Carl Adolf Maximilian Hoffmann  
(25.01.1869 - 08.06.1927)
place of birth:  Homberg an der Efze, Hessen  (Hesse)
Königreich Preußen:  AOK-Stabschef,  Generalmajor


General officer Max Hoffmann was possibly Germany's most brilliant military mind on the general staff. As a Lieutenant Colonel on the Eastern Front at war's outbreak, he served as the Eighth Army's chief operations officer, helping plan the Tannenberg encirclement and Battle of Masurian Lakes. He was promoted to Colonel in 1916 and served as the CINC Eastern Forces' Chief of General Staff. For his noteworthy actions in the field, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross) of Bavaria's highest military order - the Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden. Hoffmann was one of just a few non-Bavarians to be awarded the MMJO.

Max Hoffmann played a key role in halting the 1916 Brusilov Offensive and later negotiated the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. He was promoted to Major General in 1917, by which time he was de facto commander of the Eastern Front Army under the figurehead Prince Leopold von Bayern. Nicknamed "der Lange" (he was 6'4"), Hoffmann has been recognized by many (including himself) as the unaccredited genius behind the Hindenburg/ Ludendorff duo, and he sharply criticized both famous commanders in his post-war memoirs. He died on 8 July 1927 in Bad Reichenhall, Oberbayern.

 
 
Generalmajor  29.10.1917

Pour le Mérite  07.10.1916  (Eichenlaub:  25.07.1917)
Militär-Max-Joseph 03.08.1917  Ritter  (non-Bavarian recipient)
 
 
 

  
    
Curriculum Vitae  
      
28.03.1887 4. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 72 - Torgau
13.12.1887 Portepée-Fähnrich
19.09.1888 Sekonde-Lieutenant
18.04.1893 8. Ostpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 45 - Lyck
12.09.1895 Premier-Lieutenant
01.10.1895 Preußische Kriegsakademie - Berlin
01.04.1899 8. Ostpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 45 - Lyck
01.10.1888 Großer Generalsstab - Berlin  (detached from IR-45)
23.03.1901 Hauptmann
23.03.1901 Großer Generalsstab - Berlin  (assigned)
01.04.1901 V. Armeekorps - Posen  (on Stülpnagel's General Staff)
17.02.1903 Füsilier-Regiment ,,Graf Roon” (1. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 33 - Gumbinnen  (Coy Cdr) 
12.02.1904 Großer Generalsstab - Berlin
23.02.1904 Japanische Armee  (detached from GGS during Russo-Japanese War)
02.10.1905 Großer Generalsstab - Berlin
27.01.1907 1. Infanterie-Division - Königsberg  (on Gronau's General Staff)
11.09.1907 Major
01.10.1910 Großer Generalsstab - Berlin
00.00.1912 Preußische Kriegsakademie - Berlin  (Instructor)
01.10.1913 4. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment ,,Prinz Wilhelm” Nr. 112 - Mülhausen im Elsass  (Bn Cdr)
27.01.1914 Oberstleutnant
   
Great War  
     
02.08.1914 8. Armee  (Ia on Prittwitz' & Hindenburg's staff)
18.08.1916 Oberst
29.08.1916 Oberbefehlshaber Ost  (Prinz von Leopold's Chief of Staff)
29.10.1917 Generalmajor
10.01.1919 10. Infanterie-Brigade  (Cdr)
   
   
 

06.05.1914
 

 

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