CROATIAN ADMIRAL MAKSIMILIJAN NJEGOVAN (1858 – 1930)

written by Kroatocentrik, 28.9.2021., video available here,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwjfubawYuM

According to Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu Wu, a general does not have to carry
out every order.

Sometimes refusing an order is an expression of the highest honor a commander can

have. Precisely because of his act, Maximilian Njegovan deserved the honorary title.

In the First World War, in the year 1917, it became clear that Austro-Hungary was losing
the First World War. This was not clear to the Austrian Emperor Charles I and the
German Emperor Wilhelm the second. Both of them unsuccessfully try to persuadee
several times the Croatian admiral to bomb Venice. The admiral resolutely refused,
which brought him into disfavor with the two emperors. Several facts contributed to his
decision. Lack of fuel and ammunition for ships. As well as the weak fighting morale of
the crew which was badly affected by the duration of the war. The Croatian admiral
showed that ethical and moral principles are above everything, even above imperial
orders. Due to the rejection of the imperial orders, Maximilian Njegovan was not
dismissed.

Such an act is not without similar historical examples. In the morning, Admiral of the
Yugoslav People's Army Vladimir Barović took over the post of Chief of Staff of the Split
Naval District, but unrest overtook him in the evening. He measured the building of the
military complex with quick steps, then went out to breathe in the fresh island air, but
deep down he knew there was no going back. His appointment to a new position also
meant his consent to any combat action against Croatian citizens. His military honor did
not allow him to carry out orders. He wrote a letter that he decided to die an honorable
death because he did not want to wage war against the "brotherly Croatian people". He
wrote, "Montenegrins cannot fight and destroy a nation that has done them no harm." He
also stated his inability to prevent the Yugoslav Navy from operating against Croatia.
Barović stated that the aggression of the Yugoslav People's Army against Croatia was
an act contrary to the Montenegrin honor. He had a family, and he was fifty-two years
old. He snuck into the infirmary, rested his gun on his head, and fired. He raised his
hand against himself at a time when a good part of his compatriots supported the
Sansavic and Great Serbia policy governed from Belgrade and took part in the bombing
of Dubrovnik.

German General von Dietrich Choltitz did the similar in World War II. He was the
commander of the German occupation forces in Paris. That German general revoked the
decision to destroy Paris, and at the time was unsure whether his family would be
transferred from Germany to neutral Switzerland. The Swedish consul Raoul Nordling
managed to persuade him to do so.
The Croatian admiral reached the rank of vice admiral as commander of the
Austro-Hungarian navy. He also reached the position of Commander-in-Chief of the
Austro-Hungarian Navy, which united a triple role. Commander of the Fleet, Commander
of the Navy and the position of Chief of the Naval Section at the Ministry of War in
Vienna. In addition, he became a member of the Secret Council, which advised the ruler
on certain general issues of domestic and foreign policy, as well as on financial and
military issues. The members of the Secret Council had a direct influence on the
decision-making process in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Membership in that council
was reserved only for the highest military and state officials. Here he is with the rank of
admiral with a hat. He's here with the rank of admiral without a hat. In the naval uniforms
of senior officers - in front is Emperor Charles I, behind him, in the middle, admiral
Maximilian Njegovan, on the right is the captain of a liner ship and a Croat, Janko
Vukovic Pod-kapelski. Here we see Emperor Charles I on the left, and admiral Njegovan
in the middle.

Decorations of Croatian Admiral Maksimilijan Njegovan: Order of the Iron Crown of the
3rd degree, Order of the Iron Crown of the 1st degree, Order of Leopold, Military Cross
of Merit, Badge for Military Service, Bronze Medal of Military Merit, Jubilee Monument
1898, Jubilee Cross 1908, Prussia 2nd degree Red Eagle Medal which is the German
Empire Medal, Liberator Medal which is the Greek Medal, Double Dragon Medal 2nd
degree which is China Medal, Medschidie Orde 3rd Degree which is the Ottoman
Empire Medal, Merito Naval 3rd Degree which is the Kingdom Medal Spain.

On May 19, 1917, Emperor Charles personally sent to the admiral The following
telegram, related to the battle of Otranto: "By commanding the units of my Fleet, which
have recently successfully completed the task assigned to them, they have inflicted
considerable losses on their enemies and shown how effective a true naval spirit can be
against a numerically superior enemy. If I were to honor you today, Admiral Njegovan, in
recognition of excellent successes before the enemy, My Order of the First Class Iron
Crown with War Decoration and Swords, then in this commanding decoration my whole
fleet can also see how pleased I am with you. I thank all my brave sailors with all my
heart, and pray for them the richest of God blessing".

He was also praised by the Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, Admiral

Anton Haus, with the words: "Very well versed in all branches of the profession, diverse
scientific education ... has a positive impact on subordinates and has their trust. Very
diligent and conscientious, with very good results. He commanded the First Squadron
very well in every respect. Fully suited to his present position, he is suitable for all higher
positions and command of larger groups. "

Prior to that, in 1912, Admiral Haus defended him against the attacks of Rear Admiral
Count Lanjus by giving him "unreserved support", and in 1913, Haus proposed that
Njegovan replace Rear Admiral Chmelarž as commander of the First Squadron.

Njegovan did not marry and had no children, but devoted his entire life to a military
career in the Navy. He was a fat man with happy eyes and a pleasant white mustache,
conscientious, educated and decent behavior ", he was a typical representative of the
old Croatian Military Border. During his schooling he received grades, "eager and active,
strives to train through learning, serves accurately and reliably in every respect, to be a
good artillery and deck cadet."

Njegovan's superiors optimistically conclude that "this officer gives reason to hope that
he, too, will be fully accountable in that direction, because he is undoubtedly very
capable and has good will." He achieved very good results as a teacher in the
Serbo-Croatian language. A very useful, willing and ambitious officer. " He is further
described as “calm and naval officer with character, "whose officer behavior was towards
subordinates strictly according to official regulations" who accordingly became "a good
and reliable training officer" and above all "was reliable and very well acquainted with
innovations in the field of sea mines". During his service on the corvette Helgoland, his
superiors rated him as an officer very eager to serve with good success; strives for
further training and exercises. He has passion and a love of the subject of navigation,
and he successfully completed the details of navigation on Helgoland. During his service
on the ship "Hofer", Njegovan is described as an officer with a lively spirit, excellent
understanding, sharp memory, correct judgment - determined, energetic, very honorable,
very cheerful mood. He took very good care of his subordinates and is in every way an
excellent naval officer, justifying the best hopes. " During his service on the ship
"Erzherzog Karl", Njegovan was praised as a tactician who is a very conscientious, in
every way recommended naval staff officer. During the intensified summer Squadron,
often under difficult circumstances, he led his agendas as Chief of Staff calmly and
prudently to complete satisfaction. " He was praised as a highly recommended officer for
his military stance and versatile adaptability.

Njegovan was placed at the disposal of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and briefly served
as commander of the yacht "Miramar", the imperial yacht which used by many members
of the imperial family, including Francis Joseph I and Empress Elizabeth. This
information is very important because it shows that Njegovan was a man trusted by the
royal family. It also tells us that he was very loyal to the emperor and the Monarchy
because otherwise he would not have received such an honor to personally command
the imperial yacht.

After Serbs and Montenegrins were prevented from occupying Shkodra, Njegovan was
appointed as a representative of the Austro-Hungarian navy within the occupation forces
to the International Admiralty Council in Shkodra in 1913.

Njegovan's abilities included a good knowledge of German and Serbo-Croatian, fluent

knowledge of Italian, French and English, and he used the Morse code very often and
reliably.

His younger brother Viktor served in the Army during the First World War and ended his
career with the honorary rank of Infantry General, and on March 7, 1917 he was
awarded the Hungarian nobility, after which he had the right to add the prefix "von" to his
surname.
The outcome of the war hit Maximilian personally very hard. In 1924, he suffered a
stroke, which was accompanied by angina pectoris, and only his indestructible humor
kept him alive.

The Admiral's final resting place is Zagreb's Mirogoj.

The funeral in 1930 was attended by generals and commanders of the Austro-Hungarian
army, as well as the Hungarian ambassador as an envoy of Miklos Horthy. His
comrades-in-arms, the still living Austro-Hungarian admirals and generals, as well as
members of the infantry and cavalry units also came. The coffin was lowered with all
state and military honors along with rifle plutons and plutons of Polish artillery battalions.

The funeral of this extremely efficient and sympathetic officer then again threw the
splendor of former glory into his name.

Valuable work on this Croatian admiral was written by Karlo Foder on about fifty pages,
who was awarded the Rector's Award 2020 in Zagreb.

The link to the work is in the description of the video.

Through the fate of Admiral Maximilian, this work shows the fate of the Croatian people
in Austro-Hungary during the time of Njegovan.

The impression remains after reading that Croats in large systems can only fight for
themselves with excellence.

The paper also shows the influence of socialist ideas and the Yugoslav idea during the
sailors' revolt in the Bay of Kotor.

These ideas later determined Croatian destiny.

After that rebellion, it was announced that Njegovan is retired at his own request, while
the real reason was that he refused to bomb Venice, and the rebellion was just an
excuse.

Foder's work depicts another fact about the Croatian reality, and that is that the topic of
the contribution of Croats in Austro-Hungary the navy is not dealt with to a greater extent
by professional historians in Croatia, but only by history lovers such as Zvonimir
Freivogel, who gave the greatest contribution to this topic in Croatian historiography.

Karlo Foder, https://apps.unizg.hr/rektorova-nagrada/javno/radovi/699/preuzmi,

https://kamenjar.com/vladimir-barovic-admiral-jna-odbio-bombardirati-hrvatsku/, Davor
Domazet Lošo, "Hrvat jest ratnik" 2021., Lanjusova slika,
http://www.regionalexpress.hr/site/more/karl-franz-graf-lanjus-von-wellenburg-vizeadmi
ral, slike i popis odlikovanja, https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Njegovan, slika
Viktora Njegovana,
https://www.europeana.eu/hr/item/2020601/https___1914_1918_europeana_eu_contrib
utions_15682, slika admiralovog groba,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grab_Njegovan_Maximilian,_Mirogoj,_Zagreb.j
pg