The German Federal Army () was the military arm of the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

from 1815 to 1866 whose purpose was the defence of the Confederation against external enemies. Although the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

in 1815 decreed the formation of the army and delimited its size and purpose, no work on its formation was begun until 1841, after the Rhine crisis brought the threat of war to Germany. Even then, only preliminary work was accomplished on troop readiness. Most work focused on the building of federal fortresses. Most preparations were aimed toward

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, from where several wars of occupation had been launched in earlier times against the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

.Franz Herre. ''Franz Joseph, Kaiser von Österreich.'' Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1997, p. 110. Cases of conflict between the federal allies, such as arose later during the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

(the Duke of

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

was simultaneously the King of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

), were not anticipated or governed. The

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

, provoked by

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

against the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

, for domination of the German Confederation and its allies led to the defeat of the Federal Army in 1866 and thus to its disbandment.

References

Literature

* Allmayer-Beck, Lessing: ''Die K.(u.)K.-Armee. 1848–1918''. Bertelsmann, Munich etc., 1974, . * Jürgen Angelow: ''Von Wien nach Königgrätz – Sicherheitspolitik des Deutschen Bundes.'' Oldenbourg, Munich, 1996, . * Georg Ball: ''Germersheim. „Die geschleifte Festung“. Geschichte und Führer.'' Verlag der Dr. E. Jaegerschen Buchhandlung, Speyer, 1930 (2nd reprint: Steimer, Germersheim, 1991). * Siegmund Bergmann (ed.): ''Die Infanterie des Kaisers und Königs.'' In: ''Moderne Illustrierte Zeitung.'' Doppelnummer 10/11, Vienna, 1 June 1914. * ''Officieller Bericht über die Kriegsereignisse zwischen Hannover und Preußen im Juni 1866 und Relation der Schlacht bei Langensalza am 27. Juni 1866''. Gerold, Vienna, 1866 (reprint: Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza, 2001, (''Erinnerungen an die Schlacht bei Langensalza 1866'' 4)). * Gordon A. Craig: ''Königgrätz. 1866 - eine Schlacht macht Weltgeschichte.'' 4th edition, Zsolnay, Vienna, 1997, . * Heinrich A. Eckert: ''Das deutsche Bundesheer.'' Munich, 1835. * Liliane Funcken, Fred Funcken: ''Historische Uniformen. Napoleonische Zeit, 18. und 19. Jahrhundert. Preussen, Deutschland, Österreich, Frankreich, Grossbritannien, Russland.'' Orbis-Verlag, Munich, 1989, . * Franz Herre: ''Franz Joseph. Kaiser von Österreich.'' Bechtermünz, Augsburg, 1997, . * Ian Hogg, John Batchelor: ''Artillerie. Das Geschütz, Eisenbahngeschütze, Küstengeschütze, Flak, Pak, Geschütze auf Selbstfahrlafetten, rückstossfreie Geschütze, Zünder''. (= ''Die Geschichte der Artillerie'') Heyne, Munich, 1977, (''Heyne-Bildpaperback''). * Otmar Schäuffelen: ''Die Bundesfestung Ulm und ihre Geschichte. Europas größte Festungsanlage.'' 2nd edn., Vaas, Ulm, 1982, . * Georg Schreiber: ''Des Kaisers Reiterei. Österreichische Kavallerie in 4 Jahrhunderten.'' Mit einem Geleitwort von Alois Podhajsky. Speidel, Vienna, 1967. * Rüdiger Wischemann: ''Die Festung Koblenz. Vom römischen Kastell und Preussens stärkster Festung zur grössten Garnison d. Bundeswehr.'' Rhenania, Koblenz, 1978. * ''Das zehnte deutsche Bundes-Armeecorps im Lager bei Lüneburg'' In: ''Illustrirte Zeitung''. No. 26, 23. December 1843, J.J. Weber, Leipzig, 1843, pp. 403-408. {{Authority control Military history of Germany German Confederation

See also

References

Literature