Emil Körner Henze was a scion of Prussian military tradition brought to Chile and Commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army with the rank of Inspector General from 1900 to 1910.

Army modernization plans in Chile

After the War of the Pacific

War of the Pacific

The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...

, the Government of President Domingo Santa María

Domingo Santa María

Domingo Santa María González was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1881 and 1886.-Early life:...

 estimated that the Army needed to modernize and organize like European armies, according to the experiences that the conflict had left. The government set their sights on Germany, whose military establishment after the wars against Austria

Austro-Prussian War

The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...

 and against France

Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...

 stood out in Europe. In addition, the Chilean government had already touched on the overall progress of the country, with the influx of German immigrants to Chile. Following the idea of implementing the German military model, the Chilean embassy in Berlin contracted the services of the Prussian artillery captain Emilio Körner in 1885.

Chilean Civil War and rise to commander-in-chief

When the Chilean Civil War

Chilean Civil War

The Chilean Civil War of 1891 was an armed conflict between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the sitting President, José Manuel Balmaceda. The war saw a confrontation between the Chilean Army and the Chilean Navy, which had sided with the president and the congress, respectively...

 exploded in 1891, Körner sided the Congress side, which were only able to achieve control of the Chilean Navy

Chilean Navy

-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...

 while the Army with the exception of some few officers sided President José Manuel Balmaceda

José Manuel Balmaceda

José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández was the 11th President of Chile from September 18, 1886 to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile...

. Partly due to his advices and actions during the Chilean Civil War, Emil Körner reached the rank of commander-in-chief of the Army in 1900.