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Prussia in the German Empire (1871 - 1918)

Prussia (Old Prussian: Prūsa; was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. The Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preußen) was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. From the 1871 unification of Germany to its defeat in World War I, Prussia comprised almost two-thirds of the territory of the German Empire. It took its name from the territory of Prussia, with its power base in Brandenburg.

The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians. After the Second Peace of Thorn of 1466, Prussia was split into the western Royal Prussia, a province of Poland, and the eastern part, since 1525 called Duchy of Prussia, a fief of the Crown of Poland up to 1657. The union of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. Prussia achieved its greatest importance in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century, it became a great European power under the reign of Frederick the Great (1740–1786). During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck united the German principalities into a "Lesser Germany" which would exclude the Austrian Empire. After 1810 Prussia dominated Germany politically, economically, and in population, and was the core of the unified North German Confederation formed in 1867, which became part of the German Empire or Deutsches Reich in 1871.

History


The Holy Roman Empire comprised numerous petty states. The number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna, 39 states formed the German Confederation. This was dissolved after the Austro-Prussian War and replaced by a North German Federation under Prussian hegemony; this war left Prussia dominant in Germany, and German nationalism would compel the remaining independent states to ally with Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, and then to accede to the crowning of King Wilhelm of Prussia as German Emperor. The new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia and the House of Hohenzollern which controlled 65% of the territory and 62% of the population.

List of the imperial states:

1.	Kingdom of Prussia: 2. Kingdom of Bavaria: 3. Kingdom of Saxony: 4. Kingdom of Württemberg: 5. Grand Duchy of Baden: 6. Grand Duchy of Hesse: 7. Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin: 8. Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz: 9. Grand Duchy of Oldenburg: 10. Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: 11. Duchy of Anhalt: 12. Duchy of Brunswick: 13. Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg: 14. Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: 15. Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (merged into Prussia 1876): 16. Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen: 17. Principality of Lippe: 18. Principality of Reuss, senior line: 19. Principality of Reuss, junior line: 20. Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe: 21. Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt: 22. Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen: 23. Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont: 24. Free City of Bremen: 25. Free City of Hamburg: 26. Free City of Lübeck: 27. Alsace-Lorraine

Proclamation of the German Empire
On 18 January 1871, the German princes and senior military commanders proclaimed Wilhelm "German Emperor" in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles. Under the subsequent Treaty of Frankfurt, France relinquished most of its traditionally German regions (Alsace and the German-speaking part of Lorraine); paid an indemnity, calculated on the basis of population, as the precise equivalent of the indemnity which Napoleon Bonaparte imposed on Prussia in 1807; and accepted German administration of Paris and most of northern France with "German troops to be withdrawn stage by stage with each installment of the indemnity payment.

The Prussian King and Emperor (German: Deutscher Kaiser) from the House of Hohenzollern, was the official title of the Head of State and ruler of the German Empire, beginning with the proclamation of William I as emperor during the Franco-Prussian War, on 18 January 1871 at the Palace of Versailles, and ending with the official abdication of William II, and all German crowned-heads, on 18 November 1918. Until 1918 the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history of Germany, with its capital in Berlin after 1451. By 1871, the smaller German states were merged with Prussia, resulting in the creation of the German Empire. The North German Confederation (Norddeutscher Bund) was transformed into the German Empire (Deutsches Kaiserreich). This empire was a federal monarchy; the emperor was head of state and president of the federated monarchs (the kings of Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, the grand dukes of Baden, Mecklenburg, Hesse, with various principalities, duchies and free cities of Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen).

Kingdom of Prussia (1701-1918)
Prior to 1772, these kings were officially known as King in Prussia rather than of Prussia.


 * 1.	Friedrich I of Prussia 	(1701 – 1713). Separated Prussia from Poland completely and assumed sovereign status as "King in Prussia" in 1701.
 * 2.	Frederick William I 	(1713 – 1740).	Son of Frederick I. Known as "the soldier king" (German: Der Soldatenkönig). Reformed the army and limited the state expenditure not related to the armed forces.
 * 3.	Frederick II (1740 – 1786). Consequent on his annexation of Royal Prussia in the 1772 partition of Poland, Frederick the Great changed his title to "King of Prussia" rather than "King in Prussia".
 * 4.	Frederick William II (Guillaume II de Prusse) (1786 – 1797). Nephew of Frederick II. Augmented Prussian territory by further annexations of Polish lands.
 * 5.	Frederick William III 	(1797 – 1840) 	Son of Frederick William II. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, he lost the title of Elector of Brandenburg, but was able to incorporate his territories in Brandenburg into the Kingdom of Prussia. Despite losses in the Napoleonic wars, at the Congress of Vienna Prussia's territory in Germany was greatly increased, making it the dominant power of northern Germany.
 * 6.	Frederick William IV 	(1840 – 1861).	Son of Frederick William III. During the revolutions of 1848-9, he was given the chance to become Emperor of the Germans, but turned down the offer.
 * 7.	Wilhelm 1 (1861 – 1888). Brother of preceding. Prussia annexed further territories as a result of the Second War of Schleswig in 1864 and the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and became the dominant power in the North German Confederation. Following victory in the Franco-Prussian War, William I was proclaimed German Emperor in 1871, while retaining the title and powers of King of Prussia.
 * 8.	Frederick III (1888 – 1888). Son of preceding, Also German Emperor. Died after only 99 days. Hence the year 1888 is also known as Year of Three Emperors.
 * 9.	Wilhelm II (1888 – 1918). Son of preceding. The defeat of Germany in the First World War (1918) led William's abdication and exile and the fall of the House of Hohenzollern.

Rank and noble styles
Although the titled aristocracy of Germany no longer holds a legal rank, nearly all ducal families in Germany continued to be treated as dynastic (i.e., "royalty") for marital and genealogical purposes after 1918. Some maintain dynastic traditions that are reflected in roles they still play in high society, philanthropy and Germany's version of local "squirearchy".

At first, the highest nobles – de facto equal to kings and emperors – were the Dukes of the stem duchies:
 * Duchy of Saxony (now Lower Saxony)
 * Duchy of Franconia
 * Duchy of Bavaria
 * Duchy of Swabia
 * Duchy of Lorraine (replacing Duchy of Thuringia)

Later, the precedence shifted to the prince-electors, the first order amongst the princes of the empire, regardless of the actual title attached to the fief. This college originally included only one Duke, the Duke of Saxony. The ducal title, however, was not limited by primogeniture in the post-medieval era. All descendants in the male line, including females, shared the original title, but each male added as a suffix the name of his inherited domain to distinguish his line from that of other branches. From the 19th century, some cadets of the kingly houses of Bavaria and Württemberg, and all those of the grand-ducal houses of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Oldenburg, took the ducal prefix as their primary style instead of that of Prince (Prinz).

There were many other duchies, some of them insignificant petty states (Kleinstaaterei):
 * Duchy of Bavaria, elector since 1623
 * Duchy of Bremen (1648–1806)
 * Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, divided into various lines, one of which became the electorate of Hanover in 1692
 * Duchy of Franconia, the secular title of the Bishop of Würzburg
 * Duchy of Holstein, in union with Schleswig, in personal union with the Danish crown.
 * Duchy of Jülich and Berg
 * Duchy of Lorraine
 * Duchy of Magdeburg, the former prince-archbishopric after being acquired by Brandenburg-Prussia in 1680
 * Duchy of Mecklenburg, later divided into various lines
 * Duchy of Pomerania
 * Grand Duchy of Salzburg, the secularized prince-archbishopric 1803-1806
 * Duchies of Saxony, in Lower Saxony and Upper Saxony, the successor state(s) of the original (stem)duchy of Saxony after dismissal of Duke Henry the Lion by the Emperor, collateral lines of the electoral line (to wit: the Lower Saxon Saxe-Lauenburg and the Upper Saxon Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Eisenach, Saxe-Eisenberg, Saxe-Gotha, Saxe-Hildburghausen, Saxe-Jena, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Römhild, Saxe-Saalfeld, Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Weissenfels, and Saxe-Wittenberg)
 * Duchy of Silesia
 * Duchy of Westphalia, a territory under the Archbishop of Cologne, either a successor-state of the original Duchy of Saxony, which was divided into Eastphalia (which later became Brunswick-Lüneburg), Engern and Westphalia
 * Duchy of Württemberg, became an electorate in 1803
 * Duchy of Zweibrücken

On the Baltic south coast

 * The duchy of Pomerellen (Pomerelia; capital Danzig (Gdańsk), now in Poland) was part of the State of the Teutonic Order until its takeover by the Polish Crown in 1466.
 * The duchy of Courland (now in Latvia) was a Polish vassal state and once a colonial power from its foundation in 1562 for the last Master of Livonian Order, Gotthard Kettler, until 1795.
 * The Ordensstaat became the Duchy of Prussia in 1525, part of the dynastic home country of the later German (Hohenzollern) Emperor.

The Low countries (Netherlands/Belgium/Luxembourg)

 * Duchy of Brabant
 * Duchy of Guelders
 * Duchy of Bouillon in the Ardenne
 * Duchy of Luxembourg

NOTES &c
Several ranks were widely used (for more than a thousand years in Europe alone) for both sovereign rulers and non-sovereigns. Additional knowledge about the territory and historic period is required to know whether the rank holder was a sovereign or non-sovereign. However, joint precedence among rank holders often greatly depended on whether a rank holder was sovereign, whether of the same rank or not. This situation was most widely exemplified by the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) in Europe. Almost all of the following ranks were commonly both sovereign and non-sovereign within the HRE. Outside of the HRE, the most common sovereign rank of these below was that of Prince. Within the HRE, those holding the following ranks who were also sovereigns had (enjoyed) what was known as an immediate relationship with the Emperor. Those holding non-sovereign ranks held only a mediate relationship (meaning that the civil hierarchy upwards was mediated by one or more intermediaries between the rank holder and the Emperor).

Regarding the titles of duke and prince: in Germany, a sovereign duke (Herzog) outranks a sovereign prince (Fürst), but a royal cadet prince (Prinz) outranks a cadet duke of a ducal or grand ducal family. In the German nobility as well, being created a duke was a higher honour than being created a prince. The issue of a duke were sometimes styled as dukes or as princes; princely issue were styled as princes.

In Germany, the constitution of the Weimar Republic in 1919 ceased to accord privileges to members of dynastic and noble families. The actual rank of a title-holder in Germany depended not only on the nominal rank of the title, but also the degree of sovereignty exercised, the rank of the title-holder's suzerain, and the length of time the family possessed its status within the nobility (Uradel, Briefadel, altfürstliche, neufürstliche, see: German nobility). Thus, any reigning sovereign ranks higher than any deposed or mediatized sovereign, family of any rank (e.g., the Fürst of Waldeck, sovereign until 1918, was higher than the Duke of Arenberg, head of a mediatized family, although Herzog is nominally a higher title than Fürst). However, former holders of higher titles in extant monarchies retained their relative rank. Members of a formerly sovereign or mediatized house rank higher than the nobility. Among the nobility, those whose titles derive from the Holy Roman Empire rank higher than the holder of an equivalent title granted by one of the German monarchs after 1806.

Mediatized nobility

 * Mediatized princes (Reichsfürsten) in Germany bear the styles of Serene Highness (Durchlaucht).


 * Mediatized dukes (Reichsherzöge) and counts (Reichsgräfen) in Germany bear the style of Illustrious Highness (Erlaucht).

Non-mediatized nobility

 * Non-mediatized noble princes (Fürsten) in Germany bear the styles of High Born (Hochgeboren) or Princely Grace (fürstliche Gnaden).


 * Non-mediatized noble dukes (Herzöge) and count (Gräfen) in Germany bear the style of High Born (Hochgeboren) and respectively Ducal Grace (Herzögliche Gnaden) and Comital Grace (gräfliche Gnaden).

Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and between geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke).

Imperial titles Royal titles Princely, ducal, and other sovereign titles
 * Emperor, from the Latin Imperator, meaning "commander" or "one who commands." In English, the feminine form is Empress (the Latin is imperatrix).  The realm of an emperor or empress is termed an Empire.  Alternate words meaning Emperor include:
 * Caesar, the appellation of Roman emperors derived from the Roman dictator Julius Caesar, whose great-nephew and adopted son Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus became the first emperor of Rome. Augustus' four successors were each made the adoptive son of his predecessor, and were therefore legally entitled to use "Caesar" as a constituent of their names; after Nero, however, the familial link of the Julio-Claudian dynasty was disrupted and use of the word Caesar continued as a title only.
 * Csar / Czar / Tsar / Tzar, derived from Caesar, primarily used in Russian and Slavic countries.
 * Kaiser, derived from Caesar, primarily used in Germanic countries.
 * High King, A king who rules over lesser kings.
 * King, from the Germanic *kuningaz, roughly meaning "son of the people." (See: Germanic kingship) The realm of a King is termed a Kingdom (sovereign kings are ranked above vassal kings)
 * Rex Latin for "ruler." Cognate with Raja, Rí, Reign, Regina, etc.
 * Queen, from the Germanic *kwoeniz, or *kwenon, "wife"; cognate of Greek γυνή, gynē, "woman"; from PIE *gʷḗn, "woman". The female equivalent of a King, or the consort of a King; a Queen's realm is also a kingdom.
 * Prince, from the Latin princeps, meaning "first citizen". The feminine form is Princess. Variant forms include the German Fürst.
 * Duke, from the Latin Dux, meaning "leader," a military rank in the late Roman Empire.  Variant forms include Doge, and Duce; it has also been modified into Archduke (meaning "chief" Duke), Grand Duke (literally "large," or "big" Duke), Vice Duke ("deputy" Duke), etc.  The female equivalent is Duchess


 * Titles
 * Archduke, ruler of an archduchy; was generally only a sovereign rank when used by the rulers of Austria; it was also used by the Habsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire for members of the imperial family; it was also used for those ruling some Habsburg territories such as those that became the modern BeNeLux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) nations
 * Grand Prince, ruler of a grand principality; a title primarily used in the medieval Russian principalities; it was also used by the Romanovs of the Russian Empire for members of the imperial family
 * Duke, ruler of a duchy, also for junior members of ducal and some grand ducal families
 * Prince, Prinz in German; junior members of a royal, ducal or princely family (the title of Fürst for heads of princely families and sometimes all members, e.g. Wrede)
 * In particular Crown Prince, Kronprinz in German, was reserved for the heir apparent of an emperor or king
 * Landgrave, a German title, ruler of a landgraviate

title
Placard for The Evening News : "Kaiser's Trial : Details". This refers to the diplomatic note of 28 June 1919 from the President of the Paris Peace Conference to the Netherlands Government requesting the extradition of the ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II to face war crimes accusations. The Netherlands Government refused to extradite Wilhelm and replied to that effect on 7 July.

Constitution of the German Empire
The North German Constitution of 16 April 1867, created a national parliament with universal suffrage (for men above the age of 25), the Reichstag. Another important organ was the Bundesrat, the 'federal council' of the representatives of the allied governments. To adopt a law, a majority in the Reichstag and in the Bundesrat was necessary. This gave the allied governments, meaning the states and their princes, an important veto. Executive power was vested in a president, who was assisted by a chancellor responsible only to him — an office that Bismarck designed with himself in mind. There was no formal government; the heads of the departments were not called ministers but secretaries. Those were installed and dismissed by the chancellor.

For all intents and purposes, the confederation was dominated by Prussia. It had four-fifths of the confederation's territory and population — more than the other 21 members combined. The presidency was a hereditary office of the Prussian crown. Bismarck was also foreign minister of Prussia, a post he held for virtually his entire career. In that role he instructed the Prussian deputies to the Bundesrat. Prussia only had 17 of 43 votes in the Bundestat despite its size, but could easily get a majority by making alliances with the smaller states. The Constitution of the German Empire (Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches) was the basic law of the German Empire of 1871-1919, enacted 16 April 1871. German historians often refer to it as Bismarck's imperial constitution.

The constitution was effectively a treaty between its signatories, the North German Confederation and four southern German states, adding those states as members of the confederation and giving the enlarged entity a new identity as the Deutsches Reich (conventionally translated as "German Empire"). The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 had resulted in the dissolution of the German Confederation in 1866 and formation of the North German Confederation in 1867, among other events.

The text of the constitution was based on that of the Constitution of the North German Confederation, which had likewise been instigated by Otto von Bismarck.

According to the constitution, head of state was the King of Prussia as the president of the Bundesrat, the council of representatives of the German states. His title was German Emperor. The Emperor installed the Chancellor, the head of government. Laws were enacted by the Bundesrat and the Reichstag, the Imperial Diet elected by male Germans above the age of 25 years.

The most important changes to this constitution, of October 1918, gave the Reichstag the right to call for a demission of the Chancellor. These changes have led to the notion October constitution.

It has the same German title as its successor, the Weimar Constitution (also known as the "Constitution of the German Reich"), which replaced it in 1919 creating the Weimar Republic.

Signatories and members
The constitution was signed by the King of Prussia, acting in his capacity as President of the North German Confederation, the Kings of Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg, and the Grand Dukes of Baden and Hesse. Hesse north of the river Main was already a member of the North German Confederation; its territory south of the river was now included as well.

The members of the North German Confederation that now became members of the Empire were Prussia, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, Brunswick, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Anhalt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Waldeck, Reuss (older line), Reuss (younger line), Schaumburg-Lippe, Lippe, Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg.

The emperor
The King of Prussia was named in the constitution as the "President of the Confederation", and given the title of German Emperor (Deutscher Kaiser). Therefore, the emperorship was tied to the office of the King of Prussia instead of a personal union between the Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. This meant that, unlike Wilhelm II had come to assume at the end of World War I, he could not abdicate merely as German Emperor while keeping the Prussian crown (unless he were to have agreed to renounce the entire constitution which would have been, in effect, the de jure dissolution of the Empire.

The emperor had the power to declare war (and make peace), represented the Empire abroad, conclude treaties and alliances, and accredit and receive ambassadors. In the case of a non-defensive war being declared, consent of the Bundesrat was required. Both chambers of parliament had to approve a treaty for it to be ratified. (all Article 11)

The emperor also appointed the chancellor.

Other powers were:
 * To convene the Bundesrat and the Reichstag (Article 12); the convocation of the Bundesrat was required to take place as soon as demanded by one-third of its members (Article 14).
 * To prepare and publish Imperial laws (Article 17).
 * To appoint Imperial officials (Article 18).

Legislation
Imperial laws were enacted, with the simple majority, by both the Reichstag (parliament) and the Bundesrat (Article 5). These laws took precedence over that of the individual states (Article 2).

Article 13 required the annual convocation of both bodies. The Bundesrat could be called together for the preparation of business without the Reichstag, but not the converse.

German Bundesrat (1871 to 1919)
The two decades after the unification of Germany were the peak of Prussia's fortunes, but the seeds for potential strife were built into the Prusso-German political system. The constitution of the German Empire was a slightly amended version of the North German Confederation's constitution. Officially, the German Empire was a federal state. In practice, Prussia's relationship with the rest of the empire was somewhat confusing. The Hohenzollern kingdom included three-fifths of the German territory and two-thirds of its population. The Imperial German Army was, in practice, an enlarged Prussian army, although the other kingdoms (Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg) retained their own armies. The imperial crown was a hereditary office of the House of Hohenzollern, the royal house of Prussia.

The German Bundesrat (literally "Federal Council"; ) is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder}} (federal states) of Germany at the federal level. The German Bundesrat was first founded, together with the German Empire, in 1871, replacing a body of the same name and with the same functions in the North German Confederation. Under the Weimar Constitution, 1919, it was replaced by the Reichsrat (1919–1934). The original Bundesrat was very powerful; every bill needed its consent, equaling it to the popularly elected Reichstag. It could also, with the Emperor's agreement, dissolve the Reichstag. The composition of the Bundesrat, 1871–1919, was as follows:

The Bundesrat (Articles 6 & 7) was made up of representatives of the various states. In German constitutional law it is not considered a parliament chamber, although foreign commentators tend to do so. It can be translated to English as Federal Council.

Each state was allocated a specified number of votes; although a state could appoint as many delegates to the Bundesrat as it had votes, each state was only able to block-vote. Each state had a different number of representatives, with the larger and more powerful states having more. Voting had to be in person.

In the case of legislation only affecting certain states, only those states were allowed to vote.

A representative could not be a member at the same time of both chambers (Article 9), and they were given Imperial protection (Article 10).

Permanent committees of the Bundesrat
The constitution established permanent committees (Article 8):
 * The army, incl. fortifications
 * Naval matters
 * Duties and taxation
 * Commerce and trade
 * The railways, post, and telegraphs
 * Justice
 * Finance

At least four states had to be represented on each committee, excluding the chairman. Each state was only allowed one vote.

On the committee for the army and fortifications, Bavaria had a permanent seat. All that committee's members were appointed by the Emperor; members of all the other committees were elected by the Bundesrat.

Additionally, there was created a Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by Bavaria, with individual members representing Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg, and two other members representing the other states.

The Reichstag
Membership of the parliament, the Reichstag or Imperial Diet, was by "universal suffrage" (this was interpreted to mean suffrage for all male citizens over 25). A secret ballot was guaranteed (Article 20).

Transitional arrangements set the total number of deputies at 382, with 48 for Bavaria, 17 for Württemberg, 14 for Baden, and 6 for Hesse south of the river Main (Article 20).

The Reichskanzler (Imperial Chancellor)
The Chancellor of the Empire (Reichskanzler), appointed by the Emperor, presided in the Bundesrat (Federal Council), and supervised the conduct of its business. The Chancellor of the Empire had the right to delegate the power to represent him to any member of the Federal Council. (Article 15)

Decrees and ordinances of the Emperor required the counter-signature of the Chancellor to be valid (Article 17).

Imperial officials
Formally, imperial officials were appointed and dismissed by the Emperor. They were required to take an oath of allegiance. Imperial officials appointed from one of the states were guaranteed the same rights as given them by their native state. (Article 18) Bills would be laid before the Reichstag in the name of the Emperor, in accordance with a resolution of the Bundesrat, and would be advocated by members of the Bundesrat (or by speci

Members



 * The Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia were the largest and by far the most powerful members of the Confederation. Large parts of both countries were not included in the Confederation, because they had not been part of the former Holy Roman Empire, nor had the greater parts of their armed forces been incorporated in the federal army. Each of them had one vote in the Federal Assembly.
 * Three member states were ruled by foreign monarchs: the King of Denmark, the King of the Netherlands, and the King of Great Britain (until 1837) were members of the German Confederation; the first as Duke of Holstein, the second as Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Duke of Limburg, and the latter as King of Hanover. Each of them had a vote in the Federal Assembly.
 * Six other greater states had one vote each in the Federal Assembly: the King of Bavaria, the King of Saxony, the King of Württemberg, the Elector of Hesse, the Grand Duke of Baden and the Grand Duke of Hesse.
 * 23 smaller and tiny member states shared five votes in the Federal Assembly.
 * The four free cities of Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Lübeck shared one vote in the Federal Assembly.

During the revolution of 1848/49 the German Confederation was inactive. It was revived in 1850 under Austrian presidency, but rivalry between Prussia and Austria grew more and more. The Confederation was dissolved in 1866 after the Austro-Prussian War, and was 'succeeded' in 1866 by the Prussian-dominated North German Confederation. Unlike the German Confederation, the North German Confederation was in fact a true state. Its territory comprised the parts of the German Confederation north of the river Main, plus Prussia's eastern territories and the Duchy of Schleswig, but excluded Austria and the southern German states. Prussia's influence was widened by the Franco-Prussian War resulting in the proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles on 18 January 1871, which united the North German Federation with the southern German states. All the constituent states of the former German Confederation became part of the Kaiserreich in 1871, except Austria, Luxembourg,

German General Staff
The German General Staff (Großer Generalstab, literally "Great General Staff") was an institution whose rise and development gave the German armed forces a decided advantage over its adversaries. The General Staff was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the German Army, responsible for the continuous study of all aspects of war, and for drawing up and reviewing plans for mobilization or campaign. It existed unofficially from 1806, and was formally established by law in 1814, the first General Staff in existence. The Prussian General Staff also enjoyed greater freedom from political control than its contemporaries, and this autonomy was enshrined in law on the establishment of the German Empire in 1871.

Until the end of the German Empire, social and political convention often placed members of noble or royal households in command of its armies or corps but the actual responsibility for the planning and conduct of operations lay with the formation's staff officers. The Chief of Staff of a Prussian formation in the field had the right to disagree, in writing, with the plans or orders of the commander of the formation, and appeal to the commander of the next highest formation (which might ultimately be the King, or Emperor, who would be guided by the Head of the Great General Staff). For these reasons, Prussian and German military victories would often be credited professionally to the Chief of Staff, rather than to the nominal commander of an army.

Chiefs of the Prussian General Staff (1808–1871)


 * Gerhard von Scharnhorst (1 March 1808 –17 June 1810)
 * Karl von Hake (17 June 1810 – March 1812)
 * Gustav von Rauch (March 1812 – March 1813)
 * Gerhard von Scharnhorst (March 1813 – 28 June 1813)
 * August von Gneisenau (28 June 1813 – 3 June 1814)
 * Karl von Grolman (3 June 1814 – November 1819)
 * Johann Rühle von Lilienstern (November 1819 – 11 January 1821)
 * Karl von Müffling (11 January 1821 – 29 January 1829)
 * Wilhelm von Krauseneck (29 January 1829 – 13 May 1848)
 * Karl von Reyher (13 May 1848 – 7 October 1857)
 * Helmuth von Moltke (the elder) (7 October 1857 – 10 August 1888)

Chiefs of the German General Staff (1871–1919)


 * Helmuth von Moltke (7 October 1857 – 10 August 1888)
 * Alfred von Waldersee (10 August 1888 – 7 February 1891)
 * Alfred von Schlieffen (7 February 1891 – 1 January 1906)
 * Helmuth von Moltke (the younger) (1 January 1906 - 14 September 1914)
 * Erich von Falkenhayn (14 September 1914 – 29 August 1916)
 * Paul von Hindenburg (29 August 1916 – 3 July 1919)
 * Wilhelm Groener (3 July 1919 – 7 July 1919)
 * Hans von Seeckt (7 July 1919 - 15 July 1919)

Nobility
In a heavily agrarian society, land ownership played a central role. Germany's nobles, especially those in the East called Junkers, dominated not only the localities, but also the Prussian court, and especially the Prussian army. Increasingly after 1815, a centralized Prussian government based in Berlin took over the powers of the nobles, which in terms of control over the peasantry had been almost absolute. They retained control of the judicial system on their estates until 1848, as well as control of hunting and game laws. They paid no land tax until 1861 and kept their police authority until 1872, and controlled church affairs into the early 20th century. To help the nobility avoid indebtedness, Berlin set up a credit institution to provide capital loans in 1809, and extended the loan network to peasants in 1849. When the German Empire was established in 1871, the nobility controlled the army and the Navy, the bureaucracy, and the royal court; they generally set governmental policies.