Prussian Minister of War
Encyclopedia
The Prussia
n War Ministry was gradually established between 1808 and 1809 as part of a series of reforms initiated by the Military Reorganization Commission created after the disastrous Treaty of Paris
. The War Ministry was to help bring the army under constitutional control, and, along with the General Staff
systematize the conduct of warfare. Gerhard von Scharnhorst
, the most prominent and influential of the reformers, served as acting war minister from roughly 1808 until 1810 (he was also Chief of the General Staff).
The War Ministry was established on 25 December 1808, replacing the old military institutions. The Ministry consisted of two departments. The first department was responsible for the command and condition of the army, the second for its financial administration.
At first, no War Minister was appointed due to the resistance of Friedrich Wilhelm III. Gerhard von Scharnhorst became head of the first department (the General War Department; Allgemeines Kriegsdepartement) and Lieutenant Colonel Graf Lottum became head of the second department. Scharnhorst also functioned as acting War Minister, as long as no permanent appointment was made.
The first department in turn consisted of three divisions. The first division represented the continuation of the old Adjutancy-General and was also known as the "secret military cabinet". It in turn had control over the general war chancellery. The second division of the War Ministry dealt with general army matters: troop formations, replacements and turnover, housing, military exercises, and mobilization. A third division was also created: the artillery and engineering division. This in turn comprised the artillery section, which dealt with artillery equipment, rifle production, ordnance production, gun powder factories, etc.; and the engineering section, which was responsible for maintaining the fortresses.
The second department, the military economy department, had four divisions. The first division was responsible for pay, the second for catering, the third clothing and the fourth invalids.
In 1919, it formed the basis of Weimar Germany's Ministry of the Reichswehr
.
Additional office usage
General Staff
Military cabinet
for further succession, see Defence Minister of Germany
†Between 9 November 1918 and 2 January 1919 there was no Prussian Minister of War.
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 War Ministry was gradually established between 1808 and 1809 as part of a series of reforms initiated by the Military Reorganization Commission created after the disastrous Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris could refer to a number of treaties which have been negotiated and signed in Paris, France, including:*Treaty of Paris , ended the Albigensian Crusade*Treaty of Paris , between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France...
. The War Ministry was to help bring the army under constitutional control, and, along with the General 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....
systematize the conduct of warfare. Gerhard von Scharnhorst
Gerhard von Scharnhorst
Gerhard Johann David Waitz von Scharnhorst was a general in Prussian service, Chief of the Prussian General Staff, noted for both his writings, his reforms of the Prussian army, and his leadership during the Napoleonic Wars....
, the most prominent and influential of the reformers, served as acting war minister from roughly 1808 until 1810 (he was also Chief of the General Staff).
The War Ministry was established on 25 December 1808, replacing the old military institutions. The Ministry consisted of two departments. The first department was responsible for the command and condition of the army, the second for its financial administration.
At first, no War Minister was appointed due to the resistance of Friedrich Wilhelm III. Gerhard von Scharnhorst became head of the first department (the General War Department; Allgemeines Kriegsdepartement) and Lieutenant Colonel Graf Lottum became head of the second department. Scharnhorst also functioned as acting War Minister, as long as no permanent appointment was made.
The first department in turn consisted of three divisions. The first division represented the continuation of the old Adjutancy-General and was also known as the "secret military cabinet". It in turn had control over the general war chancellery. The second division of the War Ministry dealt with general army matters: troop formations, replacements and turnover, housing, military exercises, and mobilization. A third division was also created: the artillery and engineering division. This in turn comprised the artillery section, which dealt with artillery equipment, rifle production, ordnance production, gun powder factories, etc.; and the engineering section, which was responsible for maintaining the fortresses.
The second department, the military economy department, had four divisions. The first division was responsible for pay, the second for catering, the third clothing and the fourth invalids.
In 1919, it formed the basis of Weimar Germany's Ministry of the Reichswehr
Ministry of the Reichswehr
In the history of Germany, the Ministry of the Reichswehr was the defence ministry of the Weimar Republic and the early Third Reich. The 1919 Weimar Constitution provided for a unified, national ministry of defence to coordinate the new Reichswehr, and that ministry was set up in October 1919,...
.
Location
For exactly one hundred years, from 1 January 1819 to 1 January 1919 (when the ministry ceased to exist) in Berlin-Mitte:- Leipziger Straße 5 facing south, with the garden bordering on the Prinz-Albrecht-PalaisPrinz-Albrecht-PalaisThe Prinz-Albrecht-Palais was a large stately mansion or a smaller palace in Berlin Friedrichstadt. It was located on Wilhelmstraße 102, opposite the western end of Kochstraße.-History:...
Additional office usage
- 1824 Wilhelmstrasse 81
- 1871 Old General Staff building, Behrenstraße 66
General Staff
- after approximately 1820: Behrenstraße 66 (now the rear part of offices belonging to the Russian embassy)
- 1867/71 new building (Great General StaffGerman General StaffThe 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....
) in the TiergartenTiergartenTiergarten is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in central Berlin . Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunification, it was a part of West Berlin...
: Königsplatz (now the Platz der Republik), the western corner facing the Moltkestraße
Military cabinet
- after approximately 1820: Hinter dem Gießhaus 2 (behind the ZeughausZeughausThe Zeughaus of Berlin is the oldest structure on the Unter den Linden. It was built by the Brandenburg Elector Frederick III between 1695 and 1730 in the baroque style, to be used as an artillery arsenal...
) - around 1900: Behrenstraße 66
List of Prussian Ministers of War
| Prussian Ministers of War, 1808 - 1918 | |
| Minister | Years |
| Gerhard von Scharnhorst Gerhard von Scharnhorst Gerhard Johann David Waitz von Scharnhorst was a general in Prussian service, Chief of the Prussian General Staff, noted for both his writings, his reforms of the Prussian army, and his leadership during the Napoleonic Wars.... |
1 March 1808–17 June 1810 |
| Karl Georg Albrecht Ernst von Hake Karl Georg Albrecht Ernst von Hake Karl Georg Albrecht Ernst von Hake was a Prussian general and Minister of War.Hake was born on the estate of Flatow in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. He entered the Prussian Army in 1785... |
17 June 1810–August 1813 |
| Hermann von Boyen Hermann von Boyen Leopold Hermann Ludwig von Boyen was a Prussian army officer who helped to reform the Prussian Army in the early 19th century... |
3 June 1814–November 1819 |
| Karl Georg Albrecht Ernst von Hake Karl Georg Albrecht Ernst von Hake Karl Georg Albrecht Ernst von Hake was a Prussian general and Minister of War.Hake was born on the estate of Flatow in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. He entered the Prussian Army in 1785... |
November 1819–October 1833 |
| Job von Witzleben Job von Witzleben Karl Ernst Job-Wilhelm von Witzleben was a Prussian Lieutenant General, Adjutant-General to the King and Minister of War.... |
October 1833–1837 |
| Gustav von Rauch Gustav von Rauch Gustav von Rauch was a Prussian general, chief of staff from 1812-1813, and Minister of War from 1837 to 1841. His daughter Rosalie, married Prince Albert of Prussia as second, morgantic, wife in 1850.... |
1837–1 March 1841 |
| Hermann von Boyen Hermann von Boyen Leopold Hermann Ludwig von Boyen was a Prussian army officer who helped to reform the Prussian Army in the early 19th century... |
1 March 1841–6 October 1847 |
| Ferdinand von Rohr Ferdinand von Rohr Wilhelm Eugen Ludwig Ferdinand von Rohr was a Prussian general and minister of war.... |
6 October 1847–2 April 1848 |
| Karl von Reyher Karl von Reyher Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Reyher was a Prussian officer who served as Prussian Minister of War in the government of Gottfried Ludolf Camphausen during the Revolution of 1848. After 1848 he also served as Prussian chief of staff.... |
2 April 1848–26 April 1848 |
| August Wilhelm Graf von Kanitz August Wilhelm Graf von Kanitz Graf August Karl Wilhelm von Kanitz was a Prussian Lieutenant General and was also the Minister of War from 26 April to 16 June 1848 in the Camphausen-Hansemann government.... |
26 April 1848–16 June 1848 |
| Ludwig Freiherr Roth von Schreckenstein Ludwig Freiherr Roth von Schreckenstein Ludwig Johann Karl Gregor Eusebius Freiherr Roth von Schreckenstein was a Prussian General of the cavalry and Minister of War.... |
16 June 1848–7 September 1848 |
| Ernst von Pfuel Ernst von Pfuel Ernst Heinrich Adolf von Pfuel was a Prussian general.Pfuel was born in Jahnsfelde , Brandenburg. He served as commander of the Prussian sector of Paris from 1814-1815 during the Napoleonic Wars... |
7 September 1848–2 November 1848 |
| Karl von Strotha Karl von Strotha Karl Adolf von Strotha was a Prussian officer and Minister of War from 1848 to 1850.... |
2 November 1848–27 February 1850 |
| August von Stockhausen August von Stockhausen August Wilhelm Ernst von Stockhausen was a Prussian officer and minister of war 1850-51.... |
27 February 1850–31 December 1851 |
| Eduard von Bonin Eduard von Bonin Eduard von Bonin was a Prussian general who served as Prussian Minister of War from 1852–54 and 1858-59.-Life:... |
31 December 1851–1854 |
| Friedrich Graf von Waldersee Friedrich Graf von Waldersee Friedrich Gustav Graf von Waldersee was a Prussian Lieutenant General and military author.... |
1854–6 November 1858 |
| Eduard von Bonin Eduard von Bonin Eduard von Bonin was a Prussian general who served as Prussian Minister of War from 1852–54 and 1858-59.-Life:... |
6 November 1858–28 November 1859 |
| Albrecht Graf von Roon Albrecht Graf von Roon Albrecht Theodor Emil Graf von Roon was a Prussian soldier and statesman. As Minister of War 1859–1873 Roon, along with Otto von Bismarck and Helmuth von Moltke, was a dominating figure in Prussia's government during the key decade of the 1860s, when a series of successful wars against Denmark,... |
5 December 1859–9 November 1873 |
| Georg von Kameke Georg von Kameke Arnold Karl Georg von Kameke was a Prussian General of the Infantry and Minister of War.... |
9 November 1873–3 March 1883 |
| Paul Bronsart von Schellendorff | 3 March 1883–8 April 1889 |
| Julius von Verdy du Vernois Julius von Verdy du Vernois Julius von Verdy du Vernois was a German general and staff officer, chiefly noted both for his military writings and his service on Graf Moltke's staff during the Franco-Prussian War.- Biography :... |
8 April 1889–4 October 1890 |
| Hans von Kaltenborn-Stachau Hans von Kaltenborn-Stachau Hans Karl Georg von Kaltenborn-Stachau was a Prussian General of the Infantry and Minister of War.... |
4 October 1890–19 October 1893 |
| Walther Bronsart von Schellendorff Walther Bronsart von Schellendorff Walther Franz Georg Bronsart von Schellendorff , Dr. jur... |
19 October 1893–14 August 1896 |
| Heinrich von Gossler Heinrich von Gossler Heinrich Wilhelm Martin von Goßler was a Prussian General of the Infantry and Minister of War... |
14 August 1896–15 August 1903 |
| Karl von Einem Karl von Einem Karl von Einem genannt von Rothmaler was the commander of the German 3rd Army during the First World War and served as the Prussian Minister of War responsible for much of the German military buildup prior to the outbreak of the war.-Biography:Born in Herzberg am Harz, Einem served in the Prussian... |
15 August 1903–11 August 1909 |
| Josias von Heeringen Josias von Heeringen Josias von Heeringen was a German general of the imperial era who saw service in the First World War.-Biography:Heeringen was born in Kassel in the Electorate of Hesse... |
11 August 1909–7 June 1913 |
| Erich von Falkenhayn Erich von Falkenhayn Erich von Falkenhayn was a German soldier and Chief of the General Staff during World War I. He became a military writer after World War I.-Early life:... |
7 June 1913–21 January 1915 |
| Adolf Wild von Hohenborn Adolf Wild von Hohenborn Adolf Wild von Hohenborn was a Prussian general during the First World War. From 21 January 1915 to 29 October 1916 he also served as minister of war.-Life:... |
21 January 1915–29 October 1916 |
| Hermann von Stein Hermann von Stein Hermann von Stein may refer to:*Hermann Christlieb Matthäus Stein, from 1913 von Stein, , Prussian general of artillery and minister of war... |
29 October 1916–9 October 1918 |
| Heinrich Scheuch Heinrich Scheuch Heinrich Scheuch was a Prussian lieutenant-general and Prussian Minister of War.... |
9 October 1918–2 January 1919 |
| Walther Reinhardt Walther Reinhardt Walther Reinhardt was a German officer who served as the last Prussian Minister of War and the first head of the army command within the Ministry of the Reichswehr.-External links:*... † |
2 January 1919–13 February 1919 |
†Between 9 November 1918 and 2 January 1919 there was no Prussian Minister of War.