The Military Cabinet (''Militärkabinett'') was a military advisory body under the direct command of the

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

, and by extension the

German Emperor The German Emperor (german: Deutscher Kaiser, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the offi ...

after 1871, for handling personnel matters of the army officer corps. It emerged from the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

personnel department in the wake of the 1809 reform of the military, and was officially established 3 June 1814. It developed under Emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

into a personal instrument of the monarch for processing all military matters. The Chief of the Military Cabinet (''Chef des Militärkabinetts'') was often at the same time Adjutant General (chief aide-de-camp) to the monarch and subordinate only to him. The king appointed all members of the Military Cabinet and the chief had the coveted '' Immediatvortrag'', direct personal access to the king, which even the chief of the Great General Staff and the

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

did not have. The cabinet was essentially a privy council to the monarch and its constitutional position was unclear. It was modernized under the leadership of

Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel Edwin Karl Rochus Freiherr von Manteuffel (24 February 180917 June 1885) was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' noted for his victories in the Franco-Prussian War, and the first Imperial Lieutenant (german: Reichsstatthalter) of Alsace–Lorra ...

, from 1856/1857 to 1865. During

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

of 1866 and the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War the chief of the Military Cabinet was a member of the army headquarters staff. With the emergence of the

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 the l ...

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

Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

, and gained even more on Wilhelm II. During the First World War, the Military Cabinet lost favor to the Third Supreme Command of Hindenburg and Ludendorff. With the overthrow of the monarchy the Military Cabinet became the "Personnel Office of War Ministry" (''Personalamt im Kriegsministerium'') on 7 December 1918.

Chiefs of the Militärkabinett

* 1808 Karl Wilhelm Georg von Grolman * 1810

Hermann von Boyen Leopold Hermann Ludwig von Boyen (20 June 1771 – 15 February 1848) was a Prussian army officer who helped to reform the Prussian Army in the early 19th century. He also served as minister of war of Prussia in the period 1810-1813 and later aga ...

* 1816

Ludwig Gustav von Thile Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and co ...

* 1818

Job von Witzleben Karl Ernst Job Wilhelm von Witzleben (20 July 1783 – 9 July 1837) was a Prussian lieutenant general, adjutant-general to the king, and minister of war. Career Born in Halberstadt, Witzleben was the first-born son of Lieutenant Heinrich Gün ...

* 1834

Friedrich Karl David von Lindheim Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

* 1841

August Wilhelm von Neumann-Cosel August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

* 1848

Friedrich Ludwig Robert Johann von Schoeler Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

* 1857

Edwin von Manteuffel Edwin Karl Rochus Freiherr von Manteuffel (24 February 180917 June 1885) was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' noted for his victories in the Franco-Prussian War, and the first Imperial Lieutenant (german: Reichsstatthalter) of Alsace–Lorra ...

* 1864

Hermann von Tresckow Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Miss ...

* 1871

Emil von Albedyll Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

* 1888

Wilhelm von Hahnke Wilhelm Gustav Karl Bernhard von Hahnke (1 October 1833 in Berlin – 8 February 1912) was a Prussian Field Marshal, and Chief of the German Imperial Military Cabinet from 1888 to 1901. Biography Born into an old Prussian family of offic ...

* 1901 Dietrich von Hülsen-Haeseler * 1908

Moriz von Lyncker Moriz Freiherr von Lyncker (30 January 1853 – 20 January 1932) was a Prussian officer of the German Empire and Chief of the Military Cabinet of Emperor Wilhelm II. He was one of the general adjutants of the Kaiser during World War I with ...

* 1918 Ulrich von Marschall

References

*Rudolf Schmidt-Bückeburg: Das Militärkabinett der preussischen Könige und deutschen Kaiser. Berlin, Mittler 1933. *The Entourage of Kaiser Wilhelm II, 1888-1918 by

Isabel V. Hull Isabel Virginia Hull (born 1949) is John Stambaugh Professor Emerita of History and the former chair of the history department at Cornell University. She specializes in German history from 1700 to 1945, with a focus on sociopolitics, political th ...

; Cambridge University Press, 2004, , N.º pages 428. *For King and Kaiser!: the making of the Prussian Army officer, 1860–1914, BY Steven E. Clemente; Greenwood Publishing Group, 1992, {{ISBN, 0313280045, 280 pp. Prussian Army German Army (German Empire)