Military career Prince Leopold entered the
Bavarian Army at the age of 15, and received his patent as a lieutenant dated 28 November 1861. He saw first 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 France, where the Bavarian Army was fighting alongside the
Prussian Army in the
Franco-Prussian War. He served with the 3rd Bavarian Artillery Regiment and saw action at
Sedan and Beauvert. He was promoted to major in December 1870. For his bravery against the enemy he received both the
Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Classes, the Bavarian
Military Merit Order Knight 1st Class, the Knight's Cross of the
Military Order of Max Joseph, Bavaria's highest military decoration, and decorations from several other German states. In the post-war years, Prince Leopold spent most of his time travelling, visiting Africa, Asia and countries of Europe. He was married on 20 April 1873 at
Vienna to his second cousin
Archduchess Gisela of Austria, daughter of Emperor
Franz Joseph of Austria and the Empress
Elisabeth. From 1881 to 1887 Leopold was the commander of the
1st Royal Bavarian Division, from 1887 to 1892 of the
I Royal Bavarian Corps. In both commands he would be succeeded by his younger brother,
Prince Arnulf of Bavaria. In 1892 Leopold became the inspector general of the 4th Army Inspection, replacing
Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal. After his appointment, the 4th Army Inspection gradually became consistent of Bavarian corps. He remained in the Bavarian Army and was finally promoted to the rank of
field marshal (
Generalfeldmarschall) on 1 January 1905. He retired from active duty in 1913 to give chances to
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria.
First World War Prince Leopold's retirement, however, did not last long. On 16 April 1915, he was given command of the
German 9th Army, replacing General
August von Mackensen. Leopold quickly proved himself an able commander as he took
Warsaw on 4 August 1915. Following this success, he was put in command of
Army Group Prince Leopold of Bavaria (
Heeresgruppe Prinz Leopold von Bayern), which was a German force in the central/northern sector of the
Eastern Front. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the
Military Order of Max Joseph on 5 August 1915, the prestigious
Pour le Mérite, Prussia's highest military decoration, on 9 August 1915 and the oak leaves to the Pour le Mérite on 25 July 1917. . On 29 August 1916, after the brutal summer campaigns succeeded in reversing the
Brusilov Offensive against the Austrians, Leopold became the Supreme Commander of the German forces on the Eastern front (
Oberbefehlshaber Ost), succeeding Field Marshal
Paul von Hindenburg. Leopold held this post for the rest of the war. Because of his position, Leopold was a potential German candidate for the throne of the puppet
Kingdom of Poland. On 4 March 1918, Leopold received yet another high honor, the
Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, awarded only five times during World War I. Prince Leopold retired again in 1918 after the signing of the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which had ended the war on the Eastern Front. This treaty was highly favorable to
Germany, and Leopold ended his career with success. He died on 28 September 1930 in
Munich and is buried in the Colombarium in the
Michaelskirche in
Munich. ==Military ranks==