Friedrich August Eberhard von Mackensen (24 September 1889 – 19 May 1969) was a German general and war criminal during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

who served as commander of the 1st Panzer Army and the

14th Army Fourteenth Army or 14th Army may refer to: * 14th Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army * 14th Army (Wehrmacht), a World War II field army * Italian Fourteenth Army * Japanese Fourteenth Army, a World War II field army, in 1944 converted ...

. Following the war, Mackensen stood trial for war crimes before a British military tribunal in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

where he was convicted and sentenced to death for his involvement in the

Ardeatine massacre The Ardeatine massacre, or Fosse Ardeatine massacre ( it, Eccidio delle Fosse Ardeatine), was a mass killing of 335 civilians and political prisoners carried out in Rome on 24 March 1944 by German occupation troops during the Second World War ...

. The sentence was later commuted and Mackensen was released in 1952. He died in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in 1969.

Early life

Eberhard was born on 24 September 1889, in Bromberg,

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

, German Empire, the fourth of five children to Field Marshal

August von Mackensen Anton Ludwig Friedrich August von Mackensen (born Mackensen; 6 December 1849 – 8 November 1945), ennobled as "von Mackensen" in 1899, was a German field marshal. He commanded successfully during World War I of 1914–1918 and became one of t ...

and his wife Dorothea ( née von Horn). Mackensen joined the Imperial German Army in 1908, where he became a ''

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, en, officer cadet; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was establi ...

'' (officer candidate) in the XVII Corps stationed in Danzig, and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 22 March 1910.

Military career

At the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914, Mackensen served as a

regimental adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forc ...

in the 1st Hussar Regiment. On 25 February 1915, he was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

, but after a severe wound on 23 August 1915, Mackensen was transferred to a staff job in the General Staff of the Army Group Scholtz. On 20 May 1917, he was promoted to captain. Following the armistice in 1918 ending the war, Mackensen remained in the army (now the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

) where he served as chief of the 1st squadron of the 5th (Prussian) Rider Regiment in Belgard, but in 1919 also joined a right-wing paramilitary ''

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...

'' and fought in the Baltic states. In 1925, Mackensen commanded the army transport department of the

German General Staff The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (german: Großer Generalstab), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the German Army, responsible for the continuou ...

of the

Ministry of the Reichswehr The Ministry of the Reichswehr or Reich Ministry of Defence (german: Reichswehrministerium) was the defence ministry of the Weimar Republic and the early Third Reich. The 1919 Weimar Constitution provided for a unified, national ministry of defen ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. After his appointment as a major on 1 February 1928, he served on the staff of the 1st Cavalry Division in Frankfurt (Oder) from 1930. In this position he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 October 1932. From 1 November 1933, Mackensen was made chief of the staff of the General Inspectorate of the Cavalry, and was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

on 1 September 1934. Mackensen became chief of staff of the X Army Corps in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, the successor of the cavalry in the newly-formed

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

. In 1937, Mackensen became commander of the 1st Cavalry Brigade in

Insterburg Chernyakhovsk (russian: Черняхо́вск) – known prior to 1946 by its German name of (Old Prussian: Instrāpils, lt, Įsrutis; pl, Wystruć) – is a town in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, where it is the administrative center of C ...

. Mackensen was appointed

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

on 1 January 1938, and on 1 May 1939 became commander in the Army Group Command V in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he became chief of staff under Field Marshal

Wilhelm List Wilhelm List (14 May 1880 – 17 August 1971) was a German field marshal during World War II who was convicted of war crimes by a US Army tribunal after the war. List commanded the 14th Army in the invasion of Poland and the 12th Army in the ...

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B24543, Hauptquartier Heeresgruppe Süd, Lagebesprechung

At the beginning of

in September 1939, Mackensen served as the chief of staff of the German 14th Army in the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

. Later, he was made chief of staff of the 12th Army that fought in the Battle of France. On 1 January 1940, he was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and eight months later to ''General der Kavallerie''. On 15 January 1941, Mackensen was made commanding general of III Army Corps, part of the 1st Panzer Army in

Army Group South Army Group South (german: Heeresgruppe Süd) was the name of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland Army Group So ...

. On 27 July 1941 he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Mackensen's forces were the first to reach Kiev at the First Battle of Kiev during the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

. In November 1942, when General Paul Ewald von Kleist was given the command of

Army Group A Army Group A (Heeresgruppe A) was the name of several German Army Groups during World War II. During the Battle of France, the army group named Army Group A was composed of 45½ divisions, including 7 armored panzer divisions. It was responsibl ...

, Mackensen took up leadership of the 1st Panzer Army in the

Third Battle of Kharkov The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Army Group South of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February and 15 March 1943. Known to ...

in March 1943. For his achievements in the Second Battle of Kharkov, Mackensen was honored on 26 May 1942 with the oak leaves to his knight's cross, and was promoted to colonel general (''

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank was ...

'') on 6 July 1943. Shortly after his promotion to ''Generaloberst'', Mackensen was transferred to

as commander of the

. After the Allies broke through the

Winter Line The Winter Line was a series of German and Italian military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt and commanded by Albert Kesselring. The series of three lines was designed to defend a western section ...

during

Operation Diadem Operation Diadem, also referred to as the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino or, in Canada, the Battle of the Liri Valley, was an offensive operation undertaken by the Allies of World War II (U.S. Fifth Army and British Eighth Army) in May 1944, as p ...

, Kesselring fired Mackensen for disobeying orders and the latter retired from active service in the army in the summer of 1944. James Holland, ''Italy's Sorrow. A Year of War, 1944-1945'', London, 2008, Harper Press.

Trial and conviction

On 24 March 1944, SS members shot and killed 335 Italian civilians in the Ardeatine Caves massacre in retaliation for the deaths of 32 German police troops in a bomb attack. This war crime was ordered by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

in consultation with Generaloberst Alfred Jodl and Field Marshal Albert Kesselring. Mackensen was at this time commander of the 14th Army and subordinate to Kesselring as well as the superior of Lieutenant-General

Kurt Mälzer Kurt Mälzer (2 August 1894 – 24 March 1952) was a German general of the ''Luftwaffe'' and a war criminal during World War II. In 1943, Mälzer was appointed the military commander of the city of Rome, subordinated to General Eberhard von Mack ...

, military commandant of Rome. All three were convicted of war crimes. Following the

unconditional surrender An unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. It is often demanded with the threat of complete destruction, extermination or annihilation. In modern times, unconditional surrenders most ofte ...

of Nazi Germany in 1945 Mackensen became a prisoner of war, and on 30 November 1946 was convicted of war crimes by a British military court in Rome, where he was

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. In mid-1947, his sentence was commuted to 21 years imprisonment. He was released on 2 October 1952 after serving five years. After his release, Mackensen lived a secluded life in Alt Mühlendorf (now in Warder in Rendsburg-Eckernförde district) near

Nortorf Nortorf is a town in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately 13 km northwest of Neumünster, and 25 km southwest of Kiel. Geography The location of Nortorf is south of the municipali ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

Death

Mackensen died on 19 May 1969 in

Neumünster Neumünster () is a city in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. With more than 79,000 registered inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein (behind Kiel, Lübeck and Flensburg). History The city was fi ...

, aged 79 years old.

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

(1914) 2nd & 1st Class *

Clasp to the Iron Cross The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in World W ...

2nd Class (17 September 1939) & 1st Class (2 October 1939)Thomas 1998, p. 50. *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

** Knight's Cross on 27 July 1941 as

General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers ...

and commander of III. ArmeekorpsScherzer 2007, p. 522. ** Oak Leaves on 26 May 1942 as General der Kavallerie and commander of III. Armeekorps

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Film of the 1946 trial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackensen, Eberhard Von 1889 births 1969 deaths Military personnel from Bydgoszcz German Army personnel of World War I German untitled nobility German Army generals of World War II Colonel generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class People from the Province of Posen Prussian Army personnel Reichswehr personnel 20th-century Freikorps personnel Germans convicted of war crimes committed in Italy during World War II Prisoners sentenced to death by the British military