In August 1916, when Paul von Hindenburg was named Germany's chief of the Great General Staff, his command position for the Eastern Front, Oberbefehlshaber Ost, was assigned to 70-year-old Prince Leopold of Bavaria (1846–1930). Commissioned as a lieutenant at age 15, he saw he his first service during the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, where he commanded an artillery battery at Kissingen and Rossbrunn. Serving with distinction throughout the 19th century, Leopold was promoted to field marshal in 1905. He retired from active duty in 1913 to give greater opportunities for command to Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria.
He was still in retirement when the First World War began but nevertheless re-emerged and served with the German Army for the duration of the war. As an army and army group commander, he had been responsible for the capture of Warsaw and helping reverse the early successes of the Brusilov Offensive. With the aid of his brilliant chief of staff, Max Hoffman, he would bring the campaign in the east to a victorious conclusion.
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| Prince Leopold Signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk |
Leopold chose retirement for the second time in the wake of the successful (for Germany) Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, during which negotiations he was thoroughly dominated by his Chief of Staff Max Hoffmann. The war was in any event over on the Eastern Front.
Sources: Encyclopedia 1914-1918; HistoryNet, 11 April 2017
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