German Army (1935–1945)

German Army (1935–1945)
Unit name	German Army
Native name	Heer
Dates	1935–1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Type	Army
Role	Land warfare
Size	Total served: ~13.6 million
Command structure	Wehrmacht
Garrison	Zossen
Garrison label	Supreme Command (OKH)
Battles	Spanish Civil War, World War II
Notable commanders	Werner von Fritsch, Walther von Brauchitsch, Adolf Hitler, Heinz Guderian, Erwin Rommel, Friedrich Paulus, Ferdinand Schörner

German Army (1935–1945). The German Army, known as the Heer, was the land forces component of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. Its creation marked the overt rejection of the military restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles and was central to Adolf Hitler's aggressive expansionist policies. The army was the primary instrument for the execution of World War II in Europe and was implicated in numerous war crimes before its unconditional dissolution in 1945.

Formation and early years (1935–1939)

The army was formally established on March 16, 1935, when Hitler announced the reintroduction of conscription and the expansion of the Reichswehr into the Wehrmacht. This move blatantly violated the Treaty of Versailles, which had limited Germany to a 100,000-man volunteer army. Key architects of its early development included Werner von Fritsch, the first commander-in-chief, and Werner von Blomberg, the Minister of War. The period was characterized by rapid expansion and the development of Blitzkrieg doctrine, integrating Panzer divisions and close air support from the Luftwaffe. The army's first combat experience came during the Spanish Civil War with the deployment of the Condor Legion. It then executed the bloodless Anschluss of Austria in 1938 and the occupation of the Sudetenland following the Munich Agreement.

Organization and structure

The army's high command was the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), headquartered at Zossen, which controlled army group and field army commands. Its core combat power was organized into Panzer divisions, motorized infantry divisions, and traditional infantry divisions. Elite units included the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel and later the Waffen-SS, which operated alongside but was separate from the army. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), led by Wilhelm Keitel, served as the supreme military command but often created rivalry with the OKH. Key supporting arms included the artillery, pioneer, and signals corps, all crucial to combined arms operations.

Campaigns and major operations

The army achieved stunning early successes beginning with the Invasion of Poland in September 1939. This was followed by the rapid conquests of Denmark, Norway, the Low Countries, and France during the Battle of France in 1940. The failed Battle of Britain shifted the focus to the Balkans Campaign and the monumental Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, in June 1941. Major Eastern Front battles included the Siege of Leningrad, the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad, and the Battle of Kursk. In the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre, the Afrika Korps fought in the North African campaign until its defeat at the Second Battle of El Alamein. The final years were defined by defensive battles following the Normandy landings and the massive Soviet offensives like Operation Bagration.

War crimes and atrocities

The German Army was deeply complicit in the criminal policies of the Nazi regime, particularly on the Eastern Front. It actively participated in the Holocaust by providing logistical support to Einsatzgruppen death squads and guarding ghettos and extermination camps. The Commissar Order and Barbarossa Decree explicitly sanctioned the murder of political commissars, partisans, and civilians. Army units were responsible for countless massacres, including at Babi Yar, and implemented a brutal occupation of Poland and Belarus. The Hunger Plan was a deliberate strategy to seize food from the Soviet Union, leading to the starvation of millions of civilians.

Decline and dissolution (1943–1945)

The tide turned decisively after the catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad in early 1943 and the failure at Kursk that summer. Facing massive material shortages and overwhelmed on two fronts, the army relied increasingly on poorly equipped Volkssturm militia and desperate defensive measures like the Atlantic Wall. Hitler's direct assumption of command after dismissing Walther von Brauchitsch in 1941 led to increasingly irrational strategic decisions. The final collapse came with the Battle of Berlin, where the last remnants were destroyed or captured by the Red Army. The German Army, along with the entire Wehrmacht, was formally dissolved by the Allied Control Council following Germany's unconditional surrender in May 1945.

Legacy and historiography

The postwar legacy of the German Army has been a major subject of historical debate, notably during the Historikerstreit in the 1980s. The myth of the "clean Wehrmacht," which claimed the army fought honorably separate from Nazi Party crimes, was decisively dismantled by historical research from the 1960s onward. Institutions like the Bundeswehr of West Germany explicitly rejected the Heer's tradition and instead founded its identity on democratic civil-military relations. Modern scholarship, informed by archives from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, continues to detail the army's integral role in the regime's war of annihilation and genocide.

Category:Military history of Germany during World War II Category:Armies of Germany Category:Wehrmacht