The Army Staff, in the meaning of the Army general staff, of the German Army (german: Führungsstab des Heeres - Fü H) was a department of the

Federal Ministry of Defence The Federal Ministry of Defence (german: Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, ), abbreviated BMVg, is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at ...

and one of the five staff headquarters in the military command of the ''

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

''. The ''Army Staff'' was thus at the same time a ministerial division and the highest level of military command within the German Army. It was merged with the other high command authorities of the German Army to form the Army Command (''Kommando Heer'') in 2012. In 2012, there existed in MOD Germany supreme military command authority as follows: * Armed Forces Staff (Führungsstab der Streitkräfte – Fü S; General Staff of the Armed Forces) *Army Staff (Führungsstab des Heeres – Fü H; Army General Staff) *''Air Force Staff'' (Führungsstab der Luftwaffe – Fü L; Air Force General Staff) *''Navy Staff'' (Führungsstab der Marine – Fü M) *''Medical Staff'' (Führungsstab des Sanitätsdienstes – Fü San; Medical Service Staff)

Command

The ''Army Staff'' was commanded by the

Inspector of the Army The Inspector of the Army (german: Inspekteur des Heeres or ''InspH'') is the title held by the commander and highest ranking officer of the German Army (unless the Inspector General is an army officer) of the modern-day German Armed Forces or ''B ...

(''Inspekteur des Heeres''). The Inspector holds the rank of

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

, and commanded the ''Army Staff'', reporting to the Federal Minister of Defence. The General Inspector of the Bundeswehr and the Armed Forces Staff who work for him are only authorised to issue directives to the ''Army Staff'' in the fields of development and the realisation of the overall concept for the Bundeswehr. The ''Army Staff'' comprised about 180 soldiers and civil servants.

Mission

The ''Army Staff'' was the highest level of command in the German Army. The staff ensured the readiness of the Army from a materiel and personnel perspective. In addition the two command pillars of the Army, the

Army Forces Command The Army Forces Command (german: Heeresführungskommando) in Falckenstein Barracks in Koblenz was one of the two leadership pillars of the German Army, together with the German Army Office, before it was merged into the Army Command (''Komma ...

and the Army Office, were subordinate to the ''Army Staff''. Furthermore, the staff supported the Inspector of the Army and the Federal Minister of Defence in their ministerial duties.

Deputy Inspector General of the Army

The ''Deputy Inspector General of the Army'' (in the Army Staff of MOD Germany) appointment was normally assigned to a three star rank, OF8-general (

/ lieutenant general) rank.

External links

Federal archive on its historyWebsite of the ''Army Staff''
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 German Army (1956–present) Bundeswehr Staff (military) Military units and formations established in 1957 Military units and formations disestablished in 2012