- Eberhard von Mackensen
Infobox Military Person
name=Eberhard von Mackensen
lived=birth date|1889|9|24|df=y — death date and age|1969|5|19|1889|9|24|df=y
placeofbirth=Bromberg
placeofdeath=Alt-Mühlendorf nearNortorf
caption=
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|German EmpireGerman Empire (to 1918)
flagicon|GermanyWeimar Republic (to 1933)
flagicon|Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
branch=Heer
serviceyears=1908-1945
rank=Generaloberst
commands=III. Armeekorps (mot.)
III. Panzerkorps
unit=
battles=World War I World War II
awards=Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
laterwork=Eberhard von Mackensen (
September 24 ,1889 –May 19 ,1969 ) was a Germangeneral who served inWorld War II .Early years
Born in Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) in the
Province of Posen as the son ofAugust von Mackensen , Mackensen entered theGerman Army in 1908. Mackensen enteredWorld War I as a lieutenant. After being wounded in 1915, Mackensen was given a staff job. After the armistice, Mackensen remained in the German Army and by 1934 had risen to the rank of colonel. In 1935, Mackensen was appointed chief of staff to the X Army Corps and in 1937 he was given command of a cavalry brigade. Promoted to major general in 1938, in May 1939 Mackensen was made chief of staff ofWilhelm List .World War II
At the beginning of
World War II , Mackensen served as the chief of staff of the German 14th Army in the invasion of Poland in September 1939. Later, he was made chief of staff of the 12th Army and fought in France. OnJanuary 1 ,1940 he was promoted tolieutenant general and eight months later to "General der Kavallerie". In January 1941 he was made commanding general of the III Army Corps inArmy Group South . When in November 1942 General Paul Ewald von Kleist was given the command ofArmy Group A , Mackensen took upon command of the First Panzer Army which he led in theThird Battle of Kharkov in March 1943. Promoted tocolonel general in 1943, Mackensen was send toItaly as commander of the 14th Army which he led until June 1944 when he retired.For his service during the war, Mackensen was given the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.Post Second World War
After the German capitulation in 1945, Mackensen became a
prisoner of war . In 1947 he was arrested and tried as a war criminal and sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to 21 years imprisonment, but he was released in 1952. Mackensen died nearNortorf in 1969.References
* Dr. Gerd F. Heuer – "Die Generalobersten des Heeres, Inhaber höchster Kommandostellen 1933-45", ISBN 3-8118-1408-7
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