Military Organization of the Third Reich

Oberkommando der Wehrmacht

The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht or OKW (Wehrmacht High Command, Armed Forces High Command) was part of the command structure of the German armed forces during World War II. In theory, it served as the military general staff for Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, coordinating the efforts of the German Army (Heer), Navy (Kriegsmarine), and Air Force (Luftwaffe). In theory, the OKW was only Hitler's military office, was charged with translating Hitler's ideas into military orders, and had little real control over the Army, Navy and the Air Force High Commands. However, as the war progressed the OKW found itself exercising increasing amounts of direct command authority over military units, particularly in the West. This created a situation such that by 1942 the OKW was the de facto command of Western forces while the OKH (the Army High Command) exercised de facto command of the Russian front.

The OKW had been formed in 1938 following the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair which led to the dismissal of Werner von Blomberg and the dissolution of the Reichswehrministerium (Reichs Ministry of War).

There was a rivalry between OKW and the OKH (Army High Command, Oberkommando des Heeres): Because most German operations during World War II were army operations (with air support), the Army High Command demanded the control over the German military forces. Hitler decided against the OKH and in favour of the OKW.

During the war, more and more influence moved from the OKH to the OKW. Norway was the first “OKW war theater.” More and more theaters came under complete control of the OKW. Finally only the Russian Front stayed under control of the Army High Command.

The OKW ran military operations on the Western front, Africa and in Italy. In the west operations were further split between the OKW and the Oberbefehlshaber West (OBW, Commander in Chief West), who was Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt (later Field Marshal Günther von Kluge).

There was even more fragmentation as naval and air operations had their own commands (Oberkommando der Marine (OKM) and Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL, Hermann Göring)) which, while theoretically subordinate, were largely independent from OKW or the OBW.

The OKW was headed for the entire war by Wilhelm Keitel and reported directly to Hitler, from whom most operational orders actually originated as he had made himself Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht (Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces) and Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres (head of the OKH).

Alfred Jodl was Keitel's Chef des Wehrmachtführungsstabes (Chief of Operation Staff), while Walter Warlimont was Deputy Chief.

The OKW was indicted but acquitted of charges during the Nuremberg trials of being a criminal organization. Keitel and Jodl however were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging.

Oberkommando des Heeres

The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) was Germany's Army High Command from 1936 to 1945. In theory the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) commanded the OKH. However, the de facto situation after 1941 was that the OKW directly commanded operations on the Western front while the OKH commanded the Russian front.

There also existed the Oberkommando der Marine (OKM) and the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL) for the navy and the air force respectively. These were theoretically subordinate to the OKW, but in actuality acted quite independently.

The Army commanders (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres, or OBdH for short) of the Wehrmacht were,

from 1935 to 1938, Generaloberst Werner von Fritsch;

from 1938 to 19 December 1941, Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch;

from 19 December 1941 to 30 April 1945, Führer and Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler;

and from 30 April 1945 to 8 May 1945, Generalfeldmarschall Ferdinand Schörner.

Following German tradition the OBdH did not plan operations. This task was left to the General Staff, so actually the most important man in the Army (and the Navy, but less so in the Luftwaffe, which was commanded by Hermann Göring) was the chief of the general staff. It should be noted that the Heer (army) always has been the leading factor in planning campaigns. Thus there was no such thing as combined planning of the different services. The position of Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, which was by definition superior to the OKH, was not intended for that, nor did it have the resources to do so.

Later in the war, the OKH became responsible for fewer and fewer tasks. For example, the invasion of Norway was entirely planned outside the OKH.

During World War II, the Chiefs of General Staff were,

from 1 Sep 1938 to 24 Sep 1942, Generaloberst Franz Halder;

from 24 Sep 1942 to 10 June 1944, Generaloberst Kurt Zeitzler;

from 10 June 1944 to 21 July 1944, Generalleutnant Adolf Heusinger;

from 21 July 1944 to 28 Mar 1945, Generaloberst Heinz Guderian;

and from 1 Apr 1945 to 30 Apr 1945, General der Infanterie Hans Krebs.

When Hitler took command of the army on 19 Dec 1941, the importance of the GenStdH decreased, and Hitler continued to become more and more responsible for operational planning.

Oberkommando der Marine

The Oberkommando der Marine (or OKM for short) was Germany's Naval High Command until 1945.

The commanders (Oberbefehlshaber des Marine, or OBdM for short) of the Kriegsmarine were:

September 24, 1928- January 30, 1943 Grossadmiral Erich Raeder

January 30, 1943 - May 1, 1945 Grossadmiral Karl Dönitz

May 1, 1945 - May 8, 1945 Generaladmiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg (after Dönitz becomes Head of State when Hitler commits suicide)

The SA

The Sturmabteilung (SA, German for “Storm Division” and is usually translated as stormtroops or stormtroopers) functioned as a paramilitary organization of the NSDAP – the German Nazi party. It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s. SA men were often known as brownshirts from the colour of their uniform and to distinguish them from the SS who were known as blackshirts.

The SA was also the first Nazi paramilitary group to develop pseudo-military titles for bestowal upon its members. The SA ranks would be adopted by several other Nazi Party groups, chief among them the SS.

The SS

The Schutzstaffel (Protective Squadron), or SS, was a large paramilitary organization that belonged to the Nazi party. The SS was led by Heinrich Himmler from 1929 until it was disbanded in 1945 with the defeat of Germany in World War II. The Nazis regarded the SS as an elite unit, a Party's “praetorian guard,” with all SS personnel selected on racial and ideological grounds. The SS was distinguished from the German military, Nazi Party, and German state officials by their own SS ranks, SS unit insignia, and SS uniforms.

The SS fighting units, called the Waffen-SS, were to evolve into highly skilled and effective soldiers, in many cases superior in these respects to the German army, the Heer.

The most recognizable branches of the SS, later charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, were the departments that comprised the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA, Reich Security Head Office), Sicherheitsdienst (SD, Security Service), Einsatzgruppen (Special Mission Groups), the concentration camp service known as the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV, Death's Head Formations), and the Gestapo (Secret State Police).

After the war, the judges of Nuremberg Trials declared the entirety of the SS as a criminal organization, among others because of its implementation of racial policies of genocide.

The Volkssturm

The Volkssturm, literally translated as People's Storm in the meaning of National Storm, was a German national militia of the last months of the Nazi regime. It was founded on Adolf Hitler's orders on October 18, 1944 and effectively conscripted all males between the ages of 16 to 60 years of age (who did not already serve in some military unit) as part of the German Home Guard.

National Socialist Motor Corps

The National Socialist Motor Corps (German: Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrerkorps; NSKK), also known as the National Socialist Drivers Corps, was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party that existed from 1931 to 1945. The group was a successor organization to the older National Socialist Automobile Corps, which had existed since the beginning of 1930.

The National Socialist Motor Corps was the smallest of the Nazi Party organizations and had originally been formed as a motorized corps of the Sturmabteilung (SA). In 1934, the group had a membership of approximately ten thousand and was separated from the SA to become an independent organization. This action may have saved the NSKK from extinction, as shortly thereafter the SA suffered a major purge during the Night of the Long Knives.

The primary aim of the NSKK was to educate its members in motoring skills. They were mainly trained in the operation and maintenance of high performance motorcycles and automobiles. In the mid 1930s, the NSKK also served as a roadside assistance group, comparable to the modern-day American Automobile Association or the British Automobile Association.

Membership in the NSKK did not require any knowledge of automobiles and the group was known to accept persons for membership without drivers' licenses. It was thought that training in the NSKK would make up for any previous lack of knowledge. The NSKK did, however, adhere to racial doctrine and screened its members for Aryan qualities. The NSKK was also a paramilitary organization with its own system of paramilitary ranks.

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the National Socialist Motor Corps became a target of the Wehrmacht for recruitment, since NSKK members possessed knowledge of motorized transport, whereas the bulk of the Wehrmacht relied on horses. Most NSKK members thereafter joined the regular military, serving in the transport corps of the various service branches.

In 1945, the NSKK was disbanded and the group was declared a “condemned organization” at the Nuremberg Trials (although not a criminal one). This was due in part to the NSKK’s origins in the SA and its doctrine of racial superiority required from its members.

National Socialist Flyers Corps

The National Socialist Flyers Corps was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party that was founded in the early 1930s during the years when a German Air Force was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. The organization was based closely on the organization of the Sturmabteilung (SA) and maintained a system of paramilitary ranks closely associated with the SA.

During the early years of its existence, the NSFK conducted military aviation training in gliders and private airplanes. When Nazi Germany formed the Luftwaffe, many NSFK members transferred. As all such prior NSFK members were also Nazi Party members; this gave the new Luftwaffe a strong Nazi ideological base in constrast to the other branches of the German military, who were comprised of “Old Guard” officers from the German aristocracy.

The National Socialist Flyers Corps continued to exist after the Luftwaffe was founded, but to a much smaller degree. During World War II, the NSFK mainly performed air defense duties such as reserve anti-aircraft service.