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72-540: In 1933, Karl Wolff came to the attention of Himmler who in June 1933, appointed Wolff his adjutant and made him chief of the office of his Personal Staff. Himmler also appointed Wolff the SS Liaison Officer to Hitler. As Himmler's principal adjutant and close associate, Wolff's daily activities involved overseeing Himmler's schedule and serving as a liaison with other SS offices and agencies. The office conveyed

144-737: A Military Cabinet and exercised control through the Prussian Ministry of War and the 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 and General Staff , but coordinated planning with the Prussian General Staff. Saxony also maintained its own Ministry of War and

216-591: A 1972 document written by Wolff that Avvenire d'Italia published in 1991, and on personal interviews with Wolff before his death in 1984. Wolff maintained that on 13 September 1943, Hitler gave the directive to "occupy Vatican City, secure its files and art treasures, and take the Pope and Curia to the north". Hitler allegedly did not want the Pope to "fall into the hands of the Allies". Wolff's reliability has been questioned by Holocaust historians, such as István Deák ,

288-408: A geographical area. The corps was also responsible for maintaining the reserves and 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 Guard Corps ( Gardecorps ), which controlled the elite Prussian Guard units. A corps usually included a light infantry ( Jäger ) battalion,

360-400: A heavy artillery ( 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 ( Feldflieger Abteilung ) attached to it normally equipped with six unarmed "A" or "B" class unarmed two-seat observation aircraft apiece. In wartime, the army corps became

432-562: A mobile tactical formation and four 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 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

504-517: A position to continue with this population movement at an accelerated pace. I have taken the initiative to seek out the offices involved, so that a smooth implementation of the named measures appears to be guaranteed. I thank you once again for the effort and at the same time wish to ask you to continue monitoring these things. With best wishes and Heil Hitler, yours sincerely W. Further, Wolff would have received copies of all letters from SS officers, and his friends at that point included Odilo Globočnik ,

576-492: A professor of history at Columbia University. Reviewing A Special Mission by Dan Kurzman, a promoter of the theory, Deák noted Kurzman's "credulity" and that the latter "uncritically accepts the validity of controversial documents and unquestioningly believes in the statements made to him by his principal German interlocutor, the former SS General Karl Wolff". He further criticized the book's "modest documentation" containing "a great number of vague or inaccurate references". In

648-638: A train with 5,000 members of the chosen people has been running daily for 14 days and that we are accordingly in a position to continue with this population movement at an accelerated pace. I have taken the initiative to seek out the offices involved, so that a smooth implementation of the named measures appears to be guaranteed. I thank you once again for the effort and at the same time wish to ask you to continue monitoring these things. With best wishes and Heil Hitler, yours sincerely W. According to Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski , in August 1941, Himmler and Wolff attended

720-743: The Ministry of War of Württemberg also continued to exist. The command of the Prussian Army had been reformed in the wake of the 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,

792-588: The Nuremberg trials , Wolff was allowed to escape prosecution because of his early capitulation in Italy and by appearing as a witness for the prosecution at trial. Although released in 1947, he had been indicted by the post-war German government as part of the denazification process. Detained under house arrest, after a German trial, Wolff was sentenced to 5 years in prison in November 1948, for his membership in

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864-738: The "maintenance of war production in the Italian territory". During this period he approved the project of the Marnate's Bunker , close to the German command of Olgiate Olona . By 1945 Wolff was acting military commander of Italy. In 1945, Wolff, under Operation Sunrise , took over command and management of intermediaries (including the Swiss Intelligence officer, Captain Max Waibel ) in order to make contact in Switzerland with

936-552: 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

1008-668: The 1871 Constitution of the German Empire , an Army of the Realm ( 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 ( Reichsheer ) or German Army ( Deutsches Heer ). The contingents of the Bavarian , Saxon , and Württemberg kingdoms remained semi-autonomous, while

1080-576: 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, 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

1152-527: 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." The Kaiser had full control of

1224-532: 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 Kaiserliche Marine of the German Empire had their own, separate Marine-Fliegerabteilung maritime aviation forces, apart from the Luftstreitkräfte of the army. The German Army from 1871 to 1914 inherited

1296-465: The German Army's structure. 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

1368-558: The German General Staff upon the formation of the German Empire, given Prussia's leading role in the German Army. In the German Empire, diplomatic relations were the responsibility of the 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. In diplomatic terms, Germany used

1440-670: The Main Office and SS liaison officer to Hitler. In 1936, Wolff left the Protestant Church. On 30 January 1937, he was promoted to the rank of SS- Gruppenführer (major general). As was later revealed in the 1964 trial, during the early part of the Second World War , Wolff served as "Himmler's eyes and ears" in Hitler's headquarters. He would have been aware of significant events or could easily have access to

1512-618: The Nazi Party had obtained national power, Wolff served as an adjutant to Franz Ritter von Epp , then-governor of Bavaria. Here he came to the attention of the head of the SS Heinrich Himmler who appointed Wolff his personal adjutant in June 1933. In 1936 Wolff became a member of the Reichstag . The same year Himmler named him chief of Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS to coordinate all contact and correspondence within

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1584-690: 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. 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 Bavaria , Württemberg , and Baden . Through these conventions and

1656-634: 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. Each kingdom had its own War Ministry, Bavaria and Saxony published their own rank and seniority lists for their officers and

1728-425: 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. The military staff grew increasingly powerful, reducing

1800-503: The SS and his relationship with Himmler. After his release from prison in 1971 he appeared in television documentaries including The World At War saying that he witnessed an execution of twenty or thirty partisan prisoners in Minsk in 1941 with Himmler. In the early 1970s, Wolff promoted the theory of an alleged plot to kidnap Pope Pius XII . Most other allegations of such a plot are based on

1872-537: The SS at both party and state levels. By managing Himmler's affairs with the SS, the Nazi Party, state agencies and personnel, the eloquent and well mannered Wolff rose to become one of the key figures in Himmler's power regime. In addition, Wolff oversaw the economic investments made by the SS, was responsible for saving funds among Himmler's circle of friends and for connections to the SS organizations Ahnenerbe and Lebensborn . In 1939 he retroactively became head of

1944-601: The SS. In June 1949, he was released from prison after his sentence was reduced to 4 years. After his release, Wolff worked as an executive for an advertising agency. He took up residence with his family in Starnberg . In 1962, during the trial in Israel of Adolf Eichmann , evidence showed that Wolff had organized the deportation of Italian Jews in 1944. Wolff was arrested and put on trial in West Germany . In 1964, he

2016-649: 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). The commander of the Imperial German Army, less the Bavarian contingent, was the Kaiser . He was assisted by

2088-472: The armed forces but the organisation was highly complex. In peacetime the Imperial German Army was divided into four basic levels, 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,

2160-417: The army group ( Heeresgruppe ), was created. Each army group controlled several field armies. 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. The basic organisational formation was the army corps ( Armeekorps ). The corps consisted of two or more divisions and various support troops, covering

2232-699: The degree to which SS units participated in Nazi security warfare is lacking. Although it seems as if US investigators were in possession of incriminating material in 1945 that indicated Wolff's approval of the executions that became known as the Ardeatine massacre , this evidence was deemed not sufficient for criminal charges. On 9 December 1944, Wolff was awarded the German Cross in Gold for using Italian units, with secondary German units, to destroy partisans and for

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2304-743: The deportation of forced laborers with Wilhelm Harster , who was the Commander in Chief of the Security Police. When Wolff became Plenipotentiary General of the German Wehrmacht in July 1944, he also became responsible for anti- partisan warfare in occupied Italy. By now Wolff commanded the police and the entire rear army in Italy. So far Wolff's involvement in war crimes in Italy remains largely unclear, partially because source material on

2376-494: 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 cockades 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. When the British decided to reform their army in

2448-609: The end of the war. Himmler also established several special project teams under the authority of his personal office. This included the staff of the Wewelsburg castle as well as the Ahnenerbe . This team of experts was interested in the anthropological and cultural history of the Aryan race . It conducted experiments and launched voyages with the intent of proving that prehistoric and mythological Nordic populations had once ruled

2520-670: The extent of atrocities by the Nazi regime. Incriminating letters show that Wolff was involved in the Holocaust. On 8 September 1939, shortly after the invasion of Poland, Wolff wrote to the Gestapo office in Frankfurt (Oder) and ordered the immediate "arrest of all male Jews of Polish nationality and their family members" and the confiscation of any wealth. In 1942 Wolff oversaw the deportation transports during "Grossaktion Warschau" ,

2592-531: The family to be the nucleus of the SS, had denied Wolff permission to divorce, but Wolff had turned directly to Hitler. Himmler still appears to have considered Wolff a loyal member of the SS, for in September 1943 Wolff was transferred to Italy as Supreme SS and Police Leader . In that position, Wolff shared responsibility for standard police-functions such as security, maintenance of prisons, supervision of concentration camps, and forced-labor camps - as well as

2664-674: The largest industrial base in Continental Europe, and behind only Great Britain (18%) and the United States (22%) worldwide. 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

2736-438: The late 1970s Wolff also became involved with Stern journalist Gerd Heidemann . Together with Heidemann, he travelled through South America, where he helped to locate, among others, Klaus Barbie and Walter Rauff , with whom Heidemann conducted interviews for a series of articles. Wolff served as a consultant for the alleged Hitler Diaries and was upset when they turned out to be forgeries by Konrad Kujau . Asked to attend

2808-722: The leadership of 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 Deutsches Heer refers to the German Army , the land component of the Bundeswehr . The states that made up the German Empire contributed their armies; within the German Confederation , formed after the Napoleonic Wars , each state

2880-806: 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 Federal Navy ( Bundesmarine or Bundeskriegsmarine ). Further laws on military duty also used these terms. Conventions (some later amended) were entered into between

2952-563: The mass extermination of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto . When rail-transport bottlenecks occurred, Wolff communicated repeatedly with Reich Railway Director Albert Ganzenmüller . In a letter sent from the Führer Headquarters , dated 13 August 1942 and referring to transports of Jews to Treblinka extermination camp , Wolff thanked Ganzenmüller for his assistance: I note with particular pleasure from your communication that

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3024-699: 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 France . At a critical point in the July Crisis of 1914, 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

3096-485: The national army of the Kingdom of Saxony one of the four states of the German Reich to retain its own armed forces. Nevertheless, in times of war, all of these would pledge allegiance to the Kaiser and the German nation. 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)

3168-442: The organizer of " Operation Reinhard ". Therefore, his later denial of knowledge of Holocaust activities may be plausible only at the detailed level of atrocities by the Nazi regime. Karl Wolff Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff (13 May 1900 – 17 July 1984) was a senior German SS officer who served as Chief of Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS ( Heinrich Himmler ) and an SS liaison to Adolf Hitler during World War II. He ended

3240-712: The pesticide Zyklon B . After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in June 1942, Wolff developed a strong rivalry with other SS leaders, particularly with Heydrich's successor at the Reich Security Main Office ( Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA ), Ernst Kaltenbrunner , and with Walter Schellenberg of the foreign intelligence service in the RSHA. His position was weakened by his frequent absences from Berlin, in part due to his suffering from pyelitis and renal calculus (kidney stones), which required surgery. Wolff fell out of favour with Himmler and

3312-590: The regimental depot. Cavalry, field, and horse artillery regiments were also similarly organised. 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: The Royal Saxon Army...was

3384-416: The regional headquarters of the US Office of Strategic Services , under Allen W. Dulles , with a view to the surrender of German forces in and around Italy. After meetings in Zurich on 8 March 1945 and in Ascona on 19 March 1945 and a diplomatic standoff in Lucerne (23 to 25 April 1945) Wolff negotiated the surrender of all German forces in Italy (signed 29 April 1945, effective 2 May 1945), before

3456-409: The relevant information. Apart from the information passing across his desk, Wolff received (as Chief of Himmler's Personal Staff) copies of all letters from SS officers, and his friends at this point included Odilo Globocnik , the organiser of Operation Reinhard (in effect 1941 to 1943). Wolff's later denial of knowledge of Holocaust activities may be plausible only at the detailed level, but not of

3528-449: The reserve system and, unlike the British, decided to copy the Prussian model. Barnett (1970) explains that every young man was drafted at age 18, with the upper-class becoming officers: 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

3600-439: 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 Russia ; they also encouraged Austria-Hungary to attack Russia. Bismarck never controlled the army, but he did complain vehemently, and

3672-421: The shooting of Jews at Minsk which had been organized by Arthur Nebe , who was in command of Einsatzgruppe B , a mobile killing unit. Nauseated and shaken by the experience, Himmler decided that alternative methods of killing should be found. On Himmler's orders, by the spring of 1942, the camp at Auschwitz had been greatly expanded, including by the addition of gas chambers , where victims were killed using

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3744-470: 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. Each Imperial German regiment of infantry had headquarters units, three battalions, and one training battalion assigned to

3816-423: The trial of Heidemann and Kujau, Wolff declined. On 17 July 1984, Wolff died in a hospital in Rosenheim . He was buried in the cemetery at Prien am Chiemsee on 21 July. A few weeks before his death, Wolff had declared the Islamic profession of faith, becoming a Muslim. At his grave, his daughter Fatima Grimm gave the funeral prayer in the presence of representatives of the Islamic Center of Munich (ICM). She

3888-540: The various traditions and military ranks of its constituent states, thus becoming a truly federal armed service. 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. The rank insignia of commissioned officers . The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel . The Imperial Army

3960-504: The war as the Supreme SS and Police Leader in occupied Italy and helped arrange for the early surrender of Axis forces in that theatre, effectively ending the war there several days sooner than in the rest of Europe. He escaped prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials as a result of his participation in Operation Sunrise . In 1962, Wolff was rearrested, prosecuted in West Germany for the deportation of Polish Jews and sentenced to 15 years in prison for being an accessory to murder in 1964. He

4032-408: The war in Europe officially ended with the surrender of Germany signed on 8 May 1945. Wolff's capitulation of Italy to the Allies upset the plans of Admiral Karl Dönitz ( German President from 30 April 1945) who envisaged a staged series of surrenders designed to give German troops and refugees more time to make their way west. Arrested on 13 May 1945, he was imprisoned in Schöneberg . During

4104-434: The war, Wolff was forced to leave the army because of the reduction of the German armed forces following the terms imposed by the Treaty of Versailles . Wolff was in the paramilitary Freikorps from December 1918 to May 1920. He started a two-year apprenticeship at the Bethmann Bank in Frankfurt and married Frieda von Römheld in 1923. The couple moved to Munich , where Wolff worked for Deutsche Bank . In June 1924 he

4176-427: The wishes/interests of the Reichsführer to all branches, offices, and subordinated units within the SS. It also handled Himmler's personal correspondence and awarded decorations. Wolff managed Himmler's affairs with the Nazi Party , state agencies and personnel. Following the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, Wolff fell out with Himmler and was replaced by Maximilian von Herff who served as its head until

4248-452: The world . The exact role that Himmler's personal staff played in the Holocaust has been a subject of debate, with Karl Wolff claiming that the personal staff were little more than desk bound paper pushers. However, given that most of Himmler's wishes and orders were distributed by his personal staff, Wolff would have been aware of significant events or could easily have access to the relevant information. Incriminating letters show that Wolff

4320-460: Was able to "quite legitimately send a request directly to the Ministry of War in Stuttgart for the raising of a new artillery regiment". 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 Bavarian 1st Infantry Regiment and a Württemberger 1st Infantry Regiment . While the aforementioned contingents wore distinctive uniforms, with

4392-417: Was also a Muslim convert, doing so in 1960 while in Munich, later becoming a translator, author and speaker on Islam in Germany . Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army ( German : Deutsches Heer ), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire . It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under

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4464-407: Was convicted of deporting 300,000 Jews to the Treblinka extermination camp , which led to their murders. Sentenced to 15 years in prison in Straubing , Wolff served only part of his sentence and was released in 1971 following a heart attack. After his release, Wolff retired to Austria. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Wolff returned to public life, frequently lecturing on the internal workings of

4536-433: Was dismissed as his chief of staff. In April 1943, he was relieved of his duties as liaison officer to Hitler. Himmler announced he would temporarily take over Wolff's duties. A new replacement as liaison officer to Hitler's HQ did not occur until the appointment of Hermann Fegelein , who assumed the duty in January 1944. Wolff had particularly angered Himmler by his divorce and remarriage in March 1943. Himmler, who believed

4608-467: Was involved in the Holocaust. For example, as the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto resulted in rail transport bottlenecks, Wolff telephoned deputy Reich Minister of Transport, Albert Ganzenmüller . In a later letter dated 13 August 1942, Wolff thanked Ganzenmüller for his assistance. I note with particular pleasure from your communication that a train with 5,000 members of the chosen people has been running daily for 14 days and that we are accordingly in

4680-427: Was laid off and joined a public relations firm. Wolff may also have studied law, but never took any state exams. In 1925 he started his own public relations company which he operated in Munich until 1933. Wolff joined the Nazi Party with card number 695,131 and the SS in October 1931. His SS membership number was 14,235 and he was commissioned as an SS- Sturmführer in February 1932. From March 1933, after

4752-493: 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. The basic tactical formation

4824-448: Was released in 1971 and died 13 years later. Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff was born the son of a wealthy district court judge in Darmstadt on 13 May 1900. During World War I he graduated from school in 1917, volunteered to join the Imperial German Army ( Leibgarde-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 115 ) and served on the Western Front . He rose to the rank of lieutenant and was awarded both the Iron Cross second class and first class. After

4896-422: 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 Federal Army ( Bundesheer ). The Federal Army system functioned during 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

4968-412: Was the division . A standard Imperial German division was organised into: 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

5040-420: 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 Wars of Unification , became

5112-415: 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. The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches (The Air Corps of the German Empire), was the over-land air arm of

5184-421: 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. The German Empire accounted for 12% of global industrial output in 1914, making it

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