The Military Academy at Münster in Westphalia.

On the founding of the Military Academy

The academy was established in 1767. Its founder was the notable statesman and Enlightenment reformer Baron Franz Friedrich Wilhelm von Fürstenberg (1729–1810), who as minister of the prince-bishopric initially had largely free rein in his administration and also advanced the modernization of the military. The founding of the University of Münster in 1773 was also largely due to his efforts.

The academy was set up on the so-called Malinckrodtische Hof = Mallinckrodt-Hof (Gardehotel) in Münster. In the foundation and donation deed of 08.01.1784 it read: "Aside from a decent and proper bodyguard service suitable for our court, the principal purpose of this institution and establishment was to give young men of the nobility and also others the opportunity, alongside learning military service, to make themselves acquainted with all sorts of useful sciences and arts, both of war and of other kinds, and to train them well for the service and benefit of the country, as well as for their own fortune; and in particular to provide our local military corps with a nursery of capable young officers. The result has also shown that this institute prepared military and other useful knowledge, lent a hand to many parents anxious about a good education for their sons, and paved the way for many young people, both at home and abroad, to their provision and fortune, and has provided many capable officers to our local military corps."

The reforms of the aforementioned Franz v. Fürstenberg affected the entire military affairs of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster. He pursued the progressive aim for his time of creating a "militarily capable civic society." However, this statement must not be overstated.

Before the founding of the Military Academy, officer candidates – young "cadets" – were trained inconsistently and removed from practical experience. The Military Academy was intended to remedy this obvious defect. With the establishment of the Military Academy, Franz v. Fürstenberg fundamentally reformed the officer training of the Münster army in order to secure professionally trained leadership personnel for the (small) standing Münster army. The pupils – numbering 20–30 in total – were divided into young noble and bourgeois cadets. The service of the pupils related primarily to the person of the prince. The monthly pay amounted to a gross 10 Reichsthaler. 1 1/3 Reichsthaler were retained for lodging, fuel, and light.

On the curriculum of the Military Academy:

Training was subject to a strict Enlightenment utilitarian principle. It was no longer only about blind drilling, but about the systematic imparting of scientific and practical skills.

The learning contents included:

Mathematics and geometry, indispensable, for example, for calculating shot trajectories in the artillery as well as for fortress construction.

Military engineering (fortification) & tactics, in particular the study of the construction and siege of defensive works.

Languages (French) and geography. The latter were required in order to make better strategic use of terrain formations for military decisions.

Practical leadership: Young nobles and officer candidates were to be educated into "citizens in uniform" who thought logically instead of mechanically carrying out orders. However, this assessment appears exaggerated.

It is also known that the drill and language instructor Anton Miquel (occasionally Mikel) taught at the Münster Military Academy. Among others, he enjoyed the trust of the famous Princess Amalia von Gallitzin.

The fate of the Military Academy after its foundation:

After the devastating destructions of the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the Münsterland lay economically devastated. The city of Münster had also had to endure considerable destruction during the siege in 1759 – despite or precisely because of its fortifications. Fürstenberg had to pay off the enormous state debt, but he also wanted to protect the country militarily at the same time. At the center of his reform measures were above all:

The reduction of the standing army: To relieve the state coffers, the costly fortresses (among others in Münster, Warendorf, and Meppen) were razed and the core army was temporarily halved.

The introduction of mandatory lot-drawing (1766): Above all, later-born sons of peasants and members of the rural lower classes had to submit to a drawing-of-lots procedure. Those drawn served a maximum of three years in the regular army. This was also an attempt to save the costs of recruiting volunteers.

However, this attempt to introduce a form of general conscription ultimately had no success, i.e., they eventually returned to the previous recruitment of soldiers.

The strained financial situation also had consequences for the Military Academy. In 1789 there were still 18 pupils, in 1790 there were 10, and in 1791 only 4 students, so that from 1792 the academy could be considered to have been practically dissolved. The previous "guard service" was also taken over by the regular troops.

With the dissolution of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster following the Treaty of Paris of 23.05.1802 and subsequently the so-called Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803 and the ensuing Prussian (03.07.1802) and Napoleonic occupation, the era of the independent state existence of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster ended and with it the territorial military structures and, in this context, the continued existence of the Münster Military Academy.