MILITARY RISE
Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf, Prinz von Bayern was born on February 9, 1846 in Munich. He was the son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821–1912) and Archduchess Augusta of Austria (1825–1864).
The young Leopold entered the Bavarian Army at the age of fifteen. He attained the rank of second lieutenant on November 28, 1861. Leopold first witnessed 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 northern France, where the Bavarian Army fought alongside the Prussian Army in the Franco-Prussian War. He served with the Third Bavarian Artillery Regiment and saw action at Sedan and Beauvert. Leopold was promoted to major by year’s end… and for bravery against the enemy, he received the Iron Cross (both First and Second Class), the Bavarian Military Merit Order Knight (First Class), the Knight’s Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph (Bavaria’s highest military honor), and decorations from several other German states.
In the post-war era of the new German Empire, Prince Leopold spent most of his time travelling, visiting Africa, Asia and countries of Europe. On April 20, 1873 in Vienna, Leopold married his second cousin the Archduchess Gisela of Austria. She was the daughter of Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth.
Leopold remained in the Bavarian Army at the start of the new century. On New Year’s Day 1905, he was finally promoted to the rank of field marshal (Generalfeldmarschall). Eight years later, he retired from active duty.
ONE LAST WAR
With the outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914, Prince Leopold’s retirement did not last long! On April 16, 1915, he was given command of the German Ninth Army (on the Eastern Front), replacing General August von Mackensen. Leopold quickly proved himself to be an able commander, as his men overwhelmed the retreating Russians in the Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive. On August 4, 1915, Leopold’s troops took Warsaw, the capital of Russian Poland.
Following this success, he was put in command of Army Group Prince Leopold of Bavaria (Heeresgruppe Prinz Leopold von Bayern), situated in the central/northern sector of the Eastern Front. He was also awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph on August 5, 1915… and the prestigious Pour le Mérite (Prussia’s highest military honor) four days later. Oak leaves were added to his Blue Max on July 25, 1917.
On August 29, 1916, after successfully saving the Austrians from destruction in the aftermath of the Brusilov Offensive, Prince Leopold became Supreme Commander of the German Forces on the Eastern Front (Oberbefehlshaber Ost). He succeeded Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and held the post for the remainder of the war in the East. Because of his position, Leopold was a potential candidate for the throne of the puppet Kingdom of Poland.
SECOND RETIREMENT
On March 3, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, ending the war on the Eastern Front between Imperial Germany and Bolshevik Russia. The agreement was highly favorable to the Germans, and Prince Leopold promptly retired for a second time, ending his career with great success. The next day, he received yet another high honor: the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (awarded only five times during the Great War).
Prince Leopold of Bavaria lived out his final years while his own country was struggling to survive. He eventually died on September 28, 1930 in Munich at the age of eighty-four. His body was buried in the Colombarium in the Michaelskirche.
MILITARY RANKS
Second Lieutenant: November 28, 1861
First Lieutenant: June 5, 1864
Hauptmann: April 28, 1867
Major: December 11, 1870
Oberstleutnant: March 27, 1871
Oberst: February 18, 1873
Generalmajor: November 1, 1875
Generalleutnant: June 16, 1881
General der Kavallerie: March 2, 1887
Generaloberst: February 9, 1896
Generalfeldmarschall: January 1, 1905
FAMILY
Prince Leopold and his wife Gisela had four children:
1. Princess Elisabeth Marie of Bavaria (1874–1957), who married Otto Ludwig Philipp Graf von Seefried auf Buttenheim
2. Princess Auguste Maria of Bavaria (1875–1964), who married Archduke Joseph August of Austria
3. Prince Georg of Bavaria (1880–1943), married Archduchess Isabella of Austria
4. Prince Konrad of Bavaria (1883–1969), who married Princess Bona Margherita of Savoy-Genoa
GREEK SUCCESSION
According to the provisions of the Greek Constitution of 1844, Leopold is also the heir of the deposed King Otto I of Greece. Due to the renunciation by his elder brother Ludwig of all his rights to the Greek succession… and since the Greek Constitution forbade the sovereign to be ruler of another country (Ludwig became King of Bavaria), Leopold technically succeeded upon his brother’s renunciation to the rights of the deposed King Otto I. Upon Leopold’s death, his rights were inherited by his son Georg.
HONORS AND DECORATIONS
GERMAN EMPIRE
Bavaria
– Knight of St. Hubert
– Knight of the Military Merit Order, Second Class with Swords, ca. 1866; Grand Cross with Swords, 1917
– Knight of the Military Order of Max Joseph, 1871; Grand Cross, August 5, 1915
– Grand Prior of Lower Bavaria of the Royal Bavarian House Equestrian Order of St. George, 1874
– St. George Medal
– Ludwig Order, Honor Cross
– Jubilee Medal with Crown
– 1866 Army Commemorative Cross
Anhalt
– Grand Cross of Albert the Bear
Baden
– Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1898
– Grand Cross of the Order of Berthold the First
Brunswick
– Grand Cross of Henry the Lion, 1903
– War Merit Cross
Ernestine duchies
– Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order
Free Hanseatic Cities
– Hanseatic Crosses
Hesse and by Rhine
– Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, January 13, 1865
– Military Merit Cross (1870/71), June 17, 1873
Lippe-Detmold
– War Honor Cross for Heroic Deeds
– War Merit Cross
Mecklenburg
– Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown
– 1870 Military Merit Cross (Schwerin)
Saxony
– Knight of the Rue Crown
– Commander of the Military Order of St. Henry, First Class
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
– Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 1888
Schaumburg-Lippe
– 1870 Military Merit Medal
Württemberg
– Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1890
Prussia
-Knight of the Black Eagle
– Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, with Swords
– Pour le Mérite (August 5, 1915) with Oak Leaves (July 25, 1917)
– Iron Cross, Second and First Classes, 1870; Grand Cross, March 4, 1918
– Grand Commander of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
– War Commemorative Medal of 1870/71
– Centenary Medal
– Officers’ Long Service Cross
– Red Cross Medal, First Class with War Decoration
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
– Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, First Class
OTHER COUNTRIES
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
– Knight of the Golden Fleece, 1868
– Grand Cross of St. Stephen, 1881
– Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, March 26, 1918
– Military Merit Cross, First Class with War Decoration
– Large Military Merit Medal (“Signum Laudis”)
– Red Cross Decoration, First Class with War Decoration
– 1898 Franz Joseph I Jubilee Medal
– 1908 Franz Joseph I Jubilee Cross in Gold
– 1908 Franz Joseph I Military Jubilee Cross
BELGIUM
– Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold
KINGDOM OF ITALY
– Knight of the Annunciation, September 10, 1897
LUXEMBOURG
– Knight of the Gold Lion of Nassau
KINGDOM OF MONTENEGRO
– Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I
OTTOMAN EMPIRE
– Gold Imtiaz Medal, with Swords
– Grand Commander of the Order of Glory
– Turkish War Medal (“Gallipoli Star”)
KINGDOM OF PORTUGAL
– Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword
KINGDOM OF RUMANIA
– Grand Cross of the Star of Rumania
KINGDOM OF SERBIA
– Grand Cross of the White Eagle
– Grand Cross of the Cross of Takovo
SPAIN
– Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, April 1876; with Collar, 1883
UNITED KINGDOM
– Honorary Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, August 15, 1907