The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte —known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches —was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, although that is not a literal translation of either name. German naval aviators of the Marine-Fliegerabteilung were an integral part of the Imperial German Navy. Both military branches operated aeroplanes, observation balloons and airships.
Leutnant Max Immelmann with his first Fokker Eindecker, E.13/15
Gotha G.V
Allbatros C.VII# C.1283/16
Fokker D.VII used by the Luftstreitkräfte
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army, was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Prussia, and was dissolved in 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I (1914–1918). In the Federal Republic of Germany, the term Deutsches Heer refers to the German Army, the land component of the Bundeswehr.
German Army hussars on the attack during maneuvers, 1912
Draftees of the German Army, 1898
German infantry charging across open ground on the battlefield, 1914
Imperial and state cockades