The German Army (, ) was the land forces component of the Wehrmacht, the regular armed forces of Nazi Germany, from 1935 until it effectively ceased to exist in 1945 and then was formally dissolved in August 1946. During World War II, a total of about 13.6 million volunteers and conscripts served in the German Army.
Only 17 months after Adolf Hitler announced the German rearmament programme in 1935, the army reached its projected goal of 36 divisions. During the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938 four additional corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Army after the annexation of Austria by Germany in March. During the period of its expansion under Hitler, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground and air units into combined arms forces. Coupled with operational and tactical methods such as encirclements and "battle of annihilation", the German military managed quick victories in the two initial years of World War II, a new style of warfare described as Blitzkrieg (lightning war) for its speed and destructive power. The army was also extensively involved in war crimes, including complicity in the Holocaust, the mass death of Soviet prisoners of war, and reprisals against civilians in occupied territories, contradicting the postwar myth of the clean Wehrmacht.
Structure
The (OKH) was Nazi Germany's Army High Command from 1936 to 1945. As the Army was by far the largest and most important of the three branches of the German Armed Forces, Hitler was most anxious to control it directly from the outbreak of the war. Its headquarters in the field were always located in the immediate vicinity of the Führerhauptquartier. Following the failure of the Moscow offensive in December 1941, Hitler removed Walter von Brauchitsch as Commander-in-Chief of the Army (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres) and took personal command. He had exercised this command ever since, resulting in a partial merging or overlapping of the functions of the OKW and the OKH. While still Chief of the OKW, Keitel also acted as Hitler’s executive officer in matters pertaining to the Army alone. Similarly, it was often difficult to distinguish between the de facto authority and functions of the Army General Staff and those of the Armed Forces Operations Staff.
Their notional organisation, however, remained unchanged. The OKH comprised twelve departments, each with overall responsibility for a specific aspect of the army. This was a very similar arrangement to that of other armies, except for the Army Administration Office (Heeresverwaltungsamt), which was responsible for procuring rations, billets, pay and clothing, but not munitions. This office was staffed by its own corps of technical and administrative specialists, whose careers were entirely separate from normal army personnel channels, and who were controlled by their own corps. These men, known as Wehrmachtbeamten, operated as a unified corps throughout the army and were attached to field units down to company level. They wore a uniform and were considered combatants — most front-line Beamten held an officer rank — and underwent basic infantry training. After May 1944, they lost some of their independence; promotion and transfers then became the responsibility of the Army Personnel Department.
Organisation of field forces The Army (Heer) was divided into army groups (Heeresgruppe). During the course of the war there were thirteen army groups. Each group consisted of two or more field armies and was commanded by a field marshal general (Generalfeldmarschall) or a Colonel general (Generaloberst). The army group staff consisted of: a Chief of Staff (Chef des Generalstabes), 1st adjutant IIa Personnel administration (responsible for the officers), 2nd adjutant IIc Disciplinary and judicial affairs, 3rd general staff officer Ic (enemy situation and defense), 1st general staff officer Ia (operations), 4th general staff officer Id (training), 2nd general staff officer Ic, staff officer of artillery (Stabsoffizier der Artillerie “Stoart”), general of the engineers (General der Pioniere “Gen. d. Pi”), and an Army Group Intelligence Commander (Heeresgruppennachrichtenführer).
Infantry A Field Army (Feldheer) 200,000 strong comprised two or three Corps and was usually commanded by a Colonel general. Its staff, between 1856 and 2686 personnel strong, consisted of: a Chief of Staff, 1st adjutant IIa, 2nd adjutant IIc, 3rd general staff officer Ic, 1st general staff officer Ia, 4th general staff officer Id, a Quartermaster-General (Oberquartiermeister) a senior artillery commander (Höherer Artilleriekommandeur) an army engineer commander (Armeepionierführer) and an intelligence officer (Armeenachrichtenführer).
A Corps 65,000 strong usually consisted of three divisions and a staff of 728 to 1004 staff personal. The corps was commanded by a “Kommandierender General” which normally was a Lieutenant-general (Generalleutnant). The staff consisted of the same personal except for the 4th general staff officer Id. The Infantry division, between 16,860 and 17,895 strong, consisted of three Regiments and was under the command of a Major-general (General major). The staff was similar to the corps staff but had a 2nd general staff officer Ic instead of a quartermaster and the Commander was the chief of staff.
The infantry battalion was the smallest tactical unit. Each battalion consisted of 860 officers and men plus 131 horses. By 1944 the strength of a battalion had decreased to 708 officers and men. The battalion included: A Battalion staff, three supply troops, an Intelligence unit, an Infantry engineer platoon, 3 rifle and 1 machine gun companies, and a pack train. The staff consisted of: the battalion commander who also was the chief of staff, originally an Oberstleutnant or Major, an adjutant, an assistant adjutant, a battalion surgeon, and a battalion veterinarian.
A Schützenkompanie (rifle company) initially 201 strong, comprised three Schützenzüge (rifle platoon) each 50 strong three antitank units, a supply train and a commissary unit. By 1944 the company was reduced to 142. The company was usually commanded by a captain or 1st lieutenant. During the course of the war a 2nd lieutenant could have been entrusted with the command due to the loss of higher officers.
The rifle platoon was the next lower unit, consisting of four Trupps (squads) 10 strong each. While the first platoon was under a 2nd lieutenant the second and third platoons were often commanded by a master sergeant or technical sergeant. The rifle squad was the smallest unit of the infantry. It consisted of a Gruppenführer (squad leader) either a Sergeant or Stabsgefreiter and nine riflemen, giving it a strength of one officer and nine men. The former separation between light machine-gun troops and rifle troops no longer existed. During the course of the war, this number naturally dropped, often to six or five men.
With the establishment of new infantry divisions, artillery weapons required for equipping them were transferred from existing regiments to the respective units. As it became clear that the artillery regiments in infantry divisions were not fulfilling their designated roles, a comprehensive reorganisation of the main divisional types was implemented. Light battalions were organised in the standard infantry formation, comprising two batteries of four 10.5 cm howitzers each, in addition to a light field gun battery comprising six 7.5 cm pieces and a heavy howitzer battalion armed with six 15 cm pieces. Additionally, adjustments were made to the war establishment of Gebirgsartillerie regiments and the artillery regiments of Panzer divisions.
Mountain Forces The usual structure of a Gebirgs division in terms of armament, equipment and training comprised a headquarters, two rifle or Gebirgsjäger regiments, an artillery regiment, and the standard divisional services, including a battalion each of signallers, reconnaissance troops, anti-tank gunners, and engineers. Such a division had a nominal strength of 13,056 officers and men. The divisional train comprised strings of pack animals, usually distributed down to battalion level but able to be further subdivided to equip individual companies. The structure of a Gebirgs division meant that it was less flexible during military operations than a standard infantry division. This was because so much Gebirgs transport consisted of mule trains, leaving fewer cars and other vehicles available. There were 3,056 beasts of burden, and while the use of animals was satisfactory for mountain warfare, it was less so when the formation was operating in open country. There, the Gebirgs division was slow-moving due to the pace of its animals.
A standard Jäger regiment comprised a headquarters unit and three battalions, totalling 3,064 personnel. The regimental headquarters group included a signals platoon and a battery of heavy mountain guns. Each Jägerabteilung comprised an HQ, three rifle companies and a machine gun company, as well as anti-tank and heavy weapons detachments. An Abteilung had a strength of 877 personnel, broken down into 147 personnel in each rifle company and the remainder in the battalion HQ, machine gun company and heavy weapons company.
The artillery regiment comprised 2,330 officers and men and was equipped with twenty-four 7.5 cm guns and twelve 7.5 cm howitzers. It also had twelve 15 cm calibre howitzers and ten 10.5 cm calibre howitzers. There were fewer anti-tank guns in Gebirgs formations because it was considered unlikely that the Jäger would face enemy armour. Additionally, the weapons in the divisional arsenal had a shorter range than those used by a standard division because operations in the mountains took place at closer range than on flat terrain. Specialist groups were raised during the middle years of the war to support Gebirgs divisions undertaking special missions. These were high alpine (Hochgebirgs) battalions. Four such battalions were formed between July 1942 and November 1943. However, the military situation soon rendered them unnecessary, and they were disbanded and absorbed into standard Gebirgs formations.
Armored Forces
The Panzerdivision was the primary striking force of the German army during World War II. At the outbreak of the war, there were only five such divisions, but their number was expanded to ten by 1940, and by the war’s conclusion, the total had grown to 27. Initially, the army’s Panzerdivisions were designed with two full tank regiments, comprising approximately 400 tanks, alongside a smaller infantry contingent and supporting units. However, most of these tanks were light models, primarily the Pzkw I and II, which were essentially armored vehicles equipped with machine guns or small-caliber cannons. Some divisions also included captured Czech tanks and a limited number of heavier vehicles.
The 1940 French campaign exposed weaknesses in the initial Panzerdivision structure, leading to a reorganization in 1940. This new structure consists of a single tank regiment, motorized infantry, and reinforced support units, with increased infantry components reflecting operational focus. The Divisional HQ supervised units, including communications, local defense, and reconnaissance. Infantry included motorized companies, heavy weapons, and engineers. Light armored car companies were attached. Infantry were transported in various vehicles, especially on the Eastern Front.