The Steps to Becoming an Active Officer—2
Last week we covered the first three steps. There are 10 in total.
This week, the rest. For some reason, especially in the collecting world, I have encountered many people telling me “the truth” about this process when in reality, they are horribly off base. If I say something, the collector gets really really angry and doubles down.
Step 4 — Spend Time in the Regimental Ranks
A patent or charakterisierter Fähnrich was a graduate of a Kadettenschule, who served with a regiment before gaining his commission. A Fahnenjunker was an officer candidate who held a certificate from a Gymnasium and who had passed the required examination in military subjects and served with a regiment before obtaining his commission. The non-cadet individuals who passed the Fähnrich exam joined the cadet Fähnriche and moved into the regiment as a Gemeiner (private) but were referred to as an Avantageur. Officially, the title was Offizieraspirant—that title was officially changed in 1899 to Fahnenjunker. He lived in the barracks for a period that varied by regiment from one to six weeks. He started as a Gemeiner and when he moved out of the barracks became a Gefreiter. A Patent Fähnrich was never a private but a Gefreiter. He bore all costs associated with his service in the same way as a one-year volunteer. At this point, he could also have a civilian batman (personal servant).
When promoted to Unteroffizier, he was permitted to dine in the officers’ mess. At this point, he was called a Fähnrich. A Fähnrichsvater was appointed to be his mentor. The Fähnrichsvater was responsible for the practical military education of his officer candidates, although long drinking bouts were commonplace. While the Fähnrich was encouraged to spend freely, indebtedness was a major embarrassment for the entire mess. The amount of time spent in Step Four decreased dramatically. At first, it was five to six months and then, by the turn of the century, it was three months (two if the individual came from a cadet school). Eventually, the time in the ranks was so short that men had insufficient time to absorb the necessary understanding of the system. Only the reserve officers who went through the year as an OYV understood the difficulties of the lower enlisted ranks. A major effort during the time in the ranks was an assessment of the Fähnrich. All officers dealing with the Fähnrich contributed to the appraisal that was then passed to the responsible battalion commander and from there to the regimental commander.
Step 5 — Be Promoted to Fähnrich if “All Went Well”
The aspirant applied to the colonel that he was “qualified” and deserved a military qualification certificate (Dienstzeugnis) that was issued by the regimental commander based upon the Fähnrich’s appraisal. If approved by the colonel, the applicant was officially promoted to Fähnrich and paid a salary. He was also eligible to wear the silver sword knot (Portepee). Initially called Portepeefähnrich, that title was eliminated in 1899. For example, between 1892 and 1894, 59 percent of the cadets became Brevet Fähnrich, 10 percent Patent Fähnrich and about 33 percent were “Selekta.”
Step 6 — A Course at the Kriegsschule
Cadet Abitur holders, Selekta cadets, and civilian Abitur holders who had been university students for a year were exempted from this requirement from the Kriegsschule. The ages of the attending students showed that longer civilian education took time and money; whereas, a man could skip the education and go into the commissioning system and start making money and seniority. The course at the Kriegsschule took nine months and prepared the officer candidate for the officer examination. During these nine months, the Fähnriche were taught tactics of the different arms, weaponry, fortification and field fortification, sketching and drawing, army organization (Truppenkunde) and military administration. The length of this course shortened as the need for officers became more pressing and cadets sought their commissions in a year. At the end of the course, the candidate took the officer’s exam. This course was eventually reduced from twelve to seven months in length.
Step 7 — Pass Officer Examination and Return to Regiment
Selekta cadets went straight to Step Ten if they passed the officer exam. Passing was not a problem (98 percent passed with the re-take option). If indeed a candidate did fail, he entered the army as a Fähnrich. Some Fähnriche quit the service after failing examination. If a Fähnrich passed with very good marks, his officer’s patent was subsequently backdated to the date he officially left the Kriegsschule and was transferred back to the regiment. Obedience and attitude came before grades. The officers’ examination was considered far easier than the Fähnrich exam. At the regiment, the Fähnrich waited (briefly) for a vacancy and to complete the next steps.
Step 8 — Regimental Officers Balloted to See if They Agreed to Accept the Candidate
Balloting made sure that only candidates with a desired social or family background were commissioned. [ Although mentioned in the contemporary literature, the balloting is not written down in the respective manual about officer selection.]
Selekta cadets did not have to undergo this process. Majority vetoes were final and were sent to the Kaiser for decision. If a candidate failed, he was either sent to another regiment for another try or to the reserves with a major stigma due to the veto. Few candidates failed, because it amounted to going against the colonel’s wishes. Some were rejected because of a lack of personal wealth, in which case the candidate was sent to another regiment without stigma.
Step 9 — Colonel Recommends to the Kaiser Promotion to Second Lieutenant
The regimental commander reported the ballot to the Militärkabinett that prepared commissions and decided about the patent date. Newly commissioned officers received their patent, and that patent constituted their personal relationship to the King. The Fähnrich became a second lieutenant and a member of the social élite, except those in the artillery or engineers. These two branches considered the newly commissioned as supernumeraries until they had served one (artillery) or two (pioneer) years, attended technical school, and passed a qualifying exam. The nobility viewed technical schools as “schools for plumbers.” It is not surprising, therefore, that the nobles eschewed these branches.
Step 10 — Promotion is Officially “Gazetted”
There were numerous rules for seniority and backdating dates of rank. It is important to look at the different methods of commissioning and understand the pluses and minuses. Generally, the ten steps took approximately 18 months after the Obersekunda year. Therefore a Fahnenjunker, or a cadet entering as a charakterisierter Fähnrich at the age of 17, could gain a commission at the approximate age of 18 ½ years. Selekta cadets stayed in the academy for an additional 12 months, but would be commissioned directly without a vote of officers—a full six months faster than a Fahnenjunker or other early graduating cadets. The Prima cadets seeking the Abitur stayed in the Academy for two additional years, but still faced the vote in step eight. Originally, date of rank was 24 months after the Obersekunda year. In February 1900, royal order eliminated this penalty when the date of rank of Prima cadets was backdated to equal the same date as of the Selekta cadets. A Prima cadet now had the Abitur necessary to continue studies at the university and the same early date of rank as a Selekta.
