nonconformist
Miserable
The Wehrmacht at a glance By Julian "nonconformist" Howard, with thanks to "Private hudson" and "Hitro".
introduction
The Wehrmacht was the German army between 1934-1945. The Wehrmacht, unlike films and sources that are not among the most credible, were not primarily made up of Nazis, as a whole, and tried to distance itself from the Nazi Party. It is true, however, that there were Nazis within it, and who commited atrovcities and crimes, but the Wehrmacht was never, at Nuremburg, nor otherwise, branded as a criminal organisation as the SS and Gestapo were, as it was recognised that the Wehrmacht was, first and foremost a fighting organisation.
Background
At the end of WWI, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in the Hall of Mirrors, at Versailles Palace. The treaty imposed huge, and humiliating, restrictions and punishments on Germany. Though there is much to be said about it and the "November Criminals", only the military restrictions will be looked at.
Basically, the treaty completely disbanded the airforce, the Luftwaffe, disbanded the U-boat arm of the navy, severely restricted the manufacture or importation of military hardware, and the army was reduced to 100,000 men, a ridiculous size army for a country as large as Germany, as well as banning conscription; all German soldiers had to be volunteers.
During the mid 1920s, during the time that Gustav Stressemann was Chancellor of Germany, the country started secretly rearming. This continued well after the end of his rule, and into that of Hitler.
The Luftwaffe was secretly retraining itself, pretending to be civilian flight clubs.
Tank manoeuvres were being simulated using dummy tanks made from canvas that "drivers" would push. Secret tanks, under the names of "Industrial Tractors" were being manufactured. Germany was re-arming itself for war.
Branches of the Wehrmacht
There were many branches of the Wehrmacht, the collective name for the German armed forces, though not all came under Wehrmacht jurisdiction, as such.
The Wehrmacht was controlled by Hitler, through the OKW, the OberKommando der Wehrmacht, the Wehrmacht High Command, of which the head was Wilhelm Keitel.
Wilhelm Keitel
Heer The Heer was basically the army. It was commanded in 1939 by Von Brauschitsch (Later Hitler), head of the OKH, OberKommando Der Heeres. This basically comprised of the infantry, the Panzer (armoured) arm, and artillery.
KriegsMarine The German navy. Was led by the OKM (OberKommando der Marine) of which Erich Raeder (and later Karl Doenitz) was the head. The Kriegsmarine did little in the terms of shorework, excepting shore parties, which were not common.
Erich Raeder
Karl Doenitz.
LuftwaffeThe German airforce, of which Erdhard Milch was the head of under the OKL (OberKommando der Luftwaffe) in 1939. Though engaged primarily in aircraft, the Luftwaffe also did a lot of work on the ground. Some of this was done by Luftwaffe anti-aircraft sections using FlaK (FliegerAbwehrKanon, or anti-aircraft gun) to drive away enemy aircraft, or primarily by the FallSchirmJager, the elite German paratroopers, some of Germany's best soldiers, who despite being used mostly in ground roles, as after the invasion of Crete the Germans had decided airdrops too risky, were still technically under Luftwaffe jurisdiction. The Luftwaffe also made up some fighting units from its ranks for service on the Eastern Front, and later elsewhere.
Erdhard Milch.
Waffen SSThe Waffen SS was technically not under the control of the Wehrmacht, it was a separate organisation. Originally conceived as an elite organisation, it was motivated more by political doctrine than a military one. Though supposedly elite, the Waffen SS was less well armed at the outbreak of the war, due to friction between it and the Wehrmacht, leading to the Wehrmacht issuing the equipment keeping the best for the Wehrmacht. During the whole war, the Waffen SS were overall a rather average organisation fighting-wise. Some units fought very well, while others were terrible in combat. The Waffen SS were responsible for most of the warcrimes committed by the Germans during the war. It also conscripted, or accepted volunteers into Freiwilligen or Hilfswilligen units, being volunteer and auxiliary units respectively, from abroad, among them the Charlemagne French unit, the Handschar Balkans unit, the Nordland Scandinavian unit and the Wiking unit which was a mix of different nationalities.
The Wehrmacht rank system
The rank system in the Wehrmacht Heer (army) was very similar to that of the USA and Britain. This is a table with approximate equivalents. Note that this does not apply for the Kriegsmarine, or Luftewaffe, which being different departments altogether, as in the UK and USA, required different ranks, nor for the Waffen SS, who, considering themselves elite, and a branch of the Nazi Party, used more ceremonial names, prefixed with SS.
Allied armies Wehrmacht
Private, gunner etc.....................................Grenadier, Kanonier Schutze
Non-commissioned officers.
Lance Corporal/PFC................................................................Gefreiter
Corporal.........................................................................Obergefreiter
Sergeant.......................................................................Unterofficier
Higher-ranking sergeants...................................Feldwebel, OberFeldwebel
2nd Lieutenant....................................................................Leutnant
1st Lieutenant...............................................................OberLeutnant
Commissioned Officers
Captain............................................................................Hauptmann
Major..................................................................................... Major*
Lieutenant Colonel.........................................................OberstLeutnant
Colonel.................................................................................Oberst
Major General.................................................................General Major*
Lieutenant General........................................................GeneralLeutnant
General..............................................................General, GeneralOberst
Field Marshal..........................................................GeneralFeldMarschall
*Remember the Germans pronounce their Js as ys, so Major is in fact pronounced Ma-yoor
The Wehrmacht
When the Wehrmacht first went into Poland on September 1st, 1939, they had a resounding success. The communication and cooperation between infantry, armour and air meant that they could pull off the intricate, but powerful tactic of Blitzkrieg-the Lightning War.
Blitzkrieg was basically using air support, like the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka, a gull wing dive-bomber with sirens to terrify the troops it was bombing, to destroy bridges, barracks and armoured columns before they got to the front. Then, light tanks, such as the Panzer II, and armoured cars, sped into enemy territory to destroy infantry and armour that was still there. They were quickly followed up by infantry in trucks and half-tracks for support. The opposing army would be thrown into disarray and confusion, not knowing how far the enemy had penetrated, nor the strength.
Poland fell within a month.
Germany launched Fall Gelb (Operation Yellow) in the West on may 10th 1940. Luxembourg fell the next day, the Netherlands five days after the attack, Belgium 18 days. The BEF, the British Expeditionary force is beaten back to Dunkirk on the 26th, and they are force to evacuate, a shambles of an army, leaving thousands of vehicles and weapons behind. France falls almost a month later.
After the success of the German army in the West, and the Mediterranean, the British finally have success in North Africa.
Hitler then makes a fatal mistake. He launches Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22nd, 1941. Despite early successes, the leadership makes mistakes, leading to the terrible battle at Stalingrad. It goes on into 1943, when the German army, encircled and without a chance of fighting, surrenders, along with Field-Marshal Paulus, the first German Field-Marshal to surrender. It takes a huge chunk out of the Wehrmacht, and lowers morale.
Hitler had declared war on America on December 10th, 1941, another fatal mistake, It drags America into the war, who, despite early losses at Kasserine pass, helps out in North Africa to beat Rommel.
Italy is then invaded by the Western Allies in Operation Husky, and they fight up the boot to defeat the Italians, and German mountain troops, the GerbigsJager. Rome is captured on June 5th, 1944.
June 6th, 1944, the Western Allies land in Normandy, despite fighting incredibly hard, the German army, along with the foreign conscripts it has forced into battle, allow the Allies to land.
The Luftwaffe is practically non-existent. The Kriegsmarine has no U-boats or warships to spare. The Waffen-SS is made up of a mixture of conscripts and volunteers. However, the Wehrmacht is certainly not beaten. It is, using author and historian Stephen E. Ambroses words Like a wounded tiger being chased by a hunter, occasionally stopping, and swiping, drawing blood.
In the East, the Red Army is busy capturing land from the Germans, both from the East, and finally from Germany itself.
July 20th, the July plot happens. Many high-ranking Wehrmacht officers attempt to kill Hitler with a bomb in his headquarters. They fail, and the Wehrmacht high-command is purged, losing valuable people like Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, and Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel. The Wehrmacht finally has Nazism imposed on it, the standard salute being replaced by the Hitler salute.
In September, 1944, the first Allies enter Germany.
December 1944: Battle of the Bulge. Germany makes a lat counterattack, throwing all the armour, men and fuel it can muster into it. The army is told to fight without any scruples. The Waffen-SS commits atrocities, using this as a defence. The attack fails, leaving Germany short of armour and fuel.
In April 1945, the Red Army enters Berlin. The German army now consists of auxiliary conscripts. The SS roams Berlin, forcing anyone it can find to fight. The Volksturm, made up of men too old or young to fight, or people disqualified of service because of ill health, special units of people wounded in war, such as deaf units, and children are made to fight the Red Army, sometimes equipped only with a bicycle and a one-shot anti-tank grenade.
On May the 7th, Germany, under the leadership of Karl Doenitz surrenders.
Sources:
German Army Handbook, 1939-1945 Lucas, James.
Quote from Citizen Soldier Ambrose, Stephen E.
www.wikipedia.com provided a lot of information, and all photos.
If you can see any errors, ommissions or problems, or you have any suggestions or criticisms, please notify me. Thank you.
introduction
The Wehrmacht was the German army between 1934-1945. The Wehrmacht, unlike films and sources that are not among the most credible, were not primarily made up of Nazis, as a whole, and tried to distance itself from the Nazi Party. It is true, however, that there were Nazis within it, and who commited atrovcities and crimes, but the Wehrmacht was never, at Nuremburg, nor otherwise, branded as a criminal organisation as the SS and Gestapo were, as it was recognised that the Wehrmacht was, first and foremost a fighting organisation.
Background
At the end of WWI, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in the Hall of Mirrors, at Versailles Palace. The treaty imposed huge, and humiliating, restrictions and punishments on Germany. Though there is much to be said about it and the "November Criminals", only the military restrictions will be looked at.
Basically, the treaty completely disbanded the airforce, the Luftwaffe, disbanded the U-boat arm of the navy, severely restricted the manufacture or importation of military hardware, and the army was reduced to 100,000 men, a ridiculous size army for a country as large as Germany, as well as banning conscription; all German soldiers had to be volunteers.
During the mid 1920s, during the time that Gustav Stressemann was Chancellor of Germany, the country started secretly rearming. This continued well after the end of his rule, and into that of Hitler.
The Luftwaffe was secretly retraining itself, pretending to be civilian flight clubs.
Tank manoeuvres were being simulated using dummy tanks made from canvas that "drivers" would push. Secret tanks, under the names of "Industrial Tractors" were being manufactured. Germany was re-arming itself for war.
Branches of the Wehrmacht
There were many branches of the Wehrmacht, the collective name for the German armed forces, though not all came under Wehrmacht jurisdiction, as such.
The Wehrmacht was controlled by Hitler, through the OKW, the OberKommando der Wehrmacht, the Wehrmacht High Command, of which the head was Wilhelm Keitel.
Wilhelm Keitel
Heer The Heer was basically the army. It was commanded in 1939 by Von Brauschitsch (Later Hitler), head of the OKH, OberKommando Der Heeres. This basically comprised of the infantry, the Panzer (armoured) arm, and artillery.
KriegsMarine The German navy. Was led by the OKM (OberKommando der Marine) of which Erich Raeder (and later Karl Doenitz) was the head. The Kriegsmarine did little in the terms of shorework, excepting shore parties, which were not common.
Erich Raeder
Karl Doenitz.
LuftwaffeThe German airforce, of which Erdhard Milch was the head of under the OKL (OberKommando der Luftwaffe) in 1939. Though engaged primarily in aircraft, the Luftwaffe also did a lot of work on the ground. Some of this was done by Luftwaffe anti-aircraft sections using FlaK (FliegerAbwehrKanon, or anti-aircraft gun) to drive away enemy aircraft, or primarily by the FallSchirmJager, the elite German paratroopers, some of Germany's best soldiers, who despite being used mostly in ground roles, as after the invasion of Crete the Germans had decided airdrops too risky, were still technically under Luftwaffe jurisdiction. The Luftwaffe also made up some fighting units from its ranks for service on the Eastern Front, and later elsewhere.
Erdhard Milch.
Waffen SSThe Waffen SS was technically not under the control of the Wehrmacht, it was a separate organisation. Originally conceived as an elite organisation, it was motivated more by political doctrine than a military one. Though supposedly elite, the Waffen SS was less well armed at the outbreak of the war, due to friction between it and the Wehrmacht, leading to the Wehrmacht issuing the equipment keeping the best for the Wehrmacht. During the whole war, the Waffen SS were overall a rather average organisation fighting-wise. Some units fought very well, while others were terrible in combat. The Waffen SS were responsible for most of the warcrimes committed by the Germans during the war. It also conscripted, or accepted volunteers into Freiwilligen or Hilfswilligen units, being volunteer and auxiliary units respectively, from abroad, among them the Charlemagne French unit, the Handschar Balkans unit, the Nordland Scandinavian unit and the Wiking unit which was a mix of different nationalities.
The Wehrmacht rank system
The rank system in the Wehrmacht Heer (army) was very similar to that of the USA and Britain. This is a table with approximate equivalents. Note that this does not apply for the Kriegsmarine, or Luftewaffe, which being different departments altogether, as in the UK and USA, required different ranks, nor for the Waffen SS, who, considering themselves elite, and a branch of the Nazi Party, used more ceremonial names, prefixed with SS.
Allied armies Wehrmacht
Private, gunner etc.....................................Grenadier, Kanonier Schutze
Non-commissioned officers.
Lance Corporal/PFC................................................................Gefreiter
Corporal.........................................................................Obergefreiter
Sergeant.......................................................................Unterofficier
Higher-ranking sergeants...................................Feldwebel, OberFeldwebel
2nd Lieutenant....................................................................Leutnant
1st Lieutenant...............................................................OberLeutnant
Commissioned Officers
Captain............................................................................Hauptmann
Major..................................................................................... Major*
Lieutenant Colonel.........................................................OberstLeutnant
Colonel.................................................................................Oberst
Major General.................................................................General Major*
Lieutenant General........................................................GeneralLeutnant
General..............................................................General, GeneralOberst
Field Marshal..........................................................GeneralFeldMarschall
*Remember the Germans pronounce their Js as ys, so Major is in fact pronounced Ma-yoor
The Wehrmacht
When the Wehrmacht first went into Poland on September 1st, 1939, they had a resounding success. The communication and cooperation between infantry, armour and air meant that they could pull off the intricate, but powerful tactic of Blitzkrieg-the Lightning War.
Blitzkrieg was basically using air support, like the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka, a gull wing dive-bomber with sirens to terrify the troops it was bombing, to destroy bridges, barracks and armoured columns before they got to the front. Then, light tanks, such as the Panzer II, and armoured cars, sped into enemy territory to destroy infantry and armour that was still there. They were quickly followed up by infantry in trucks and half-tracks for support. The opposing army would be thrown into disarray and confusion, not knowing how far the enemy had penetrated, nor the strength.
Poland fell within a month.
Germany launched Fall Gelb (Operation Yellow) in the West on may 10th 1940. Luxembourg fell the next day, the Netherlands five days after the attack, Belgium 18 days. The BEF, the British Expeditionary force is beaten back to Dunkirk on the 26th, and they are force to evacuate, a shambles of an army, leaving thousands of vehicles and weapons behind. France falls almost a month later.
After the success of the German army in the West, and the Mediterranean, the British finally have success in North Africa.
Hitler then makes a fatal mistake. He launches Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22nd, 1941. Despite early successes, the leadership makes mistakes, leading to the terrible battle at Stalingrad. It goes on into 1943, when the German army, encircled and without a chance of fighting, surrenders, along with Field-Marshal Paulus, the first German Field-Marshal to surrender. It takes a huge chunk out of the Wehrmacht, and lowers morale.
Hitler had declared war on America on December 10th, 1941, another fatal mistake, It drags America into the war, who, despite early losses at Kasserine pass, helps out in North Africa to beat Rommel.
Italy is then invaded by the Western Allies in Operation Husky, and they fight up the boot to defeat the Italians, and German mountain troops, the GerbigsJager. Rome is captured on June 5th, 1944.
June 6th, 1944, the Western Allies land in Normandy, despite fighting incredibly hard, the German army, along with the foreign conscripts it has forced into battle, allow the Allies to land.
The Luftwaffe is practically non-existent. The Kriegsmarine has no U-boats or warships to spare. The Waffen-SS is made up of a mixture of conscripts and volunteers. However, the Wehrmacht is certainly not beaten. It is, using author and historian Stephen E. Ambroses words Like a wounded tiger being chased by a hunter, occasionally stopping, and swiping, drawing blood.
In the East, the Red Army is busy capturing land from the Germans, both from the East, and finally from Germany itself.
July 20th, the July plot happens. Many high-ranking Wehrmacht officers attempt to kill Hitler with a bomb in his headquarters. They fail, and the Wehrmacht high-command is purged, losing valuable people like Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, and Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel. The Wehrmacht finally has Nazism imposed on it, the standard salute being replaced by the Hitler salute.
In September, 1944, the first Allies enter Germany.
December 1944: Battle of the Bulge. Germany makes a lat counterattack, throwing all the armour, men and fuel it can muster into it. The army is told to fight without any scruples. The Waffen-SS commits atrocities, using this as a defence. The attack fails, leaving Germany short of armour and fuel.
In April 1945, the Red Army enters Berlin. The German army now consists of auxiliary conscripts. The SS roams Berlin, forcing anyone it can find to fight. The Volksturm, made up of men too old or young to fight, or people disqualified of service because of ill health, special units of people wounded in war, such as deaf units, and children are made to fight the Red Army, sometimes equipped only with a bicycle and a one-shot anti-tank grenade.
On May the 7th, Germany, under the leadership of Karl Doenitz surrenders.
Sources:
German Army Handbook, 1939-1945 Lucas, James.
Quote from Citizen Soldier Ambrose, Stephen E.
www.wikipedia.com provided a lot of information, and all photos.
If you can see any errors, ommissions or problems, or you have any suggestions or criticisms, please notify me. Thank you.
