-18)18 June 1815 |
| Died | 26 April 1881(1881-04-26) (aged 65) |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Bavaria German Empire |
| Branch | Bavarian Army Imperial German Army |
| Rank | General of the Infantry |
| Commands | I Royal Bavarian Corps |
| Battles / wars | First Schleswig War Austro-Prussian War Franco-Prussian War |
| Awards | Military Order of Max Joseph Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Pour le Mérite Order of the Crown Order of the Red Eagle Iron Cross |
Ludwig Samson Heinrich Arthur Freiherr[a] von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen (18 June 1815 – 26 April 1881) was aBavarian general.
Born inDarmstadt, on the day ofWaterloo, Ludwig was a descendant from the old family ofvon der Tann, which had branches inBavaria, theAlsace and theRhine 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, the second king of Bavaria, stood sponsor for the child, who received his name and also "Arthur", in honour ofArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. He received a careful education, and in 1827 became a page at the Bavarian court, where a great future was predicted for him.
Von der Tann entered the military under theartillery branch in 1833, and was after some years placed on the general staff. He attended the manoeuvres of the Austrian army in Italy underField Marshal Radetzky and, in a spirit of adventure, joined a French military expedition operating inAlgiers against theTunisian frontier.[1]
On his return he became a close personal friend of the Bavarian Crown PrinceMaximilian (afterwards King Maximilian II). In 1848 he was promoted to major, and in that year he distinguished himself greatly as the leader of aSchleswig-Holstein light corps in theFirst Schleswig War between Denmark and a coalition of German states. At the close of the first campaign he was awarded theOrder of the Red Eagle by the king ofPrussia, and his own sovereign awarded him theMilitary Order of Max Joseph and promoted him to lieutenant-colonel. In 1849 he served as chief of staff to theBavarian contingent at the front and distinguished himself at the lines ofDybbøl. He then visitedHaynau's headquarters in theHungarian War before returning to Schleswig-Holstein to serve asvon Willisen's chief of staff in the Idstedt campaign.[1]
Then came the threat of war between Prussia and Austria, and von der Tann was recalled to Bavaria. The crisis ended with thesurrender 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 theaide-de-camp and constant companion of KingMaximilian. In theAustro-Prussian War of 1866 he served as chief of staff toPrince 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.[1]
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 theI. Bavarian Corps. This corps he commanded during theFranco-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 ofWörth andSedan. Transferred in the autumn to an independent command on theLoire, he conducted the operations againstd'Aurelle de Paladines, at first with marked success, and forced the surrender ofOrléans. He had, however, atCoulmiers to give way before a numerically larger French force; but reinforced, he fought several successful engagements under theGrand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin near Orléans.[1]
After the end of the war he was reappointed commander-in-chief of theI. Bavarian Corps, a post which he held until his death in 1881 atMeran. He received the Grand Cross of the Bavarian Military Order, and from the King of Prussia the first class of theIron Cross and thePour le Mérite. 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 newStrassburg forts after him.[1]
Bavaria:
Austria:Knight of the Iron Crown, 1st Class,1860[5]
Belgium: Officer of theOrder of Leopold,9 July 1861;[6] Grand Cordon,9 February 1866 (military)[7]
Greece:Grand Commander of the Redeemer
Hanover: Grand Cross of theRoyal Guelphic Order,1864[8]
Hesse-Kassel: Commander of theWilhelmsorden, 2nd Class,13 October 1852[9]
Hesse-Darmstadt:[10]
Lippe:
Luxembourg:Grand Cross of the Oak Crown
Modena:Commander of the Eagle of Este,1857[11]
Mecklenburg:
Ottoman Empire:Order of the Medjidie, 2nd Class
Russia:
Saxony: Grand Cross of theAlbert Order, with War Decoration,1871[12]
Prussia:
Sweden-Norway:[14]
Waldeck and Pyrmont: Military Merit Cross, 1st Class
Württemberg:Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown,1869[15]Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tann-Rathsamhausen, Ludwig Samson Arthur".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 400.
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