** war and social upheaval: important military organizations Wehrmacht old men and boys 1944-45








The Wehrmacht: Organization

Wehrmacht recruit training
Figure 1.--Since the day of the Great Elector, the Prussian/German infantry has been the best trained and most effective in Europe. These young recruits in 1938 are training in the use of hand grenades. The German type had a wooden stick. (The Model 24 Stielhandgranate (stick hand grenade) was the standard German hand grenade from World War I (1915) through World War II (1945). The British took to calling it a "Potato Masher". It is one of the most easily recognized infantry weapons from the two world wars.) Historians debate as to how World War II could have been prevented. Most concur that the point at which the Allies should have intervened was when Hitler reintroduced conscription (1935). This was the first time the name Wehrmacht was used.

The organization of the Wehrmacht and the German military in general is a very complicated topic. The Wehrmact was created by the NAZIs out of the Reichwehr of the Weimar Republic. The Wehrmacht was by far the largest of the German military formations, the other two were the Kreigsmarine and the Luftwaffe. When the NAZIs seized power there were two Party para-military organizations, the SA and SS. The Army viewd the large SA as a challenge to its institutional position as the principal armed group of the German state. And with good reason. SA commander Rhoem was a close associate of Hitler and dreamed of forming the new NAZI army around his SA. The Army after the NAZIs seized power was the only force capable of challenging Hitler's control of Germany. This impasse was settled by a bargain between Hitler and the Luftwaffe resulting in the Night of the Long Knives. Hitler used the SS to destroy the leadership of the SA and in return the officers and men of the Wehrmacht swore a personal oath of loya;ty to Adolf Hitler as F�hrer of the German Reich. Ironically after the War began, it was the SS that began to challenge the Wehrmacht insitutionally. The Waffen SS became increasingly important. The Wehrmacht itself had a variety of specialized units. Some of the best known were infantry, panzer (armoured), artillery, paratroop, police, ski, and other units. At the end of the War the NAZIs created the Volksstrum. Field organizations varied grearly over the course of the War. The three principal formations in the East were Army Groups North, Central, and South. The primary German formation in the west was Army Group B and especilly its 7th Army in France that had the primary respnsibility for stopping the Allied liberation of France. There were many smaller field formations. One of the most famous of these was the Afrika Korps in North Africa.

Reichwehr

The Wehrmact was created by the NAZIs out of the Reichwehr of the Weimar Republic. The Reichwehr was the scaled-down German army as provided by the Versailles Peace Treaty which ended World War I. The Reicwehr was limited, although it evaded the terms of the treaty in several ways. The Reichwehr itself was at its core the army of Imperial Germany with its Prussian Junker traditions. Its loyalty to the Republic was tenous at best. Many officers were still loyal to the monarchy, although political orientation varied. Many others were essentially apolitical, but alienated by the severe restrictions placed on the military by the Treaty.

Reintroduction of Conscription

Historians debate as to how World War II could have been prevented. Most concur that the point at which the Allies should have intervened was when Hitler reintroduced conscription (1935). Hitler announced the existence of the German Air Force--the Luftwaffe (March 15, 1935). The Luftwaffee already had 2,500 planes--a major force. This was a direct violation of one of the basic restrictioins in the the Versailles Treaty. He also announced the reintroduction of military conscription, an even more serious violation. The Wehrmacht was to be expanded to 0.5 million men--five times that allowed by the Versailles Treaty. This meant that Hitler was scrapping the Versailles Peace Treaty. Germany was preparing to build a 36-division Wehrmacht. The NAZIs then staged a large military parade the following day. Defense Minister General Werner von Blomberg that Germany would now be avle to take its rightful place among nations again. Hitler followed his consistent approach of speaking about how committed Germany was to peace. [Evans, p. 627.] This was a clear violation of the Versailles Treaty. It mean that he planned to build a largec army capable of wageing war. Of course if they had intervened they would have been depicted as war mongerers, restricting the legitimate aspirations of the defensless German people.

NAZI German Military Organizations

The Wehrmacht was created when Hitler announced the reintoduction of conscription (1935). It was the conerstone of the NAZI rearmament program. The Wehrmacht was by far the largest of the German military organizations. It was the highly professional Wehrmact in which most Germans served and succeeded in conquering most of Europe. The other two military organizations were the Kreigsmarine and the Luftwaffe. The Kreigsmarine was essentially the old navy of Imperial Navy. NAZI Germany had limited resources. It was the Navy that received the most limited resources as part of the NAZI remilitarizatioin of Germany. Ironically, it was the Kreigsmarine that came cloest to success in the Wrst. The Luftwaffe was different. It not only received lavish spending, but was formed out of the Wehrmacht (1935) and its ground support role throughout the War showed that imprint. Its very recent formatin (over 4 years before the outbreak of war) had advantages and disadvantages. The recent formation meant that they had extremely modern planes and equipment. Its recent formation and Germany's limited resources, however, meant that the Luftwaffe entered the war without a comprehensive view of air warfare.

NAZI Para-Military Formations

When the NAZIs seized power there were two Party para-military organizations, the SA and SS. The SA was a mass organization. It was known as the Storm Troopers played a major role in the NAZI rise to power. The Army viewd the large SA as a challenge to its institutional position as the principal armed group of the German state. And with good reason. SA commander Rhoem was a close associate of Hitler and dreamed of forming the new NAZI army around his SA. The SS was an elite group formed by Heinrich Himmler. It was at first tasked with party security. The Army after the NAZIs seized power (1933) was the only force capable of challenging Hitler's control of Germany. This impasse was settled by a bargain between Hitler and the Wehrmacht resulting in the Night of the Long Knives (1934). Hitler used the SS to destroy the leadership of the SA and in return the officers and men of the Wehrmacht swore a personal oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler as F�hrer of the German Reich. Ironically after the War began, it was the SS that began to challenge the Wehrmacht insitutionally. The Waffen SS became increasingly important.

Specialized Units

The Wehrmacht itself had a variety of specialized units. Some of the best known were infantry, panzer (armoured), artillery, paratroop, police, ski, and other units. The infantry and artillery were units that have long existed in European armies. Tanks had appeared on the European battlefield during World War I. It was theBritish who created the tank and used it successfully. German tanks were a disaster. It was the Germans and Soviets that focused in tanks in the inter-War period. And Hitler gave a priority to tanks as he remikitarized Germany. The new German Panzer divisions would play a key role in the German successes in the early campaigns. Paratoops were a German creation. They played a small role in the German Western Offence (1940). Their most important deployment was in Crete and losses were so high that Hitler never employed them vagain in an aerial capacity. Their major role was to so impress the Allies, that both American and Britain formed paratroop units that did plsy a major role in the war. After World War I, the Reichwehr disbanded military police units. This was primarily because of the limitations established by the Versailles Treaty. Reichwehr commanders did not want to expend limited resources on police units. Thus the Wehrmacht did not at have military police units.

Militia

At the end of the War the NAZIs created the Volksstrum. This was the last ditch NAZI effort to save the Third Reich. Boys and old men were drafted into hastily organized units to stop the Soviet and allied advances. Propaganda Minister Goebels was given connand of the Volksstrum.

Field Formations

Field organizations varied grearly over the course of the War. The three principal formations in the East were Army Groups North, Central, and South. The primary German formation in the west was Army Group B and especilly its 7th Army in France that had the primary respnsibility for stopping the Allied liberation of France. There were many smaller field formations. One of the most famous of these was the Afrika Korps in North Africa.

Sources

Evans, Richard J. The Third Reich in Power (Penguin: New York, 2005), 941p.






CIH







Navigate the CIH World War II Pages
[Return to Main Wehrmacht page]
[Return to Main NAZI German military force page]
[Return to Main military force page]
[Biographies] [Campaigns] [Children] [Countries] [Deciding factors] [Diplomacy] [Geo-political crisis] [Economics] [Home front] [Intelligence]
[POWs] [Resistance] [Race] [Refugees] [Technology] [Totalitarian powers]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Return to Main World War II page]
[Return to Main war essay page]
[Return to CIH Home page]





Created: 10:31 PM 6/22/2008
Last updated: 7:23 AM 6/26/2008