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The Reichsflotte (, Imperial Fleet) was the first navy for all of Germany, established by the revolutionary German Empire to provide a naval force in the First Schleswig War against Denmark. The decision was made on 14 June 1848 by the Frankfurt Parliament,Günter Wollstein: Das ‚Großdeutschland‘ der Paulskirche. Nationale Ziele in der bürgerlichen Revolution 1848/1849. Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1977, p. 262/263. which is considered by the modern German Navy as its birthday. Website of the German Navy, retrieval on 29 May 2016.
In December 1849 the imperial government was replaced by a federal commission. In 1851 the German Confederation was fully re-established. The German states such as Prussia, Hanover and Austria had a quarrel regarding the ships and the costs to sustain a fleet. In 1852 the Confederation decided to dissolve the fleet and sell the ships.Walther Hubatsch: Forschungsstand und Ergebnis. In: derselbe (Hrsg.): Die erste deutsche Flotte 1848-1853, E. S. Mittler und Sohn, Herford / Bonn 1981, p. 79-94, here p. 90/91.
This newly created provisional government was headed by Archduke John of Austria as regent ( Reichsverweser); he named August von Jochmus as Foreign Minister and Navy minister.
The parliament first met in Frankfurt on 18 May 1848, and on 12 June 1848 the diet of the German Confederation turned over its budget to the parliament. Only two days later, the parliament decided to spend six million Reichsthaler on a navy to be under the command of Prince Adalbert of Prussia. When he had to resign due to an order by the King of Prussia, Konteradmiral Karl Rudolf Brommy took over.
In the Battle of Heligoland of 4 June 1849, the fleet under Brommy saw its only sea battle, which also remains the first and only naval combat under the black-red-gold flag of Germany. The battle, involving five vessels altogether, was inconclusive, with no losses on either side, but after it the Danish blockade was restored.
Until 1852, the fleet had
The ships became the property of the re-established German Confederation, via the Bundeszentralkommission of 1849-1851 that dealt with the tasks of the former Central Power of the Imperial Regent. An argument arose as to whether the fleet was an 'organic institution' of the Confederation or simply a property. The majority of the Bundestag argued that it was just a property so that a decision about it did not need unanimity.Ernst Rudolf Huber: Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789. Vol. III: Bismarck und das Reich. 3. Auflage, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart et al. 1988, p. 138-140.
On 2 April 1852, the Reichsflotte was dissolved. While most ships were sold off, two of the steam frigates were given to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the North German Federal Navy (1867-1871) and that then became the Imperial German Navy (1872-1918).
The term Bundesflotte (Federal Fleet) is also used, but this is misleading, as it was not operated by the German Confederation in its first years. Bundesflotte was also the name of an Austrian-Prussian naval project in 1865. The modern German navy since 1956 was called the Bundesmarine but now uses the name Deutsche Marine.
The "Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs", article III § 19, states:
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