Prince Leopold of Bavaria

For other people of the same name, see Leopold of Bavaria (disambiguation).
Prince Leopold
Born (1846-02-09)9 February 1846
Munich, Bavaria
Died 28 September 1930(1930-09-28) (aged 84)
Munich, Bavaria
Burial St. Michael's Church, Munich
Spouse Archduchess Gisela of Austria
Issue Princess Elisabeth
Princess Auguste
Prince Georg
Prince Konrad
House Wittelsbach
Father Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria
Mother Archduchess Augusta of Austria
Religion Roman Catholicism

Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf, Prinz von Bayern (9 February 1846 – 28 September 1930) was born in Munich, the son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821–1912) and his wife Archduchess Augusta of Austria (1825–1864). He was a Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) who commanded German and Austro-Hungarian forces on the Eastern Front in World War I.

Biography

Military career

Prince Leopold entered the Bavarian Army at the age of 15, and received his patent as a lieutenant dated 28 November 1861.[1] He saw first combat during the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, where he commanded an artillery battery at Kissingen and Rossbrunn.

In 1870, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, sent Leopold to the battlefields of France, where the Bavarian Army was fighting alongside the Prussian Army in the Franco-Prussian War. He served with the 3rd Bavarian Artillery Regiment and saw action at Sedan and Beauvert. He was promoted to major in December 1870.[2] For his bravery against the enemy he received both the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Classes, the Bavarian Military Merit Order Knight 1st Class, the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph, Bavaria's highest military decoration, and decorations from several other German states.

In the post-war years, Prince Leopold spent most of his time travelling, visiting Africa, Asia and countries of Europe. In 1911 he ordered a 6m racing yacht "Ralle II" from the great British yacht designer Alfred Mylne, built at the Rambeck yard on Lake Starnberg.[3] He was married on 20 April 1873 at Vienna to his second cousin Archduchess Gisela of Austria, daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and the Empress Elisabeth. He remained in the Bavarian army and was finally promoted to the rank of field marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) on 1 January 1905.[2] He retired from active duty in 1913.

First World War

Prince Leopold's retirement, however, did not last long. On 16 April 1915, he was given command of the German 9th Army, replacing General August von Mackensen. Leopold quickly proved himself an able commander as he took Warsaw on 4 August 1915. Following this success, he was put in command of Army Group Prince Leopold of Bavaria (Heeresgruppe Prinz Leopold von Bayern), which was a German force in the central/northern sector of the Eastern Front. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph on 5 August 1915, the prestigious Pour le Mérite, Prussia's highest military decoration, on 9 August 1915 and the oak leaves to the Pour le Mérite on 25 July 1917.

On 29 August 1916, after the brutal summer campaigns succeeded in reversing the Brusilov Offensive against the Austrians, Leopold became the Supreme Commander of the German forces on the Eastern front (Oberbefehlshaber Ost), succeeding Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg. Leopold held this post for the rest of the war. Because of his position, Leopold was a potential German candidate for the throne of the puppet Kingdom of Poland.[4]

On 4 March 1918, Leopold received yet another high honor, the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, awarded only five times during World War I.

Prince Leopold retired again in 1918 after the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which had ended the war on the Eastern Front. This treaty was highly favorable to Germany, and Leopold ended his career with success. He died on 28 September 1930 in Munich and is buried in the Colombarium in the Michaelskirche in Munich .

Military ranks

Family

Prince Leopold and his wife Gisela had four children:

Greek succession

Leopold is also, according to the provisions of 1843 Greek Constitution, the heir of the deposed King Otto of Greece. Due to the renunciation by his elder brother Ludwig of all his rights to the Greek succession and since the Greek Constitution forbade the sovereign to be ruler of another country (Ludwig became King of Bavaria), Leopold technically succeeded upon his brother's renunciation to the rights of the deposed Otto I, King of Greece. At Leopold's death his rights were inherited by his son Georg.[5]

Decorations and honors

Bavaria

Prussia

Other German states

Other countries

The orders above which were from Allied nations were awarded prior to World War I.[6]

Ancestry

Further reading

Notes

  1. ↑ Bavarian War Ministry, Militär-Handbuch des Königreichs Bayern, 1914
  2. 1 2 Bavarian War Ministry, Militär-Handbuch des Königreichs Bayern, 1914
  3. ↑ http://scottishboating.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/scottish-german-detective-story.html
  4. ↑ Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne (Polish Historical Society), Przegląd historyczny (Historical Review), volume 60, page 87.
  5. ↑ Martha Schad, Kaiserin Elisabeth und ihre Töchter(München: Langen Müller, 1998)
  6. ↑ Decorations as of 1914 from the Bavarian War Ministry, Militär-Handbuch des Königreichs Bayern, 1914. World War I decorations from award rolls, Erhard Roth, Verleihungen von militärischen Orden und Ehrenzeichen des Königreichs Bayern im Ersten Weltkrieg, 1997 (ISBN 3-932543-19-X), and Ferry W. von Péter, Verleihungen nichtbayerischer Orden und Ehrenzeichen an bayerischer Militärangehörige 1914-1918, 2001 (OCLC 163144588)
Prince Leopold of Bavaria
Born: 9 March 1846 Died: 28 September 1930
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Ludwig		 — TITULAR —
King of Greece
1913–1930		 Succeeded by
Georg
Military offices
Preceded by
Generalleutnant Hugo Ritter von Diehl		 Commander, 1. Königlich Bayerische Division
16 june 1881-3 March 1887 		Succeeded by
Generalleutnant Prince Arnulf of Bavaria
Preceded by
General der Infanterie Karl Freiherr von Horn		 Commander, I. Königlich Bayerisches Armeekorps
3 March 1887-27 June 1892 		Succeeded by
Generaloberst Prince Arnulf of Bavaria
Preceded by
Generaloberst August von Mackensen		 Commander, 9th Army
17 April 1915-30 July 1916 		Succeeded by
Dissolved
Preceded by
none		 Commander, Heeresgruppe Prinz Leopold von Bayern
5 August 1915-30 July 1916 		Succeeded by
Remus von Woyrsch
Preceded by
Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg		 Oberbefehlshaber Ost
29 August 1916-1918 		Succeeded by
Dissolved
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