There was no German army. There were four. After 1871 the kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg kept their own armies, their own war ministries, their own cadet schools and their own general staffs — and a patchwork of agreements left the Kaiser and his Prussian generals without authority over nearly a quarter of the men who would fight for him. The three smaller kings decided their own appointments, their own deployments, and even the design of their own uniforms. In wartime everyone swore to the Kaiser. He commanded the Imperial German Army, less the Bavarian contingent. That is why there are eight uniforms in this box.

Now look at who they are. The Saxon Garde Reiter answers to Dresden. Crown Prince Rupprecht answers to Munich — and on 2 August 1914 he took command of the German Sixth Army: three Bavarian corps, a Bavarian reserve corps, and one Prussian corps, under a Bavarian prince. By 1916 he was a field marshal with four armies under him, holding the line opposite the British. Around him, Berlin's own: a Garde du Corps officer in gala dress, the 2nd Garde Uhlans, a General Officer of Jägers, and two Flügeladjutanten — a sovereign's personal aides. In a diorama it belongs with Part I and the Kaiser himself. The German infantry of 1916 are what all of it became.

Tradition of London model 98. 54mm, white metal, hand-painted in gloss enamel. Eight-figure set — general officers and officers of the Imperial German Army in full dress. Supplied in the Tradition Classic Red Box. Allow 2–3 weeks delivery.