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 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.
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:
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]
| 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 1826: Staatsminister der Armee thenceforward 1826: 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 |
| 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 |