OKH (German High Command)

OKH (German High Command)
Unit name	Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH)
Native name	Oberkommando des Heeres
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Wehrmacht
Active	1935–1945
Garrison	Berlin
Notable commanders	Walther von Brauchitsch, Franz Halder, Heinz Guderian, Wilhelm Keitel, Friedrich Paulus, Erwin Rommel

OKH (German High Command) The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) was the senior staff and high command of the Heer of Nazi Germany between 1935 and 1945, responsible for strategic planning, operational control, and administrative oversight of the German Army during the Second World War. It operated alongside the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) and interacted directly with political leaders including Adolf Hitler, influencing major campaigns such as Operation Barbarossa, the Battle of Stalingrad, and the Battle of Moscow. Senior figures associated with OKH included professional officers from the German General Staff tradition, many of whom had served in the Imperial German Army during the First World War.

Origins and Formation

The OKH evolved from the restoration of the German General Staff system during the rearmament of Weimar Republic-era Reichswehr reforms under figures like Werner von Blomberg and Werner von Fritsch, transitioning into the armed forces of Nazi Germany after Adolf Hitler's rise to power and the remilitarization initiatives culminating in the Nuremberg Laws era and the 1935 reintroduction of conscription. Its institutional lineage traced to the Great General Staff of the German Empire and the restructuring prompted by the Treaty of Versailles, influenced by officers who had served in the Battle of Tannenberg and the interwar publications of the Truppenführung manual. The formation of OKH formalized senior staff functions distinct from the political command apparatus centered in Berlin and the Führer headquarters such as the Wolfsschanze.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

OKH's internal organization reflected the traditional German staff system with departments such as Operations (Ia), Intelligence (Ic), Training, and Supply, staffed by officers from the Generalstab des Heeres and subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff, a post held by Franz Halder and later by others including Heinz Guderian and Walther Model. The commanding officer of the Army, e.g. Walther von Brauchitsch, coordinated with chiefs responsible for Heeresgruppe formations like Heeresgruppe Mitte and Heeresgruppe Süd, and field commanders such as Fedor von Bock, Gerd von Rundstedt, Erich von Manstein, and Walter Model. OKH's staff worked with branch-specific institutions including the Panzertruppe leadership, the Fallschirmjäger command influence, and logistics organizations tied to the Heeresversorgung system. Operational control involved interaction with unit commanders at corps and division level such as those leading the 1st Panzer Division and 6th Army.

Role and Responsibilities in World War II

OKH directed army planning and execution for the majority of operations on the Eastern Front, notably preparations for Operation Barbarossa and the conduct of battles including Kiev (1941), the Siege of Leningrad, and the Battle of Stalingrad. It oversaw mobilization, training policies, tactical doctrine continuity from the Blitzkrieg campaigns of Invasion of Poland (1939) and the Battle of France to the defensive operations following Operation Citadel and the Battle of Kursk. OKH managed military education at institutions like the Kriegsschule and coordinated with the Heereswaffenamt and industrial partners including firms such as Krupp, Daimler-Benz, and Rheinmetall for procurement and armament. In addition, OKH exercised administrative jurisdiction over occupied territories through military governments interacting with entities like the Reichskommissariat Ukraine and the General Government.

Relations with OKW, Wehrmacht High Command, and Hitler

The relationship between OKH, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), and Adolf Hitler was complex and often contentious. After the dismissal of Werner von Blomberg and Werner von Fritsch, power consolidated under Wilhelm Keitel at OKW and the Führer's headquarters, producing rivalry with OKH chiefs such as Franz Halder and later Heinz Guderian. Strategic direction increasingly shifted to Adolf Hitler as Supreme Commander, especially after the 1941 split that left OKH responsible for the Eastern Front while OKW directed other theaters including the Western Front, North African Campaign, and Mediterranean Theatre involving commanders like Erwin Rommel and Albert Kesselring. Interservice tensions involved leaders from the Luftwaffe such as Hermann Göring and the Kriegsmarine leadership including Erich Raeder and later Karl Dönitz, as well as political interference from agencies like the Nazi Party apparatus and the Reichstag.

Major Campaigns and Operational Decisions

OKH planned key offensives such as Operation Barbarossa, coordinating panzer formations under commanders like Heinz Guderian and infantry armies led by Friedrich Paulus and Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. Its operational decisions shaped outcomes at Bialystok–Minsk, the Moscow campaign (1941), and the Siege of Sevastopol. Controversial strategic choices included the diversion of panzer groups during the Battle of Kiev (1941) and the insistence on holding positions culminating in the encirclement at Stalingrad and the surrender of the 6th Army. Defensive planning after 1943 encompassed operations against Operation Uranus, responses to Allied landings such as Operation Overlord, and counteroffensives during the Battle of the Bulge and the Vistula–Oder Offensive orchestrated against Soviet advances led by commanders like Georgy Zhukov and Konstantin Rokossovsky.

War Crimes, Accountability, and Postwar Trials

Elements of OKH's conduct intersected with war crimes committed on the Eastern Front, including directives affecting the treatment of civilians, prisoners of war, and partisan suspects linked to policies of the Holocaust and the Hunger Plan. Orders such as the criminal Commissar Order and directives tied to the Commissar Order and the conduct of anti-partisan warfare implicated senior staff officers and unit commanders including members of the General Staff in actions scrutinized at the Nuremberg Trials and later tribunals. Postwar prosecutions involved figures like Wilhelm Keitel, Alfred Jodl, and Friedrich Paulus in proceedings before international tribunals and military courts in Nuremberg, Soviet war crimes trials, and national courts in France and Poland, producing convictions, sentences, and complex debates over command responsibility, obedience, and criminal orders.

Legacy and Historical Assessment

Historians assess OKH through studies of the German war effort, the failure of strategic coherence, and the tension between professional military doctrine and ideological-politico interference from Adolf Hitler's leadership. Scholarship by authors and historians such as John Keegan, David Glantz, Gerhard Weinberg, Antony Beevor, Ian Kershaw, Richard Overy, Sebastian Haffner, and Hans-Adolf Jacobsen has analyzed OKH's operational performance, institutional culture, and complicity in criminal policies. Debates continue over the extent of military autonomy versus politicization, the role of the General Staff tradition in facilitating aggression, and the postwar rehabilitation attempts by veterans' organizations like the Bund Deutscher Offiziere and publications from conservatives in the HIAG lobby. The OKH's legacy informs modern studies of command responsibility, civil-military relations, and lessons in strategic planning examined in military academies such as West Point and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Category:German military history Category:World War II