History UsefulNotes / PrussiansInPickelhauben

The answer was a submersible vessel that the Germans referred to as an "Unterseeboot" ("under-sea boat", or in Latinate English, "submarine boat"), which had quickly entered the English language as "U-boat."[[note]]Do note that in German, "U-boat" is the generic term for any submarine, German or otherwise.[[/note]] While the last nation to adopt the submarine as a naval vessel, Germany was the first to demonstrate its capabilities. In the first weeks of World War I, U-9 sank three British cruisers in less than an hour; a primitive submarine with a crew of 24 that could take down 1500 enemy sailors proved irresistible. The Imperial Navy was quick to capitalize on this new weapon, using U-boats to heavily target the shipping that Britain depended on. Over the course of the war, an astounding 30% of all the world's merchant shipping had been sunk, most of it by U-boats. Eventually, the British managed to win the Battle of the Atlantic by adopting the convoy system: placing ships in large groups protected by escort vessels. This immediately emptied the ocean of ships and concentrated efforts of escorts allowed the usage of the depth charge, a new bomb that exploded at a specified depth, to sink U-boats. Once the war ended, Germany surrendered all of her U-boats to the British. One of the surviving captains, a young officer named [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Karl Dönitz]], immediately began thinking of ways to respond to the convoy and prepare for [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the next submarine war]].

In theory there was no German army, but a ''Bundesheer'' (federal army) consisting of the Royal Prussian Army and the armies of the other sovereign states [[UsefulNotes/AllTheLittleGermanies (three kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, ten principalities and three free cities)]] that made up the Empire. Consequently there was no German secretary of war, only a Prussian and a Bavarian minister of war. The armies of all the medium-sized and smaller states were integrated into the Prussian army just before or just after the foundation of UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany, and the Prussian army also included the soldiers recruited from Alsace and Lorraine (annexed from France in 1871 and administrated by the central German government). Bavaria, being the second-largest state and monarchy had a larger autonomy in military matters than the other non-Prussian states and to mark this its military units were numbered separately, even though as far as arms, uniforms and equipment went the differences were not bigger than between e. g. Prussian and Saxon units. German officers and soldiers would always wear two cockades on their head-dress, a black-white-and-red one for the empire and one of different colours for the nation they belonged: black and white for Prussia, white and blue for Bavaria, red and black for Württemberg, white and green for Saxony and so on.

In contrast to the ground forces, naval matters were considered national, not federal, and so in 1872 an Imperial Admiralty replaced the Prussian Navy Ministry. This was split into three bodies in 1889, including the ''Reichsmarineamt'' (Imperial Navy Office), which was headed by a Secretary of State (Imperial Germany's equivalent of a minister). With few overseas colonies, Germany did not have a need for a large navy, focusing its attention on the army to protect against the Great Powers that surrounded it. That changed at the dawn of the 20th Century, when Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to have a navy that could rival his British cousins.

Pretty much any work dealing with UsefulNotes/WorldWarI will feature the Imperial German armed forces in ''some'' context, for this see '''WorksSetInWorldWarI'''. In contrast to [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons the Wehrmacht]], Imperial German forces are usually considered less of an AcceptableTarget in English-language media and are more likely to receive a sympathetic, or at least balanced, portrayal.

* ''Film/ThoseMagnificentMenInTheirFlyingMachines'', features [[Creator/GertFrobe Gert Fröbe]] who plays just about every Prussian stereotype in full (set before World War I).

The answer was a submersible vessel that the Germans referred to as an "Unterseeboot" ("under-sea boat", or in Latinate English, "submarine boat"), which had quickly entered the English language as "U-boat."[[note]]Do note that in German, "U-boat" is the generic term for any submarine, German or otherwise.[[/note]] While the last nation to adopt the submarine as a naval vessel, Germany was the first to demonstrate its capabilities. In the first weeks of World War I, U-9 sank three British cruisers in less than an hour; a primitive submarine with a crew of 24 that could take down 1500 enemy sailors proved irresistible. The Imperial Navy was quick to capitalize on this new weapon, using U-boats to heavily target the shipping that Britain depended on. Eventually, the British managed to win the Battle of the Atlantic by adopting the convoy system: placing ships in large groups protected by escort vessels. This immediately emptied the ocean of ships and concentrated efforts of escorts allowed the usage of the depth charge, a new bomb that exploded at a specified depth, to sink U-boats. Once the war ended, Germany surrendered all of her U-boats to the British. One of the surviving captains, a young officer named [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Karl Dönitz]], immediately began thinking of ways to respond to the convoy and prepare for [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the next submarine war]].

Pretty much any work dealing with UsefulNotes/WorldWarI will feature the Imperial German armed forces in ''some'' context. In contrast to [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons the Wehrmacht]], Imperial German forces are usually considered less of an AcceptableTarget in English-language media and are more likely to receive a sympathetic, or at least balanced, portrayal.

* ''Film/AceOfAce'': the opening scene is set during World War I and features a comically indecisive air battle between two {{Ace Pilot}}s, a French one and a German one. Also features a no less [[AdolfHitlarious comical]] Adolf Hitler watching them from the trenches.

* ''{{Film/Flyboys}}''

* ''Film/{{Passchendaele}}'' features them as antagonists against the [[UsefulNotes/CanucksWithChinooks Canadian protaganists]].
* ''Shout at the Devil''
* ''Film/Westfront1918'', directed by G. W. Pabst.
* ''Film/WonderWoman2017''

* ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuTheWastedLand'' follows a team of six British and American investigators during the Great War and features Imperial German soldiers as the initial antagonists. The plot is about preventing a German mad scientist from creating an army of undead and monsters fighting for Germany.[[note]]German basic soldiers are progressively replaced by Franchise/CthulhuMythos creature when progressing in the campaign, but German EliteMooks remain present until the end[[/note]]

* ''Storm of Steel'' by Ernst Jünger.

* ''Der Hauptmann von Köpenick'' (set before World War I).

* ''Film/{{Passchendaele}}'' features them as antagonists against the [[CanucksWithChinooks Canadian protaganists]].

* While the original ''VideoGame/{{Wings}}'' has the armed forces of UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany as the antagonist, the improved UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance version offers a full German campaign.

Seen today mostly on the heads of [[BadassBiker motorcyclists]], the ''[[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Bismarck_pickelhaube.jpg Pickelhaube]]'' ("pointed bonnet") is perhaps the most iconic symbol of Prussia and the German Empire. It was eventually phased out about midway through World War I, as it was realized that the spike made it an attractive target for sharpshooters and that, being made of leather, it did not provide enough protection. It was soon replaced by a [[{{Foreshadowing}} simple steel helmet of a swooped-back design]], that became known to British troops as the "coal scuttle", but was officially called the ''Stahlschutzhelm, Modell 1916'' ("steel protective helmet, model 1916"), or ''Stahlhelm'' for short. (In German the word "Stahlhelm" is generic and also applies to steel helmets of all kinds of models, including non-German ones). A modernized version of this is used by the [[UsefulNotes/WeAreNotTheWehrmacht Bundeswehr]] since the early [[TheNineties 90s]] (initially, the Bundeswehr abandoned the ''Stahlhelm'' in favor of American-style M1 "GI pot" helmets for [[ThoseWackyNazis obvious]] [[UnfortunateImplications reasons]], but the design's image had been rehabilitated somewhat since the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks U.S. Armed Forces]] and most [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships other]] [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades NATO]] [[UsefulNotes/CanucksWithChinooks armies]] adopted very similar designs starting in the [[TheEighties 80s]] [[BoringButPractical because it offers better ballistic protection than the classic GI helmet]] and the Germans eventually followed suit).

Although it was unified for less than half a century, UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany already had a strong military tradition inherited from its founding state of {{Prussia}}.

In theory there was no German army, but a ''Bundesheer'' (federal army) consisting of the Royal Prussian Army and the armies of the other sovereign states [[UsefulNotes/AllTheLittleGermanies (three kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, ten principalities and three free cities)]] that made up the Empire. Consequently there was no German secretary of war, only a Prussian and a Bavarian minister of war. The armies of all the medium-sized and smaller states were integrated into the Prussian army just before or just after the foundation of ImperialGermany, and the Prussian army also included the soldiers recruited from Alsace and Lorraine (annexed from France in 1871 and administrated by the central German government). Bavaria, being the second-largest state and monarchy had a larger autonomy in military matters than the other non-Prussian states and to mark this its military units were numbered separately, even though as far as arms, uniforms and equipment went the differences were not bigger than between e. g. Prussian and Saxon units. German officers and soldiers would always wear two cockades on their head-dress, a black-white-and-red one for the empire and one of different colours for the nation they belonged: black and white for Prussia, white and blue for Bavaria, red and black for Württemberg, white and green for Saxony and so on.

* While the original ''VideoGame/{{Wings}}'' has the armed forces of ImperialGermany as the antagonist, the improved UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance version offers a full German campaign.

* While the original ''VideoGame/{{Wings}}'' has the armed forces of ImperialGermany as the antagonist, the improved GameBoyAdvance version offers a full German campaign.

* ''Westfront 1918'', directed by G. W. Pabst.

In theory there was no German army, but a ''Bundesheer'' (federal army) consisting of the Royal Prussian Army and the armies of the other sovereign states [[AllTheLittleGermanies (three kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, ten principalities and three free cities)]] that made up the Empire. Consequently there was no German secretary of war, only a Prussian and a Bavarian minister of war. The armies of all the medium-sized and smaller states were integrated into the Prussian army just before or just after the foundation of ImperialGermany, and the Prussian army also included the soldiers recruited from Alsace and Lorraine (annexed from France in 1871 and administrated by the central German government). Bavaria, being the second-largest state and monarchy had a larger autonomy in military matters than the other non-Prussian states and to mark this its military units were numbered separately, even though as far as arms, uniforms and equipment went the differences were not bigger than between e. g. Prussian and Saxon units. German officers and soldiers would always wear two cockades on their head-dress, a black-white-and-red one for the empire and one of different colours for the nation they belonged: black and white for Prussia, white and blue for Bavaria, red and black for Württemberg, white and green for Saxony and so on.

Although it was unified for less than half a century, UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany already had a strong military tradition inherited from its founding state of Prussia.

In theory there was no German army, but a ''Bundesheer'' (federal army) consisting of the Royal Prussian Army and the armies of the other sovereign states (three kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, ten principalities and three free cities) that made up the Empire. Consequently there was no German secretary of war, only a Prussian and a Bavarian minister of war. The armies of all the medium-sized and smaller states were integrated into the Prussian army just before or just after the foundation of ImperialGermany, and the Prussian army also included the soldiers recruited from Alsace and Lorraine (annexed from France in 1871 and administrated by the central German government). Bavaria, being the second-largest state and monarchy had a larger autonomy in military matters than the other non-Prussian states and to mark this its military units were numbered separately, even though as far as arms, uniforms and equipment went the differences were not bigger than between e. g. Prussian and Saxon units. German officers and soldiers would always wear two cockades on their head-dress, a black-white-and-red one for the empire and one of different colours for the nation they belonged: black and white for Prussia, white and blue for Bavaria, red and black for Württemberg, white and green for Saxony and so on.

* ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront''

* ''Literature/ConfessionsOfFelixKrull''
* ''Literature/EffiBriest'' (set befor World War I)
* ''55 Days in Peking'' (set during the Boxer War).

* ''ComicBook/GoldenEyesAndHerHeroBill'', set during World War I, features antagonistic German officer Hugo Von Schwatzenburg who wears a Pickelhaub [[http://cartoons.osu.edu/digital_albums/nellbrinkley/8.php#anchor in his first appearance]].
* ''Literature/GoodbyeToAllThat''

* ''Der Hauptmann von Köpenick'' (set before World War I).
* ''Series/HitlerTheRiseOfEvil'', briefly shows UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler's service on the Western Front.

* ''Literature/DerStechlin'', set in the 1890s.
* ''Storm of Steel'' by Ernst Jünger.
* ''Film/ThoseMagnificentMenInTheirFlyingMachines'', features [[Creator/GertFrobe Gert Fröbe]] who plays just about every Prussian stereotype in full (set before World War I).

* While the original ''VideoGame/{{Wings}}'' has the armed forces of ImperialGermany as the antagonist, the improved GameBoyAdvance version offers a full German campaign.

* ''Videogame/ValiantHearts'', set on the Western Front during WWI, features a German soldier as one of playable characters.

* ''Literature/GoodbyeToAllThat''