Nikolai Essen
| Nikolai Essen | |
|---|---|
Nikolai Essen
|
|
| Born |
11 December 1860 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire |
| Died | 7 May 1915 (aged 54) Reval, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire |
| Allegiance |
 Russian Empire
|
| Service/branch |
 Imperial Russian Navy
|
| Years of service | 1880-1915 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | Baltic Fleet |
| Battles/wars |
Russo-Japanese War World War I |
| Awards |
 Order of St. George Order of the White Eagle Order of St Vladimir4th class Order of St Vladimir 2nd class Order of St Stanislaus 1st class Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd class Order of St. Anne 1st class Order of St. Anne 2nd class |
Nikolai Ottovich (von) Essen (Russian: Николай Оттович фон Эссен) (11(23) December 1860, Saint Petersburg – 7(20) May 1915, Reval) was a Russian naval commander and admiral from the Baltic German 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 graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps in 1880 and after a two-year foreign cruise, attended the engineering department of the Nikolayev Naval Academy from 1883 to 1886. He was commissioned as lieutenant in 1891, and served with the Russian Pacific Fleet from 1892 to 1896, and with the Russian Mediterranean Squadron from 1897.
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. After a brief assignment as an instructor at the Naval Cadet Corps, he was appointed captain of the cruiser Novik (1902–1904), which was stationed at Vladivostok.
At the start of the Russo-Japanese War, Admiral Stepan Makarov reassigned Essen to command the battleship Sevastopol at Port Arthur. After the disastrous Battle of the Yellow Sea, Essen also commanded the land-based defenses at the entrance to Port Arthur. During last weeks of the Japanese siege, he moved Sevastopol out of the relative safety of inner harbor 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 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 Saint Petersburg for a hero’s welcome. For his actions, Essen was awarded the Order of St. George (3rd degree) and promoted to captain.
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