Maximilian "Max" Freiherr von Speidel (13 September 1856 – 24 February 1943) was a

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n general and State Council at the Bavarian Ministry of War.

Life

Von Speidel was born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. In the rank of a

General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers o ...

, von Speidel was commander of the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division from 30 October to 16 November 1914, the unit in which

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

served during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In the " Hertling Cabinet" he was acting as

War Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

for a short time in 1916., before he became State Council from 26 November 1916 to 21 January 1919. Upon agreement with

Kurt Eisner Kurt Eisner (; 14 May 1867 21 February 1919)"Kurt Eisner – Encyclopædia Britannica" (biography), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica.com webpageBritannica-KurtEisner. was a German politician, revolutionary, journalist, and theatre c ...

and Albert Roßhaupter, on 10 November 1918 after the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, he and Otto von Dandl went to

Schloss Wildenwart ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cogn ...

in the district of Rosenheim, where Von Speidel planned to persuade King

Ludwig III Ludwig III (Ludwig Luitpold Josef Maria Aloys Alfried; 7 January 1845 – 18 October 1921) was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918. Initially he served in the Bavarian military as a lieutenant and went on to hold the rank of Oberl ...

to issue a declaration in which he would release the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officers of their oath, but Ludwig had already left Schloss Wildenwart. Two days later, Von Dandl could convince the king of the release of the officers of their oath. Von Speidel was married to Anna Maria Karolina Maximiliane Erwine, Gräfin von Arco auf Valley. He died in his hometown.

Awards

* Commendador of the

Order of the Rose The Imperial Order of the Rose ( pt, Imperial Ordem da Rosa) was a Brazilian order of chivalry, instituted by Emperor Pedro I of Brazil on 17 October 1829 to commemorate his marriage to Amélie of Leuchtenberg. On 22 March 1890, the order was can ...

''Brazil - The Imperial Order of the Rose''

External links

* Photos
12

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Speidel, Maximilian Von 1856 births 1943 deaths Bavarian Ministers of War Bavarian generals Barons of Germany Military personnel from Munich People from the Kingdom of Bavaria