Early Life and Career
Tegetthoff was born in Marburg, Styria in Austrian Empire (now Maribor in Slovenia), on 23 December 1827 the son of Karl von Tegetthoff, an Oberstleutnant in the Austrian Army. On his mother's side he was related to Johann Kaspar Freiherr von Seiller, Mayor of Vienna from 1851 to 1861. Entering the Marinecollegium (naval academy) in Venice in 1840, Tegetthoff became a Seekadett on 23 July 1845 and witnessed the Venetian uprising in 1848/49. He received a commission upon his graduation on 16 April 1849 and took part in the blockade of Venice from May to August 1849. Tegetthoff was promoted to Fregattenleutnant on 16 June 1851 and Linienschiffsleutnant on 16 November 1852.
Tegetthoff received his first command, the naval schooner Elisabeth, in 1854. This was at the time of the Austrian Navy's intensive conversion to steam power, of which he was an earnest advocate. In 1855 he was appointed commander of the paddle steamer Taurus, patrolling the Sulina mouth of the Danube during the Crimean War. This service brough him to the favorable notice of Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria, the Oberkommandant der Marine (High Commander of the Navy), with whom he had been acquainted since 1850. Promoted to Korvettenkapitän in 1857, Tegetthoff served on a semi-official scientific expedition to the Red Sea. Having shown exceptional diplomatic and organizational ability, in December 1857 he was appointed a staff officer. He was named commander in 1858 of the new screw corvette Erzherzog Friedrich on the coast of Morocco, then in a confused state of disorder.
The Italian campaign of 1859 saw the Austrians unable to challenge the French fleet for mastery of the Adriatic. With the return of peace, Tegetthoff accompanied Fredinand Maximilian on a voyage to Brazil to visit Emperor Pedro II during the winter of 1859/60. Promoted Fregattenkapitän on 27 April 1860 and Linienschiffskapitän on 23 November 1861, he was named commander of the Levant Squadron in 1862. In this capacity, he monitored the Greek revolution that deposed King Otto I and the anti-Western disurbances in Syria.
Read more about this topic: Wilhelm Von Tegetthoff
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