German Federal Army

The German Federal Army () was the military arm of the German Confederation from 1815 to 1866 whose purpose was the defence of the Confederation against external enemies. Although the Congress of Vienna in 1815 decreed the formation of the army and delimited its size and purpose, no work on its formation was begun until 1841, after the Rhine crisis brought the threat of war to Germany. Even then, only preliminary work was accomplished on troop readiness. Most work focused on the building of federal fortresses.
Most preparations were aimed toward France, from where several wars of occupation had been launched in earlier times against the Holy Roman Empire. Cases of conflict between the federal allies, such as arose later during the Second Schleswig War (the Duke of Holstein was simultaneously the King of Denmark), were not anticipated or governed. 
The Austro-Prussian War, provoked by Kingdom of Prussia against the Austrian Empire, for domination of the German Confederation and its allies led to the defeat of the Federal Army in 1866 and thus to its disbandment.