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The 'German Army' (''Deutsches Heer'') was the name given the combined armed forces of the German Empire, also known as the Imperial Army (''Reichsheer'') or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German ''Bundeswehr''. The Imperial German Army was formed when the German Empire was formed in 1871, and lasted until 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I.

Contents

Formation and name

Command and control

Peacetime and wartime structures

Army inspectorate

Corps

Division

Regiment

See also

Notes

Formation and name

The states which made up the German Empire each had their own separate armies. Within the German Confederation, formed after the Napoleonic 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, these units were known as the Federal Army (''Bundesheer''). The Federal Army system functioned during various conflicts of the 19th century, such as the First Schleswig War in 1848-50, but by the time of the Second Schleswig War of 1864, strains were showing, mainly between the major powers of the confederation, the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. The end of the German Confederation was sealed by the Austro-Prussian War of 1866.
After this war, a victorious and much enlarged Prussia formed a new confederation, the North German Confederation, which included the states of northern Germany. The treaty which formed the North German Federation provided for the maintenance of a Federal Army and a Federal Navy (''Bundesmarine'' or ''Bundeskriegsmarine'').^[1] Further laws on military duty also used these terms.^[2] Conventions (some later amended) were entered into between the North German Confederation and its member states, effectively subordinating their armies to Prussia's in time of war, and giving the Prussian Army control over training, doctrine and equipment.^[3]
Shortly after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the North German Confederation also entered into conventions on military matters with states not members of the confederation: Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden.^[4] Through these conventions and the constitution of the German Empire of 1871, an imperial army (''Reichsheer'') was born. The contingents of the Bavarian, Saxon and Württemberg kingdoms remained semi-autonomous, while the Prussian Army assumed almost total control over the armies of the other states of the Empire. The constitution of the Empire, dated April 16, 1871, changes references in the constituent document of the North German Confederation to a Federal Army to either Imperial Army ("Reichsheer") or German Army ("Deutsches Heer").^[5]
After 1871, however, the peacetime armies of the four kingdoms remained relatively distinct. "German Army" and "Imperial Army" were used in various legal documents such as the Military Penal Code,^[6] but otherwise the Prussian, Bavarian, Saxon and Württemberg armies maintained distinct identities. Each kingdom had its own War Ministry, Bavaria and Saxony published their own rank and seniority lists for their officers, and Württemberg's was a separate chapter of the Prussian army rank lists. Württemberg and Saxon units were numbered according to the Prussian system though, while Bavarian units maintained their own (thus, the 2nd Württemberg Infantry Regiment was Infantry Regiment Nr. 120 under the Prussian system).

Command and control

Main articles: German General Staff

The overall commander of the Imperial German Army, less the Bavarian contingent, was the Kaiser. He was assisted by a military cabinet, and exercised control through the Ministry of War and the Great General Staff. The Chief of the General Staff became the Kaiser's main military advisor and effectively the most powerful military figure in the Empire. Bavaria maintained its own Ministry of War and its own general staff, but coordinated planning with the Prussian Great General Staff.
The command and control system of the Prussian Army had been heavily reformed in the wake of the defeats suffered by Prussia in the Napoleonic Wars. Rather than rely primarily on on the martial skills of the individual members of the German nobility who dominated the military profession, the Prussian Army instituted a series of reforms to ensure excellence in leadership, organization and planning at all levels of command. The General Staff system, an institution that sought to institutionalize 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 as planners on division, corps and higher staffs, up to the Great General Staff, the senior planning body of the army. It provided effective planning and organizational work during peacetime and wartime. The Prussian General Staff, proven in battle in the Wars of Unification, became effectively the German General Staff upon formation of the German Empire, given Prussia's leading role in the German Army.

Peacetime and wartime structures

The basic peacetime organizational structure of the Imperial German Army was based around 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

Germany, with the exception of Bavaria, was divided into army inspectorates. There were five in 1871, with three more added between 1907 and 1913.^[7] The Bavarian War Ministry maintained its own command which functioned as the inspectorate for that kingdom. Each inspectorate would be considered the equivalent of an army area and controlled a number of corps.

Corps

The basic organizational formation was the army corps. The corps consisted of two or more divisions and various support troops, and covered a specific geographical area. The corps was also responsible for maintaining the reserves and ''Landwehr'' in the corps area. By 1914, there were twenty-one army corps areas under Prussian jurisdiction and three Bavarian army corps. Besides the regional corps, there was also a Guard Corps (''Gardecorps'') which controlled Prussia's elite Guard units. Besides the divisions, a corps generally included a light infantry (Jäger) battalion, a foot artillery battalion, an engineer battalion, a telegraph battalion and a trains battalion. Some corps areas also disposed of fortress troops and aviation battalions.
During wartime, the army corps became a mobile tactical formation. The corps area became a rear area for the corps, responsible for training and equipping replacement troops and other duties. In addition to the regular army corps, reserve corps were formed on mobilization in 1914, and were joined by additional corps as World War I progressed.

Division

The basic tactical formation was the division. A standard Imperial German division consisted of two infantry brigades of two regiments each, a cavalry brigade of two regiments, and an artillery brigade of two regiments. One of the divisions in a corps area usually also managed the corps ''Landwehr'' region (''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 mobilized in August 1914. They were reorganized, 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, ''Landwehr'' brigades 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

The regiment was the basic combat unit as well as the recruiting base for soldiers. When inducted, a soldier entered a regiment, usually through its replacement 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 organized 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 the Reichswehr and its successor, the Wehrmacht, but the chain of tradition was broken in 1945 as West German and East German units did not carry forward pre-1945 traditions.

See also

★ German General Staff

★ German Army

★ Prussian Army

★ Reichswehr

★ Wehrmacht

★ Bundesheer

Notes