Max Karl Wilhelm von Gallwitz (2 May 1852 – 18 April 1937) was a German general from Breslau (Wrocław), Silesia, who served with distinction during World War I on both the Eastern and Western Fronts.[1][2]
Gallwitz grew up in a Catholic family in Breslau and joined the Prussian Army in 1870. In 1891, he married Friedrike. They had a daughter and son Werner, who became a lieutenant general in the Second World War. Gallwitz was a First World War corps commander (Guards Reserve Corps) on the Western Front, but he was almost immediately transferred east to join the Eighth Army under Hindenburg.[1] In 1915, he took command of Armee-Gruppe Gallwitz[3] (later redesignated Twelfth Army) and participated in the Galicia offensive alongside Mackensen, who commanded the Eleventh Army.[4]
Towards the end of 1915, Gallwitz succeeded Mackensen as commander of the Eleventh Army, as the latter campaigned against Serbia. In 1916, he moved back to the Western Front and defended against the British attack in the Battle of the Somme. He took over command of 2nd Army and of Heeresgruppe Gallwitz - Somme[5] controlling the 1st and 2nd Armies. From 1916–18, he commanded the Fifth Army in the west, most notably engaging the Americans during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel.
Following his retirement from the army, Gallwitz served as a deputy in the Reichstag (1920–24) for the German National People's Party.[4]