[citation needed] After 16 years of military service to the Kingdom of Württemberg in 1831, August was promoted to Rittmeister in the 1st Cavalry Regiment.

In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, August (by now a General of the Cavalry) and his corps belonged to the Second Army under Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia.

However, a significant share of their victories were attributed to August's chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand von Dannenberg.

After the campaign, William I of Prussia awarded August the Order of Pour le Mérite, and appointed him honorary Colonel-in-Chief of the Posen Uhlan Regiment Number 10 in Züllichau, which bore its name until its dissolution in 1919.

The Guard Corps, under the leadership of August, was assigned to Albert, Crown Prince of Saxony, and participated in the Battle of Sedan, and in part in the Siege of Paris.

For his war service, the king awarded him the Oak Leaves of the Pour le Mérite and both classes of the Iron Cross.

In June 1878, August was transferred to the Oberkommando der Marken, replacing Field Marshal Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, and remained in this position for another four years.