Karl Eugen Horst Edler von der Planitz  
(11.08.1859 - 09.06.1941)
place of birth:  Dresden
Königreich Sachsen:  Generalstabschef,  KG,  General der Infanterie


Royal Saxon General der Infanterie Horst Edler von der Planitz served as a divisional and corps-level commander during the Great War.  Leading up to the hostilities, General Edler von der Planitz also served as Saxon Army's Chief of Staff. His father Karl was a captain in the Saxon Army who was killed in action at the 1866 Battle of Königgrätz.

Upon mobilization, General Edler von der Planitz was in charge of Saxony's 3. Infanterie-Division Nr. 32 attached to Max von Hausen's 3. Armee-Oberkommando. Planitz' troops were part of the initial push into France as the Germans moved southwest toward the River Marne. On 30 August, his son Karl tragically fell in battle, suffering the same fate as his namesake grandfather had in 1866. The 32nd moved back toward the River Aisne where they got bogged down in trench warfare. In April of 1916 General der Infanterie (ohne Patent) von der Planitz was selected to replace Karl d'Elsa as XII. Armee-Korps chief, with his 32nd Infantry Division troops still subordinate to his command. Later that summer, the corps was sent to Verdun and established themselves in the Hardaumont sector on the east bank of the River Meuse. OHL moved them back up to the Champagne/Aisne region by the end of the year, and Planitz was officially promoted to General der Infanterie in April 1917. His leadership and valor during these engagements earned him the Pour le Merite decoration as well.

The Saxon general's personal matters soon turned for the worst when his wife Marga died that summer and he consequently fell ill himself. After a couple months of convalescence, von der Planitz returned to active duty, this time on the Galician Front, where he took the reins of the Prussian XXV. Reserve-Korps. Three weeks later, however, he was transferred to Russia in order to replace Hans von Kirchbach as commander of XII. Reserve Corps. The reservists were soon moved across Europe to support Germany's 19. Armee-Oberkommando engaged in the relatively quiet region of Lorraine, France.

Although His Majesty King Friedrich August III. tried to convince him otherwise, his poor health forced General Edler von der Planitz to submit his resignation in July 1918. General der Infanterie von der Planitz was married twice, the first time to Marga von Koppenfels, the daughter of Ferdinand von Koppenfels, President of Saxony's Regional Court. The couple had one son, Karl Ferdinand. After the death of his first wife, Planitz was again married in 1922 to Hertha von Funke, the widow of former Royal Saxon Senior Councilor Victor Freiherr von Ferber. 

	Generalstabschef	23.09.1911  -  03.02.1913
	General der Infanterie	05.04.1917
	Pour le Mérite	20.05.1917
	Militär-St. Heinrich	15.10.1914  Ritter  (Kommandeur II:  06.12.1916)