German Imperial Military Cabinet
Encyclopedia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n king and German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
emperor for handling personnel matters of the army officer corps
German Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
.
The Military Cabinet emerged from the Prussian Army
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...
personnel department in the wake of the 1809 reform of the military, and was officially established 3 July 1814. It developed under Kaiser Wilhelm II into a personal instrument of the monarch for processing all military matters.
The Chief of the Military Cabinet was often at the same time, Adjutant General (chief aide de camp) to the monarch and subordinate only to him.
It was modernized under the leadership of Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel
Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel
Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel was a German Generalfeldmarschall noted for his victories in the Franco-Prussian War....
,
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...
of 1866 and the 1870/1871 Franco-Prussian War
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...
the chief of the Military Cabinet was a member of the army headquarters staff
German General Staff
The German General Staff was an institution whose rise and development gave the German armed forces a decided advantage over its adversaries. The Staff amounted to its best "weapon" for nearly a century and a half....
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With the emergence of the Imperial German Army after 1871 the powers of the Military Cabinet were enlarged. It remained a Prussian authority and functioned as the Cabinet of the imperial army command. Until 1918 it was officially the "Military Cabinet of His Majesty the Emperor and King." The chief handled normal communications between the Emperor and other military authorities and was the only military officer to meet with the Emperor several times a week. Over time the cabinet became a great center of power. It had great influence on Kaiser Wilhelm I, and gained even more on Wilhelm II.
During the First World War, the Military Cabinet lost favor to the Third Supreme Command of Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
and Ludendorff.
With the overthrow of the monarchy the Military Cabinet became the personnel office of the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
(army) of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
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Chiefs of the Militärkabinetts
- 1808 Karl Wilhelm Georg von Grolman
- 1810 Hermann von BoyenHermann von BoyenLeopold Hermann Ludwig von Boyen was a Prussian army officer who helped to reform the Prussian Army in the early 19th century...
- 1816 Ludwig Gustav von Thile
- 1818 Job von WitzlebenJob von WitzlebenKarl Ernst Job-Wilhelm von Witzleben was a Prussian Lieutenant General, Adjutant-General to the King and Minister of War....
- 1834 Friedrich Karl David von Lindheim
- 1841 August Wilhelm von Neumann-Cosel
- 1848 Friedrich Ludwig Robert Johann von Schoeler
- 1857 Edwin von Manteuffel
- 1864 Hermann von Tresckow
- 1871 Emil von Albedyll
- 1888 Wilhelm von HahnkeWilhelm von HahnkeWilhelm Gustav Karl Bernhard von Hahnke was a Prussian Field Marshal.In 1888 he was appointed Chief of the German Imperial Military Cabinet....
- 1901 Dietrich von Hülsen-HaeselerDietrich von Hülsen-HaeselerDietrich Graf von Hülsen-Haeseler was an infantry general of the German Empire....
- 1908 Moriz von LynckerMoriz von LynckerMoriz Freiherr von Lyncker was a Prussian officer of the German Empire and chief of the Prussian Military Cabinet....
- 1918 Ulrich von Marschall