| Maximilian von Prittwitz | |
|---|---|
General Von Prittwitz |
|
| Born | November 27, 1848 Bernstadt |
| Died | March 29, 1917 Berlin |
| Allegiance | Prussia German Empire |
| Service/branch | Army |
| Years of service | 1866 - 1914 |
| Rank | Generaloberst |
| Battles/wars | Austro-Prussian War, Franco-Prussian War and World War I |
Maximillion Von Prittwitz (November 27, 1848 – March 29, 1917) was a German General.
Prittwitz came from an extremely old aristocratic Silesian family in Bernstadt. His father was Gustav von Prittwitz, a Prussian general, and his mother was Elizabeth von Klass.
He married Olga von Dewitz (August 30, 1848 - January 9, 1938), the daughter of a landowner, Kurt von Dewitz on May 19, 1874.
After attending school in Oels, he joined an infantry regiment and fought in the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. He rose steadily through the ranks of the German military for the next forty years, until he was appointed Generaloberst (4 star or full general) in 1913.
At the outbreak of World War I, he was made commander of the German Eighth Army, and was tasked with defending East Prussia from an expected Russian attack.
When the Russian advance threatened his rear, Prittwitz suggested a retreat to the west of the Vistula River. This meant the abandonment of East Prussia, which the German General Staff found unacceptable. Prittwitz was promptly replaced as Eighth Army commander by Paul von Hindenburg in late August 1914. Hindenburg, and his chief of staff, Erich Ludendorff, then destroyed the two invading Russian armies at the Battle of Tannenberg and the Battle of the Masurian Lakes.
Prittwitz retired to Berlin, where he lived for three years before dying of a heart attack. He was buried in the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin.