View source for Imperial German Army

{{Short description|1871–1919 land warfare branch of the German Empire}}
{{Infobox national military
| name               = German Army
| native_name        = {{native name|de|Deutsches Heer}}<ref>"Militair-Strafgesetzbuch vom 20. Juni 1872" in ''Gesetz-Sammlung für das Deutsche Reich, 1867 bis 1883, incl.'' Vol. 1. Berlin, 1884. [https://books.google.com/books?id=JLs3AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA408 p. 408.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404025919/https://books.google.com/books?id=JLs3AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA408 |date=2023-04-04 }} {{inlang|de }}</ref>
| image              = [[File:Kaiserstandarte.svg|150px]]
| caption            = Standards of the Emperor
| image2             = [[File:War Ensign of Germany (1903–1919).svg|border|200px]]
| caption2           = ''[[Reichskriegsflagge#German Empire|Reichskriegsflagge]]''
| motto              = ''[[Gott mit uns]]''<ref>{{cite book |last=Spector |first=Robert M. |year=2004 |url={{GBurl|xZ5Ceq6l0M0C |page=14}} |title=World Without Civilization: Mass Murder and the Holocaust, History and Analysis |volume=I |publisher=University Press of America |page=14 |isbn=978-0-7618-2963-8 |access-date=20 May 2022 }}</ref>
| founded            = {{start date and age|1871|04|16|df=yes}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.documentarchiv.de/ksr/verfksr.html |title=documentArchiv.de – Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs |access-date=2007-07-20 |archive-date=2019-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017045814/http://www.documentarchiv.de/ksr/verfksr.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| disbanded          = {{nowrap|{{end date and age|1919|03|6|df=yes}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Edmonds |first=James |title=The Occupation of the Rhineland |year=1987 |publisher=HMSO |location=London |isbn=978-0-11-290454-0 |page=213 }}</ref>}}
| branches           = 
* ''Heer'' (army)
* ''[[Schutztruppe]]'' (colonial troops)
* ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]'' (air force)<ref>Grey, P. L.; Thetford, O. (1970) [1962]. ''German Aircraft of the First World War'' (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. p. 29. {{ISBN|978-0-370-00103-6}}.</ref>
* ''[[Abteilung III b]]'' (counterintelligence)
* ''[[Kaiserliche Marine]]'' (navy)
| headquarters       = ''Großes Hauptquartier'' (locations vary){{Efn|{{Plain list|
* [[Berlin]], Germany (2–16 August 1914)
* [[Koblenz]], Germany (17–30 August 1914)
* [[Luxembourg City]], Luxembourg (30 August – 25 September 1914)
* [[Charleville-Mézières]], France (25 September 1914 – 19 September 1916)
* [[Pszczyna Castle|Schloss Pless]], Germany (20 September 1916 – 10 February 1917)
* [[Bad Kreuznach]], Germany (17 February 1917 – 7 March 1918)
* [[Spa, Belgium|Spa]], Belgium (8 March – 13 November 1918)
* [[Schloss Wilhelmshöhe]], Germany (14 November 1918 – 10 February 1919)}}
}}
{{Wikidatacoord|Q313422|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
<!-- Leadership -->
| commander-in-chief = [[German Emperor]]
| commander-in-chief_title = Commander-in-chief
| chief minister     = [[German General Staff|General Staff]]
* [[Oberste Heeresleitung|Supreme Army Command]] (1916–1918)
| chief minister_title = Governing body
| commander          = [[Moltke the Elder]] (first)<br>[[Hans von Seeckt]] (last)
| commander_title    = [[German General Staff#Chiefs of the German General Staff|Chief of the General Staff]]
<!-- Manpower -->
| age                = 17–45
| conscription       = 2–3 years; [[national service|compulsory service]]
| manpower_age       = 18
| reaching           = {{steady}} 500,000 (1871)<br />{{increase}} 3,562,000- (1918){{citation needed|date=July 2023}}
| active             = 14,250,000+ {{small|(total served; 1914–18)}}
<!-- Engagements -->
* [[Abushiri Revolt]]
* [[Hehe Rebellion]]
* [[Bafut Wars]]
* [[Battle of Adibo]]
* [[Boxer Rebellion]]
* [[Adamawa Wars]]
* [[Kavango Uprising]]
* [[Herero Wars]]
* [[Maji Maji Rebellion]]
* [[Sokehs Rebellion]]
* [[World War I]]
* [[Finnish Civil War]]
* [[Ukrainian War of Independence]]
* [[Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919)|Greater Poland Uprising]]
* [[German Revolution]]
<!-- Financial -->
| amount             = {{USD|link=yes}}45 billion {{small|(total; 1914–18)}}<ref>H. E. Fisk (1924), ''The Inter-Allied Debts'', pp. 13 & 325, reprinted in Horst Menderhausen (1943 edition), ''The Economics of War'', appendix table II</ref><br />{{small|({{USD}}1.3 trillion in 2022)}}
<!-- Related articles -->
| history            = [[History of Germany during World War I|Germany during World War I]]
| ranks              = [[Military ranks of the German Empire|Ranks of the Imperial German military]]
}}
The '''Imperial German Army''' (1871–1919), officially referred to as the '''German Army''' ({{langx|de|Deutsches Heer}}<ref>"Militair-Strafgesetzbuch vom 20. Juni 1872" in ''Gesetz-Sammlung für das Deutsche Reich, 1867 bis 1883, incl.'' Vol. 1. Berlin, 1884. [https://books.google.com/books?id=JLs3AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA408 p. 408.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404025919/https://books.google.com/books?id=JLs3AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA408 |date=2023-04-04 }} {{inlang|de }}</ref>), was the unified ground and air force of the [[German Empire]]. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], and was dissolved in 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire in [[World War I]] (1914–1918). In the Federal Republic of Germany, the term {{lang|de|Deutsches Heer}} refers to the [[German Army]], the land component of the {{lang|de|[[Bundeswehr]]}}.

{{TOC limit}}

==Formation and name==
[[File:HusarenAngriff.jpg|thumb|German Army [[hussar]]s on the attack during maneuvers, 1912]]
[[File:1898ZabernDeutschesHeerWehrpflichtige.jpg|thumb|[[Conscription|Draftees]] of the German Army, 1898]]
The states that made up the German Empire contributed their 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, the units were known as the [[German Federal Army|Federal Army]] ({{lang|de|Bundesheer}}). The Federal Army system functioned during [[List of wars: 1800–1899|various conflicts of the 19th century]], such as the [[First Schleswig War]] from 1848 to 1852. However, by the time of the [[Second Schleswig War]] of 1864, tension had grown between the main powers of the confederation, the [[Austrian Empire]] and the Kingdom of Prussia, and the German Confederation was dissolved after the [[Austro-Prussian War]] of 1866.

Prussia formed the [[North German Confederation]] and the treaty provided for the maintenance of a Federal Army and a [[North German Federal Navy|Federal Navy]] ({{lang|de|Bundesmarine}} or {{lang|de|Bundeskriegsmarine}}).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.documentarchiv.de/nzjh/ndbd/verfndbd.html |title=documentArchiv.de – Verfassung des Norddeutschen Bundes (16.04.1867) |access-date=2007-07-20 |archive-date=2019-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028010740/http://www.documentarchiv.de/nzjh/ndbd/verfndbd.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Further laws on military duty also used these terms.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.documentarchiv.de/nzjh/ndbd/kriegsdienst_ges.html |title=documentArchiv.de – Gesetz, betreffend die Verpflichtung zum Kriegsdienste (09.11.1867) |access-date=2007-07-20 |archive-date=2021-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624130504/http://www.documentarchiv.de/nzjh/ndbd/kriegsdienst_ges.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Conventions (some later amended) were entered into between the North German Confederation and its member states, subordinating their armies to the [[Prussian Army]] in time of war, and giving the Prussian Army control over training, doctrine, and equipment.{{efn|The conventions were:
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde (bzw. Preußen) und Sachsen vom 7. Februar 1867}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Hessen vom 13. Juni 1871 (Ersatz für die vom 7. April 1867)}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Mecklenburg-Schwerin vom 19. Dezember 1872 (Ersatz für die von 24. Juni 1868)}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Mecklenburg-Strelitz vom 23. Dezember 1872 (Ersatz für die vom 9. November 1867)}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Oldenburg vom 15. Juni 1867}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Braunschweig vom 9./18. März 1886}}
* {{lang|de|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}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Anhalt vom 16. September 1873 (Ersatz für die vom 28. Juni 1867)}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Schwarzburg-Sondershausen vom 17. September 1873 (Ersatz für die vom 28. Juni 1867)}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Lippe vom 14. November 1873 (Ersatz für die vom 26. Juni 1867)}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Schaumburg-Lippe vom 25. September 1873 (Ersatz für die vom 30. Juni 1867)}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Waldeck vom 24. November 1877 (Ersatz für die vom 6. August 1867)}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Lübeck vom 27. Juni 1867}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Bremen vom 27. Juni 1867}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Hamburg vom 23. Juli 1867}}}}

Shortly after the outbreak of the [[Franco-Prussian War]] in 1870, the North German Confederation also entered into conventions on military matters with states that were not members of the confederation, namely [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]], [[Kingdom of Württemberg|Württemberg]], and [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]].{{efn|The conventions were:
* {{lang|de|Artikel}} III. § 5 of the {{lang|de|Bundesvertrag vom 23. November 1870 mit Bayern}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Baden vom 25. November 1870}}
* {{lang|de|Militärkonvention zwischen dem Norddeutschen Bunde und Württemberg vom 25. November 1870}}}} Through these conventions and the 1871 [[Constitution of the German Empire]], an Army of the Realm ({{lang|de|Reichsheer}}) was created. The Constitution of the German Empire, dated April 16, 1871, changed references in the [[North German Constitution]] from Federal Army to either Army of the Realm ({{lang|de|Reichsheer}}) or German Army ({{lang|de|Deutsches Heer}}).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.documentarchiv.de/ksr/verfksr.html |title=documentArchiv.de – Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs |access-date=2007-07-20 |archive-date=2019-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017045814/http://www.documentarchiv.de/ksr/verfksr.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The contingents of the [[Bavarian Army|Bavarian]], [[Royal Saxon Army|Saxon]], and [[Army of Württemberg|Württemberg]] kingdoms 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.documentarchiv.de/ksr/1872/militaerstrafgesetzbuch_deutsches-reich.html |title=Militär-Strafgesetzbuch für das Deutsche Reich |access-date=2007-07-20 |archive-date=2021-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624125111/http://www.documentarchiv.de/ksr/1872/militaerstrafgesetzbuch_deutsches-reich.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Each kingdom had its own War Ministry, Bavaria and [[Kingdom of Saxony|Saxony]] published 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|date=January 2018}}

==Command==
{{Main|German General Staff|Oberste Heeresleitung}}
The commander of the Imperial German Army, less the Bavarian contingent, was the [[German Emperor|Kaiser]]. He was assisted by a [[Military Cabinet (Prussia)|Military Cabinet]] and exercised control through the [[Ministry of War (Prussia)|Prussian Ministry of War]] and the [[German General Staff|Great 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 own [[Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria)|Ministry of War]] and [[Chief of the General Staff (Kingdom of Bavaria)|General Staff]], but coordinated planning with the Prussian General Staff. Saxony also maintained its own [[Ministry of War of Saxony|Ministry of War]] and General Staff, and the [[Ministry of War of Württemberg]] and General Staff also continued to exist.

The command of the Prussian Army had been reformed in the wake of the [[Battle of Jena–Auerstedt|defeats]] suffered by Prussia in the [[Napoleonic 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 the [[Unification of Germany|Wars 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===
[[File:Military Operations - German Infantry on the Battlefield - NARA - 45502704 (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|German infantry charging across open ground on the battlefield, 1914]]
In the German Empire, diplomatic relations were the responsibility of the [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] and 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.<ref>[[Gordon A. Craig]], ''The politics of the Prussian army 1640–1945'' (1955) 255–298.</ref> 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.<ref>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.</ref> 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 on [[Russian Empire|Russia]]; they also encouraged [[Austria-Hungary]] to attack Russia. Bismarck never controlled the army, but he did complain vehemently, and the military leaders drew back. In 1905, when the [[First Moroccan Crisis]] was roiling international politics, the Chief of the General Staff [[Alfred von Schlieffen]] called for a preventive war against [[French Third Republic|France]]. At a critical point in the [[July Crisis]] of 1914, [[Helmuth von Moltke the Younger|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, ''[[Generalfeldmarschall]]'' [[Paul von Hindenburg]] increasingly set foreign policy, working directly with the emperor—and indeed shaped his decision-making—leaving the chancellor and civilian officials in the dark. Historian [[Gordon A. Craig]] says 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."<ref>Craig, pp 268–270, 283, 293. Quotation p. 294.</ref>

===Chiefs of the German General Staff (1871–1919)===
* [[Helmuth von Moltke the Elder]] (7 October 1857 – 10 August 1888)
* [[Alfred von Waldersee]] (10 August 1888 – 7 February 1891)
* [[Alfred von Schlieffen]] (7 February 1891 – 1 January 1906)
* [[Helmuth von Moltke the Younger]] (1 January 1906 – 14 September 1914)
* [[Erich von Falkenhayn]] (14 September 1914 – 29 August 1916)
* [[Paul von Hindenburg]] (29 August 1916 – 3 July 1919)
* [[Wilhelm Groener]] (3–7 July 1919)
* [[Hans von Seeckt]] (7–15 July 1919)

==Structure==
The Kaiser had full control of the armed forces but the organisation was highly complex.<ref>For the details see Holger H. Herwig, "Looking Glass: German Strategic Planning before 1914" The Historian 77#2 (2015) pp. 290–314.</ref>

In peacetime the Imperial German Army was divided into four basic levels, the Army inspectorate ({{lang|de|Armee-Inspektion}}), the army corps ({{lang|de|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 ({{lang|de|Heeresgruppe}}), was created. Each army group controlled several field armies.

===Army inspectorate===
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.<ref>Günter Wegner, Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815–1939. (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1, pp. 33–36</ref>

* I Army Inspectorate: Headquartered in [[Gdańsk|Danzig]], became the [[8th Army (German Empire)|8th Army]] on mobilisation (2 August 1914)
* II Army Inspectorate: Headquartered in [[Berlin]], became the [[3rd Army (German Empire)|3rd Army]] on mobilisation (2 August 1914)
* III Army Inspectorate: Headquartered in [[Hanover|Hannover]], became the [[2nd Army (German Empire)|2nd Army]] on mobilisation (2 August 1914)
* IV Army Inspectorate: Headquartered in [[Munich]], became the [[6th Army (German Empire)|6th Army]] on mobilisation (2 August 1914)
* V Army Inspectorate: Headquartered in [[Karlsruhe]], became the [[7th Army (German Empire)|7th Army]] on mobilisation (2 August 1914)
* VI Army Inspectorate: Headquartered in [[Stuttgart]], became the [[4th Army (German Empire)|4th Army]] on mobilisation (2 August 1914)
* VII Army Inspectorate: Headquartered in Berlin, became the [[5th Army (German Empire)|5th Army]] on mobilisation (2 August 1914)
* VIII Army Inspectorate: Headquartered in [[Saarbrücken]], became the [[1st Army (German Empire)|1st Army]] on mobilisation (2 August 1914)

===Corps===
<noinclude>{{See also|List of Corps of the Imperial German Army}}</noinclude>
The basic organisational formation was the army [[corps]] ({{lang|de|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 and {{lang|de|[[Landwehr]]}} in 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 a [[Guards Corps (German Empire)|Guard Corps]] ({{lang|de|Gardecorps}}), which controlled the elite Prussian Guard units. A corps usually included a light infantry ({{lang|de|[[Jäger (military)|Jäger]]}}) battalion, a heavy artillery ({{lang|de|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 ({{lang|de|[[Feldflieger Abteilung]]}}) attached to it normally equipped with six unarmed [[Idflieg aircraft designation system#List of Idflieg class letter prefixes|"A" or "B" class]] unarmed two-seat observation aircraft apiece.<ref>{{cite book |last=van Wyngarden |first=G. |date=2006 |title=Early German Aces of World War I |publisher=Osprey Publishing Ltd. |isbn=1-84176-997-5 }}</ref>

In wartime, the army corps became a mobile tactical formation and four {{lang|de|Höhere 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 a {{lang|de|Wehrkreis}} (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; thus ''Wehrkreis'' I took over the area that I. ''Armeekorps'' had been responsible for and sent replacements to the same formation. The first sixteen reserve corps raised followed the same pattern; X. ''Reserve-Korps'' was 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===
<noinclude>{{See also|List of Divisions of the Imperial German Army}}</noinclude>
The basic tactical formation was the [[Division (military)|division]]. 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 corps {{lang|de|Landwehr}} region ({{lang|de|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, {{lang|de|Landwehr}} brigades were aggregated into divisions, and other divisions were formed from replacement ({{lang|de|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 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 the {{lang|de|[[Reichswehr]]}} and its successor, the {{lang|de|[[Wehrmacht]]}}, 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===
[[File:Tafel XVII Kokarden.jpg|300px|thumb|right|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:

{{Blockquote|The Royal Saxon Army...was the national army of the Kingdom of Saxony one of the four states of the German ''Reich'' to retain its own armed forces.| Lucas & Schmieschek<ref>{{harvp|Lucas|Schmieschek|2015|page=8 }}</ref>}}

Nevertheless, in times of war, all of these would pledge allegiance to the Kaiser and the German nation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sheldon |title=Fighting the Somme |date=2017 |page=34 }}</ref> 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 in [[Stuttgart]] for the raising of a new artillery regiment".<ref>{{harvp|Sheldon|2017|pages=34–35 }}</ref>

Regiments and units from separate constituents were also raised locally and often numbered independently from each other – for example, there was (among others) both a [[1st Royal Bavarian Division#Order of battle on mobilization|Bavarian 1st Infantry Regiment]] and a [[26th Division (German Empire)#Order of battle on mobilization|Württemberger 1st Infantry Regiment]].{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

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 different [[cockade]]s on 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==
When the British decided to [[Cardwell Reforms|reform]] [[British Army|their army]] in 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bara |first=Xavier |title=The Kishū Army and the Setting of the Prussian Model in Feudal Japan, 1860–1871 |journal=War in History |year=2012 |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=153–171 |doi=10.1177/0968344511432980 |s2cid=154743242 }}</ref> {{harvp|Barnett|1970}} explains that every young man was drafted at age 18, with the upper-class becoming officers:

{{blockquote|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.<ref>{{cite book |first=Correlli |last=Barnett |title=Britain and her Army 1509–1970: A Military, Political and Social Survey |date=1970 |page=285 }}</ref>}}

==Industrial base==
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.<!--only if you exclude the industrial base outside the UK--> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |first=John H. Jr |last=Morrow |title=Industrialization Mobilization in World War I: The Prussian Army and the Aircraft Industry |journal=Journal of Economic History |year=1977 |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=36–51 |jstor=2119443 |doi=10.1017/S0022050700096704 |s2cid=153992821 }}</ref>

==Air Force==
The {{lang|de|Deutsche [[Luftstreitkräfte]]}}, known before October 1916 as {{lang|de|Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches}} (The Air Corps of the German Empire),<ref>Grey and Thetford, p. xxix</ref> 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. The ''[[Imperial German Navy|Kaiserliche Marine]]'' of the German Empire had their own, [[Imperial German Navy#Air power|separate ''Marine-Fliegerabteilung'']] maritime aviation forces, apart from the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the army.

==Ranks of the Imperial German Army==
{{Main|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===
Critics long believed that the army's officer corps was heavily dominated by ''[[Junker]]'' aristocrats, 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.<ref>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</ref><ref>Dennis E. Showalter, "The Political Soldiers of Bismarck's Germany: Myths and Realities," ''German Studies Review'' (1994) 17#1 pp. 59–77 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1431304 in JSTOR] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113041946/http://www.jstor.org/stable/1431304 |date=2016-11-13 }}</ref>

;The rank insignia of [[commissioned officer]]s.

{| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; text-align:center;"
{{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armed Forces/OF/Blank}}
|-
| '''[[Epaulette]]''' <br/ ><hr/ ><small>(Full dress uniform)</small>
| [[File:Generalfeldmarschall (Prussia) - Full dress.gif|80px]]
| [[File:OF9 GenOberst iRd-GenFM (Hessen) Epaulette.gif|80px]]
|colspan=2| [[File:Generaloberst (Sachen) - Full Dress.gif|80px]]
|colspan=2| [[File:General (Württemberg) - Full Dress.gif|80px]]
|colspan=2| [[File:Generalleutinant (Mecklenburg) - Full Dress.gif|80px]]
|colspan=2| [[File:Generalmajor (Bayern) - Full Dress.gif|80px]]
|colspan=2| [[File:Oberst (Prussia) - Full Dress.gif|80px]]
|colspan=2| [[File:Oberstleutnant (Hessen) - Full Dress.gif|80px]]
|colspan=2| [[File:Major (Sachsen) - Full Dress.gif|80px]]
|colspan=2| [[File:Hauptmann (Sachsen) - Full Dress.gif|80px]]
|colspan=3| [[File:Oberleutinant (Hessen) - Full Dress.gif|80px]]
|colspan=3| [[File:Leutinant (Prussia) - Full Dress.gif|80px]]
|-
| '''[[Shoulder board]]'''<br/ ><hr/ ><small>([[Waffenrock]])</small>
| [[File:OF10 Generalfeldmarschall (Preußen) 1918.gif|60px]]
| [[File:OF9 GenOberst iRd GenFM (Hessen).gif|55px]]
| colspan=2| [[File:OF-9 Generaloberst (Bayern) 1918.gif|55px]]
| colspan=2| [[File:General (Württemberg).gif|55px]]
| colspan=2| [[File:Generalleutinant (Mecklenburg).gif|60px]]
| colspan=2| [[File:OF6 Generlamajor (Bayern) 1918.gif|60px]]
| colspan=2| [[File:OF5 Oberst (Preußen).gif|65px]]
| colspan=2| [[File:OF4 Oberstleutnant (Hessen).gif|65px]]
| colspan=2| [[File:OF3 Major (Sachsen).gif|63px]]
| colspan=2| [[File:Hautmann (Sachsen).gif|65px]]
| colspan=3| [[File:Oberleutnant (Hessen).gif|65px]]
| colspan=3| [[File:OF1b Leutnant (Preußen).gif|60px]]
|-
| 
| {{lang|de|[[Generalfeldmarschall]]}} 
| {{lang|de|Generaloberst <hr /><small>(im Rang des Generalfeldmarschall)</small>}}
| colspan=2| {{lang|de|[[Generaloberst]]}}
| colspan=2| {{lang|de|[[General of the branch|General der Waffengattung]]}}
| colspan=2| {{lang|de|[[Generalleutnant]]}}
| colspan=2| {{lang|de|[[Generalmajor]]}}
| colspan=2| {{lang|de|[[Oberst]]}}
| colspan=2| {{lang|de|[[Oberstleutnant]]}}
| colspan=2| {{lang|de|[[Major (Germany)|Major]]}}
| colspan=2| {{lang|de|[[Hauptmann]]/<br />[[Rittmeister]]}}{{efn|Several German armies and national contingents, including Prussia and Bavaria, traditionally used two different captain ranks that originated with the ownership of units. The Captain 1st Class was either the proprietor who had raised and equipped the Company / Troop / Battery or was a gentleman or nobleman who had bought a commission as its nominal Captain. The Captain 2nd Class (or ''Stabshauptmann'' > "Staff Captain") was its actual commander. By the end of the 19th century that dual-system had been gradually phased out and replaced by a single rank.}}
| colspan=3| {{lang|de|[[Oberleutnant]]}}
| colspan=3| {{lang|de|[[Leutnant]]}}
|}

===Other ranks===
The rank insignia of [[non-commissioned officer]]s and [[Enlisted rank|enlisted personnel]].
{| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; text-align:center;"
|- style="background:#dadada"
! Rank group
! colspan=4| Non-commissioned officers
! colspan=5| Enlisted
|-
| rowspan=2| '''{{army|German Empire}}'''
| [[File:blank.svg|50px]]
| [[File:blank.svg|50px]]
| [[File:blank.svg|50px]]
| [[File:blank.svg|50px]]
| [[File:blank.svg|50px]]
| [[File:blank.svg|50px]]
| [[File:blank.svg|50px]]
| [[File:blank.svg|50px]]
| [[File:blank.svg|50px]]
|-
| {{lang|de|[[Feldwebel]]}}
| {{lang|de|[[Unterfeldwebel|Vicefeldwebel]]}}
| {{lang|de|[[Sergeant#Germany|Sergeant]]}}
| {{lang|de|[[Unteroffizier]]}}
| {{lang|de|Kapitulant}}
| {{lang|de|[[One-year volunteer|Einjährig-freiwilliger]]}}
| {{lang|de|[[Obergefreiter]]}}
| {{lang|de|[[Gefreiter]]}}
| {{lang|de|Soldat}}
|}

==Dissolution==
The Imperial Army was abolished on 6 March 1919, and the provisional {{lang|de|[[Reichswehr]]}} was created.<ref>{{cite book |last=Edmonds |first=James |title=The Occupation of the Rhineland |year=1987 |publisher=HMSO |location=London |isbn=978-0-11-290454-0 |page=213 }}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front]]'' (novel set in World War I about German Army comrades)
* [[Bavarian Army]]
* [[German Army]]
* [[German Army order of battle (1914)]]
* [[German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918)]]
* [[Imperial German Army in World War I]]
* [[German General Staff]]
* {{lang|de|[[Oberste Heeresleitung]]}}
* [[Prussian Army]]
* {{lang|de|[[Reichswehr]]}}
* ''[[Schutztruppe]]''
* {{lang|de|[[Wehrmacht]]}}

==Explanatory notes==
{{Notelist|2}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==General and cited references==
* {{cite book |last1=Bunkley |first1=Joel William |title=Military And Naval Recognition Book: A Handbook On The Organization, Uniforms And Insignia Of Rank Of The World's Armed Forces |date=1918 |publisher=D. Van Nostrand Company |location=New York |edition=2nd |url=https://archive.org/details/militaryandnava00bunkgoog/mode/2up }}
* {{cite book |last1=Lucas |first1=Andrew |last2=Schmieschek |first2=Jürgen |title=Fighting the Kaiser's War: The Saxons in Flanders, 1914/1918 |date=30 April 2015 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-4738-4778-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1pEBgAAQBAJ |language=en }}
* {{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Dion |title=Army and Navy Uniforms and Insignia |date=1918 |publisher=Frederick A. Stokes Company |location=New York |pages=216–292 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/armynavyuniforms00will/page/216/mode/2up |access-date=5 July 2022 |chapter=XI: Uniforms and Insignia of Foreign Armies and Navies }}

==Further reading==
* Brose, Eric Dorn. [https://www.questia.com/library/103966872/the-kaiser-s-army-the-politics-of-military-technology ''The Kaiser's Army: The Politics of Military Technology in Germany during the Machine Age, 1870–1918'']{{dead link|date=September 2024}} (Oxford University Press, 2004)
* [[Robert M. Citino|Citino, Robert M.]] ''The German way of war: from the Thirty Years' War to the Third Reich'' (University Press of Kansas, 2005) {{ISBN?}}
* Clemente, Steven E. (1992) [https://www.questia.com/library/3772693/for-king-and-kaiser-the-making-of-the-prussian-army ''For King and Kaiser! The Making of the Prussian Army Officer, 1860–1914'']{{dead link|date=September 2024}}
* Coetzee, Marilyn Shevin. ''The German Army League: Popular Nationalism in Wilhelmine Germany'' (Oxford University Press, 1990) {{ISBN?}}
* Craig, Gordon A. ''The Politics of the Prussian Army, 1640–1945'' (Oxford University Press, 1964) {{ISBN?}}
* Demeter, K. ''The German Officer Corps in Society and State 1650–1945'' (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1965) {{ISBN?}}
* Feldman, Gerald. ''Army, Industry and Labour in Germany, 1914–1918'' (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014) {{ISBN?}}
* Foley, Robert T. [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03071840208446761 "Institutionalized Innovation: The German Army and the Changing Nature of War 1871–1914"]. ''RUSI Journal'' 147.2 (2002): 84–90.
* Herrera, Geoffrey L. "Inventing the Railroad and Rifle Revolution: Information, Military Innovation and the Rise of Germany." ''[[Journal of Strategic Studies]]'' (2004) 27#2 pp: 243–271. [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0140239042000255913 online]
* [[Isabel Hull|Hull, Isabel V.]] ''Absolute Destruction: Military Culture and the Practices of War in Imperial Germany'' (Cornell University Press, 2004) {{ISBN?}}
* Jackman, Steven D. [http://mtw160-198.ippl.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_military_history/v068/68.1jackman.pdf "Shoulder to Shoulder: Close Control and Old Prussian Drill in German Offensive Infantry Tactics, 1871–1914"]. ''Journal of Military History'' 68.1 (2004): 73–104.
* Kitchen, Martin. ''A Military History of Germany: From the Eighteenth Century to the Present Day'' (Indiana University Press, 1975){{ISBN?}}
* Kitchen, Martin. ''The German Officer Corps'' (Oxford UP, 1968){{ISBN?}}
* Mitchell, Allan. ''The great train race: railways and the Franco-German rivalry, 1815–1914'' ([[Berghahn Books]], 2000) {{ISBN?}}
* Murphy, Patrick. [http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/general/articles/effectofindustrialization.aspx "The Effect of Industrialization and Technology on Warfare: 1854–1878"]. (2006)
* Muth, Jörg. ''Command Culture: Officer Education in the US Army and the German Armed Forces, 1901–1940, and the Consequences for World War II'' (University of North Texas Press, 2011) {{ISBN?}}
* Showalter, Dennis. "From Deterrence to Doomsday Machine: The German Way of War, 1890–1914." ''Journal of Military History'' (2000) 64#3 pp: 679–710. {{Jstor|120865}}.
* Showalter, Dennis E. ''Railroads and rifles: soldiers, technology, and the unification of Germany'' (Archon Books, 1975){{ISBN?}}
* Showalter, Dennis E. "Army and Society in Imperial Germany: The Pains of Modernization." ''Journal of Contemporary History'' (1983): 583–618. {{Jstor|260305}}.
* Stevenson, David. "Fortifications and the European Military Balance before 1914." ''Journal of Strategic Studies'' (2012) 35#6 pp: 829–859.
* Stone, James. ''The war scare of 1875: Bismarck and Europe in the mid-1870s'' (Steiner, 2010){{ISBN?}}
* Stone, James. "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.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Deutsches Heer}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOEmzqO5HTU WWI German Army Artillery & Infantry Attack Reenactment] – video on [[YouTube]]

{{German Empire Armies}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:German Army (German Empire)| ]]
[[Category:1871 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:1918 disestablishments in Germany]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Disbanded armies]]
[[Category:Military of the German Empire]]
[[Category:Military of the German Empire by branch]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1871]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1918]]