Admiral
He was promoted to rear-admiral on 1 July 1904, in which year his family connections to the royal courts of Europe helped resolve the Dogger Bank incident peacefully. The following February, he was given command of the Second Cruiser Squadron, with HMS Drake as his flagship. During a successful two years the squadron visited Greece, Portugal, Canada, and the United States, where the American press commented favourably on Prince Louis's courtesy, unassuming manner and democratic nature. After two years at the head of the Second Cruiser Squadron, and further visits to Spain (where his niece Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg was Queen), he was appointed second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet as acting vice-admiral with HMS Venerable as his flagship.
After less than six months in post his flag was transferred to the battleship Prince of Wales in August 1907. The following year, he was promoted to vice-admiral, and appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet. Historian Andrew Lambert described Battenberg as a sea-going admiral as "more cerebral than the average, although somewhat lazy. The exercises had a greater sense of realism, reflecting the latest thinking on weapons and strategy." In 1909, he published a translation of Commander Vladimir Semenoff's Rasplata (The Reckoning), a memoir of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5, and witnessed the first crossing of the English Channel by air by Louis Blériot. He was appointed as commander of the newly constituted Third and Fourth Divisions of the Home Fleet two years later. The years immediately preceding this appointment were marred by disagreements between Admirals Sir John Fisher and Lord Charles Beresford over the direction of the navy and the imposition of reforms. Louis largely supported Fisher's modernising efforts, although he disapproved of his methods, and as a result Fisher's opponents attempted to prevent Louis's promotions. Eventually, both Beresford and Fisher left active service but Fisher's reforms were retained.
Read more about this topic: Prince Louis Of Battenberg
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