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Bavarian Army Reform (1868)

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After the experience of the Bavarian army in the war against Prussia, in 1868 the Bavarian War Minister Siegmund Freiherr von Pranckh fundamentally reformed the army. His main measures were:

  • Reforms of the military reinforcement system:
    1. Abolition of the practice of avoiding conscription by hiring a paid substitute, called a Einsteher ("Proxy") or Einstandsmann ("Stand-In"), to volunteer to take their place.
    2. Creation of Dienstzeit (compulsory military service-time requirement) of three years for all able-bodied men.
    3. Introduction of the Einjährig-Freiwilliger (“One-year volunteer”) system after the Prussian model.
  • Abolition of Bavaria's Landwehr. The term Landsturm was henceforth used for the older members of the Reserve.
  • Foundation of the I Royal Bavarian Corps in Munich and II Royal Bavarian Corps in Würzburg
  • The Bavarian Cadet Corps was put on an equal footing with a Realgymnasium.

    • Through these reforms, the Bavarian Army was able to participate significantly in the Franco-Prussian War.

    References

    Bavarian Army Reform (1868) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA