August Von Mackensen - World War I

World War I

Already aged sixty-five at the beginning of World War I, Mackensen remained in command of XVII Army Corps as part of the Eighth Army, first under General Maximilian von Prittwitz and later General Paul von Hindenburg. Mackensen had his corps moving out on a twenty-five kilometer march to the Rominte River within fifty minutes of receiving its orders on the afternoon of August 19th, 1914 as the Imperial Russian Army invaded East Prussia. Soon after, Mackensen's corps fought in the battles of Gumbinnen and Tannenberg. On 2 November 1914 Mackensen took command of the Ninth Army from General von Hindenburg, who had been named Supreme Commander East (Oberbefehlshaber Ost). On 27 November 1914 Mackensen was awarded the Pour le Mérite, Prussia's highest military order, for actions around Łódź and Warsaw. He commanded the Ninth Army until April 1915, when he took command of the Eleventh Army and Army Group Kiev (Heeresgruppe Kiew), seeing action in Galicia, and assisting in the capture of Przemyśl and Lemberg. He was awarded oak leaves to the Pour le Mérite on 3 June 1915 and promoted to field marshal on 22 June. After this campaign, he was awarded the Order of the Black Eagle, Prussia's highest-ranking order of knighthood. During this period, he also received numerous honours from other German states and Germany's allies, including the Grand Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order, the highest military honour of the Kingdom of Bavaria, on 4 June 1915.