History of the Inventory Designer: Tasks and Organization Essentially follows: (1) Jany, Curt: History of the Prussian Army from the 15th century to 1914, 2nd ed. Edition (= Die Königlich Preußische Armee und das Deutsche Reichsheer 1807 bis 1914, vol. 4), Osnabrück 1967, pp. 294-296. (2) Cron, Hermann: Geschichte des deutschen Armeres im Weltkriege 1914 bis 1918, Berlin 1937, pp. 3-23. (3) PH 3/124 Die Organisation des Großen Generalstabes 1803-1914 (4) PH 3/1026 Die Organisation des Großen Generalstabes (vom 18. Jhr.. until its dissolution in 1919, manuscript by HOAR Stoeckel) (5) PH 3/1272-1273 Graphical representation of the development of the organisation of the Great General Staff 1802-1914 (6) PH 3/310 First introduction to the organisation and activities of the Deputy General Staff of the Armed Forces (1919) (7) Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, MGFA (Ed. by the German Military Historical Research Institute, MGFA) (ed. by the German historian HOAR Stoeckel)): German military history in six volumes 1648 - 1939. Munich 1983 ff, pp. 69-72. (8) Enzyklopädie Erster Weltkrieg, ed. v: Gerhard Hirschfeld, Gerd Krumeich, Irina Renz in conjunction with Markus Pöhlmann, updated and extended study edition, Paderborn 2009, p. 754f. (9) PH 3/3 (10) Waldemar Erfurth: The History of the German General Staff 1918-1945 (= Studies on the History of the Second World War, ed. by Arbeitskreis für Wehrforschung in Frankfurt/Main, vol. 1), Göttingen 1957. 1. Großer Generalstab und Oberster Heeresleitung Großer Generalstab (7) With the Cabinet Order of 24 May 1883, the Generalstab became an Immediatbehörde (Immediate Authority), in fact it had held this position since the Wars of Unification. The General Staff was also assigned independently and directly to the monarch by the War Ministry. The tasks of the War Ministry and the Great General Staff overlapped in part, which occasionally led to conflicts. The position of Chief of Staff of the General Staff was respected, but, apart from operational management in the event of war, it was not endowed with important powers. The General Staff nevertheless exerted a decisive influence on the formation of the army through the training of leaders (the War Academy was subordinate to the Great General Staff), the care for the training of troops in warfare, and the handling of all questions connected with the conduct of a mobilization and a war. His activities included the cultivation of war science education, especially the study and processing of war history, the collection of news and statistical material on foreign armies and the various theatres of war, mapping, investigation and description of his own country. In the peacetime there were no far-reaching changes in the organization of the Grand General Staff, only some expansions due to the increasing scope of the General Staff duties. General Staff of the Field Army and Supreme Army Command (OHL) of the German Army (2) "According to Article 63 of the Constitution of the German Reich of 16 April 1871, the entire land power of the Reich formed a unified army, which was under the Emperor's command in war and peace. In peace, the head of the Great General Staff had practically no power of command and no right of inspection. He merely acted as chief and disciplinary superior of the Grand General Staff. The highest power of command was in fact with the emperor, but in practice it was the chief of the general staff of the army. During the war, the Chief of the General Staff issued operational orders in the name of the Emperor in accordance with the mobilization regulations and was jointly responsible for the management and execution of military operations as well as the other branches of service (ammunition replacement, catering, health, stage service). With the mobilization on August 2, 1914, the chief of the Prussian General Staff of the Army was formed as the "Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army" and the OHL, which was located in the Great Headquarters. The Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army thus embodied the OHL and was always equated with it by concept. On August 5, 1914, the deputy general staff of the army was mobilized in Berlin. The latter remained in existence until 31 January 1919. With the demobilisation, de Große Generalstab resumed its activities on 1 February 1919, with the exception of the positions remaining with OHL. (10) On the basis of the Treaty of Versailles, the dissolution of the Great General Staff was decided and initiated in July 1919. On 4 July 1919 Major General von Seeckt took over the business of the Chief of the General Staff. The name of the service is now "General von Seeckt". On September 30, 1919, the Great General Staff was finally dissolved with the establishment of a liquidation office from part of the central department. The Heads of the General Staff of the Army in Prussia from 1857 to 1918 Field Marshal General Hemuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke 1857-1888 Field Marshal General Alfred Heinrich Karl Ludwig von Waldersee 1888-1891 Field Marshal General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen 1891-1906 General Colonel Helmuth von Moltke 1906-1914 Between 1914 and 1918 a total of four OHLs were formed (8) 1. OHL: General Colonel Helmuth von Moltke, Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army from Aug. 2 to Sep. 14, 1914 2. OHL: General of the Infantry Erich von Falkenhayn, Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army from Aug. 14 to Sept. 14, 1914 2. 3rd Sept. (officially from 3 Sept. 1914) to 29 Aug. 1916 3rd OHL: General Field Marshal Paul von Beneckendorff and von Hindenburg, Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army from 29 Aug. 1916 to 9 Nov. 1916. 1918, Commander-in-Chief of the Field Army from 9 Nov. 1918 to 3 July 1919, assisted by the First Quartermaster General of the Infantry Erich von Ludendorff, First Quartermaster General from 29 Aug. 1916 to 26 Oct. 1918, then Lieutenant General Wilhelm Groener became First Quartermaster General from 29 Oct. 1918 to 3 July 1919 4. OHL: Lieutenant General Wilhelm Groener took over the OHL after the resignation of Hindenburgs on June 25, 1919 until the dissolution on Sept. 30, 1919 3. The organizational development of the Great General Staff The organization of the Great General Staff since April 1, 1889 (1) The Quartermaster General was first abolished again, but on April 1, 1889 three Quartermasters (O.Q.) were established. Central Office (from 1890 Central Division) Oberquartiermeister (O. Q.) I since 1 April 1889: 2nd Division Ordre de Bataille (Battle Regulations) and deployment of the German Army Railway Division Railway Section The Railway Section was responsible for the operation and training of the Railway Regiment, subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and of the Airship Division. Eisenbahn-Regiment Oberquartiermeister (O.Q.) II 4th Section - New Formation for the Affairs of Foreign Fortresses and the Preparation of the Drafts of Attacks, with AKO of Dec. 19, 1889 the Department for Foreign Fortresses was added by the Engineering Committee Geographical-Statistical Department (since 1894 an independent Department) German Section - Affairs of the Academy of War and the Training Trips of the General Staff Oberquartiermeister (O.Q.) III 1st Division (Russia, the Scandinavian states, Austria, the Balkans, etc.) 3rd Division (France, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy) Division of War History National Recording The position of the Quartermaster General was abolished. Structure of the Large General Staff of the Army since 1908 (1) Central Division 6th Division (Manoeuvre) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) I 2nd Division (Aufmasch) Technical Section (Air Force) 4th Division (Foreign Fortresses of the Western War Theatre) 7th Division (Foreign Fortresses of the Eastern War Theatre) Railway Division Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) II 3rd Division (O.Q.) Department (Foreign Armies in the West) 9th Department (German Colonies) Oberquartiermeister (O. Q.) III 5th Department (Training Trips of the General Staff) 8th Department (Affairs of the War Academy) Oberquartiermeister IV (newly added since 1 April 1894) 1st Department (Foreign Armies in the East) 10th Department (Foreign Armies in the East) Oberquartiermeister V War Historical Department I and II The Head of the Large General Staff Central Department (Personnel, Organisation, Administration) with Section III b (Communications) 6th Section (Manoeuvres) War History Department II (Older War History) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) I. 2. (German Division) - Deployment and Operations Division Railway Division Section 1a (for the revision of the Military Transport Order) 4th Division (Foreign Fortresses) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) II 3rd Division (France with Morocco, England with Egypt, Afghanistan) 9th Division (Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Spain, Portugal, America, German Colonies) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) III 5th Division (Operations Studies) 8th Division (Operations Studies) Division (War Academy and General Staff Service) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) IV 1st Division (Russia, Nordic States, East Asia, Persia, Turkey) 10th Division (Russia, Northern States, East Asia, Persia, Turkey) Department (Austria-Hungary and Balkan States) Oberquartiermeister V Kriegsgeschichtliche Abteilung I (neuere Kriege) Kriegsarchiv Kartenarchiv Chief of the Landesaufnahme and Oberquartiermeister Trigonometrische Abteilung Topographische Abteilung Kartographische Abteilung Photogrammetische Abteilung Kolonialsektion Der Chef des Generalstabes des Feldheeres 1914 bis 1918 (2) 1. General Staff Departments Central Department She was responsible for receiving and forwarding correspondence to the relevant departments, in cooperation with the Military Cabinet for Personnel Matters and Administration. The department was headed by Colonel von Fabeck, and from 26 March 1916 it was headed by Colonel Tieschowitz von Tieschowa. Operations Department The department with the closest connection to the Chief of Staff. She was also the office for his personal letters. It was responsible for creating the conditions for all operational measures of the army: to monitor the organisation and organisation of the entire army and to propose improvements as well as the training, armament and operational capability of the units. The Chief of the Opera Department was responsible for advising the Chief of General Staff, drawing up the operational plans of the General Staff and issuing his orders. During the war the department was expanded extensively. Heads: Major General Tappen Lieutenant Colonel Wetzell (since 31 Aug. 1916) Operations Department B On 18 August 1916, a subdivision was set up under the Operations Department which was responsible for the Macedonian and Turkish fronts. Operations Division II On 23 September 1916, the post of Chief of Field Ammunition was dissolved. The tasks of ammunition and equipment replacement were taken over by the ammunition section in the operations department. Subsequently, the ammunition section was merged with the warfare section to form Operations Division II. Chief: Colonel Bauer News Department, since 20 May 1917 Foreign Armies Department She was responsible for the prosecution of military operations abroad, especially for the warfare of the enemy states. She primarily collected information on their organization and distribution of forces. Division III b Your task was to transmit the enemy's messages. This was done by intelligence officers deployed to the armies and at suitable points in the home country. There were also voluntary or paid agents in neutral and hostile foreign countries and the Secret Field Police in the occupied territories. News material was also provided by the border police and the field police, which also served to carry out espionage. The intelligence and counter-espionage services in the homeland communicated with Division IIIb of the Deputy General Staff, which in turn was subordinated to Division IIIb in the Great Headquarters. The guidelines for patriotic education were issued by the department, as was the press service set up to steer public opinion. Political Department since Feb. 10, 1916 Military Political Department It was responsible for the military political affairs of all states, dealt with legal issues and passed on the information to the military attachés and the written authority on peace issues. 2. the Quartermaster General and his subordinates The Quartermaster General was responsible for all the duties relating directly to the relief of the Chief of the Quartermaster General. operations. This included the entire supply, stage and railway system, field post and administration of justice, field medical services and veterinary services. Generalquartiermeister Generalleutnant von Stein since 14 Sept. 1914 Generalleutnant Hahndorff since 16 Jan. 1916 Subordinate positions Generalintendant des Feldheeeres He was responsible for providing the army with food. In addition, he was the head of the field and troop directorships. With the transition to the positional war, the monitoring of the nutrition in the occupied territory was added. In particular the cultivation of the soil and the necessary procurement of the agricultural machine material and the utilization of the harvest surplus for the field army. Later the industrial use of the occupied territories was added. A new economic department was set up for the West with effect from 5 September 1916. With effect from January 1, 1917, the economic department was made independent and expanded and set up on behalf of the General Quartermaster for the Western Theatre of War (B.d.G. West). He was responsible for the administration, management and utilization of the occupied territories in the West. Besides, he was subordinated: - General Wechselamt - art expert for monument preservation - prisoners of war - and civilian worker battalions - electrotechnical workshop West - artillery and training equipment repair workshops - looting and collecting (until subordinated to a special commissioner) At the beginning, the following positions were also subordinated to the Generalquartiermeister: - Chief of field munitions - Chief of field telegraphy - Chief of field railways - Chief of field aviation - Inspector of balloon guns Chief of field medical services General staff physician of the army Prof. Dr. Schiernig headed the medical services in the entire war zone as the highest superior of the medical personnel. His responsibilities included: the medical service, the care and transport of the wounded, the distribution of hospital trains and ships, hospitals in the homeland. Field Chief Postmaster He supervised the postal system on all theatres of war. The Field Oberpost Inspections West and East were set up to relieve him. Second Commander of the Great Headquarters He was responsible for the security and supply of the headquarters and the control of the sub personnel. He commanded the Infantry and Cavalry Staff Guard, a Land Storm Battalion, a Field Gendarmerie Command, Military Police, a motor vehicle spark station and a telephone department, three balloon defence guns (later ducrh replaced two air defence batteries), a headlight train (later expanded into a headlight department), the field directorate of the Great Headquarters together with the field warfare fund, motor vehicle fleet, field post office, Central Postal Surveillance West with the post office monitoring centre of the Great Headquarters, marketing department and reading hall. Secret Field Police cooperated closely with Division III b. During the war, B.d.G.West also added a number of agencies to the Great Headquarters. The commander of the troops, newly created in 1915, was located in Luxembourg. The Chief of Field Service was established at the end of 1916 and placed under the authority of the Quartermaster General. It served to centralise the motor vehicle formations. After the approval of the Generalqaurtiermeister, he was authorized to give instructions to the motor troops of the army high commandos and the staff figures assigned to the army groups in the west. On 17 May 1918, the staff of the commander of the combat vehicle departments was subordinated to the head of the motor vehicle division. The B.d.G. Ost with its seat in Warsaw was responsible for the utilization of the land in the administrative area of the Supreme Commander East and the General Government of Warsaw. Valenciennes Military Mine Directorate It fell under the jurisdiction of the Quartermaster General in September 1917. The mining administrations of Mons and Valenciennes, which until then had been part of the Metz government, were united to form a military directorate. The German representation in occupied Italy Used in February 1918 in Udine with evacuation of the 14th army. It served to assert German interests in the war spoils acquired jointly with Austria. The commander of the 13th Cavalry Brigade and his staff were to regulate the demand for horses on the eastern and western fronts due to the increasing shortage of horses. He was assigned to the GQ on 31 December 1916. In February 1918 he became the Commissioner of the Quartermaster General in equestrian affairs. Commissioner of the General Quartermaster in Berlin In order to reestablish trade relations with the former Russian territories resulting from the treaties with the Allies, coordination between the central authorities and the General Staff was necessary. He also took over the supervision of the import and export points. Commissioner of the Master Quartermaster General for Prey and Collecting This was created with effect from 1 June 1918. It had already been settled in 1917. He was responsible for the administration of the spoils of war and the control of the services. General of the Ammunition Columns and Trains in the Great Headquarters The increase in the number of formations was accompanied by the technical contraction of weapons, which was created in July 1918. Her task was to use the units, to supervise the technical service in the war zone and at home, and to replace the clothing and field equipment. 3. foot artillery and pioneers were among the special weapons and their technical training was monitored by the inspections. The General of the Foot Artillery in the Great Headquarters He was adviser to the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army on technical matters and the deployment of heavy artillery. In addition, he shaped the training in his home country. He was subordinate to the later established "Inspector of Artillery Metrology" and the "Staff Officer for Heavy Flat Fire". At first he had no direct influence on the general of artillery. This did not change when the OHL introduced the unit staffs "Artillery Generals" instead of "Field Artillery Brigade Commanders" and Foot Artillery Generals to unify artillery. Thus his name was changed to "General von der Artillerie Nr. 1". A month later he became "Inspector General of Artillery Shooting Schools". He was in charge of the shooting training of the entire field and foot artillery in the field and at home. General Inspectors: General of the Artillery of Lauter (until 15 Oct. 1917) Lieutenant General Ziethen The General of the Engineering and Pioneer Corps in the Great Headquarters He was the supreme weapons superior during the war of increasing and specializing formations of the pioneers. He advised the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army and was responsible for the organizational and technical development of the pioneers. The special services of the pioneers, such as the stage-managers of the mine-throwing machine, in existence since the end of 1915, the inspector of the gas regiments created in 1916 and the stage-manager of the pioneer melee means of close combat established in May 1918. In August 1918 he received the designation General of the Pioneers from the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army. General der Pioniere: General der Infanterie von Claer bis bis zum 2. Juli 1916 Major General Marschall von Bieberstein seit 28. Aug. 1918 The Chief of the Field Ammunition Service This was initially subordinated to the Generalquartiermeister. His tasks included coordinating the ammunition provided by the War Ministry in conjunction with the Chief of Field Railways as well as the replacement of equipment on the basis of the reports from the Army High Commands and the Stage Inspection. In addition, he was responsible for planning the needs of the army commandos and the stage inspections and reporting them to the War Ministry. With effect from 10 May 1915, he was directly subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army. This should ensure close coordination with the operations department. On 23 September 1916 the position of Chief of Field Ammunition was dissolved. His duties were performed by the Operations Department. The Chief of the Field Telegraphy The Chief of the Field Telegraphy was settled during the first three years of war at the General Quartermaster. He was in charge of the entire intelligence troops and intelligence media of the field army. During the war the news formations were strongly expanded, which caused the army leadership under Hindenburg to carry out a reorganization. A general of the telegraph troops for the western, eastern and southeastern theater of war was created to relieve the field telegraphy chief. These generals were subordinated to the chief of field telegraphy. A new restructuring of the intelligence system took place, with the head of the field telegraphy reporting to it. A new organizational change was made by the Chief of Field Telegraphy to "Chief of Intelligence" and reporting directly to the Chief of General Staff of the Field Army. He also became commanding general. He was now responsible for organisation, use, training, staffing, replacement, replenishment, technical requirements and all German spark telegraphy traffic. Chief: Major General Balck Colonel von Wolff since Dec. 7, 1914 Major General von Hesse since Apr. 9, 1917 The Chief of Field Railways He was initially subordinate to the Quartermaster General. It was not until his replacement in October 1916 that he was directly subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff. His tasks included the complete railway system and the use of the waterways. At the commander-in-chief east he was represented by the field railway boss east. There were also railway officers at the stage commandos and the stage inspections, later there were authorized general staff officers at the allied states in Constantinople, Sofia, Vienna, and from mid-1916 also at the army groups. Further streamlining of the organization was achieved by the creation of independent railway transport departments based at the Great Headquarters in Kowno and Pleßhatten. Heads: Major General Groener until 31 Oct. 1916 Colonel Freiherr von Oldershausen Chief of War Surveying With the war of positions and the production of a wide variety of maps, war surveying became increasingly important. The head of war surveying was to steer this task. Therefore, the authority was created in July 1915. All surveying units were subject to this authority. Depending on requirements, staff figures for surveying were assigned to the army commandos in the west and the army groups in the west. Chief of the military aviation While one was superior to the army airships, one lay back with the planes behind France, with the captive balloons one was set up in something equal. In order to make the air forces more efficient, the chief of the air force was set up in 1915 with the general quartermaster. He ran the aviators, the airmen and the weather service. On 1 July 1915, an inspector of the balloon guns of the General Quartermaster was created for the air defence, which belonged to artillery. On 8 October 1916, Lieutenant General Hoppner was appointed Commanding General of the Air Force by Allerhöchste Kabinettsordrre and the former Chief of Field Aviation, Lieutenant Colonel Thomsen, became his Chief of Staff. All formations of the airmen, the airship, the air defence and the weather service in the field and in the homeland were subordinated to the Kogenluft. This was directly subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff in October 1915. The head censorship office was also integrated into this, which had previously been the organisational office of the deputy commanding generals. The tasks of the War Press Office were to improve cooperation between the home authorities and the Supreme Army Command in the field of the press, to provide information to the authorities and the press, and to ensure that the supervision of the press was uniform. She was also responsible for forwarding the censorship guidelines to the censorship offices. The press office had contact to all departments, the otherwise usual way of appeal did not exist. In October 1918, the War Press Office was subordinated to the War Ministry. Military post of the Federal Foreign Office The post was established on 1 July 1916 and was subordinated to the Supreme Army Command, but was organisationally subordinated to the Federal Foreign Office, Division IIIb of the Deputy General Staff, the War Press Office, the War Ministry, the Admiral Staff and the R e i c h s m a r i n e a m t . She was responsible for the defense against enemy propaganda and for German propaganda at home and abroad. On 30 January 1917, a "Picture and Photo Office" was set up, which in April 1917 was designated as the "Picture and Film Office". In December 1917, Universum Film AG was founded on the initiative of the Picture and Film Office and used for educational purposes. In January 1918, the Bild- und Filmamt was administratively subordinated to the War Ministry. However, the Military Office of the Federal Foreign Office continued to be empowered to issue directives. The organization of the Great General Staff from 1. February 1919 Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army (9) Central Department Chief of the Landesaufnahme General Staff Departments Department Foreign Army Department (F) Railway Department (E) War Economics Department (Kriweis) Economics Department (W) War History Department (K) War History Department (K 1) War History Department (K 2) War History Department (K 3) Description of the Collection: The Federal Archives have a few copies of organisational documents as well as orders, leaflets and reports from the various areas of responsibility, but also individual documents on events of the First World War and lists of formations of the field army. The Railway Department has received some files on individual projects, and the Chief of the Deputy General Staff has duplicated news from the Surveying Department on the evaluation of aerial photographs. Most of the files of the General Staff were destroyed by the effects of war in 1945 during the fire at the Army Archives in Potsdam. What has remained are only fragmented individual pieces that have been handed down. At the beginning of 1994, a large part of the documents again reached the inventory. These remains were originally kept in the military archives of the former GDR. The stock of official printed matter PHD 7 was dissolved and transferred to the stock. The large-format plans and maps were taken from the files, placed in map folders and attached to the holdings. With the exception of the official printed matter (old PHD 7) and the large formats, the stock was microfilmed. Microfilms are available for use. Content characterisation: Based on the area of responsibility, the collection contains documents on the organisation and distribution of responsibilities, on military measures by foreign states and defensive measures by German agencies, reconnaissance reports and news about foreign armies, evaluation of prisoner testimonies as well as on the deployment, use and strength of foot artillery in war. In addition, there are occasionally reproduced organisational documents as well as orders, orders, notices, leaflets and elaborations from various areas of responsibility, but also individual news about war events from the First World War. From the railway department of the Great General Staff a remnant of individual case files on railway projects has been preserved. The head of the deputy general staff has handed down duplicated reports from the surveying department on the evaluation of aerial photographs. A very small number of copies of the files from the First World War were preserved in the National Archives in Washington. Additional copies of these have been delivered here. Replacement traditions, e.g. of fundamental decrees, orders or correspondence of Prussian military and command authorities, which went to civilian or military authorities of the individual states, can be found in the holdings of the respective competent state archives, in particular Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden as well as Saxony. State of development: Invenio Scope, Explanation: Inventory without increase 37.0 m 1006 AE Citation method: BArch, PH 3/...
