User:Goldenbaum Loyalist/Sandbox

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Admiral Merkatz (796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE))
Gender:	Male
Affiliation:	Iserlohn Republic El Facil Revolutionary Government (former) Free Planets Alliance/Imperial Legitimate Government (former) Galactic Empire (former)
Rank:	High Admiral
Flagship(s):	Hyperion Nördlingen (former)
Occupation:	Legitimate government war minister (former)
Status:	Deceased (killed in action)
Born:	2nd half of 737 UC (428 IC / 3537 CE) or 738 UC (429 IC / 3538 CE)
Died:	801 UC (3 NIC / 492 IC / 3601 CE)
Played by:	Naya Gorō (deceased)

Willibald Joachim von Merkatz (Japanese: ウィリバルト・ヨアヒム・フォン・メルカッツ) was a distinguished Imperial high admiral who defected to the Alliance after being defeated in a civil war and went on to serve both Yang Wen-li as well as the Imperial exiled government. A veteran of countless battles, he was noted for his penchant of using massed small craft such as Imperial gunships or later Alliance Spartanians in direct strikes against enemy warships. Merkatz remained a loyalist of the Goldenbaum Dynasty and wanted to restore it to power in the Empire despite serving under Yang, which was also why he supported the incompetent high nobles of the Lippstadt League during the civil war. Fleet Admiral Oskar von Reuenthal regarded him as one of the greatest tacticians of their era, the others being himself, Yang, Reinhard, and Wolfgang Mittermeyer.

Late Goldenbaum era

Not much is known about Merkatz's early career besides the fact that he was a flag officer since at least 791 UC (482 IC / 3591 CE), and that he had become a famous soldier "before you [Reinhard von Lohengramm] were born," according to Paul von Oberstein. He was also regarded as popular and respected among lower ranking Imperial ratings and junior officers, with his reputation as a military commander being even known in the Alliance. One of his known actions was as a full admiral during the Sixth Battle of Iserlohn in 794 UC (485 IC / 3594 CE), being the only older commander who fought in the fleet battle outside of Iserlohn Fortress. (MUT: 'Chapter IV', HBSHBL: 'A Hundred Billion Stars, One Ambition', LOGH: 'Courage and Loyalty', 'Victory for Whose Sake?')

Admiral Merkatz was one of five fleet commanders assigned to Reinhard von Lohengramm to replace his loyal subordinates prior to the start of the operation that would become the Battle of Astarte. While the others were vice admirals (except Fahrenheit, who was a rear admiral) Merkatz was a full admiral. He and the other officers were considered to be "problematic" by the Imperial naval command and that was the main reason for their assignment to Reinhard in the place of his regular staff, as this operation was not expected to succeed. It was noted by Oskar von Reuenthal at the time that Merkatz was recognized as a skilled commander but lacked adaptability and that prevented him from being promoted to Fleet Admiral. However, during the battle Merkatz fought well against both the Alliance 4th Fleet and 6th Fleet. After Reinhard's operational plan turned out to be a success, much to everyone's surprise, Merkatz came to acknowledge the younger admiral's genius and his skepticism of Reinhard changed into respect. It was an attitude that stood in stark contrast to the continued contempt that the rest of the Imperial upper strata possessed toward the blond admiral. (Overture to a New War, LOGH: 'In the Eternal Night', 'The Battle of Astarte')

The Lippstadt Rebellion

During the attempted Alliance invasion of the Empire in the late summer and fall of 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE), Merkatz was not involved as Count Lohengramm and his subordinates were given the task of defending Imperial territory. However, when Emperor Friedrich IV suddenly died shortly after the rout of the Alliance forces in October, a power struggle broke out within the Empire. The highborn aristocrats representing the Goldenbaum Dynasty's traditions and power were pitted against the ambitious reformist upstarts under Reinhard von Lohengramm, along with his ally of convenience, Minister of State Klaus von Lichtenlade. The Lohengramm–Lichtenlade axis placed the very young and impressionable Erwin Josef II on the throne, with the nobles seeing this as an assault against their influence. Although Merkatz initially wanted to remain neutral because he saw no reason to harm the troops with infighting, Duke Otto von Braunschweig threatened the old admiral to go along with the high nobles. (LOGH: 'When the Rain of Grief Comes...', 'New Trends', 'The Lippstadt Conspiracy')

Duke Braunschweig did naturally appoint High Admiral Merkatz the commander-in-chief of the Lippstadt Allied Forces upon the outbreak of the civil war, as the confederated aristocrats' combined military came to be known. Using Geiersburg Fortress as their base of operations, Merkatz proposed that they allow Reinhard's forces to come to them so the Lippstadt fleet could attack them when they stretched out their supply lines and were far from Odin. However, a proposal by Admiral Staden to attack Odin while Reinhard was away was also accepted much to Merkatz's chagrin, though Staden's force ended up being routed. Merkatz later scored the Lippstadt League's only victory over the enemy in the war, the Battle of Schann-tau, but it was strategically insignificant. He was also outraged to find upon his return that Marquis Wilhelm von Littenheim ventured out to fight against Admiral Siegfried Kircheis without consulting Merkatz, and Braunschweig allowed it to happen because he did not want his rival Littenheim around. Littenheim ended up being defeated and killed. (LOGH: 'Bloodshed in Space', 'Courage and Loyalty')

As a result, the Lohengramm fleet ended up surrounding the nobles at Geiersburg. The final straw for Merkatz was when some young nobles ignored his orders and decided to go out to fight the enemy instead of waiting them out. Also, by then the high aristocrats' view of the aging admiral had greatly changed, from one of respect and admiration for a brilliant tactician to one of hatred, as Merkatz had predicted before joining up with them. The nobles fell for Lohengramm's trick to lure them out of the fortress and their fleet was nearly destroyed, only saved by the high admiral sortieing out and saving them from total annihilation. (LOGH: 'Courage and Loyalty')

In his outrage at the murder of his nephew Baron Scheidt, Braunschweig ordered a nuclear attack on the planet Westerland despite it being considered a taboo to use nuclear weapons during that age, ignoring the advice of others against it. This attack recorded and broadcast across the Empire, serving to demoralize the Lippstadt troops and to shatter any lingering sympathies for the nobles among the populace. The situation began to fall apart as mass desertions and suicides began occurring in Geiersburg. Braunschweig and the other nobles ordered a full final assault with what remained of their fleet, which Merkatz joined in, and after they were defeated the old admiral contemplated suicide as he both felt too proud to surrender to Reinhard and due to his oath of loyalty to the Goldenbaum Dynasty. Merkatz was persuaded by his subordinate, Bernhard von Schneider, to seek refuge with Yang Wen-li instead by defecting to the Free Planets Alliance in order to fight another day. (LOGH: 'The Fall of Goldenbaum')

In the name of the Kaiser

Upon arriving in the Alliance, Merkatz was welcomed by Yang and his associates, although at first he and his adjutant were treated with suspicion by the rest of his staff. He and Schneider still continued to wear their Imperial uniforms and the old admiral considered himself to be a loyalist of the Goldenbaum Dynasty. Merkatz was given the status of a "guest admiral" while he was part of the Iserlohn Garrison Fleet, roughly equivalent to an Alliance vice admiral. In this capacity he mainly served as a tactical advisor and occasionally took command of the fleet, with the first occasion being during the Eighth Battle of Iserlohn. At the time Admiral Yang had been called for an inquiry on Heinessen and the Imperial Fleet attacked then with the mobilized Geiersburg Fortress (much to Merkatz's surprise). The guest admiral used the Alliance fleet to entrap and give heavy losses to Admiral Neidhart Müller's fleet. The attack from Geiersburg was eventually repulsed as Yang returned. (LOGH: 'First Battle', 'War Without Weapons', 'Fortress vs Fortress')

At first Merkatz served with the exiled court of Erwin Josef II, even after many of the court deserted the child Kaiser. However, during Reinhard von Lohengramm's first invasion of the Free Planets Alliance Merkatz and his aide Bernhard von Schneider offered their support to Yang Wen-li along with the 5 enlisted members that comprised the whole of the government-in-exile's military. (LOGH: 'The Darkness Before Dawn')

After the surrender of the Alliance at the Battle of Vermilion, Yang asked Merkatz to take a small fleet into hiding. This force became the core of the Yang Fleet a year later and Merkatz was a prominent commander at the Battle of the Corridor. After the death of Yang, he transferred his support to Julian Mintz, basing his decision on personal loyalty to the other officers of the Yang Fleet. Merkatz played an important role in leading a squadron of ships in the Eleventh Battle of Iserlohn.

Merkatz was killed at the Battle of Shiva when his flagship came under fire from the fleet under Ernst von Eisenach. He died at the age of 63 and Bernard von Schneider set out to return his remains to his family in the Empire. (LOGH: 'The Beautiful Maiden Wants Blood', 'The Golden Lion Flag Loses Its Lustre')

"Sherwood"

El Facil and Iserlohn

Legacy

Merkatz was the classic career soldier and possibly one of the final supporters of the Goldenbaum Dynasty even though he knew there was no realistic chance of its revival. He knew that the old nobility as represented by the Lippstadt League had been corrupt and incompetent, and that life for the people of the Empire had improved with Lohengramm's reforms. Nonetheless, he could not bring himself to serve under Duke Lohengramm partly out of pride and partly out of feeling this would violate his oath of loyalty to the Goldenbaum Dynasty. Although he subsequently fought against the Galactic Empire and then the New Galactic Empire, he remained essentially apolitical and focused purely on military matters.

Appendices

Appearances

Memorable quotes

"I have served the Goldenbaum Dynasty as a soldier for over forty years. If it is to be destroyed, then my final duty is to share in its fate. Even then, I am only a worthless old man."

"My loyalty to His Majesty the Kaiser is no less than the Count's."

"What's hard for me to understand is that the people who should be protecting the young Kaiser are conversely pushing His Majesty into a vortex of political struggles and war."

"My greatest wish is to see the restoration of the Goldenbaums."

Background information

Willibald is a rare and old German given name of Saxon origin which roughly means force equipped with bold decision. Merkatz is the name of two 18th century Prussian noble families. It is also a shorter form for the meerkatze, the long-tailed monkey, or guenon.

Apocrypha

Stage

Played by James Onoda

Merkatz is played by James Onoda in the 2011 stage adaptation of LOGH.