The Officer Corps – 1

On 1 October 1913, the German Army numbered 30,029 officers (23,346 from Prussia, 3,322 from Bavaria, 2,247 from Saxony and 1,114 from Württemberg). This total did not include the 222 officers in supernumery positions. Just one year later that total number had grown to 76,000—26,000 of whom were regular officers and 25,000 from the reserve. There were several types of officers, although this chapter concentrates on combatant officers. In this category were three grade groups: general officers; field grade officers or Stabsoffiziere (major, lieutenant colonel, colonel); and regimental officers, usually in the ranks of captain and lieutenant (Dienstgradgruppen). In addition to the combat arms, there were various technical officers. These officers were graded on a scale that paralleled the ranks of combatant officers. There were medical officers (Sanitätsoffiziere); veterinary officers (Veterinäroffizier); ordnance and artificer officers (Zeug und Feuerwerksoffiziere), (seldom promoted above captain); and fortress construction officers (Festungsbauoffiziere).

Historically, these officers had been from the nobility, but the wartime build-up required additional manpower. This change in status created a conundrum. There were three classes of people within imperial Germany—the nobility and the traditional old officer families, the middle class or bourgeoisie (some were quite rich, but their families were without the benefit of nobility), and the lower class or proletariat. In a key order dated 29 March 1890, Kaiser Wilhelm II opened the door to an expanded officer corps with what he termed erwüncshte Kreise (desired personal/social background). This change provided imperial guidance for the selection of officers and an admission that the numbers of blood nobility were insufficient to meet the task at hand. The commonly held belief was that the nobility were of good solid stock and could be counted on when loyalty was paramount. Expansion of the army mandated that imperial Germany begin accepting others into the fold, so the nobles had to find ways to restrict entry, and they did so by admitting only those who had the “right attitude.”

This policy was not a totally new idea. As early as 1786, when Frederick the Great died, 10 percent of the officers were members of the middle class. In 1861, a little more than 40 percent of the army was non-noble. One of the great military theoreticians of the time, Colmar von der Goltz, repeatedly argued that an aristocratic background was required as aristocrats were in the habit of commanding others. He believed fewer nobles would lead to a breakdown in military discipline and the blurring of the line between enlisted and officer ranks. Further, only aristocrats would have the tie to the Kaiser, and only they could be relied upon. The following table indicates how matters stood in 1861. As is shown, the Prussian aristocracy favored the cavalry and infantry guards.

            Share of Nobility

The nobility’s feelings toward the other branches were really historic in nature. One historian of renaissance Italy referred to the artillery as “this pestilential armament.” As to the pioneers or engineers (middle class soldiers), historically they were not soldiers at all. They had been civilians who were hired to dig and construct the siege works.