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Bavarian War Ministry

Bavarian Ministry of War in Munich, 1833

The Ministry of War (German language: Kriegsministerium) was a ministry for military affairs of the Kingdom of Bavaria, founded as Ministerium des Kriegswesens on October 1, 1808 by King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. It was located on the Ludwigstraße[1] in Munich. Today the building, which was built by Leo von Klenze between 1824 and 1830, houses the Bavarian public record office, Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv und Staatsarchiv München.

History[]

The ministry was the successional institution of the royal Bavarian Hofkriegsrat (court war council, founded in 1620) and its follow-on institutions that were responsible for the military:

  • Oberkriegskollegium (upper war council, after 1799)
  • Kriegsjustizrat und Kriegsökonomierat (war justice council and war economic council, after 1801)
  • Geheimes Kriegsbureau (privy war bureau, after 1804)

The name of the Ministerium des Kriegswesens changed to Staatsministerium der Armee in 1817, and finally to Kriegsministerium in 1825.[2]

From 1801 to 1817,[3] King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria by himself held full command of the Bavarian Army.[4] In 1817 General von Triva was made the real head of the Ministry by him, but the administration of justice and economics of the military was part of the Oberadministrativkollegium and the Generallazarettinspektion. In 1822 Maximilian I assigned General von Wrede as commander-in-chief of the army, and the Staatsministerium der Armee also became responsible for the administration of justice and economics. After 1829 the tasks and responsibilities of the supreme command of the army (Oberkommando, existing from 1822 to 1829) were transferred to the Minister of War, so that he was additionally commander-in-chief of the army.[2] After acquiring command of the army, the Bavarian war minister had far more extensive responsibilities compared to ministers of other countries, such as the Prussian Minister of War.[3] After the breakdown of the Bavarian kingdom in 1918, the Kriegsministerium was replaced by the Ministerium für militärische Angelegenheiten (ministry of military affairs).

Due to the Weimar Constitution, from 1919 onwards the Bavarian Ministry of Transport[5] and the Ministry for Military Affairs were both disbanded. The former archive of the ministry, which was founded in 1885, became a section of the Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv und Staatsarchiv München.[2] The military troops of Bavaria were subordinated to the Reichswehr, which was under the command of the Reichspräsident. Therefore, the Ministry of War was replaced by the Reichswehrbefehlsstelle Bayern (Reichswehr commanding office Bavaria) until September 1919.[3]

Ministers[]

Name Term began Term ended Remarks
GdA Johann Nepomuk Graf von Triva (1755–1827) March 27, 1808 September 30, 1822 until 1814: Minister-Staatssekretär im Kriegswesen (minister state secretary of warfare)
1814 to 1817: Dirigierender Minister des Kriegswesens (directing minister of warfare)
thenceforward 1817: Staatsminister der Armee (state minister of the army)
GL Nikolaus Graf von Maillot de la Treille (1774–1834) September 30, 1822 January 31, 1829 until 1926: Staatsminister der Armee
thenceforward 1926: Kriegsminister (war minister)
GL Georg von Weinrich (1768–1836) January 31, 1829 December 12, 1836
GL Franz Xaver Frhr. von Hertling (1780–1844) December 12, 1836 November 1, 1838
GM Albrecht Besserer Frhr. von Thalfingen (1787–1839) November 1, 1838 January 28, 1839 (acting)[6]
GL Friedrich Frhr. von Hertling (1781–1850) January 28, 1839 June 9, 1839 (acting)
GM Anton Frhr. von Gumppenberg (1787–1855) June 9, 1839 March 1, 1847
GM Leonhard Frhr. von Hohenhausen (1788–1872) March 1, 1847 February 1, 1848 (acting)
GL Heinrich von der Mark (1782–1865) February 1, 1848 April 5, 1848 (acting)
GM Karl von Weishaupt (1787–1853) April 5, 1848 November 21, 1848
GL Wilhelm von Le Suire (1787–1852) November 21, 1848 May 29, 1849
GM Ludwig von Lüder (1795–1862) 29. Mai 1849 25. März 1855
GL Wilhelm Ritter von Manz (1804–1867) March 25, 1855 April 13, 1859
GM Ludwig von Lüder April 13, 1859 June 12, 1861 2nd period
GM Moritz Ritter von Spies (1805–1862) June 12, 1861 October 10, 1862
GL Hugo Ritter von Bosch (1782–1865) December 11, 1861 January 20, 1862 (acting for Ritter von Spies)
GL Bernhard von Heß (1792–1869) January 20, 1862 June 16, 1862 (acting for Ritter von Spies)
GM Moritz von Spies June 16, 1862 October 10, 1862(†)
GL Bernhard von Heß October 10, 1862 March 1, 1863 (acting after death of Ritter von Spies, 2nd time)
GM Karl Friedrich von Liel (1799–1863) March 1, 1863 March 7, 1863(†)
GL Hugo Ritter von Bosch July 11, 1863[7] July 26, 1863 (acting, 2nd time)
GL Bernhard von Heß July 26, 1863 August 15, 1863 (acting, 3rd time)
GM Eduard Ritter von Lutz (1810–1893) August 15, 1863 August 1, 1866
n/a Eduard Ritter von Rotberg (1799–1884) 1866 1866 (acting)[8]
GM Siegmund Freiherr von Pranckh (1821–1888) August 1, 1866 April 4, 1875
GdI Joseph Maximilian Ritter von Maillinger (1820–1901) April 4, 1875 May 1, 1885
GdI Adolf Ritter von Heinleth (1823–1895) May 1, 1885 May 6, 1890
GdI Benignus Ritter von Safferling (1825–1895) May 6, 1890 June 5, 1893
GL Adolph Freiherr von Asch zu Asch auf Oberndorff (1839–1906) June 5, 1893 April 4, 1905
GO Carl Graf von Horn (1847–1923) April 4, 1905 February 16, 1912
GO Otto Freiherr Kreß von Kressenstein (1850–1929) February 16, 1912 December 7, 1916
GL Maximilian Freiherr von Speidel (1856–1943) 1916 1916 (acting)[8]
General der Kavallerie Philipp von Hellingrath (1862–1939) December 11, 1916 November 8, 1918
Minister für militärische Angelegenheiten (ministers of military affairs) of Bavaria after the German revolution
Albert Roßhaupter (1878–1949) November 8, 1918 February 21, 1919 politician of the MSPD[9]
Richard Scheid (1876–1962) March 1, 1919 March 17, 1919 politician of the USPD
Ernst Schneppenhorst (1881–1945) March 18, 1919 August 22, 1919 politician of the MSPD

References and notes[]

  1. today No. 14
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Rainer Braun: Bayerisches Kriegsministerium German, Historisches Lexikon Bayerns, June 16, 2008.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wilhelm Volkert, Richard Bauer, p. 330 ff.
  4. Grundkurs deutsche Militärgeschichte, chapter 4. Das Heereswesen der Rheinbundstaaten am Beispiel Bayerns (German), Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2006, p. 152.
  5. Wilhelm Volkert, Richard Bauer: Handbuch der bayerischen Ämter, Gemeinden und Gerichte 1799-1980 (German), 1983, p. 3, ISBN 978-3-406-09669-3
  6. called Verweser
  7. probably an acting minister is missing between March 7 and July 11, 1863
  8. 8.0 8.1 Bavaria - Ministers of War Archived October 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany, later Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)

Coordinates: 48°08′47″N 11°34′47″E / 48.14639°N 11.57972°E / 48.14639; 11.57972

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