August von Mackensen
| August von Mackensen | |
|---|---|
Field Marshal von Mackensen
|
|
| Nickname(s) | The Last Hussar |
| Born |
6 December 1849 Haus Leipnitz, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | 8 November 1945 (aged 95) Habighorst, Province of Hanover, Allied-occupied Germany |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Prussia German Empire Weimar Republic
|
| Service/branch |
 Imperial German Army
|
| Years of service | 1869–1920 |
| Rank | Generalfeldmarschall |
| Commands held | |
| Battles/wars |
Franco-Prussian War World War I |
| Awards |
Grand Cross of the Iron Cross Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves Order of the Black Eagle |
| Relations | Eberhard von Mackensen |
| Signature |  |
Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen (6 December 1849 – 8 November 1945), born August Mackensen, was a German field marshal. He commanded with success during the First World War and became one of the German Empire's most prominent military leaders. After the Armistice, Mackensen was interned for a year. He retired from the army in 1920 and was made a Prussian state councillor in 1933 by Hermann Göring. During the Nazi era, Mackensen remained a committed monarchist and sometimes appeared at official functions in his First World War uniform. He was suspected of disloyalty to the Third Reich, although nothing was proven against him.
Mackensen was born in Haus Leipnitz, near the village of Dahlenberg (today part of Trossin) in the Prussian Province of Saxony, to Louis and Marie Louise Mackensen. His father, an administrator of agricultural enterprises, sent him to a Realgymnasium in Halle in 1865, seemingly in the hope that his eldest son would follow him in his profession.
Mackensen began his military service in 1869 as a volunteer with the Prussian 2nd Life Hussars Regiment (Leib-Husaren-Regiment Nr. 2). During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 he was promoted to second lieutenant and won the Iron Cross Second Class for leading a charge while on a reconnaissance patrol north of Orleans. After the war he left the service and studied at Halle University, but returned to the army in 1873 with his old regiment.
He married Doris (Dorothea) von Horn, the sister of a slain comrade, in 1879. Her father Karl von Horn was the influential Oberpräsident of East Prussia; they had two daughters and three sons. In 1891 Mackensen was appointed to the General Staff in Berlin, bypassing the usual three-year preparation in the War Academy. His chief, the great Helmut von Moltke, found him a "lovable character" He was recalled from the regiment to serve as an adjutant to the next chief, Alfred von Schlieffen (in office 1891-1906), whom he regarded as a great instructor on how to lead armies of millions.
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Wikipedia