August von Mackensen

German field marshal (1849–1945)

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Lived 1849–1945, aged 96Germany

Germany Historical Figures

Wikipedia
47 languages
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Era
1849–1945
Aged 96
Known for
Olympia Part One: Fest…
1938

Summary

Updated 2026-06-21

A Prussian field marshal who commanded armies across two continents in World War I, then outlived the empire he served by three decades — spending the Nazi years in his old imperial uniform, a living relic the regime tolerated but never trusted.

Biography

About

Anton Ludwig Friedrich August Mackensen was born in December 1849 and rose through the ranks of the German military, earning ennoblement in 1899. During World War I he commanded Army Group Mackensen and became one of the German Empire's most effective field commanders. After the armistice in November 1918, the Allies interned him in Serbia for a year. He retired from the army in 1920, but in 1933 Hermann Göring appointed him a Prussian state councillor. Through the Nazi era Mackensen remained a committed monarchist, often appearing at official functions in his World War I uniform — a gesture t…

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