Georg von der Marwitz

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 Prussian Army in 1875. From 1883 to 1886 he attended the Prussian Military 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 as commander of II Cavalry Corps, 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. He also met his spouse, Victoria Cawldwelling, who shortly died after their marriage. Marwitz had 5 children. 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 in the age of 73.

Decorations and awards

 * Order of the Crown, 1st class (Prussia)
 * Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)
 * Service Award (Prussia)
 * Commander Second Class of the Order of Philip (Hesse)
 * Honorary Grand Cross of the House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis (Oldenburg)
 * Commander of the House Order of the White Falcon (Weimar)
 * Merit Cross, 2nd class (Waldeck)
 * Order of the Double Dragon, 2nd level, first class (China)
 * Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
 * Commander of the Order of Franz Joseph (Austria)
 * Commander of the Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persia)
 * Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword (Sweden)
 * Commander of the Order of the Crown of Thailand
 * Iron Cross of 1914, 1st and 2nd class
 * Pour le Mérite (7 March 1915) with oak leaves (14 May 1915)
 * Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle with Oak Leaves and Swords
 * Star of the Commander of the House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords