The
German General Staff, originally the
Prussian General Staff and officially
Great General Staff (
Großer Generalstab), was a full-time body at the head of the
Prussian Army and later, the
German Army, responsible for the continuous study of all aspects of
war, and for drawing up and reviewing plans for mobilization or campaign. It existed unofficially from 1806, and was formally established by law in 1814, the first
general staff in existence. It was distinguished by the formal selection of its officers by intelligence and
proven merit rather than patronage or wealth, and by the exhaustive and rigorously structured training which its staff officers undertook. Its rise and development gave the German armed forces a decisive strategic advantage over their adversaries for nearly a century and a half.