Imperial German Army

The German Army (Deutsches Heer) was the name given the combined land (and air) forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army (Reichsheer), Imperial Army (Kaiserliches Heer or Kaiserreichsheer) or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr. The Imperial German Army was formed when the German Empire was formed in 1871, and lasted until 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I.

Imperial German Army in Southern Victory
The Imperial German Army was formed at the start of the Franco-Prussian War, and was instrumental in defeating the French.

After the Second Mexican War, US military commanders were invited to train in Germany, modelling themselves on the style, tactics and tradition of the German Army.

During the Great War, the German Army was forced to fight a two front war, divided between France and Russia. They launched an offensive into France, which ultimately failed. Unable to beat ether France, Britain or completely conquered Belgium, the German Army introduced Poison Gas at Ypres. Another attempt to beat the French at Verdun resulted in victory, and France's steady decline. Although many news papers proclaimed that Paris had fallen to the Germans, the army never made it as France gave up the war in 1917.

The German Army was supreme on the European continent, moving into Belgium, Poland and the Ukraine to police their European puppets. Many German commanders had difficultly controlling the populaces of these nations, and sought out US advice, although this proved to be a dead end. As the world moved towards war, the German Army began to gear up once again.

Despite this, they were caught off guard when war broke out in 1941. Defeated by the French in the ardens, they lost control of Alsace and Lorraine and were forced back to the Rhine, while the British and French Armies defeated them in Belgium, and drove through the Netherlands and into Northern Germany, reaching the outskirts of Hamburg. For the first time since the Napoleon, the German army was fighting a defensive war on it's own territory. In the east, Germany's puppet allies failed to stem the tide of the Russian armies leaving the German Army stretched between two fronts. However, the fighting withdraw of the Germans made the Russian advances extremely costly, although they were forced back to the outskirts of Warsaw.

By 1943, the German Army had finally retaken the offensive, defeating the Russians in Poland, and the British in Northern Germany, forcing both armies to retreat. The Germans pushed the British back into the Netherlands, and then, into Belgium, while in the east, the Russians were finally defeated at Kiev.

The German Army was still victorious when the German Superbombs forced their enemies to seek an armistice, but once again, they never got to march into any of their enemies capitals.