Georg von der Marwitz

Infobox Military Person
name=Johannes Georg von der Marwitz
lived=birth date|1856|7|7 – death date and age|1929|10|27|1856|7|7


caption=Marwitz during World War I
nickname=
placeofbirth=Stolp (Słupsk), Pomerania, Germany
placeofdeath=Wundichow, Germany
allegiance=German Empire
branch=German Army
serviceyears=1875-1918
rank=Inspector-General of Cavalry
General
unit=
commands=XXXVIII Reserve Corps
VI Corps
Second Army
Fifth Army
battles=World War I
*Battle of Haelen
*Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes
*Battle of Cambrai
*Battle of Saint-Mihiel
awards=Pour le Mérite
relations=
laterwork=

Johannes Georg von der Marwitz (7 July 1856–27 October 1929) was a Prussian cavalry general, who commanded several German armies during the First World War on both the Eastern and Western fronts.

Early military career

Marwitz was born in Stolp (Słupsk) in the Province of Pomerania and entered the German Army in 1875. From 1883 to 1886 he attended the War Academy. Until 1900 he commanded a cavalry regiment, at which point he became chief of staff of XVIII Corps. Before the outbreak of the First World War he was the Inspector-General of Cavalry.

World War I

Marwitz was assigned to the Western Front in 1914, and participated in the Battle of Haelen. After this first battle Marwitz was transferred to the Eastern Front to take command of the newly-formed XXXVIII Reserve Corps, which he led in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes in the early winter of 1915. He was then transferred south and fought with Austria-Hungary against the Russians, and was awarded the Pour le Mérite on 7 March 1915.

After recovering from an illness in the fall of 1915, Marwitz served on the Western Front as the commander of the VI Corps, before returning to the Eastern Front until the successful halting of the Russian Brusilov Offensive in June 1916. On 6 October 1916 he became adjutant to Kaiser Wilhelm II, a post which he left in December 1916 to take command of the Second Army on the Western Front. In November 1917 he defended against the British in the Battle of Cambrai, which saw the first use of tanks "en masse". In September 1918 he took command of the Fifth Army, which he held until the end of the war.

Postwar

After the war, Marwitz withdrew from public life. He died at Wundichow in 1929 at the age of 73.

External links

* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/marwitz.htm Georg von der Marwitz]
* [http://www.geocities.com/veldes1/marwitz.html Georg von der Marwitz]