Philipp von Hellingrath
(22.2.1862 - 13.12.1939)
place of birth:  München, Bayern  (Munich, Bavaria)


Bavarian general who served as War Minister during the latter half of the Great War.  Philipp was born into the home of Bavarian Lieutenant General Friedrich von Hellingrath and his spouse Luise von Brand zu Neidstein. He began his cavalary career in Munich at the age of eighteen, joining the 1st Heavy Rider Regiment named after Prince Karl of Bavaria. Sixteen years later, von Hellingrath married Mathilde Reisner Freiin von Lichternstern, with whom he had one son and one daughter.

In the months leading up to the Great War, von Hellingrath had been promoted up to the general's rank and was commanding the Sixth Imperial Bavarian Cavalry Brigade headquartered in Regensburg. On the day the war broke out, Generalmajor von Hellingrath was appointed to command the Crown Prince Rupprecht's Sixth Army communications inspectorate. About three months later, he was promoted to Generalleutnant and sent as Bavarian plenipotentiary to Wilhelm II's Great Headquarters, located at Charleville-Mezieres. By March 1915, von Hellingrath was sent to the Eastern Front to replace Otto von Stetten as commander of the Bavarian Cavalry Division. He remained in this position for the next couple years, proving himself to be one of Germany's ablest cavalry commanders during the war. It was during this time that he was awarded both the Knight's Cross and the Commander's Cross of the Military Max-Joseph-Order.

Following General von Hellingrath's exemplary service on the front, he was ordered back to Munich to replace Otto Kreß von Kressenstein as Bavarian Minister of War. He remained at this posting for the remainder of the Great War, also serving as Bavarian Representative in Imperial Germany's Parliament. He was retired from service shortly after the war died in Munich on 13 December 1939.