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Imperial German Army

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TheImperial German Army(1871–1919), officially referred to as theGerman Army(German:Deutsches Heer[7]), was the unified ground and air force of theGerman Empire.It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership ofPrussia,and was dissolved in 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire inWorld War I(1914–1918). In the Federal Republic of Germany, the termDeutsches Heerrefers to theGerman Army,the land component of theBundeswehr.

German Army
Deutsches Heer(German)[1]
Standards of the Emperor
Reichskriegsflagge
MottoGott mit uns[5]
Founded16 April 1871;153 years ago(16 April 1871)[2]
Disbanded6 March 1919;105 years ago(6 March 1919)[3]
Service branches
HeadquartersGroßes Hauptquartier(locations vary)[a] 52°31′12″N13°22′12″E/ 52.52000°N 13.37000°E/52.52000; 13.37000
Leadership
Commander-in-chiefGerman Emperor
Governing bodyGeneral Staff
Chief of the General StaffMoltke the Elder(first)
Hans von Seeckt(last)
Personnel
Military age17–45
Conscription2–3 years;compulsory service
Reaching military
age annually		Steady500,000 (1871)
Increase3,562,000- (1918)[citation needed]
Active personnel14,250,000+(total served; 1914–18)
Expenditure
BudgetUS$45 billion(total; 1914–18)[6]
(US$1.3 trillion in 2022)
Related articles
HistoryGermany during World War I
RanksRanks of the Imperial German military

Formation and name

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German Armyhussarson the attack during maneuvers, 1912
Drafteesof the German Army, 1898

The states that made up the German Empire contributed their armies; within theGerman Confederation,formed after theNapoleonic Wars,each state was responsible for maintaining certain units to be put at the disposal of the Confederation in case of conflict. When operating together, the units were known as theFederal Army(Bundesheer). The Federal Army system functioned duringvarious conflicts of the 19th century,such as theFirst Schleswig Warfrom 1848 to 1852. However, by the time of theSecond Schleswig Warof 1864, tension had grown between the main powers of the confederation, theAustrian Empireand the Kingdom of Prussia, and the German Confederation was dissolved after theAustro-Prussian Warof 1866.

Prussia formed theNorth German Confederationand the treaty provided for the maintenance of a Federal Army and aFederal Navy(BundesmarineorBundeskriegsmarine).[8]Further laws on military duty also used these terms.[9]Conventions (some later amended) were entered into between the North German Confederation and its member states, subordinating their armies to thePrussian Armyin time of war, and giving the Prussian Army control over training, doctrine, and equipment.[b]

Shortly after the outbreak of theFranco-Prussian Warin 1870, the North German Confederation also entered into conventions on military matters with states that were not members of the confederation, namelyBavaria,Württemberg,andBaden.[c]Through these conventions and the 1871Constitution of the German Empire,an Army of the Realm (Reichsheer) was created. The Constitution of the German Empire, dated April 16, 1871, changed references in theNorth German Constitutionfrom Federal Army to either Army of the Realm (Reichsheer) or German Army (Deutsches Heer).[10]

The contingents of theBavarian,Saxon,andWürttembergkingdoms remained semi-autonomous, while the Prussian Army assumed almost total control over the armies of the other states of the Empire. After 1871, the peacetime armies of the four kingdoms remained relatively distinct. The term "German Army" was used in various legal documents, such as the Military Penal Code, but otherwise, the Prussian, Bavarian, Saxon, and Württemberg armies maintained their distinct identities.[11]Each kingdom had its own War Ministry, Bavaria andSaxonypublished their own rank and seniority lists for their officers and the Württemberg list was a separate chapter of the Prussian Army rank lists. Württemberg and Saxon units were numbered according to the Prussian system but Bavarian units maintained their own numbers (the 2nd Württemberg Infantry Regiment was Infantry Regiment No. 120 under the Prussian system).[citation needed]

Command

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Main articles:German General StaffandOberste Heeresleitung

The commander of the Imperial German Army, less the Bavarian contingent, was theKaiser.He was assisted by aMilitary Cabinetand exercised control through thePrussian Ministry of Warand theGreat General Staff.The Chief of the General Staff became the Kaiser's main military adviser and the most powerful military figure in the empire. Bavaria kept its ownMinistry of WarandGeneral Staff,but coordinated planning with the Prussian General Staff. Saxony also maintained its ownMinistry of Warand General Staff, and theMinistry of War of Württembergand General Staff also continued to exist.

The command of the Prussian Army had been reformed in the wake of thedefeatssuffered by Prussia in theNapoleonic Wars.Rather than rely primarily on the martial skills of the individual members of the German nobility, who dominated the military profession, the Prussian Army instituted changes to ensure excellence in leadership, organisation, and planning. The General Staff system, which sought to institutionalise military excellence, was the main result. It sought to identify military talent at the lower levels and develop it thoroughly through academic training and practical experience on division, corps, and higher staffs, up to the Great General Staff, the senior planning body of the army. It provided planning and organisational work during peacetime and wartime. The Prussian General Staff, proven in battle in theWars of Unification,became the German General Staff upon the formation of the German Empire, given Prussia's leading role in the German Army.

Military role in foreign policy decisions

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German infantry charging across open ground on the battlefield, 1914

In the German Empire, diplomatic relations were the responsibility of theChancellorand his Foreign Minister. The German Army reported separately to the emperor, and increasingly played a major role in shaping foreign policy when military alliances or warfare was at issue.[12]In diplomatic terms, Germany used the Prussian system of military attachés attached to diplomatic locations, with highly talented young officers assigned to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, and military capabilities of their assigned nations. They used close observation, conversations, and paid agents to produce very high-quality reports that gave a significant advantage to the military planners.[13]The military staff grew increasingly powerful, reducing the role of the Minister of War, and increasingly asserted itself in foreign policy decisions.

Otto von Bismarck,the Imperial Chancellor from 1871 to 1890, was annoyed by military interference in foreign policy affairs – in 1887, for example, they tried to convince the emperor to declare war onRussia;they also encouragedAustria-Hungaryto attack Russia. Bismarck never controlled the army, but he did complain vehemently, and the military leaders drew back. In 1905, when theFirst Moroccan Crisiswas roiling international politics, the Chief of the General StaffAlfred von Schlieffencalled for a preventive war againstFrance.At a critical point in theJuly Crisisof 1914,Helmuth von Moltke,the chief of staff, without telling the emperor or chancellor, advised his counterpart in Austria-Hungary to mobilise against Russia at once. During the First World War,GeneralfeldmarschallPaul von Hindenburgincreasingly set foreign policy, working directly with the emperor—and indeed shaped his decision-making—leaving the chancellor and civilian officials in the dark. HistorianGordon A. Craigsays that the crucial decisions in 1914, "were made by the soldiers and that, in making them, they displayed an almost complete disregard for political considerations."[14]

Chiefs of the German General Staff (1871–1919)

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Structure

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The Kaiser had full control of the armed forces but the organisation was highly complex.[15]

In peacetime the Imperial German Army was divided into four basic levels, the Army inspectorate (Armee-Inspektion), the army corps (Armeekorps), the division, and the regiment. During wartime, the staff of the Army inspectorates formed field army commands, which controlled the corps and subordinate units. During World War I, a higher command level, the army group (Heeresgruppe), was created. Each army group controlled several field armies.

Army inspectorate

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Germany was divided into army inspectorates, each of which oversaw three or four corps. There were five in 1871, with three more added between 1907 and 1913.[16]

  • I Army Inspectorate: Headquartered inDanzig,became the8th Armyon mobilisation (2 August 1914)
  • II Army Inspectorate: Headquartered inBerlin,became the3rd Armyon mobilisation (2 August 1914)
  • III Army Inspectorate: Headquartered inHannover,became the2nd Armyon mobilisation (2 August 1914)
  • IV Army Inspectorate: Headquartered inMunich,became the6th Armyon mobilisation (2 August 1914)
  • V Army Inspectorate: Headquartered inKarlsruhe,became the7th Armyon mobilisation (2 August 1914)
  • VI Army Inspectorate: Headquartered inStuttgart,became the4th Armyon mobilisation (2 August 1914)
  • VII Army Inspectorate: Headquartered in Berlin, became the5th Armyon mobilisation (2 August 1914)
  • VIII Army Inspectorate: Headquartered inSaarbrücken,became the1st Armyon mobilisation (2 August 1914)

Corps

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See also:List of Corps of the Imperial German Army

The basic organisational formation was the armycorps(Armeekorps). The corps consisted of two or more divisions and various support troops, covering a geographical area. The corps was also responsible for maintaining the reserves andLandwehrin the corps area. By 1914, there were 21 corps areas under Prussian jurisdiction and three Bavarian army corps. Besides the regional corps, there was also aGuard Corps(Gardecorps), which controlled the elite Prussian Guard units. A corps usually included a light infantry (Jäger) battalion, a heavy artillery (Fußartillerie) battalion, an engineer battalion, a telegraph battalion, and a trains battalion. Some corps areas also disposed of fortress troops; each of the 25 corps had a Field Aviation Unit (Feldflieger Abteilung) attached to it normally equipped with six unarmed"A" or "B" classunarmed two-seat observation aircraft apiece.[17]

In wartime, the army corps became a mobile tactical formation and fourHöhere Kavallerie-Kommando(Higher Cavalry Commands) were formed from the Cavalry Inspectorate, the equivalent of corps, being made up of two divisions of cavalry.

The areas formerly covered by the corps each became the responsibility of aWehrkreis(military district, sometimes translated as corps area). The military districts were to supervise the training and enlistment of reservists and new recruits. Originally each military district was linked to an army corps; thusWehrkreisI took over the area that I.Armeekorpshad been responsible for and sent replacements to the same formation. The first sixteen reserve corps raised followed the same pattern; X.Reserve-Korpswas made up of reservists from the same area as X.Armeekorps.However, these links between rear areas and front line units were broken as the war went on and later corps were raised with troops from all over Germany.

Division

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See also:List of Divisions of the Imperial German Army

The basic tactical formation was thedivision.A standard Imperial German division was organised into:

  • Division HQ
  • Two infantry brigades organised into a brigade HQ and two regiments each (either of the line or light infantry),
  • A cavalry brigade organised into a brigade HQ and two regiments
  • An artillery brigade organised into an HQ and two regiments
  • Combat service and support regiments under division HQ

One of the divisions in a corps area usually also managed the corpsLandwehrregion (Landwehrbezirk). In 1914, besides the Guard Corps (two Guard divisions and a Guard cavalry division), there were 42 regular divisions in the Prussian Army (including four Saxon divisions and two Württemberg divisions), and six divisions in the Bavarian Army.

These divisions were all mobilised in August 1914. They were reorganised, receiving engineer companies and other support units from their corps, and giving up most of their cavalry to form cavalry divisions. Reserve divisions were also formed,Landwehrbrigades were aggregated into divisions, and other divisions were formed from replacement (Ersatz) units. As World War I progressed, additional divisions were formed, and by wars' end, 251 divisions had been formed or reformed in the German Army's structure.

Regiment

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Theregimentwas the basic combat unit as well as the recruiting base for soldiers. When inducted, a soldier entered a regiment, usually through its replacement or training battalion, and received his basic training. There were three basic types of regiment: infantry, cavalry, and artillery. Other specialties, such as pioneers (combat engineers) and signal troops, were organised into smaller support units. Regiments also carried the traditions of the army, in many cases stretching back into the 17th and 18th centuries. After World War I, regimental traditions were carried forward in theReichswehrand its successor, theWehrmacht,but the chain of tradition was broken in 1945 as West German and East German units did not carry forward pre-1945 traditions.

Each Imperial German regiment of infantry had headquarters units, three battalions, and one training battalion assigned to the regimental depot. Cavalry, field, and horse artillery regiments were also similarly organised.

National contingents

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Imperial and state cockades

The German Empire was formed by 38 duchies and kingdoms each with their traditions of warfare. Although the new army of the united German Empire was nominally "German" and most state forces served integrated into the Prussian Army, the Bavarian Army, the Saxon Army, and the Württemberg Army remained independent national contingents:

The Royal Saxon Army...was the national army of the Kingdom of Saxony one of the four states of the GermanReichto retain its own armed forces.

— Lucas & Schmieschek[18]

Nevertheless, in times of war, all of these would pledge allegiance to the Kaiser and the German nation.[19]They did, however, remain organisationally distinct, being able to raise units of their own without assistance from the dominating Prussians. In one instance, Freiherr von Sonden (from Württemberg) was able to "quite legitimately send a request directly to the Ministry of War inStuttgartfor the raising of a new artillery regiment ".[20]

Regiments and units from separate constituents were also raised locally and often numbered independently from each other – for example, there was (among others) both aBavarian 1st Infantry Regimentand aWürttemberger 1st Infantry Regiment.[citation needed]

While the aforementioned contingents wore distinctive uniforms, with the differences becoming less over time, the origin of units would be denoted on the uniform in the colours of the rank insignia until the early 20th century. They also had differentcockadeson the headgear. The Imperial cockade was to be worn above the state cockade on hats and caps, while they were worn on the right (state on the left) of helmets and more specialised headgear.

Reserve system

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When the British decided toreformtheir armyin the 1860s, they surveyed the major European forces and decided that the Prussian system was the best one. That system was continued into the Imperial Army after 1871 and resulted in a modest cadre of professional officers and sergeants, and a large reserve force that could be quickly mobilised at the start of a war. The British could not use the system because they rejected conscription. The Japanese, however, were also observing the reserve system and, unlike the British, decided to copy the Prussian model.[21]Barnett (1970)explains that every young man was drafted at age 18, with the upper-class becoming officers:

the Prussian system... was based on service of only three years with the colors... and four years in the reserve. The Prussian standing army had become simply a training cadre for the intake of conscripts. The Prussian army's organization for peace and war was virtually the same. Prussia was divided into army-corps districts for the purposes both of administration and of recruitment. On the outbreak of war the command organizations of the district became that of a corps in the field. Localization of the Army and its recruitment gave the districts pride and interest in their 'own' corps.[22]

Industrial base

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The German Empire accounted for 12% of global industrial output in 1914, making it the largest industrial base in Continental Europe, and behind only Great Britain (18%) and the United States (22%) worldwide. The army closely cooperated with industry, especially in the Great War, with particular focus on the very rapidly changing aircraft industry. The army set prices and labour exemptions, regulated the supply of credit and raw materials, limited patent rights so as to allow cross-licensing among firms, and supervised management–labour relationships. The result was very rapid expansion and a high output of high-quality aircraft, as well as high wages that attracted the best machinists. Apart from aircraft, the army's regulation of the rest of the war economy was largely inefficient.[23]

Air Force

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TheDeutscheLuftstreitkräfte,known before October 1916 asDie Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches(The Air Corps of the German Empire),[24]was the over-land air arm of the German Army during World War I. Although its name actually means something very close to the "Air Forces", it remained an integral part of the German Army for the duration of the war. TheKaiserliche Marineof the German Empire had their own,separateMarine-Fliegerabteilungmaritime aviation forces, apart from theLuftstreitkräfteof the army.

Ranks of the Imperial German Army

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Main article:Military ranks of the German Empire

The German Army from 1871 to 1914 inherited the various traditions and military ranks of its constituent states, thus becoming a truly federal armed service.

Commissioned officer ranks

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Critics long believed that the army's officer corps was heavily dominated byJunkeraristocrats, so that commoners were shunted into low-prestige branches, such as the heavy artillery or supply. However, by the 1890s, the top ranks were opened to highly talented commoners.[25][26]

The rank insignia ofcommissioned officers.

Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers
Imperial German Army[27][28]
Generalfeldmarschall Generaloberst mit dem Rang als Generalfeldmarschall Generaloberst General der Waffengattung Generalleutnant Generalmajor Oberst Oberstleutnant Major Hauptmann/Rittmeister Oberleutnant Leutnant

Other ranks

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The rank insignia ofnon-commissioned officersandenlisted personnel.

Rank group Non-commissioned officers Enlisted
Imperial German Army
Feldwebel Vicefeldwebel Sergeant Unteroffizier Kapitulant Einjährig-freiwilliger Obergefreiter Gefreiter Soldat

Dissolution

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The Imperial Army was abolished on 6 March 1919, and the provisionalReichswehrwas created.[29]

See also

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Explanatory notes

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  1. ^
  2. ^The conventions were:
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde (bzw. Preußen) und Sachsen vom 7. Februar 1867
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Hessen vom 13. Juni 1871 (Ersatz für die vom 7. April 1867)
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Mecklenburg-Schwerin vom 19. Dezember 1872 (Ersatz für die von 24. Juni 1868)
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Mecklenburg-Strelitz vom 23. Dezember 1872 (Ersatz für die vom 9. November 1867)
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Oldenburg vom 15. Juni 1867
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Braunschweig vom 9./18. März 1886
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde einerseits und Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach, Sachsen-Altenburg, Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, Sachsen-Meiningen, Reuß ältere Linie, Reuß jüngere Linie und Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt vom 15. September 1873
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Anhalt vom 16. September 1873 (Ersatz für die vom 28. Juni 1867)
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Schwarzburg-Sondershausen vom 17. September 1873 (Ersatz für die vom 28. Juni 1867)
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Lippe vom 14. November 1873 (Ersatz für die vom 26. Juni 1867)
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Schaumburg-Lippe vom 25. September 1873 (Ersatz für die vom 30. Juni 1867)
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Waldeck vom 24. November 1877 (Ersatz für die vom 6. August 1867)
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Lübeck vom 27. Juni 1867
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Bremen vom 27. Juni 1867
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Hamburg vom 23. Juli 1867
  3. ^The conventions were:
    • ArtikelIII. § 5 of theBundesvertrag vom 23. November 1870 mit Bayern
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Baden vom 25. November 1870
    • Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Württemberg vom 25. November 1870

Citations

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  1. ^"Militair-Strafgesetzbuch vom 20. Juni 1872" inGesetz-Sammlung für das Deutsche Reich, 1867 bis 1883, incl.Vol. 1. Berlin, 1884.p. 408.Archived2023-04-04 at theWayback Machine(in German)
  2. ^"documentArchiv.de – Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs".Archivedfrom the original on 2019-10-17.Retrieved2007-07-20.
  3. ^Edmonds, James (1987).The Occupation of the Rhineland.London: HMSO. p. 213.ISBN978-0-11-290454-0.
  4. ^Grey, P. L.; Thetford, O. (1970) [1962].German Aircraft of the First World War(2nd ed.). London: Putnam. p. 29.ISBN978-0-370-00103-6.
  5. ^Spector, Robert M. (2004).World Without Civilization: Mass Murder and the Holocaust, History and Analysis.Vol. I. University Press of America. p. 14.ISBN978-0-7618-2963-8.Retrieved20 May2022.
  6. ^H. E. Fisk (1924),The Inter-Allied Debts,pp. 13 & 325, reprinted in Horst Menderhausen (1943 edition),The Economics of War,appendix table II
  7. ^"Militair-Strafgesetzbuch vom 20. Juni 1872" inGesetz-Sammlung für das Deutsche Reich, 1867 bis 1883, incl.Vol. 1. Berlin, 1884.p. 408.Archived2023-04-04 at theWayback Machine(in German)
  8. ^"documentArchiv.de – Verfassung des Norddeutschen Bundes (16.04.1867)".Archivedfrom the original on 2019-10-28.Retrieved2007-07-20.
  9. ^"documentArchiv.de – Gesetz, betreffend die Verpflichtung zum Kriegsdienste (09.11.1867)".Archivedfrom the original on 2021-06-24.Retrieved2007-07-20.
  10. ^"documentArchiv.de – Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs".Archivedfrom the original on 2019-10-17.Retrieved2007-07-20.
  11. ^"Militär-Strafgesetzbuch für das Deutsche Reich".Archivedfrom the original on 2021-06-24.Retrieved2007-07-20.
  12. ^Gordon A. Craig,The politics of the Prussian army 1640–1945(1955) 255–298.
  13. ^James Stone, "Spies and diplomats in Bismarck's Germany: collaboration between military intelligence and the Foreign Office, 1871–1881."Journal of Intelligence History(2014) 13#1 pp: 22–40.
  14. ^Craig, pp 268–270, 283, 293. Quotation p. 294.
  15. ^For the details see Holger H. Herwig, "Looking Glass: German Strategic Planning before 1914" The Historian 77#2 (2015) pp. 290–314.
  16. ^Günter Wegner, Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815–1939. (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1, pp. 33–36
  17. ^van Wyngarden, G. (2006).Early German Aces of World War I.Osprey Publishing Ltd.ISBN1-84176-997-5.
  18. ^Lucas & Schmieschek (2015),p. 8
  19. ^Sheldon (2017).Fighting the Somme.p. 34.
  20. ^Sheldon (2017),pp. 34–35
  21. ^Bara, Xavier (2012). "The Kishū Army and the Setting of the Prussian Model in Feudal Japan, 1860–1871".War in History.19(2): 153–171.doi:10.1177/0968344511432980.S2CID154743242.
  22. ^Barnett, Correlli (1970).Britain and her Army 1509–1970: A Military, Political and Social Survey.p. 285.
  23. ^Morrow, John H. Jr (1977). "Industrialization Mobilization in World War I: The Prussian Army and the Aircraft Industry".Journal of Economic History.37(1): 36–51.doi:10.1017/S0022050700096704.JSTOR2119443.S2CID153992821.
  24. ^Grey and Thetford, p. xxix
  25. ^Ulrich Trumpener, "Junkers and Others: The Rise of Commoners in the Prussian Army, 1871–1914,"Canadian Journal of History(1979) 14#1 pp. 29–47
  26. ^Dennis E. Showalter, "The Political Soldiers of Bismarck's Germany: Myths and Realities,"German Studies Review(1994) 17#1 pp. 59–77in JSTORArchived2016-11-13 at theWayback Machine
  27. ^Bunkley 1918,pp. 171–172.
  28. ^Williams 1918,p. 282.
  29. ^Edmonds, James (1987).The Occupation of the Rhineland.London: HMSO. p. 213.ISBN978-0-11-290454-0.

General and cited references

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Further reading

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