Seewehr, literally ''Sea Defence'' was the maritime counterpart of the German

Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortif ...

army reserve during the time of the

Norddeutscher Bund The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

and of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

.Kaiserliches 'Gesetz über den Landsturm' vom 12. Februar 1875; Deutsches '' Reichsgesetzblatt'' Band 1875, Nr. 7, Seite 63–64 Scan auf Commons While the comparatively few infantrymen of the small Marinecorps (

Seebataillon ''Seebataillon'' (plural ''Seebataillone''), literally "sea battalion", is a German term for certain troops of naval infantry or marines. It was used by the Prussian Navy, the North German Federal Navy, the Imperial German Navy, the Austro-Hungar ...

) were professional soldiers, the Imperial German Navy relied on conscripts. Sailors of the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

served three years in active duty. Afterwards they were for two years part of the "Reserve", where they had to take part in exercises and parades. Having finished the regular time in his reserve-unit, the soldier became part of the Landwehr and after becoming 40 years old, he would be part of the Landsturm, literally ''land storm'' until the age of 45. While sailors until 40 years of age became part of the ''Seewehr'', there was no separately named institution like ''Seesturm'' for older soldiers, due to linguistic reasons. One of the predecessors, the Prussian Seewehr, was created as a volunteer naval

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

during the Franco-Prussian War by

Eduard Vogel von Falckenstein Eduard Ernst Friedrich Hannibal Vogel von Fal(c)kenstein (5 January 1797 – 6 April 1885) was a Prussian ''General der Infanterie''. Biography Vogel von Falckenstein was born in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) in Silesia, the son of Hannibal Vog ...

. The Seewehr was abolished together with the Landwehr after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was lost and the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

demanded a reduction of military forces in Germany.

References

{{reflist Military units and formations of the Imperial German Navy Military of the German Empire by branch Naval history of Germany 1871 establishments in Germany 1918 disestablishments in Germany Military units and formations established in 1871 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 Disbanded navies