The Gordons


von Mackensen


The stories about Hector Macdonald disappearing and re-surfacing as Field Marshal August von Mackensen were fuelled by their resemblance and the fact that Mackensen did not command German troops on the Western Front. He did in fact spend much of the First World War fighting in the Balkans. However his early career is well documented since he joined the 2nd Life Hussars in 1869 and fought in the Franco-Prussian War. He lived to see the Second World War and managed to survive despite his criticism of Hitler's killing of German Generals in the Night of the Long Knives. He died in 1945.


Regimental details | Soldiers | Macdonald


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by Stephen Luscombe