Felix von Bendemann
| Felix von Bendemann | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Birth name | Felix Eduard Robert Emil Bendemann |
| Born |
8 August 1848 Dresden, Saxony |
| Died | 31 October 1915 (aged 67) Halensee |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire
|
| Service/branch |
 Kaiserliche Marine
|
| Years of service | 1864–1907 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | |
| Battles/wars | Franco-Prussian War |
| Relations | Rudolf Bendemann |
Felix von Bendemann (8 August 1848 – 31 October 1915) was an Admiral of the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine).
Bendemann was born in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony. He was the son of the painter Eduard Julius Friedrich Bendemann (1811–1889) and Lida Schadow, who was the daughter of the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow. The painter Rudolf Bendemann was his brother.
Bendemann and three brothers served in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71. He was in the Prussian Navy as an officer on the gunboat SMS Meteor in Key West when the war began. On 23 October the news of the outbreak of war reached the ship’s captain, Eduard von Knorr. The SMS Meteor sailed for Cuba where, on 9 November they fought the only serious naval battle of the war with the French aviso Bouvet commanded by capitaine de frégate Alexandre Franquet. After an artillery exchange and an attempts by the Bouvet to ram the Meteor, both ships were incapacitated. Although the French left the scene of battle, the outcome was indecisive. As a result of this wartime conduct, he was honored with the then rarely given Iron Cross.
Bendeman was enrolled in the German Imperial Naval Academy (Marineakademie) in 1874. In his class would be three other future admirals: Otto von Diederichs, Viktor Valois and Gustav von Senden-Bibran.
Lieutenant-Commander (Korvettenkapitän) Bendemann commanded the SMS Olga in 1884 as part of the newly formed West African-cruiser squadron (Westafrikanische Geschwader), again under Rear Admiral Eduard von Knorr, to carry out "gunboat diplomacy" in Germany’s Western African area of interest, the colony of Kamerun, against a local revolt. Troops landed from Knorr’s SMS Fürst Bismarck and the Olga stormed the rebels and by 22 December succeeded in defeating the rebels. This led to treaties with France and Britain recognizing Cameroon as a German Colony. Afterward, a pleased Kaiser Wilhelm I awarded Bendemann the Prussian Order of the Royal Crown, 3rd Class with Swords.
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