Ludwig Samson Heinrich Arthur Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen (18 June 1815 – 26 April 1881) was a Bavarian general.
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Early life
Born in Darmstadt, on the day of Waterloo, Ludwig was a descendant from the old family of von der Tann, which had branches in Bavaria, Alsace and the Rhine provinces; he attached his mother's name (she being the daughter of an Alsatian nobleman, Freiherr von Rathsamhausen) to his father's in 1868 by license of the king of Bavaria. Ludwig I, the second king of Bavaria, stood sponsor for the child, who received his name and also "Arthur", in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. He received a careful education, and in 1827 became a page at the Bavarian court, where a great future was predicted for him.
Military career
Von der Tann entered the military under the artillery branch in 1833, and was after some years placed on the general staff. He attended the manoeuvres of the Austrian army in Italy under Field Marshal Radetzky and, in a spirit of adventure, joined a French military expedition operating in Algiers against the Tunisian frontier.