Max von der Planitz

Heinrich Wilhelm Maximilian Edler von der Planitz (born September 15, 1834 in Dresden , † June 22, 1910 in Interlaken ) was a Prussian general of the artillery .

Life

origin

Max came from the Vogtland noble family von der Planitz . He was the son of Gustav Adolf von der Planitz (1802–1869) and his wife Marie, born von Watzdorff (1808–1862). His father was Herr auf Kaschwitz , royal Saxon court and judicial councilor and ducal Saxon-Altenburg secret council and minister. The later Prussian Colonel General Ernst von der Planitz (1836–1910) was his younger brother.

Military career

Planitz graduated from high school in Zeitz and joined the Guard Artillery Regiment of the Prussian Army as a gunner on May 1, 1852 . For further training he was assigned to the United Artillery and Engineering School in 1852/55 and in the meantime advanced to secondary lieutenant . With a patent dated October 20, 1853, Planitz was appointed artillery officer on October 11, 1855. As a prime lieutenant he was from September 23, 1865 adjutant of the Guards Artillery Brigade . In this position, promoted to captain on January 16, 1866 , Planitz took part in the battles of Thrush and Queen's Court and the Battle of Königgrätz during the war against Austria . Awarded the Order of the Red Eagle, IV class with swords, after the peace treaty he was appointed chief of the 1st mounted battery in the Guards Artillery Regiment.

In this position, Planitz was deployed in 1870 after the beginning of the war against France in the battles at Vionville , Gravelotte , Beaumont , Sedan and Le Bourget and the siege of Paris . For his achievements he was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross . After the Peace of Frankfurt , Planitz was assigned to the artillery shooting school in Berlin for four months. On March 23, 1872, he was appointed adjutant to the General Inspectorate of Artillery . Left in this position, Planitz was transferred to the East Prussian Field Artillery Regiment No. 1 on August 15, 1872 and promoted to major on September 10, 1872 . After being released from his command at the General Inspectorate, on September 27, 1873 he was appointed commander of the mounted division of the Lower Silesian Field Artillery Regiment No. 5 in Sagan . In September 1876, Planitz was commanded as an observer to the major Austrian troop maneuvers and was awarded the Commander-in-Chief of the Franz Joseph Order . On April 22, 1879, he was transferred to Koblenz as commander of the Rhenish Field Artillery Regiment No. 8 and by mid-October 1883 Planitz rose to colonel . On June 1, 1885 he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the VIII Army Corps under the later General Field Marshal Walter von Loë . In this capacity, Planitz received the rank and fees of a brigade commander on March 22, 1887. As a major general , he became commander of the 49th Infantry Brigade (1st Grand Ducal Hessian) in Darmstadt on August 4, 1888 . After almost two years, Planitz was promoted to Lieutenant General in Düsseldorf, where he commanded the 14th Division . He gave up this command as early as October 13, 1890 and became the commander of the 2nd Guard Division in Berlin. From January 27, 1891 to October 17, 1892 Planitz acted as senior quartermaster in the Great General Staff and then worked as governor of Mainz until June 9, 1893 . This was followed by a job as General Inspector of the General Inspectorate of the Foot Artillery . In the next nine years, Planitz was largely responsible for the further development of the heavy artillery and the introduction of the heavy field howitzer for the field army. As a general of the artillery, he received several awards for his work. In addition to the Order of the Crown, 1st Class and the Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle with oak leaves and swords, Planitz was made Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle on the occasion of his 50th anniversary in service . With the approval of his resignation request, he was put up for disposition on June 13, 1902 under position à la suite of the Guard Foot Artillery Regiment with the statutory pension and at the same time appointed canon in Naumburg (Saale) .

After his farewell, Wilhelm II paid tribute to him on January 18, 1903 by awarding the chain to the Order of the Black Eagle. He was buried in Weimar .

family

Planitz had married Marie von Schlegel (1849–1912) on June 10, 1869. She was the daughter of the Prussian major general Wolf Benno von Schlegel (1801-1860). The following children were born from the marriage:

• Hans Max Wilhelm (* 1870), retired Prussian captain D., Herr auf Komorowe ⚭ Marie Freiin von Zedlitz and Leipe (* 1872)
• Hans Wilhelm Max (1872–1915), Prussian major ⚭ Alice Freiin Heyl zu Herrnsheim (* 1881)
• Hans Max Adolf Bruno (1873–1950), court assessor and banker ⚭ Elsa von Krause (1877–1933)
• Elisabeth Marie (* 1874) ⚭ Ernst von Wrisberg (1862–1927), Prussian major general
• Johanna Mathilde (* 1876) ⚭ Hans Tieschowitz von Tieschowa (1872–1952), German lieutenant general
• Marie Elisabeth (* 1878)
• Hans Wilhelm Gustav Adolf (1883–1917), Prussian captain
• Max Wilhelm Hans (* 1884)

literature

• Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 8, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1941], DNB 367632837 , pp. 436-440, no. 2683.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of the noble houses. The nobility born in Germany (primeval nobility). Justus Perthes, Gotha 1905, p. 611.