The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-03-30
FIELD MARSHAL
MACktNSON HAS
INTERESTING HISTORY
(By Associated Press

| IN Germany is in general as little
Known, either in Germany. or abroad,
is General Field Marshal August
ION Mackensen, he who was instru-
mental in driving the Russians out
Of Galicia and to whose credit the
conquest of Serbia lies.
Hindenburg, when the war be-
gan, was unknown, but the public
quickly familarized itself with ev-
Try detail of his life when his vic
.ories of Tannenburg and the Masu-
an Lakes made him an idol of al
Germany. Mackensen, however, Hin
at present, was only name until
the summer of 1915, and, despite lis
great reputation, is little more now
Countless streets all over Germany
have been named after Hindenburg'
statues already have been erected to
him. he is weekly in receipt of re-
quests to allow the use of his name
in this or that connection. Macken
sen, however, though certainly a riv
al of Hindenburg in so far as mill
tary achievements are concerned, is
still far behind him when it comes
to popular esteem or idolatry.
Mackensen's pictures. however,
are to be seen everywhere. They
perhaps are responsible for an i'm
preston that seems to be almost uni
yersal that the field marshal is stern
and unapproachable, whereas the OPP
posite is the case. Scarcely any or
his innate personal characteristics
except that of unusual ability seem
to be depicted on his strenuous fea-
| lures.
When Machensen began to tower
above the other German army lead
ers, by his achievements against the
/ hUSSlduS, lut INuiSti III litiuNhc w
ographic messages conferred honor
after honor on him. 1t was matter
! of surprise to Germans unfamiliar
, with Mackensens career that warm
! personal note should anifest itself
which had been lacking in earlier
messages to Hindenburg.
The surprise came largely from
the fact that the general public did
not, and to great extent still does
not, know how long-standing and
cordial are the relations between the
Emperor and Mackensen. The latter,
surrendering the command of his
Body Guard ussars years ago. served
for a long period as the Kaiser's per-
sonal adjutant, and in this position
accompanied his chief on the noted
trip to the Holy Land.
Few know, either, how narrowly
Germany missed having Mackensen
as a great military leader. He is the
son of a man who in America would
be rated as gentleman farmer, and
himself was trained to take his ia
TIERS place. Though he emerged
from the Franco-Prussian war as 8
reserve lieutenant. he immediately
went back to civil life, in Difference
to his parents wishes.
For years he resisted the impulse
to go back into the avmy, and fought
with himself battle which his mos
enthusiastic biographer describes az
conflict between ideal and reality
His university education. belated be
cause of the war with France, was
almost concluded, and he was fast
becoming in theory at least a farmer
when the opportunity to go back az
line officer into the death lleat
Hussar" eeiment with which he hat
served in France arrived one more
and his father reluctantly withdrew
his objections to this career.
A number of characteristics pos
sessed by Mackensen stand out prom
inently, and have STOOD out eve
since he joined Second Body uart
Hussars on May Is, 1873. Some o
them obviously haze contributed Il
his military success; others belont
to those peculiarities which success
full men in general have.
In the former category comes, frs
of all, an astonishing memory which
enables him often-times to direct op
erations without the aid of map, pro
vided of course that he has at som'
earlier time studied the territory IL
} question Incidentally, it might b,
remarked that he generally has dom
the studying, for he is a prodigiou
,, worker at all times.
Maekensen rarely forgets a nam
> or a face, and years after meetin'
junior officers astonishes them b,
calling them by name when meeting
them again. Few know it, but Mack
ensen rivals Hindenburg in his in
innate KNOWLEDGE of his native land