Maximilian von Prittwitz

Prittwitz came from an old aristocratic Silesian family in Bernstadt (present-day Bierutów, Poland). His father was Gustav von Prittwitz, a Prussian general, and his mother was Elisabeth von Klass.[1]

On 19 May 1874 Prittwitz married Olga von Dewitz (30 August 1848 – 9 January 1938), the daughter of Kurt von Dewitz (a landowner) and of his wife Euphemia, née von der Groeben. Their only son died on 23 May 1918.

After attending a school in Oels, Prittwitz joined the 3rd Guard Grenadiers (German: Regiment 3. Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Königin Elisabeth) and fought in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. He was then commissioned as a junior officer in the 38th (Silesian) Fusiliers (German: Schlesische Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 38), with which regiment he served in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. After attending the Prussian Military Academy, Prittwitz was appointed to the 6th Jaeger Battalion. He subsequently held a number of General Staff positions, interspersed with company- and battalion-commander appointments in various infantry regiments. In 1913 he was appointed as Generaloberst (full general), in command of the XVI Corps in Metz.

On 2 August 1914, at the outbreak of the First World War, Prittwitz was appointed commander of the Eighth Army and assigned to defend East Prussia from an expected Russian attack.[2]

When the unexpectedly swift Russian invasion gained early success in the Battle of Gumbinnen (20 August 1914) and threatened his rear, Prittwitz suggested a retreat to the west of the Vistula. This would have meant abandoning East Prussia, an action which the German General Staff found unacceptable. Additionally, commander of the I Corps Hermann von François complained to the General Staff that his superior was panicking; the General Staff concurred in this assessment. On 23 August 1914 Moltke the Younger promptly appointed Paul von Hindenburg to replace Prittwitz as Eighth Army commander.[3] Hindenburg, along with Erich Ludendorff as replacement for Chief of Staff Georg von Waldersee, then successively destroyed the two invading Russian armies at the Battles of Tannenberg (23–30 August 1914) and the Masurian Lakes (2–16 September 1914).

Prittwitz retired to Berlin, where he lived for three years before dying of a heart attack. He was buried in the Invalids' Cemetery (Invalidenfriedhof) in Berlin.