Germany (Wehrmacht)

Germany (Wehrmacht)
Name	Wehrmacht
Native name	Wehrmacht
Founded	1935
Disbanded	1946
Country	Germany
Allegiance	Adolf Hitler
Branch	Heer; Kriegsmarine; Luftwaffe

Germany (Wehrmacht) was the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1946, comprising the Heer, Kriegsmarine, and Luftwaffe. It executed the remilitarization policies of the Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler, participated in major campaigns such as the Invasion of Poland (1939), Battle of France, and Operation Barbarossa, and was central to the conduct of World War II. The institution's operational innovations, strategic decisions, and criminal activities have been extensively examined in postwar trials like the Nuremberg Trials and studies by historians such as Ian Kershaw and Rolf-Dieter Müller.

Origins and Formation

The Wehrmacht emerged from the reorganization of the Reichswehr after the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 and the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles (1919), with the 1935 proclamation of conscription and military expansion under the Four Year Plan (Nazi Germany). Key figures in formation included Werner von Blomberg, Werner von Fritsch, and the architect of air power, Hermann Göring, while institutional influences traced to pre-1918 formations like the Prussian Army and the Imperial German Army. The legal and political framework involved instruments such as the Enabling Act of 1933 and appointments within the OKW and OKH.

Organization and Structure

Command structures split between the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), headed by Wilhelm Keitel, and the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), with operational command often contested by figures like Walther von Brauchitsch and later Friedrich Paulus. The Heer comprised units such as panzer divisions and infantry divisions; the Luftwaffe organized Luftflotten under commanders like Hugo Sperrle; the Kriegsmarine was led by figures including Erich Raeder and Karl Dönitz. Support organizations included the Waffenamt, logistic formations tied to the Reichsbahn, and paramilitary bodies like the Waffen-SS (though separate from Wehrmacht command). Institutional tensions involved the Armed Forces High Command (Germany) and agencies such as the Abwehr and the Gestapo.

Personnel and Training

Recruitment relied on conscription laws and career officers drawn from the old Prussian military tradition and veterans of the Freikorps. Training centers included the Kriegsschule system and specialized schools for panzer crews, pilots at bases like Döberitz and Streitkräfte airfields, and naval academies at Mürwik. Notable professional military leaders included Erwin Rommel, Gerd von Rundstedt, Heinz Guderian, and aviators like Hanna Reitsch. The Wehrmacht incorporated foreign volunteers and conscripts from occupied territories such as the Free French Forces defectors, Eastern volunteers, and units formed in the Balkans Campaign. Personnel policies interacted with Nazi racial laws exemplified by debates involving officers like Hans Oster and the anti-Nazi German Resistance.

Equipment and Armaments

The Wehrmacht fielded equipment ranging from small arms like the Karabiner 98k and MP 40 to armored vehicles such as the Panzer IV, Tiger I, and Panzer III, and later models like the Panther tank. Artillery and anti-tank weapons included the 88 mm gun and the Pak 40, while aircraft included the Messerschmitt Bf 109, Focke-Wulf Fw 190, and strategic bombers like the Heinkel He 111. Naval assets ranged from battleships like the Bismarck and Tirpitz to U-boats of the Type VII submarine class central to the Battle of the Atlantic. Ordinance production drew on industrial partners such as Krupp, Fried. Krupp AG, and Daimler-Benz and used technologies advanced by designers like Hugo Junkers and Willy Messerschmitt.

Operational History

The Wehrmacht executed blitzkrieg campaigns in the Invasion of Poland (1939), the Phoney War, and the Battle of France leading to the Armistice of 22 June 1940 (France). It fought large-scale operations in the Eastern Front including Operation Barbarossa, the Battle of Stalingrad, and the Battle of Kursk, where commanders such as Georgy Zhukov opposed them alongside Soviet formations like the Red Army. In the west and Mediterranean the Wehrmacht engaged in the North African Campaign against Operation Torch forces including Bernard Montgomery and Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps, operations in the Italian Campaign after Allied invasion of Sicily, and defensive battles following the D-Day landings in Normandy. Naval warfare included the Battle of the Atlantic and engagements like the Battle of the Barents Sea, while air campaigns resulted in the Battle of Britain and later the Defense of the Reich.

War Crimes and Legal Accountability

Elements of the Wehrmacht were implicated in war crimes and atrocities on the Eastern Front, anti-partisan operations, and crimes against prisoners under directives linked to the Commissar Order and actions during the Holocaust. Postwar accountability included prosecutions at the Nuremberg Trials and military tribunals by the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union, implicating senior leaders such as Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Jodl. Debates over the Wehrmacht's complicity engaged historians like Christopher Browning and institutions such as the German Historical Museum, and resulted in legal outcomes including convictions, executions, and later denial disputes addressed by the Bundeswehr and German postwar law.

Legacy and Dissolution

The Wehrmacht was formally dissolved after World War II during Allied occupation and denazification processes, with successors emerging in the Bundeswehr of the Federal Republic of Germany and the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic. Its legacy influenced Cold War rearmament debates, historiographical controversies epitomized by the Wehrmacht Exhibition and debates involving historians like Geoffrey P. Megargee, and memorialization in sites such as the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge. Reappraisal continues through scholarship by Omer Bartov, Richard J. Evans, and public institutions including the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung.

Category:Military history of Germany Category:World War II armies