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Prince Leopold of Bavaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Prince Leopold of Bavaria | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Born | February 9, 1846 | |
| Munich, Bavaria | ||
| Died | September 28, 1930 | |
| Munich, Bavaria | ||
| Consort | Archduchess Gisela of Austria | |
| Issue | Princess Elisabeth Princess Auguste Prince Georg Prince Konrad |
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| Royal House | House of Wittelsbach | |
| Father | Luitpold of Bavaria | |
| Mother | Archduchess Augusta of Austria | |
Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf, Prinz von Bayern (9 February 1846 - 28 September 1930) was born in Munich, the son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821 - 1912) and his wife Archduchess Augusta of Austria (1825 - 1864).
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Leopold entered the military at the age of 16. He saw first combat during the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, where he commanded an artillery battery at Kissingen and Rossbrunn. In 1870, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, sent Leopold to the battlefields of France, (Bavaria was an ally of Prussia), where he saw action at Sedan and Beauvert. For his bravery against the enemy he received both the Iron Cross I and II class and the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maximilian-Joseph, the highest Bavarian military decoration.
In the post-war years, Leopold spent most of his time travelling, visiting Africa, Asia and countries of Europe. He was married on April 20, 1873 at Vienna to Archduchess Gisela of Austria, daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and the Empress Elisabeth. He remained in the Bavarian army and was finally promoted to the rank of field marshal (generalfeldmarschall) on 1 January 1905. He retired from active duty in 1913.
Leopold's retirement, however, did not last long. On 16 April 1915, he was re-activated and given command of the German 9th Army, replacing General August von Mackensen. Leopold quickly proved himself an able commander as he took Warsaw on 4 August 1915. Following this success, he was put in command of Army Group Leopold, which was a combined German-Austro force in the central sector of the Eastern Front. He was awarded the prestigious Pour le Merite on 9 August 1915 and Oakleaves on 25 July 1917. In 1916, after the brutal summer campaigns succeeded in reversing the Brusilov Offensive against the Austrians, Leopold became the Supreme Commander of the German forces on the Eastern front, replacing Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg. Leopold held this post for the rest of the war.
Leopold retired again in 1918 after the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which had ended the war on the Eastern Front. This treaty was highly favorable to Germany, and Leopold ended his career with success. He died on 28 September 1930 in Munich and is burried in the Colombarium in the Michaelskirche in Munich .
Leopold and his wife Gisela had four children:
- Princess Elisabeth Marie of Bavaria (1874-1957), who married Otto Ludwig Philipp Graf von Seefried auf Buttenheim
- Princess Auguste Maria of Bavaria (1875-1964), who married Archduke Joseph August of Austria
- Prince Georg of Bavaria (1880-1943)
- Prince Konrad of Bavaria (1883-1969)
Due to the renunciation by his elder brother Ludwig of all his rights to the Greek succession, Leopold technically succeeded upon their father's death to the rights of the deposed Otto I, King of the Hellenes. At Leopold's death his rights were inherited by his son Georg.
- Leopold Prinz von Bayern 1846-1930: aus den Lebenserinnerungen, edited by Hans-Michael Körner and Ingrid Körner. Regensburg: F. Pustet, 1983.
- Wolbe, Eugen. Generalfeldmarschall Prinz Leopold von Bayern: ein Lebensbild. Leipzig: R.F. Koehler, 1920.