August von Mackensen
A Prussian cavalry officer of the old school, he led devastating campaigns in World War I and became a living anachronism in the Nazi era.
1849–1945 (age 96)·German field marshal·Birthday: December 6
Biography
August von Mackensen was the very image of imperial German militarism. With his death's-head hussar's uniform and flamboyant style, he was a figure from a bygone age who found his moment in the mechanized slaughter of World War I. Beginning his career in the Franco-Prussian War, he rose through the ranks as a cavalry officer. During the Great War, he commanded with startling success on the Eastern Front, orchestrating the breakthrough at Gorlice-Tarnów in 1915 and the conquest of Serbia and Romania. These victories made him a national hero. After the war, he was briefly interned and then retired, but he never adjusted to the Weimar Republic. In the 1930s, the Nazis co-opted his iconic stature for propaganda, though Mackensen, a staunch monarchist, was privately critical of Hitler's regime. He became a strange, ghostly presence at state functions, appearing in his full imperial uniform—a silent, bemedaled reminder of a lost empire, living long enough to see the Second World War destroy the Germany he had fought for.
#1 When August Was Born
The biggest hits of 1849
August's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1849Born
1854Started school
1862Became a teenager
President: Abraham Lincoln
1865Could drive
President: Andrew Johnson
1867Could vote
President: Andrew Johnson
1870Turned 21
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1879Turned 30
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1889Turned 40
Eiffel Tower opens in Paris
President: Benjamin Harrison
1899Turned 50
President: William McKinley
1909Turned 60
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1919Turned 70
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1929Turned 80
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1945Died at 96
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
Key Achievements
- Commanded the successful German-led campaign that conquered Serbia in 1915.
- Led the Army of the Danube to a decisive victory over Romanian forces in 1916-1917.
- Was one of only five senior army commanders promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall during World War I.
Did You Know?
His distinctive uniform, featuring a death's-head (skull and crossbones) emblem, was that of the 1st Leib-Hussars.
He lived to be 95, witnessing both the unification of Germany and its defeat in two world wars.
Despite his association with the Nazi regime, he intervened to protect former Kaiser Wilhelm II's estate from confiscation.
He was the last surviving German field marshal of World War I.
“Forward! The order is not to take the enemy's position, but to annihilate him.”
