 Flag of the Chief of the Admiralty Staff | |
 The stamp, and official emblem of the Imperial Admiral Staff of the German Empire | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 14 March 1899 |
| Preceding agency | |
| Dissolved | 15 September 1919 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction |  German Empire |
| Headquarters | Bendlerblock, Berlin |
| Agency executive |
|
The German Imperial Admiralty Staff (German: Admiralstab) was one of four command agencies for the administration of the Imperial German Navy from 1899 to 1918. While the German Emperor Wilhelm II as commander-in-chief exercised supreme operational command and control of the naval forces, the military staff was split into the Admiralty, the Naval Office, the Naval Cabinet, and the Inspector-General. The command structure had a negative impact on German naval warfare in World War I, as a professional head of the Imperial Navy, similar to the First Sea Lord, was not established until August 1918. After the war and the German Revolution of 1918–19, the Admiralty Staff became subordinate to the Naval Office and was finally disestablished by order of the German President.
The Admiralty Staff had, in principle, overall operational authority over the navy during wartime. In practice this was diluted by the ability of subordinate station commands (such as the High Seas Fleet[1]) to execute control over their own ships, and the ability of the Kaiser to override their directives.[2]