[Maverick]

Very interesting...

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[Von Paulus]

Unlike the American Army, the German Wehrmacht had a long standing professional officer corps that had experience going back to the Franco-Prussian War of 1871. While many American career officers had seen action in World War I, the vast majority entered combat for the first time.

Secretly, the Nazis built the 100,000 men allowed under the Versailles Treaty – for internal security – into a highly trained officer corps. The Night of Long Knives in 1934 ensured Army loyalty by removing the SA and its leader, Ernst Röhm.

By the eve of the Polish Campaign, the Wehrmacht had 2,000,000 men. The tactics that Heinz Guderian and others invented – Blitzkrieg – smashed through Poland, and then France and the Low Countries, Denmark, and much of Russia.

The Germans had enveloped themselves in precisely the situation Hitler warned about in Mein Kampf. Dividing their forces under two commands, Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) and Oberkommando des West (OKW.) The majority of men and materiel were sent to the Russian Front, duty detested by the regular army troops.

Casualties in the West had been very light, but thousands and then hundreds of thousands were killed. Nevertheless, Wehrmacht morale remained high, due in part to the Hitler Youth program, which placed emphasis on nationalistic ideals and group loyalty; personal loyalty to Hitler was above all. The Wehrmachtgained a reputation as an unbeatable foe, and the endurance of the German soldier was legendary. The stereotype was so powerful that even in 1944 Allied troops feared attacking German units without total numerical supremacy.

The centralization of authority was also a fatal flaw in German command doctrine. Unlike the independent authority units commanders and even noncommissioned officers had to alter or even abandon operational plans in the face of tactical needs, the German High Command often hamstringed their commanders by requiring personal permission from Hitler in order to gain needed units or supplies.

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.

Hitler, disdainful of the professional soldier, often overruled his commanders and sacked them for spurious reasons. After the July 20 plot to assassinate him, tens of thousands were executed or forced to commit suicide, including the able Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel.

Also in 1944 the huge manpower losses forced the drafting of thousands of young and old men into Volksgrenadier divisions that were under strength but had additional automatic weapons and Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons. They were the only men left available to replace the huge losses at Stalingrad, North Africa and elsewhere.

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.

[intrestedviewer]

Sleep is for the weak

[Wolfshook]

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"

[BallisticWookie]

Once again Von, very interesting

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Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to War and my fingers to fight.

[kraut-kill3r]

ich bin dumeir esl

[mikecs18]

Ich bin der panzerkraker!!

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[Von Paulus]

Thanks Wolfshook, I apreciate your correcting of it

[Hells-Angel]

cool stuff

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[superdude]

i beleive sleep is a waste of time.

[Macchi]

Nice post Von.........

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www.3rd.homestead.com/main.html

[Macchi]

Do you still have your 3rd Sig?? <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Von Paulus:
Thanks Wolfshook, I apreciate your correcting of it <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>



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www.3rd.homestead.com/main.html

[viper*]

seriously

[mikecs18]

lol

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[kraut-kill3r]

yea