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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
  * three of His Majesty's Adjutant-Generals and four Aides-de-Camp (Flügeladjutant)
  * two personal physicians to His Majesty

  
  

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* from Formationsgeschichte und Stellenbesetzung der Deutschen Streitkräfte, Teil I

Cron's Imperial German Army 1914-18

various sources

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