German Imperial Military Cabinet

The Prussian Military Cabinet or (later) the German Military Cabinet (Militärkabinett) was a military institution under the direct command authority of the Prussian king and German emperor for handling personnel matters of the army officer corps.

The Military Cabinet emerged from the Prussian Army personnel department in the wake of the 1809 reform of the military, and was officially established 3 July 1814. It developed under Kaiser Wilhelm II into a personal instrument of the monarch for processing all military matters.

The Chief of the Military Cabinet was often at the same time, Adjutant General (chief aide de camp) to the monarch and subordinate only to him. It was modernized under the leadership of Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel, from 1856/1857 to 1865. During Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the 1870/1871 Franco-Prussian War the chief of the Military Cabinet was a member of the army headquarters staff.

With the emergence of the Imperial German Army after 1871 the powers of the Military Cabinet were enlarged. It remained a Prussian authority and functioned as the Cabinet of the imperial army command. Until 1918 it was officially the "Military Cabinet of His Majesty the Emperor and King." The chief handled normal communications between the Emperor and other military authorities and was the only military officer to meet with the Emperor several times a week. Over time the cabinet became a great center of power. It had great influence on Kaiser Wilhelm I, and gained even more on Wilhelm II.

During the First World War, the Military Cabinet lost favor to the Third Supreme Command of Hindenburg and Ludendorff. With the overthrow of the monarchy the Military Cabinet became the personnel office of the Reichswehr (army) of the Weimar Republic.

Chiefs of the Militärkabinetts

 * 1808 Karl Wilhelm Georg von Grolman
 * 1810 Hermann von Boyen
 * 1816 Ludwig Gustav von Thile
 * 1818 Job von Witzleben
 * 1834 Friedrich Karl David von Lindheim
 * 1841 August Wilhelm von Neumann-Cosel
 * 1848 Friedrich Ludwig Robert Johann von Schoeler
 * 1857 Edwin von Manteuffel
 * 1864 Hermann von Tresckow
 * 1871 Emil von Albedyll
 * 1888 Wilhelm von Hahnke
 * 1901 Dietrich von Hülsen-Haeseler
 * 1908 Moriz von Lyncker
 * 1918 Ulrich von Marschall