Hofkriegsrat: Difference between revisions

Permanent councils of war had already been summoned by the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] emperor [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]] about 1500. The council was initially called a regiment, and later a secret body, state government, court council or state council. In 1529 it was considered necessary to establish an independent war council but the negotiations remained unsuccessful for a long time. On February 25, 1531, [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] issued an instruction in [[Linz]], which ordered the compilation of an independent war council consisting of four war councilors.

 

 

With the establishment of an [[Holy Roman Empire|imperial]] [[standing army]] in the 17th century, the ''Hofkriegsrat'' was the bureaucracy charged with managing the permanent military force. It served as the central military administrative agency and a military [[Chancery (medieval office)|chancery]], provided a staff for the emperor, and directed and coordinated field armies.<ref>{{cite book |authorlink=Gunther E. Rothenberg |first=Gunther E. |last=Rothenberg |title=The Army of Francis Joseph |url=https://archive.org/details/armyoffrancisjos00gunt |url-access=registration |location=West Lafayette |publisher=Purdue University Press |year=1976 |page=[https://archive.org/details/armyoffrancisjos00gunt/page/4 4]}}</ref> Additionally, it conducted relations with the [[Ottoman Empire]] and administered the [[Military Frontier]] (''Militärgrenze'').{{sfn|Rothenberg|1976|p=4}}