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August 1914
As
the name implies, die Oberste Heeresleitung (OHL)
or Supreme Army Command, was the highest level of command for Imperial
Germany's military forces during the Great War 1914-18. Although Kaiser
Wilhelm II was Supreme Commander and thus the titular head of the OHL,
the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army Helmuth von Moltke and
his successors were authorized to issue operational orders on the
Kaiser's behalf. The OHL and Chief of General Staff were for all
intents and purposes the same. Additionally, Article 63 of the German
Reich's Constitution from 1871 provided that the Kaiser would have
command of all regiments within the Reich, including Prussia, Saxony,
Bavaria, and Württemberg.
In the field, all OHL personnel surrounding the Kaiser constituted Das
Große Hauptquartier, the Great Headquarters of His Majesty
the Kaiser and King. The Great Headquarters went mobile on 3 August
1914, and the Kaiser's staff included the following personnel:
* Chief of the Military Cabinet Moriz
Frh von Lyncker
* First Commandant of the Great HQ Hans
von Plessen
* Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army Helmuth
von Moltke & his mobile staff
* War Minister Erich
von Falkenhayn & his mobile staff
* Imperial Chancellor Theobald
von Bethmann Hollweg
* five Supreme Service Arms Authorities: Claer,
Lauter,
Sieger,
Balck,
Groener
* Chief of the Naval Cabinet Georg
Alexander von Müller
* Chief of the Admiral Staff of the Navy Hugo
von Pohl
* representative of the Secretary of State of the Reich
Department of the Navy
* Military Plenipotentiaries from Saxony, Bavaria, and
Württemberg
* Military Plenipotentiaries from Austria-Hungary, Turkey,
and Bulgaria
* Chief of the Privy Cabinet Rudolf
von Valentini
* three of His Majesty's Adjutant-Generals and four
Aides-de-Camp (Flügeladjutant)
* two personal physicians to His Majesty
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OHL Personnel changes during the Great War:
Chief
of General Staff
02.08.1914 - 14.09.1914 Helmuth
von Moltke (First OHL)
14.09.1914 -
29.08.1916 Erich
von Falkenhayn (Second OHL)
29.08.1916 - 11.11.1918 Paul
von Hindenburg / Erich
Ludendorff (Third OHL)
Operations Section
02.08.1914 - 31.08.1916 Gerhard
Tappen
31.08.1916 - 25.09.1918 Georg
Wetzell
25.09.1918 - 11.11.1918 Wilhelm
Heye
Intelligence Section
02.08.1914 - 31.08.1916 Richard
Hentsch
02.08.1914 - 31.08.1916 von
Rauch
Political Section
02.08.1914 - 31.08.1916 Wilhelm
von Dommes
02.08.1914 - 31.08.1916 Paul
von Bartenwerffer
Field Telegraphy
02.08.1914 - 07.12.1914 William
Balck
07.12.1914 - 08.04.1917 Hans
von Wolff
08.04.1917 - 03.12.1918 Hans
Hesse
War Minister
02.08.1914 - 20.01.1915 Erich
von Falkenhayn
20.01.1915 - 29.10.1916 Adolf
Wild von Hohenborn
29.10.1916 - 09.10.1918 Hermann
von Stein
09.10.1918 - 11.11.1918 Heinrich
Scheüch
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Great Headquarters locations during the War:
02.08.1914 - 16.08.1914
Berlin, GE
16.08.1914 - 30.08.1914
Koblenz, GE
30.08.1914 - 25.09.1914
Luxembourg, LU
25.09.1914 - 19.09.1916
Charleville-Mézières, FR
09.05.1915 -
15.02.1916 Falkenhayn, Ops Section, and
Kaiser in Schloß Pleß
16.08.1916
- 20.09.1916 Falkenhayn, Ops Section, and
Kaiser in Schloß Pleß
20.09.1916 - 10.02.1917 Schloß
Pleß, GE (OHL officially moves to Pless Castle: Pszczyna, PL)
02.01.1917 - 08.03.1918 Bad Kreuznach, GE
08.03.1918 - 13.11.1918 Spa, BE
18.03.1918 -
07.09.1918 Hindenburg & Ops
Section in Avesnes-sur-Helpe, FR
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* from Formationsgeschichte
und Stellenbesetzung der Deutschen Streitkraefte, Teil I
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Cron's Imperial German Army
1914-18
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various sources
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jonathan viser 2000 - 2013
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