The components of an imperial maneuver were the imperial parades of the participating army corps, the fleet parade, the fleet maneuver and the army maneuver lasting several days. Fleet parades and maneuvers were usually omitted if none of the participating corps had access to the sea. The participating land forces were usually made up of two of the largest military groups, the army corps of the German Army. These maneuvers provided contemporaries at home and abroad with a basis for assessing the combat value of the German army. In the same way, they were intended to clarify questions about military training that are still relevant today, while at the same time providing information for political historiography.