It was reported that if someone stepped too close to him or spoke ill of his country, he would not understand the joke, but instead gave the recipient the choice between a duel, or apologizing.

It did not take long before he earned a name as one of the army's most capable officers, leading his company with distinction at Bov, Schleswig, Nybøl and Dybbøl.

In the Battle at Vedelspang, he was the head of two companies that recaptured the Katbæk Forest from insurgents with a bayonet charge that caused his opponents to flee.

[1] When the army withdrew from Dannevirke on the 5th, he became commander of the 3rd Division under General Peter Frederik Steinmann, consisting of the 7th and 8th Brigades, to cover the retreat, and these then took turns to be closest to the Prussians and Austrians.

[4] In implementing the Army Act of 1867, he was appointed general and commander of the 1st Zealand Brigade,[1] and in this position, he ruled with an iron fist and without ever sparing himself to develop the fighting skills of his troops.

In 1870 he was head of the Camp Division at Hald and in 1875, was honoured with the Grand Cross of Dannebrog,[1] while in 1879 due to age he was dismissed from the military service.

[2][4] However, he knew his limitations, should follow from what he wrote in the Journal of War Administration of 1865: When one represents us the place where, and the time when we would kill for, then we must do it in such a manner that we crushes all that is against us.

Max Müller is depicted on a painting from Sankelmark by Otto Bache in 1887 at the Frederiksborg Museum [da], reproduced in woodcut by Hans Peter Hansen and by Niels Simonsen in 1864.