Prussian Army - Imperial Germany

Imperial Germany

The Imperial German Army inherited much of the traditions and concepts of the Prussian Army, which was its largest component army. According to article 61 of the Imperial constitution, the Prussian military code was to be introduced throughout the German Reich. The conservative leaders of the army took an ever increasing role in both domestic and foreign policies.

By the end of the 19th century, most Prussian officers could be divided into two groups: those who argued for boldness and self-sacrifice, and those who advocated technology and maneuver in order to minimize casualties. First encountered during the Franco-Prussian War, new technological military innovations such as the machine gun increased the power of defensive units. For the Prussians, who advocated offensive operations, infantry attacks would risk becoming sacrificial assaults.

With regard to a possible future two-front war, Schlieffen, the Chief of the General Staff from 1891–1906, had suggested a deployment scheme which became known as the Schlieffen Plan. Modified by Moltke the Younger, it was nearly successful in quickly defeating France during World War I. On the Western Front, the German advance stalled into trench warfare after the First Battle of the Marne. On the Eastern Front, however, the Prussian operations succeeded in encircling and smashing the Russians at Tannenberg. Unable to break through the French and British lines on the Western Front, the Germans eventually lost the war of attrition.

The Imperial German Army was replaced after World War I with the volunteer Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic. Although the Treaty of Versailles attempted to disarm Germany, the Reichswehr discreetly maintained many of the traditions of the Prussian Army. The General Staff was camouflaged as a non-descript Truppenamt (troop office), while the War Academy was replaced with decentralized divisional schools. Seeckt, the head of the Reichswehr, designated the new military's battalions as successors of the traditions of Prussian regiments.

During the interwar era, German officers contemplated how to apply maneuver warfare after the experiences of the Great War. Innovations in armor and air were adopted to the war of movement, resulting in the doctrine of Blitzkrieg.