
Maximilian “Max” Wilhelm Gustav Moritz von Prittwitz und Gaffron (27 November 1848-29 March 1917) was a Generaloberst of the Imperial German Army who served in the Austro-Prussian War, the Franco-Prussian War, and World War I.
Biography[]
Maximilian von Prittwitz was born in Bernstadt, Silesia, Prussia (present-day Bierutow, Poland) in 1848, the son of Prussian general Gustav von Prittwitz. He joined the Prussian Army in 1866, serving in a grenadier regiment during the Austro-Prussian War before serving in a jaeger battalion during the Franco-Prussian War. Prittwitz became a close confidante of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany due to his ability to entertain the Kaiser with gossip, though he was nicknamed "fatty" for his girth, and he was rivals with Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. At the start of World War I, he was given command of the German 8th Army and assigned to defend East Prussia from an expected Russian attack. He was defeated at the Battle of Gumbinnen and grew panicked over the Russian advance, resulting in his replacement by Paul von Hindenburg in August 1914. He died in Berlin three years later.