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Wolfshook · 08-04-2001, 02:54 AM

A couple of things.

While German officers in High Command positions were very often tied to Hitler's whims, German officers in the field, were not so tied up.

A good example is Sepp Dietrich, in 1940, commanding the 1st SS "Liebstandarte Adolf Hilter". After receiving a direct order from Hitler to cease all offensive action, he disregarded this command, and continued his offensive, and gained valuable ground. Hitler, at first furious, for being disobeyed, later congratulated Dietrich, for achieving victory, and valuable ground in the war against France.

This is not the only case of commanders disobeying Hitler, and getting away with it.

Also, junior officers in the field, had much more experience than their Allied counterparts. For the most part German junior officers, had a much higher degree of training and actual combat time than any Allied counterpart. These same officers also had a much higher death rate, because German war doctrine of the time, was that the officers lead from the front, which opened them up to being killed much more than their Allied counterparts.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>In the orgy of violence that was perpetuated by the Nazis, the Gestapo or SS units like the Einsatzgruppen committed many atrocities. The Wehrmacht was not blameless; except for North Africa, were Rommel personally forbade reprisals, Germany Regular Army units shot and killed civilians and POWs in every theatre. The Wehrmacht was especially vicious in the Eastern Front.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I wanted to clarify a couple of things you wrote here.

The Einsatzgruppen were units of the German Security Police, and they were accountable to the Reich Security Head Office, and were lead by the Gestapo (Secret State Police), and the Kripo (Criminal Police), as well as the SD (Security Service). The men who served in these units came primarily from the Regular Police, and the Waffen SS. Neither group was anxious to serve in the Einsatzgruppen, as they were transferred to these units without warning, and without being asked. They had no idea of what was to come, with these transfers. Only the commanders of these groups knew what their true job was to be.

The four Einsatzgruppen totalled, approximately, 3,000 men. Action Group A, with a total of 990 men, included 340 men from the Waffen SS, about 1/3 of the total in this group.

Also, you say the Wehrmacht was not blameless, that should be Heer, I believe. Saying Wehrmacht includes the units of the Waffen SS.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>In the end, with constant air attack, huge armies with superior technology on both sides, the professional army of Germany tried to defend the borders of Germany. But without the ability to produce enough equipment, with millions dead, the Wehrmacht ceased to be the vaunted fighting force of legend.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I do have a problem with what you say, about Germany not being able to produce enough military equipment. In reality, Germany only moved to total war production in 1944, and although there were shortages of equipment, the thing which hurt Germany the most was shortages of fuel.

Too often panzers were left on the field of battle, lost to the German Wehrmacht, not because they were destroyed, or disabled, but because they were out of gas.

Ammunition was a large problem, as well, especially large caliber artillery shells. Resistance workers, and also Jewish slave laborers often sabotaged such ammunition. This is evident in many Allied veterans recountings of German artillery attacks, where they remember after the shellings, walking out and seeing the large number of undetonated shells. This was a huge problem for the Germans, and was something they probably never even knew about, until after the war.

All in all a good read, Von P, just had to give my two cents. Don't take it the wrong way though, good stuff you have here. I appreciate this post of knowledge.

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34th SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Landstorm Nederland

"Meine Ehre heißt Treue"

	(#4)
Wolfshook is Offline Senior Member Posts: 363 Join Date: Jan 2002	08-04-2001, 02:54 AM A couple of things. While German officers in High Command positions were very often tied to Hitler's whims, German officers in the field, were not so tied up. A good example is Sepp Dietrich, in 1940, commanding the 1st SS "Liebstandarte Adolf Hilter". After receiving a direct order from Hitler to cease all offensive action, he disregarded this command, and continued his offensive, and gained valuable ground. Hitler, at first furious, for being disobeyed, later congratulated Dietrich, for achieving victory, and valuable ground in the war against France. This is not the only case of commanders disobeying Hitler, and getting away with it. Also, junior officers in the field, had much more experience than their Allied counterparts. For the most part German junior officers, had a much higher degree of training and actual combat time than any Allied counterpart. These same officers also had a much higher death rate, because German war doctrine of the time, was that the officers lead from the front, which opened them up to being killed much more than their Allied counterparts. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>In the orgy of violence that was perpetuated by the Nazis, the Gestapo or SS units like the Einsatzgruppen committed many atrocities. The Wehrmacht was not blameless; except for North Africa, were Rommel personally forbade reprisals, Germany Regular Army units shot and killed civilians and POWs in every theatre. The Wehrmacht was especially vicious in the Eastern Front.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I wanted to clarify a couple of things you wrote here. The Einsatzgruppen were units of the German Security Police, and they were accountable to the Reich Security Head Office, and were lead by the Gestapo (Secret State Police), and the Kripo (Criminal Police), as well as the SD (Security Service). The men who served in these units came primarily from the Regular Police, and the Waffen SS. Neither group was anxious to serve in the Einsatzgruppen, as they were transferred to these units without warning, and without being asked. They had no idea of what was to come, with these transfers. Only the commanders of these groups knew what their true job was to be. The four Einsatzgruppen totalled, approximately, 3,000 men. Action Group A, with a total of 990 men, included 340 men from the Waffen SS, about 1/3 of the total in this group. Also, you say the Wehrmacht was not blameless, that should be Heer, I believe. Saying Wehrmacht includes the units of the Waffen SS. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>In the end, with constant air attack, huge armies with superior technology on both sides, the professional army of Germany tried to defend the borders of Germany. But without the ability to produce enough equipment, with millions dead, the Wehrmacht ceased to be the vaunted fighting force of legend.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I do have a problem with what you say, about Germany not being able to produce enough military equipment. In reality, Germany only moved to total war production in 1944, and although there were shortages of equipment, the thing which hurt Germany the most was shortages of fuel. Too often panzers were left on the field of battle, lost to the German Wehrmacht, not because they were destroyed, or disabled, but because they were out of gas. Ammunition was a large problem, as well, especially large caliber artillery shells. Resistance workers, and also Jewish slave laborers often sabotaged such ammunition. This is evident in many Allied veterans recountings of German artillery attacks, where they remember after the shellings, walking out and seeing the large number of undetonated shells. This was a huge problem for the Germans, and was something they probably never even knew about, until after the war. All in all a good read, Von P, just had to give my two cents. Don't take it the wrong way though, good stuff you have here. I appreciate this post of knowledge. ------------------ 34th SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Landstorm Nederland "Meine Ehre heißt Treue"