Georg Kornelius Adalbert von der Marwitz  
(07.07.1856 - 27.10.1929) 
place of birth:  Klein-Nossin, Pommern
Königreich Preußen:  Gen-Insp Kav,  HKK,  OBH,  GenAdj SM,  General der Kavallerie


Prussian cavalry officer Georg von der Marwitz served during the Great War as a corps and field army commander. He was born to the family of Adalbert von der Marwitz, landed aristocracy of the Stolp district of Pomerania (present-day Slupsk, Poland.) Young Georg found his career niche as a cavalry specialist, joining a Prussian Guard-Uhlan regiment fresh out of military school. Upon graduating from War College in 1886, he spent a total of twelve peace-time years as a general staff officer and otherwise served with cavalry units. He was promoted to Generalleutnant in 1911 and assigned command of 3. Infanterie-Division, but after just over a year was transferred back to Berlin to head up the Prussian cavalry inspectorate.

When Germany mobilized in August 1914, Generalleutnant von der Marwitz was assigned command of Höheres Kavallerie Kommando Nr. 2 (HKK2.)  This independent corps of three divisions were some of the first to cross the frontier and participated in the war's initial engagement involving cavalry troops at Haelen, Belgium. HKK2 troops served as a screening force for the right wings of Germany's 1. Armee and 2. Armee and were thus involved in the First Battle of the Marne. His efforts were duly recognized two weeks into the War when Marwitz was promoted to General der Kavallerie.

Imperial Germany's Supreme Command soon recognized that cavalry units would not be effective on the static Western Front and in the face of modern military tactics and weaponry; so in December 1914, HKK2 was dissolved and von der Marwitz was transferred to East Prussia to command the newly organized XXXVIII. Reserve-Korps. His February 1915 victory during the Winter Masurian battle earned him the Pour le Merite. In March 1915, von der Marwitz and his army corps were sent to Miskolcz, Hungary where the XXXVIII. RK became known as the Beskidenkorps, named after the Beskid mountain range in the Carpathians. The Austrians had just lost the Przemysl Fortress, and during the Easter season von der Marwitz assembled his troops at Mezö Laborcz (German: Laborcza Tal) to fight off the Russians who were attempting to cross into Hungary. In heavy snow over the next few weeks, the Germans countered and fought the Russians to a stalemate in the Wirawa Gorge
area.

After being sent to fight with General von Gallwitz against the Serbs, Marwitz became so ill that he required a few weeks of convalescent in October and November 1915. Upon recovering, he went to Macedonia to take charge of VI. Army-Korps which took part in Field Marshal von Mackensen's December 1916 invasion of Romania. He then moved back to the Western Front to take command of Germany's 2. Armee-Oberkommando which successfully held the line against BEF forces during the Battle of Cambrai (November 1917.)  On 8 August 1918, however, Marwitz' forces faced a massed tank attack at Amiens where Germany experienced its "Black Day."  It was the worst defeat of the War, with Germany losing over 30,000 casualties at Albert-Villers-Bretonneux. General von der Marwitz also commanded 5. Armee-Oberkommando at Verdun and in the Champagne area until the Armistice was signed in November 1918. General von der Marwitz retired from active duty one month later and passed away on 27 October 1929 in Wundichow. 

	General der Kavallerie	19.08.1914
	Pour le Mérite	07.03.1915   (14.05.1915:  Eichenlaub)
	Militär-St-Heinrich	07.05.1918  Ritter/Kmdr II