Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria)

Bavarian Ministry of War in Munich, 1833

The Ministry of War (German: 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 at Ludwigstraße^[1] in Munich. Today the building, that was built by Leo von Klenze between 1824 and 1830, houses the Bavarian public record office, named 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 (literally: upper war council, after 1799)
• Kriegsjustizrat und Kriegsökonomierat (literally war justice council and war economic council, after 1801)
• Geheimes Kriegsbureau (literally: privy war bureau, after 1804)

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

From 1801 to 1817^[3], King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria by himself held the fully command of the Bavarian Army.^[4] In 1917 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 became also responsible for the administration of justice and economics. After 1829 the tasks and responsibilities of the supreme command of the army (Oberkommando, existing from 1922 to 1829) were transferred to the Minister of War, so that he was additionally commander-in-chief of the army.^[2] Compared to ministers of other countries, e. g. the Prussian minister, the Bavarian war minister had much more competences, after he got also the command of the army.^[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, the Bavarian ministry of transport^[5] as well as the ministry for military affairs were disband. 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 became subordinated to the Reichswehr, which was under 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 (literally: minister state secretary of warfare) 1814 to 1817: Dirigierender Minister des Kriegswesens (literally: directing minister of warfare) thenceforward 1817: Staatsminister der Armee (literally: 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 Frhr. 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 Frhr, 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 Frhr. Kreß von Kressenstein (1850–1929)	February 16, 1912	December 7, 1916
GL Maximilian Frhr. von Speidel (1856–1943)	1916	1916	(acting)[8]
GdK 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. ^ ^{a b c} Rainer Braun: Bayerisches Kriegsministerium German, Historisches Lexikon Bayerns, June 16, 2008.
3. ^ ^{a b c} 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, in the following Wilhelm Volkert, Richard Bauer, ISBN 9783406096693
6. ^ called Verweser
7. ^ probably an acting minister is missing between March 7 and July 11, 1863
8. ^ ^{a b} Bavaria - Ministers of War^{[dead link]}
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