Wilhelm von Littenheim
From Gineipaedia, the Legend of Galactic Heroes wiki
 Marquis Littenheim (797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE)) | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Affiliation: | Galactic Empire (Lippstadt League) |
| Rank: | High admiral (Lippstadt League) |
| Flagship(s): | Ostmark |
| Status: | Deceased (murder) |
| Died: | 797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE) |
| Spouse(s): | Christine |
| Children: | Sabine von Littenheim |
| Other relative(s): | Friedrich IV Herxheimer |
| Played by: | Terashima Mikio (Deceased) |
Wilhelm von Littenheim III (Japanese: ウィルヘルム・フォン・リッテンハイム3世) was an Imperial Marquis, son-in-law to Kaiser Friedrich IV as the husband of his daughter Princess Christine, and one of the most influential nobles at court during the late Goldenbaum Dynasty. Like his rival and later ally Duke Otho von Braunschweig, he was a staunch defender of the old order in the Empire and opposed Reinhard von Lohengramm during the Imperial Civil War. However, Littenheim had no real martial talents and was defeated by High Admiral Siegfried Kircheis, whose fleet had 10,000 fewer ships.
Marquis Littenheim was killed by one of his former subordinates while at Garmisch Fortress shortly after his defeat in battle.
Contents |
History
Early life
Marquis Littenheim was born into one of the most powerful noble houses in the Empire and became involved in politics during the late Goldenbaum Dynasty. He eventually married Princess Christine, one of the two daughters of Emperor Friedrich IV, becoming a member of the imperial family. The Marquis supported one of his relatives, Count Herxheimer, in a dispute with the husband of Viscountess Dorothea von Schafhausen over mining rights in 792 UC (483 IC / 3592 CE). Once he found out that Reinhard von Lohengramm, who was rising through the ranks of the Imperial Fleet at the time, was going to duel in the elderly viscount's place against Herxheimer's duelist, Littenheim tried to get him killed by hiring a professional assassin. The assassin ended up failing. (LOGH: 'New Trends', HBSHBL: 'Candidate for Succeeding a Count's Family')
Later on when Herxheimer found out that Littenheim's daughter Sabine had a genetic disease that would make her ineligible to take the throne, Littenheim had no qualms in betraying his relative and trying to have him killed. This caused Herxheimer to attempt to flee to the Free Planets Alliance and he died in an accident aboard his ship during the attempt. Although Reinhard von Lohengramm, who commanded the mission to recover the defecting noble before he could reach the Alliance, learned of the secret, he did not give it away. (RET: 'Chapter III')
He had a longstanding feud with Duke Otho von Braunschweig as both were son-in-laws to Kaiser Friedrich IV. As Friedrich IV had no named heirs, this made both Marquis Littenheim and Duke Braunschweig, through the proxies of their children, contenders for control of the throne of the Galactic Empire. Along with Braunschweig and the other high nobles, he was also a major opponent of Reinhard von Lohengramm and his sister Annerose, the Countess Grünewald, at court. (LOGH: 'New Trends', 'The Lippstadt Conspiracy', HBSHBL: 'Candidate for Succeeding a Count's Family')
Imperial Civil War
When Kaiser Friedrich IV suddenly died in November 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE), Marquis Littenheim's fourteen-year old daughter, Sabine von Littenheim, became a contender for the throne. However, the acting Imperial prime minister Klaus von Lichtenlade used his authority as the head of the government and the holder of the Imperial Seal to name the son of the Friedrich's deceased heir, Crown Prince Ludwig, the next emperor Erwin Josef II. He wanted to prevent Braunschweig or Littenheim from usurping the power he enjoyed and made an alliance with Reinhard von Lohengramm, who was then a Fleet Admiral, to keep the high nobles in check. Refusing to give up, Marquis Littenheim allied himself with the Braunschweig family, who had supported the Duke Otto von Braunschweig's own daughter, Elisabeth von Braunschweig, for the throne. As tensions increased it became clear that the situation was deteriorating towards civil war between the Lohengramm–Lichtenlade axis and the new Braunschweig–Littenheim alliance, which had the support of the majority of the high nobility. A group of nearly four thousand nobles met at Braunschweig's estate in Lippstadt forest where they formed a coalition rivaling Lohengramm, with Littenheim becoming its deputy leader. (LOGH: 'New Trends', 'The Lippstadt Conspiracy')
A failed assassination attempt on Lohengramm by one of Duke Braunschweig's subordinates set off a chain of events that forced Littenheim and the other nobles to abandon the Imperial City. Although some of them were caught in orbit of Odin by a fleet under Admiral August Samuel Wahlen, Littenheim was among those who escaped. The Marquis met up with the rest of the Lippstadt forces at their main base of Geiersburg Fortress, where he was granted the rank of high admiral in their Allied Forces. As the Imperial Civil War broke out, Duke Braunschweig allowed Marquis Littenheim to take a third of the Lippstadt forces ostensibly to regain control over rebellious frontier fiefs. Braunschweig's ulterior motive was to get Littenheim away from Geiersberg Fortress. Littenheim based his fleet at Garmisch Fortress but was defeated at the Battle of Kyffhäuser by Siegfried Kircheis, largely due to his fleet's poor organization and lack of a unified command structure. Littenheim then ordered his ships to fire on their own supply fleet behind them so that he could cowardly escape and retreat to Garmisch Fortress. He was accosted for this by supply fleet survivor Commander Rauditz, who threw the corpse of his deceased subordinate at Littenheim. Littenheim ordered Rauditz shot, which was exactly Rauditz's intention as the blast ignited the Seffle particle device he hid in his shirt, causing an explosion and killing Littenheim and all the soldiers in the command center of Garmisch Fortress. (LOGH: 'Courage and Loyalty')
Personal life
It was a suppressed fact that the Marquis's daughter Sabine, as well as Elisabeth von Braunschweig, had inherited a genetic disease via their mothers, who were sisters. Under the Inferior Genes Exclusion Act, this would have made Sabine and Elisabeth ineligible for the throne, and would have disgraced both Duke Braunschweig and Marquis Littenheim. The Marquis in particular attempted to assassinate those that found out the truth, such as his relative, Count Herxheimer, who attempted to defect to the Free Planets Alliance. (RET: 'Chapter IV')
Appendices
Appearances
- LOGH:
- 'New Trends' (first appearance)
- 'The Lippstadt Conspiracy'
- 'Courage and Loyalty' (death)
- DUEL:
- 'Chapter II'
- 'Chapter III'
- 'Chapter IV'
- HBSHBL:
Name variations
- Wilhelmi von Littenheim (LD subtitles)
Background information
Wilhelm is a German given name meaning "vehement protector", and the origin of the English name William. Littenheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine in north-eastern France.
