Organization of the Wehrmacht


Organization of the Wehrmacht, Third Reich and Nazi Party with Power balance of Germany during WW2.

German soldiers enter the Rhineland
German soldiers enter the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland on March 7, 1936.

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Organization of the Wehrmacht

In March 1939 the operational control of the Armed Forces was unified under the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) whose chief was Generaloberst (Colonel-General) Keitel.

The management of the Army was the responsibility of the Army High Command, the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), which included the General Staff although it was the Supreme Commander, Adolf Hitler, who was increasingly to take over the day-to-day running of the war. During the crisis of the Battle of Moscow in December 1941 he took over the command of the Army from C-in-C von Brauchitsch.


Organization of the most important elements of the High Command and Government:

Army
Air Force
Navy
Reichs Ministries
State Functionaries
NSDAP Party Offices
Fuehrer (Reich Chancellor, President and Minister of War): Hitler" Ein Volk Reich Fuehrer
OKW (Armed Forces = Wehrmacht): Hitler; Chief of Staff: Keitel (in pic behind); Chief of Operation Staff: Jodl (in pic front); Chief of Plans: Warlimont; Chief of Freign and Counter-Intelligence: Canaris (to February 1944)" Keitel Jodl px800
OKH: von Brauchitsch (in pic left) to December 1941, Hitler" Brauchitsch Hitler
OKL: Göring (pic) to April 1945, von Greim" Hermann Goering pxh800
OKM: Raeder (1st pic) to January 1943, Dönitz (2nd pic) to May 1945, von Friedeburg (3rd pic)" Grossadmiral Erich Raeder Karl Doenitz px800 von Friedeburg
Foreign: von Ribbentrop (pic) to May 1945, von Krosigk" Ribbentrop Russlandkrieg
Inspectorate Road system: Todt
Chancellery: Hess (1st pic) to May 1941, Bormann (2nd pic)" Rudolf Hess Bormann px800
Chief of Staff: Halder (1st pic) to Sep 1942, Zeitzler (in 2nd pic right) to July 1944, Guderian (3rd pic) to March 1945, Krebs" Halder px800 Zeitzler px550 Guderian px800
Chief of Staff: Jeschonnek to August 1943, Korten (pic) to July 1944, Kreipe to October 1944, Koller" Guenter Korten px800
Interior: Frick (1st pic) to August 1943, Himmler (2nd pic)" Frick Himmler
DAF (German workers organization): Ley" Robert Ley
Treasurer: Schwarz
Munitions: Todt to February 1942, Speer (pic)" Albert Speer px800
Labour Mobilisation (incl. slave workers): Sauckel" Sauckel
Party organization: Ley" Robert Ley
Propaganda: Goebbels (pic) to May 1945, Naumann" Goebbels px800
Four-Year-Plans: Göring" Hermann Goering
Youth: von Schirach (1st pic) to August 1940, Axmann (2nd pic)" Schirach px800 Max Axmann px800
Eastern Occupied Territories: Rosenberg" Alfred Rosenberg px800
Press: Dietrich to March 1945, Foreign: Rosenberg (pic)" Alfred Rosenberg px800
SS: Himmler (1st pic), RSHA incl. Gestapo, SD and Police: Heydrich (2nd pic) to June 1942, Kaltenbrunner (3rd pic)" Himmler Heydrich px800 Kaltenbrunner

The Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, Franz Halder

Halder
Halder (Chief of Staff OKH to September 1942)
Franz Halder (1884–1972) was a German general and the Chief of the General Staff of the German Army (Heer) from 1938 to 1942. He played a central role in planning and directing German military operations during the early years of World War II, including the invasions of Poland, France, and the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa).

Key Facts:

– Full Name: Franz Halder
– Born: June 30, 1884, Würzburg, German Empire
– Died: April 2, 1972, Aschau im Chiemgau, West Germany
– Rank: Generaloberst (Colonel General)
– Position: Chief of the General Staff of the German Army (OKH), September 1938 – September 1942

Role and Influence

– As Chief of the General Staff, Halder was responsible for strategic planning and operational control of the German Army.
– He was involved in the planning of the invasions of Poland (1939), France (1940), and the Soviet Union (1941).
– Halder kept detailed diaries during the war, which have become important historical sources for understanding the German military and Nazi leadership.

Relationship with Hitler

– Halder often clashed with Adolf Hitler over military strategy, especially regarding the Eastern Front and Operation Barbarossa.
– He was involved in early plots to remove Hitler, though these did not materialize during his tenure.
– In September 1942, Hitler dismissed Halder due to disagreements over the conduct of the war in the Soviet Union.

After the War

– Halder was captured and held as a prisoner of war by the Allies.
– He later served as a consultant for the U.S. Army Historical Division, helping to write accounts of the war from the German perspective.
– He was awarded the U.S. Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1961 for his contributions to military history.

Legacy

– Halder remains a controversial figure: a professional soldier who opposed some Nazi policies but was also complicit in war crimes, particularly on the Eastern Front.
– His war diaries are considered a vital resource for historians studying the German military during World War II.


Power balance of the Wehrmacht

It is not certain what percentage of each age group of conscripts were actually called up every year to the Wehrmacht. It was fixed for planning purposes at 75%, but it must have been more in the course of the war because of the reducing of the demands. From September 1939 to April 1945 17,893,200 men were serving in the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS. By a population base of 90 million people (including Austria, Sudetenland, Alsace and parts of Poland) this requires that about 3.6 percent of the total population went every year through the German Armed Forces. At the time of the peak strength in 1943 the share of military power was more than 10% from this population base.

Power balance of the Wehrmacht (numbers in 1000 men):

Year:
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
Field army
2,741
3,650
3,800
4,000
4,250
4,000
3,800
Reserve army
996
900
1,200
1,800
2,300
2,510
1,500
Army total
3,737
4,550
5,000
5,800
6,550
6,510
5,300
Air Force
400
1,200
1,680
1,700
1,700
1,500
1,000
Navy
50
250
404
580
780
810
700
Waffen-SS
35
50
150
230
450
600
830
Overall
4,222
6,050
7,234
8,310
9,480
9,420
7,830
US Army (for comparison)
5,575
US Forces total
11,484

Balance of the Wehrmacht and civilian workers of Greater Germany 1939-1944 (in millions of people):

Date (end of May):
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
Sep 30,44
Civilian workers:
German mens
24.5
20.4
19.0
16.9
15.5
14.2
13.5
German womans
14.6
14.4
14.1
14.4
14.8
14.8
14.9
Germans total
39.1
34.8
33.1
31.3
30.3
29.0
28.4
Aliens, slave workers, PoW's
0.3
1.2
3.0
4.2
6.3
7.1
7.5
Armed Forces:
Total drafts
1.4
5.7
7.4
9.4
11.2
12.4
13.0
Total losses
0
0.1
0.2
0.8
1.7
3.3
3.9
Strength
1.4
5.6
7.2
8.6
9.5
9.1
9.1
Mobilised Germans total
40.5
40.5
40.5
40.7
41.5
41.4
41.4
Workers total
39.4
36.0
36.1
35.5
36.6
36.1
35.9
Mobilised people total
40.8
41.6
43.3
44.1
46.1
45.2
45.0

t arrow2 back to PART I about the Wehrmacht


References and literature

World War II – A Statistical Survey (John Ellis)
Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg (10 Bände, Zentrum für Militärgeschichte)
Illustrierte Geschichte des Dritte Reiches (Kurt Zentner)
Der Genius des Krieges (Trevor N. Dupuy)
Den Krieg denken – Die Entwicklung der Strategie seit der Antike (Beatrice Heuser)
Die Halder-Tagebücher: The Private War Journals of Colonel General Franz Halder (Franz Halder)
Hitler: 1936-1945 Nemesis (Ian Kershaw)
Operation Barbarossa: Hitlers Invasion in Russland, 1941 (David M. Glantz)


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