Maximilian von Prittwitz Biography

Birth of Maximilian von Prittwitz

Made Commander of the German Eighth Army, and was tasked with defending East Prussia from an expected Russian attack

Made Commander of the German Eighth Army, and was tasked with defending East Prussia from an expected Russian attack

Defeat at the scrappy Battle of Gumbinnen led a panicked Prittwitz to order the withdrawal of Eighth Army to the River Vistula, fearing encirclement by the Russian First and Second Armies

Dispatched to East Prussia to defend against a likely Russian invasion as documented in Russias war strategy, Plan 19

The order to withdraw effectively abandoned East Prussia to the Russians; before the order was executed he was recalled to Berlin by Helmuth von Moltke, the German Army Chief of Staff. Defeat at the scrappy Battle of Gumbinnen led a panicked Prittwitz to order the withdrawal of Eighth Army to the River Vistula, fearing encirclement by the Russian First and Second Armies

Maximilian von Prittwitz's orders were very clear, his German Eighth Army was to remain in its positions in East Prussia, without attempting any offensive action, as all German efforts were to be concentrated on the Western Front against France.

Prittwitz decides to engage Rennenkampf at the earliest possibility, pitting 150,000 Germans against 200,000 Russians, the decision went against the orders of Moltke, the German Chief of Staff, which ruled out any offensive before the fall of France.

Maximilian von Prittwitzs orders were very clear, his German Eighth Army was to remain in its positions in East Prussia, without attempting any offensive action, as all German efforts were to be concentrated on the Western Front against France

Maximilian von Prittwitzs orders were very clear, his German Eighth Army was to remain in its positions in East Prussia, without attempting any offensive action, as all German efforts were to be concentrated on the Western Front against France

At first the German advance went well, but faltered once they came under Russian artillery fire, and the Russians were able to turn their flanks and force them to retreat to the Insterburg-Angerburg lines, leaving 6,000 prisoners in Russian hands

At the mercy of the German artillery the Russians are were forced to retreat 8 km in the early afternoon but the lines are stabilized when the Russian 29th Division arrived, and the battle turned into a stalemate.

The Chief of Staff reacted by removing Prittwitz and his deputy Waldersee, replacing them with Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff. Prittwitz's panic partially affected Moltke, who now feared that Berlin itself could now be threatened by the advancing Russians.