Nikolai Essen - Biography

Biography

Essen entered the Imperial Russian Navy after graduating from the Naval Cadet Corps in 1880. He graduated from the Nikolayev Naval Academy, technical branch, in 1886 with the rank of lieutenant. In the early part of his career he commanded the Minesweeper no 120 (1897–98), the gunboat Grozyachiy (1898–1900), the steamship Slavianka (1901–1902) in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, followed by the cruiser Novik (1902–1904), which was stationed at Vladivostok with the Russian Pacific Fleet at the start of the Russo-Japanese War.

Essen was placed in command of the Russian battleship Sevastopol in Port Arthur by order of Admiral Stepan Makarov in mid-1904. He fought in the Battle of the Yellow Sea. Despite general indiscipline in the Russian squadron, caught in harbour, during last weeks of the Japanese siege, he managed to keep his battleship in serviceable condition until last days, then scuttled her in a deep water, so that the Japanese could not raise her. He was awarded the Order of St. George (3rd degree). After the end of the war he became the first captain of the British-built armoured cruiser Rurik.

He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1908 and appointed Commander in Chief of the Russian Baltic Fleet in 1909 when this position was created. He was promoted to Admiral in 1913. Essen, from lessons learned in the catastrophic war against Japan and the mutiny of the Black Sea Fleet, urged far-reaching reforms and moderization of the Russian Navy. He recognized 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 operational autonomy of the Baltic Fleet.

Widely regarded as the most able of Russian admirals in World War I, 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 specialty units. His superiors preferred but a cautious defensive position in the Baltic Sea, forcing Essen to concentrate his forces in the Gulf of Finland to protect Petrograd, with older units at the Gulf of Riga, and effectively abandoning Liepāja to the Germans. Nevertheless, on 9 August 1914 Essen led part of his fleet towards Gotland 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 the Rurik and Pallada to commerce raiding operations in the Baltic. Although of little success, the mission went far to maintaining the morale within the Baltic Fleet.

Essen died unexpectedly after a short bout with pneumonia in May 1915. He is buried in Novodevichy Cemetery (Saint Petersburg). He was survived by his wife, Mary, and son Anton (who was later killed in action as commander of the submarine AG-14 on 24 October 1917), and two daughters who married naval officers.