Gustav Freiherr (Baron) von Senden-Bibran (23 July 1847,

Reisicht Rokitki (german: Reisicht) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Chojnów, within Legnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany. The Bibran-Modlau and Senden-Bibran famil ...

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– 23 November 1909 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

) was an admiral of the

German Imperial Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

Biography

His father was a Silesian landowner who had served in the Austro-Hungarian Cavalry. He entered the Prussian Navy at age 15, never married, and dedicated his life to building a strong German Navy.The Entourage of Kaiser Wilhelm II, 1888-1918 by Isabel V. Hull; Cambridge University Press, 2004 , p. 178-80. After service in the Franco-Prussian War, from 1871 to 1874 Senden-Bibran attended the post-graduate Naval War College, the ''Marineakademie'', along with the future admiral and colleague

Otto von Diederichs Ernst Otto von Diederichs (7 September 1843 – 8 March 1918) was an Admiral of the Imperial German Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine''), serving in the Prussian Navy and the North German Federal Navy. Early life Diederichs was born 7 September 1843 in ...

.Gottschall, Terrel D.: "By Order of the Kaiser. Otto von Diederichs and the Rise of the Imperial German Navy, 1865-1902", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 2003. Senden-Bibran was stationed in China, Japan and the South Pacific, the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

and

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. After a cruise around the world (1881–83) he was given more important commands at home. He became Naval Adjutant or aide to

Kaiser Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

1888, and, in 1889, Chief of the German Imperial Naval Cabinet. In both positions he was very valuable for his ability to explain technical matters in a manner that the Kaiser could understand. In 1892, he became Rear Admiral and 1899, finally, Vice Admiral. Senden-Bibran often came into strong conflict with army and civilian leaders over his naval building plans, but he often won his goals with the support of

, who "had nothing but the navy in his head." He made no secret of his goal of building a navy which would wrest world economic and political power from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. He was accused of having "delusions of grandeur" and little knowledge of the realities of world politics and power. His period of greatest influence was in the 1890, lessening after the triumph of Tirpitz. He was something of a "naval

Éminence grise An ''éminence grise'' () or grey eminence is a powerful decision-maker or adviser who operates "behind the scenes", or in a non-public or unofficial capacity. This phrase originally referred to François Leclerc du Tremblay, the right-hand man ...

" to the Kaiser, with whom he had a standing appointment to meet on Tuesday mornings, either in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

. His power waned after the appointment of Admiral Tirpitz to the Imperial Naval Office in 1897, partly because he took the losing pro-cruiser side in the debate within the government (and for the Kaiser's ear) over whether Germany should build a cruiser fleet or a great battleship fleet. In the controversy over where Germany should seek a base in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

, Senden-Bibran preferred Chusan, an island in the mouth of

Hangzhou Bay Hangzhou Bay, or the Bay of Hangzhou (), is a funnel-shaped inlet of the East China Sea, bordered by the province of Zhejiang and the municipality of Shanghai, which lies north of the Bay. The Bay extends from the East China Sea to its head ...

.By order of the Kaiser, p. 154 He retired from the Naval Cabinet in 1906 in favor of Georg Alexander von Müller. In 1903 he was made full Admiral and

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

to the Kaiser. He died in 1909.

Honours and awards

;German orders and decorations''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1908''
p. 39
/ref> ;Foreign orders and decorations

References

Sources

*The Entourage of Kaiser Wilhelm II, 1888-1918 by Isabel V. Hull; Cambridge University Press, 2004 *Gottschall, Terrel D.: "By Order of the Kaiser. Otto Von Diederichs and the Rise of the Imperial German Navy, 1865-1902", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 2003. *The Kaiser and His Court: Wilhelm II and the Government of Germany by John C. G. Röhl; Translated byTerence F. Cole, Cambridge University Press; 288 pages. *By order of the Kaiser: Otto von Diederichs and the rise of the Imperial German Navy, 1865-1902 by Terrell D. Gottschall; Institute Press, 2003, 337 pages, p. 154. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Senden-Bibran, Gustav von 1847 births 1909 deaths Prussian naval officers Admirals of the Imperial German Navy German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War People from Legnica County People from the Province of Silesia Recipients of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria), 1st class Grand Crosses of the Order of Franz Joseph Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 1st class Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Commanders of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Grand Crosses of Naval Merit Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order