Wehrmacht

Also known as Armed Forces of Germany

The Wehrmacht (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy) and the Luftwaffe (air force). The designation "Wehrmacht" replaced the previously used term (Reich Defence) and was the manifestation of the Nazi regime's efforts to rearm Germany to a greater extent than the Treaty of Versailles permitted.

AI overview

The Wehrmacht were Nazi Germany's combined military forces—made up of the army, navy, and air force—that operated from 1935 to 1945. The creation of the Wehrmacht represented the Nazi regime's major rearmament effort, which violated the restrictions imposed on Germany after World War I.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

National military.name: Armed Forces of the German Reich
National military.image: 170px
National military.alt: Black cross with white and black outline
National military.caption: Emblem: the
National military.image2: 190px
National military.alt2: Red flag with black Nordic cross, black swastika in the center and black iron cross in the upper left corner
National military.caption2: War Ensign:
National military.motto: ()
National military.headquarters: Maybach II, Wünsdorf
National military.commander in chief_title: Supreme Commander
National military.chief minister_title: Commander-in-chief
National military.minister: Werner von Blomberg (first)Karl Dönitz (last)
National military.minister_title: Minister of War
National military.commander: Wilhelm Keitel (first) Alfred Jodl (last)
National military.commander_title: Commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht High Command
National military.age: 18–45
National military.conscription: 1–2 years; national service
National military.manpower_age: 18

via Wikipedia infobox

~60 min read

Encyclopedic overview

39 sections

Contents

Origin
Etymology
Background
Nazi rise to power
Personnel and recruitment
Training
Officer training
General staff officer
Women in the ''Wehrmacht''
Command structure
Branches
Army
Air Force
Navy
Coexistence with the Waffen-SS
Theatres and campaigns
Eastern theatre
Western theatre
Mediterranean theatre
Casualties
War crimes
Cooperation with the ''SS''
Crimes against civilians
Crimes against POWs
Criminal and genocidal organization
Resistance to the Nazi regime
After World War II
Military operational legacy
Historical negationism
Post-war militaries
See also
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
Printed
Online
External links
Videos

After the Nazi rise to power in 1933, one of Adolf Hitler's most overt and bellicose moves was to establish the Wehrmacht, a modern offensively-capable armed force, fulfilling the Nazi regime's long-term goals of regaining lost territory as well as gaining new territory and dominating its neighbours. This required the reinstatement of conscription and massive investment and defence spending on the arms industry.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Wehrmacht” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.