Nikolai Ottovich von Essen (, tr. ; – ) was a Russian naval commander and

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

descended from the Baltic German noble Essen family. For more than two centuries, his ancestors had served in the Imperial Russian Navy, and seven had been awarded the Order of St. George, the highest military award of the Russian Empire. Essen was regardedKosiarz, ch.1-3 as one of the most prominent admirals of the Russian naval force during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(1914–1918).

Biography

Nikolai Ottovich von Essen was born on in St. Petersburg,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, to Imperial Senator Otto Wilhelm von Essen, into the wealthy noble family of

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

. Early on in his life, Essen received home education; he was well-educated and fluent in English, French, Russian, and his native German. He graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps in 1880, after a two-year foreign cruise, attended the engineering department of the Nikolayev Naval Academy from 1883 to 1886. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1891 and served with the Russian Pacific Fleet from 1892 to 1896, and with the Russian Mediterranean Squadron from 1897.Kowner, pp. 113–114. In the early part of his career, he commanded ''Minesweeper No. 120'' (1897–98), the gunboat ''Grozyachiy'' (1898–1900), and the steamship ''Slavianka'' (1901–1902) in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. After a brief assignment as an instructor at the Naval Cadet Corps, he was appointed captain of the cruiser (1902–1904), which was stationed at

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

At the start of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

, Admiral Stepan Makarov reassigned Essen to command the battleship at Port Arthur. After the Battle of the Yellow Sea, Essen also commanded the land-based defences at the entrance to Port Arthur. During the last weeks of the Japanese siege, he moved ''Sevastopol'' out of the relative safety of the inner harbour to use her firepower to help repulse repeated Japanese attacks. However, on hearing of the surrender of Port Arthur, he moved ''Sevastopol'' into deeper water and then scuttled her, making her the only battleship that the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

could not raise after the war. He was sent as a prisoner of war to Japan, but was paroled after less than two months, and returned to St Petersburg to a hero's welcome. For his actions, Essen was awarded the Order of St. George (3rd degree) and promoted to captain. In early 1905 he was sent to Crete to meet with Nikolai Nebogatov who was commanding the 3rd pacific fleet that was proceeding to the pacific to fight the

Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima (, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known in Japan as the , was the final naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 27–28 May 1905 in the Tsushima Strait. A devastating defeat for the Imperial Russian Navy, the ...

and provide him with information about events of the battles around Port Arthur. . After the end of the war, Essen became the first captain of the British-built

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

. He was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in 1908 and appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

in 1909 when this position was created. He was promoted to admiral in 1913. Essen, from lessons learned in the war against Japan and the mutiny of the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

, urged far-reaching reforms and modernisation of the Imperial Russian Navy. He recognised early the importance of submarines and aircraft, and sought to promote younger officers based on their knowledge of modern strategy and tactics, also establishing a naval training academy at Kronstadt. Above all, he pushed for the operational autonomy of the Baltic Fleet. Widely regarded as the most able of Russian admirals in

, Essen led the Baltic Fleet energetically during the first year of the war. His forces at the time consisted of four battleships, five cruisers, four light cruisers, 62 torpedo boats, 12 submarines and numerous smaller and specialised units. His superiors preferred a cautious defensive position in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

, forcing Essen to concentrate his forces in the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

to protect Petrograd, with older units in the

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia (, , ) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main connection between the gulf and t ...

, and effectively abandoning

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

to the Germans. Nevertheless, on 9 August 1914, Essen led part of his fleet towards

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

with the intent to contain the Swedish navy and deliver a note of his own making which would have violated Swedish neutrality and may have brought Sweden into the war. He was ordered back before his plan could be executed. However, on 27 August 1914, he assigned ''Rurik'' and to commerce raiding operations in the Baltic. Although of little success, the mission went a long way towards maintaining morale within the Baltic Fleet. Essen died unexpectedly after a short bout of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in May 1915. He is buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery (Saint Petersburg). He was survived by his wife, Mary, and son Anthony (who was later killed in action as commander of the submarine ''AG-14'' on 24 October 1917), and two daughters who married naval officers.

Awards and commemoration

* Golden Sword for Bravery (14 March 1904) * Order of St. George (4th class), (17 April 1905) * Order of the White Eagle with Swords (12 December 1914) The second ship of the of frigates is named to commemorate the admiral.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * Spencer C. Tucker, ''Who's Who in Twentieth Century Warfare'', Routledge, London & New York 2001 (pg. 92) * ISSN 1404-0581 http://libris.kb.se/bib/10297983 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Essen, Nikolai 1860 births 1915 deaths Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Russian people of Baltic German descent Imperial Russian Navy admirals Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Honorary Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Deaths from pneumonia in Estonia Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery (Saint Petersburg) Admirals of World War I Essen family Naval Cadet Corps alumni