NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Wehrmacht Heer

The Wehrmacht Heer was from 1935 to 1945 the army section of the German Wehrmacht which also consisted of the navy and air force. During Second World War, a total of about 15 million soldiers served in the German Army, of which about 3 million perished. Image File history File links Balkenkreuz. ... Image File history File links Balkenkreuz. ... A stylized version of the Iron Cross, the emblem of the Bundeswehr, Germanys Armed Forces. ... Wehrmacht (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

1 General
2 Tactics
3 Assessment
4 International members
5 Units and structure
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

General

The German Army furthered concepts pioneered during the First World War, combining ground (Heer) and Air Force (Luftwaffe) assets into combined arms teams. Coupled with traditional war fighting methods such as encirclements and the "battle of annihilation", the German military managed many lightning quick victories in the first year of the Second World War, prompting foreign journalists to create a new word for what they witnessed: Blitzkrieg. The defining characteristic of what is commonly known as Blitzkrieg is that it is a highly mobile form of mechanized warfare. ...

The Wehrmacht entered the war with a minority of its formations motorized; infantry remained approximately 90% foot-borne throughout the war, and artillery primarily horse-drawn. The motorized formations received much attention in the world press in the opening years of the war, and were cited as the reason for the success of the German invasions of Poland (September 1939), Norway (April 1940), Denmark, Belgium, France and Netherlands (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941) and the early campaigns in the Soviet Union (June 1941).

With the entry of the United States in December 1941, the Wehrmacht found itself engaged in ground campaigns against two major industrial powers. At this critical juncture, Hitler assumed personal control of the Wehrmacht high command, and his personal failings as a military commander arguably contributed to major defeats in the spring of 1943, at Stalingrad and Tunis in North Africa.

Tactics

The Wehrmacht's military strength was managed through mission-based tactics (rather than order-based tactics) and an almost proverbial discipline. In public opinion, the Wehrmacht was and is sometimes seen as a high-tech army, since new technologies were introduced during World War II, including the reprisal weapons, the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket interceptor, the Me 262 jet fighter, and midget submarines. These technologies were featured by propaganda, but were often only available in small numbers or late in the war, as overall supplies of raw materials and armaments became low. For example only forty percent of all units were motorised, baggage trains often relied on horses and many soldiers went by foot or used bicycles (de:Radfahrtruppen). Mission-type tactics (German: Auftragstaktik, also known as directive control in the US), are a central component of the tactics of German armed forces since the 19th century. ... In Nazi Germany during World War II, the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket were termed reprisal weapons or vengeance weapons (Vergeltungswaffen or V-Waffen for short) by Goebbels propaganda ministry. ... The Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Martin Lippisch, was the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft during the Second World War. ... The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (German: Swallow) was the worlds first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. ... A midget submarine ia a small submarine, typically with a one or two person crew and with no on-board living accommodation. ...

Assessment

German Army troops photographed with a PaK 36 anti-tank gun.

Max Hastings, respected British author, historian and ex-newspaper editor, said in a radio interview on WGN Chicago "...there's no doubt that man for man, the German army was the greatest fighting force of the second world war". This view was also explained in his book "Overlord: D-Day and the battle for Normandy". In the book World War II : An Illustrated Miscellany, Anthony Evans writes: 'The German soldier was very professional and well trained, aggressive in attack and stubborn in defence. He was always adaptable, particularly in the later years when shortages of equipment were being felt'. These views of the Wehrmacht are an attempt to evaluate their fighting abilities and not trying to excuse or justify some of the aims or actions of the Nazi regime. Image File history File links Wehrmacht_Action_Eastern_Front. ... Image File history File links Wehrmacht_Action_Eastern_Front. ... German 3. ... Sir Max Hastings (born December 28, 1945) is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. ... Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... Flag of Normandy Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. ...

International members

Among the foreign volunteers who served in the Wehrmacht during World War II were ethnic Germans, Dutch, and Scandinavians along with people from the Baltic states and the Balkans. Russians fought in the Russian Liberation Army or as Hilfswilliger. Non-Russians from the Soviet Union formed the Ostlegionen. These units were all commanded by General Ernst August Köstring and represented about five percent of the Wehrmacht. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A soldier of the Russian Liberation Army Russian Liberation Army or ROA (Ð ÑƒÑÑÐºÐ°Ñ ÐžÑÐ²Ð¾Ð±Ð¾Ð´Ð¸Ñ‚ÐµÐ»ÑŒÐ½Ð°Ñ ÐÑ€Ð¼Ð¸Ñ, Russkaya Osvoboditelnaya Armiya), also known as the Vlasov army, was a group of volunteer Russian forces allied with Nazi Germany during World War II. The ROA was organized by former Red Army general Andrey Vlasov, who tried... Hiwi is a German abbreviation. ... Ostlegionen or Ostgruppen (literally Eastern Legion) were conscripts and volunteers from occupied territories who fought in the Wehrmacht of the Third Reich during the Second World War. ...

Units and structure

German cavalry and motorized units entering Poland from East Prussia during the Invasion of Poland of 1939.

The German Army was mainly structured in Heeresgruppen (army groups, Category:Army groups of the German Army) consisting of several armies that were relocated, restructured or renamed in the course of the war. Forces or allied states as well as units made up of non-Germans were also assigned to German units. Image File history File links German_cavalry. ... Image File history File links German_cavalry. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... Combatants Poland Germany, Slovakia, Soviet Union Commanders Edward Rydz-ÅšmigÅ‚y Fedor von Bock (Army Group North), Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group South), Mikhail Kovalov (Belorussian Front), Semyon Timoshenko (Ukrainian Front), Ferdinand ÄŒatloÅ¡ (Field Army Bernolak) Strength 39 divisions, 16 brigades, 4,300 guns, 880 tanks, 400 aircraft Total: 950... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An army group is a military organization (formation) consisting of several armies, and is supposed to be self-sufficient for indefinite periods. ...

For e.g. Operation Barbarossa in 1941, the forces were split in three parts with different assignments The current version of this article or section is written in an informal style and with a personally invested tone. ...

Heeresgruppe Nord aiming for Leningrad
Heeresgruppe Mitte aiming for Moscow
Heeresgruppe Süd aiming for Kiev, then split into
- Heeresgruppe A aiming for Caucasus
- Heeresgruppe B aiming for Stalingrad

The troops sent to North Africa to support Italian forces were designated Afrikakorps. Leningrad (Russian: Ð›ÐµÐ½Ð¸Ð½Ð³Ñ€Ð°Ð´) may mean: St. ... Position of Moscow in Europe Coordinates: , Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Government - Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Area - City 1,081 kmÂ² (417. ... Army Group South (Heeresgruppe SÃ¼d in German) was a German Army Group during World War II. Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ... Army Group A was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II. // During the German invasion of the Low Countries and France Army Group A was under the command of General Gerd von Rundstedt, and was responsible for the break-out through the Ardennes. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Caucasus Mountains. ... Army Group B was the name of three different German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. The first was involved in the western campaign in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands which was to be aimed to conquer the Maas bridges after the German airborne actions in... Stalingrad is the former name of two cities: Volgograd, Russia Karviná-Nové Město, near Ostrava, Czech Republic Other uses: The Battle of Stalingrad (a major turning-point of World War II and arguably the bloodiest battle in human history) Stalingrad (German film set during the above battle) Stalingrad... The Deutsches Afrikakorps (often just Afrika Korps or DAK) was the corps_level headquarters controlling the German Panzer divisions in Libya and Egypts Western Desert during the North African Campaign of World War II. Since there was little turnover in the units attached to the corps the term is commonly...

References

Max Hastings, Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy 1944, 1985, reissued 1999, Pan, ISBN 0-330-39012-0
Max Hastings, Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1945, 2004, Macmillan, ISBN 0-333-90836-8
Anthony A Evans, World War II: An Illustrated Miscellany, 2005, Worth Press, ISBN 1-84567-681-5
W.J.K. Davies, German Army Handbook, 1973, Ian Allen Ltd., Shepperton, Surrey, ISBN 0-7110-0290-8

Sir Max Hastings (born December 28, 1945) is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. ... Sir Max Hastings (born December 28, 1945) is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. ...

External links

Extensive history and information about German armed forces from 1919 to 1945
Examples of, and information about, camouflage uniforms used by the Wehrmacht Heer, Wehrmacht Luftwaffe and Waffen-SS during the Second World War
Archives of the German military manuals including secret manuals of Enigma and Cryptography
Over 2,000 original German WWII soldier photographs from the Eastern Front

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