The
Imperial German Army (
Deutsches Heer) was the name given to the combined land and air forces — not including the
Marine-Fliegerabteilung maritime aviation formations of the
Kaiserliche Marine — of the
German Empire. The term
Deutsches Heer is also used for the modern
German Army, the land component of the
Bundeswehr. The German Army was formed after the unification of Germany under
Prussian leadership in 1871, and dissolved in 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire in
World War I.