It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Prussia, and was dissolved in 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I (1914–1918).

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the term Deutsches Heer refers to the German Army, the land component of the Bundeswehr.

He was assisted by a Military Cabinet and exercised control through the Prussian Ministry of War and the Great General Staff.

The command of the Prussian Army had been reformed in the wake of the defeats suffered by Prussia in the Napoleonic Wars.

Rather than rely primarily on the martial skills of the individual members of the German nobility, who dominated the military profession, the Prussian Army instituted changes to ensure excellence in leadership, organisation, and planning.

The German Army reported separately to the emperor, and increasingly played a major role in shaping foreign policy when military alliances or warfare was at issue.

They used close observation, conversations, and paid agents to produce very high-quality reports that gave a significant advantage to the military planners.

In 1905, when the First Moroccan Crisis was roiling international politics, the Chief of the General Staff Alfred von Schlieffen called for a preventive war against France.

At a critical point in the July Crisis of 1914, Helmuth von Moltke, the chief of staff, without telling the emperor or chancellor, advised his counterpart in Austria-Hungary to mobilise against Russia at once.

During the First World War, Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg increasingly set foreign policy, working directly with the emperor—and indeed shaped his decision-making—leaving the chancellor and civilian officials in the dark.

Historian Gordon A. Craig says that the crucial decisions in 1914, "were made by the soldiers and that, in making them, they displayed an almost complete disregard for political considerations.

Originally each military district was linked to an army corps; thus Wehrkreis I took over the area that I. Armeekorps had been responsible for and sent replacements to the same formation.

However, these links between rear areas and front line units were broken as the war went on and later corps were raised with troops from all over Germany.

In one instance, Freiherr von Sonden (from Württemberg) was able to "quite legitimately send a request directly to the Ministry of War in Stuttgart for the raising of a new artillery regiment".

That system was continued into the Imperial Army after 1871 and resulted in a modest cadre of professional officers and sergeants, and a large reserve force that could be quickly mobilised at the start of a war.

The Japanese, however, were also observing the reserve system and, unlike the British, decided to copy the Prussian model.

The army set prices and labour exemptions, regulated the supply of credit and raw materials, limited patent rights so as to allow cross-licensing among firms, and supervised management–labour relationships.

Although its name actually means something very close to the "Air Forces", it remained an integral part of the German Army for the duration of the war.

The Kaiserliche Marine of the German Empire had their own, separate Marine-Fliegerabteilung maritime aviation forces, apart from the Luftstreitkräfte of the army.

The German Army from 1871 to 1914 inherited the various traditions and military ranks of its constituent states, thus becoming a truly federal armed service.

Critics long believed that the army's officer corps was heavily dominated by Junker aristocrats, so that commoners were shunted into low-prestige branches, such as the heavy artillery or supply.