The history of Germany is closely connected with wars. The two most bloody wars in the history of mankind have been unleashed by this country and its government. In different years of its existence, the international community left Germany in isolation and imposed a ban on the maintenance of the armed forces, but the German army tended to revive and again became one of the most exemplary and disciplined in the world. However, at present many analysts testify to a certain decline in the morale of the German troops, which significantly affects their prestige among their own population. Is it really? Where do the traditions of the German army come from? And why, before the outbreak of World War II, Germany became one of the most powerful powers, actively increasing arms, despite the moratorium? We will talk about all this in our article today.
German Armed Forces : Roots and Traditions
The German army, in the form in which it had been transformed by the beginning of the twentieth century, emerged during the period of struggle with Napoleon. At that time, the officers took an active part in the hostilities against Bonaparte on the side of the Russian troops, and often the battles were fought in Russia. Most of the top military ranks were recruits from among large landowners and considered themselves defenders of the monarchy. The officers took the device of the Prussian army, its mentality, understanding of discipline and rejection of any socialist ideas as a basis for imitation.
Over time, a special layer of officers formed in the German army who passed on their traditions to their sons and grandchildren. By 1913, about eighty percent of the top command personnel came from the military environment, brought up in the relevant traditions. Those who came to the army from outside quickly adopted the rules and norms of behavior dictated from above. Thus, the backbone of the German armed forces was formed , which was characterized by the features of the army of the feudal era, a clear subordination and ideas of honor.
Consequences of the Treaty of Versailles
Bismarck once formed the main rule of all German military campaigns - a preventive war, which preempted any blow from the countries of Europe surrounding the state. Surprisingly, it was this idea of the “blitzkrieg” that excited the minds of almost all military leaders who played a significant role in the development and formation of the German armed forces.
After the end of the First World War, according to the signed Treaty of Versailles, Germany fell into the framework of severe limitations on its military potential. In the twenty-first year of the last century, observing all the points of these agreements, the government of the country formed the Reichswehr, which was not an army in its essence. Rather, it was just a defensive force that could be responsible for domestic order. The Reichswehr consisted of the following number of soldiers:
- one hundred thousand land forces;
- fifteen thousand sailors.
At the same time, Germany was deprived of heavy artillery, tank and air forces, as well as the fleet.
However, the German government sought to circumvent all established bans and begin to transform its troops, gradually increasing military power. Only one of the most powerful states of the time could help in this - the Soviet Union. It was with him that Germany began negotiations on joint exercises and the revival of the might of the German armed forces. On the basis of Soviet flight and tank schools, German soldiers were trained. This violated the isolation of Germany and helped strengthen its position in the international arena.
However, during the period of cooperation, the Soviet Union was not very successful in fulfilling its agreements. For example, only two hundred military pilots and thirty tank crews underwent training on the territory of the Union republics. Although, with the advent of Hitler in a shorter period of time, more than two thousand pilots were trained in Germany.
Hitler and military transformation
In 1932, Hitler began to pursue an active policy of building up military power despite all the prohibitions and doctrines. The active armament of Germany did not go unnoticed, but not one of the European powers even tried to thwart the plans of the new chancellor. By 1935, the German army had already become so strong and modern that Hitler had the opportunity to announce the abolition of the Reichswehr. As a result of numerous transformations, the armed forces of Germany arose.
The country systematically revived its army - a military draft was again introduced for men and youths, the number of divisions increased to thirty-six, and the ground forces reached five hundred thousand people. To popularize the army among the population, a special magazine began to be published, where news, interviews of soldiers and officers, as well as campaign materials were printed.
During this period, centuries-old traditions of the German armed forces were violated, a large number of ordinary citizens fell into them, which reduced the level of intelligence of the officers to a record twenty percent. However, this did not affect the army structure itself, based on strict discipline and unquestioning obedience.
Hitler sought revenge for the shameful defeat in the First World War and gradually crushed all the armed forces under him. He managed to inspire the military with an extraordinary admiration for his person and the ideas that he carried to the masses. In 1934, he became president of the country and took the oath of allegiance to the army, contrary to the previously adopted constitution.
This ritual had a very deep meaning, because for a German officer observance of these oaths was a matter of honor. Therefore, most of the military continued to fulfill their duty even after they had disbelieved during World War II in Hitler’s ideas and their victory. During all this time, only a few officers allowed themselves to go over to the side of the enemy, the rest kept holy oaths, despite the inappropriateness of many orders.
Wehrmacht and preparation for war
Since 1935, the German armed forces began to be called the “Wehrmacht,” and the whole subsequent history of the country is firmly connected with this term. Hitler very carefully not only led the pre-war preparation of the material and technical base, but also worked out psychological methods of influencing ordinary people. First of all, this concerned work with the officers, which was to become the vanguard and mastermind in the upcoming war.
The coherence of the German forces at the beginning of the campaign of the thirty-ninth year of the last century was ensured by the special principles by which the officer corps was being prepared. Among them are the following:
- all commanders had to evaluate the combat situation based on the general situation of all units in the theater of operations, and only then make an individual decision;
- lack of schematics in battle management;
- Each commander must independently make decisions and act in a critical situation or in the absence of communication with the senior management.
Each soldier also had the idea that it was necessary to take orders only from his immediate commander, which excluded even rare facts of desertion or disobedience.
Thanks to all the measures taken and the first significant successes in hostilities in Europe, the German army by the forty-first year of the last century was a coordinated and coordinated mechanism, adapted and ready to carry out any combat missions.
Army on the eve of the attack on the USSR
By the twenty-second of June, the forty-first year, the Wehrmacht came up pretty prepared. Its total number exceeded seven million well-trained soldiers and officers who were ready to fulfill any order of their Fuhrer. In addition to this number, just over one million people were part of the reserve army.
The German ground forces consisted of one hundred and three divisions, and it was from them that the first shock wave directed at the USSR was formed. It consisted of three million three hundred foot soldiers. Twenty-one under-staffed divisions were brought to the western borders. Fifty-five large army units headed east.
Interestingly, many east-facing units were assembled by volunteers from France, Spain, Italy and other European countries. Of course, they were not as well trained as the officer backbone of the Wehrmacht, but still they were a powerful and prepared structure. The 1941 German army was multinational and only a few years later began to focus on the purebred Aryan race.
It is interesting that already in the first months of the war the number of German troops in our country decreased significantly. This was due to the fact that Germany did not expect vigorous resistance and was not ready for a protracted military action, and therefore did not work out a scheme for transferring its soldiers to combat positions in order to compensate for the losses.
Ranks in the German Army
The armed forces of the Wehrmacht consisted of a large number of ranks. To list all of them within the framework of one article is rather difficult, therefore we will indicate them only for senior and headquarters officers.
The first category is characterized by nineteen ranks, of which the Reichsmarschall is the highest. This is followed by generals of various military branches, including all known services. The lowest rank is the field bishop of the Wehrmacht. Interestingly, the position of clergyman is in all army units.
The second category is represented by fifteen titles. The highest is the Oberst or Colonel. He is followed by seniority colonels of all military branches, then the majors are listed. In this category, there is the title of inspector of military bands and two positions of clergy.
In addition to the above, in Germany there were eighty-six more ranks.
German military after the war
Historians claim that during the war, a little more than seventeen million people were drafted into the army, but in May of the forty-fifth year, the number of armed forces was limited to three million soldiers and representatives of senior officers. Moreover, more than two million people fell in the battles of the last months of the war.
The occupation of Germany by the victorious countries led to the complete destruction of the army as such. The Wehrmacht soldiers and a small popular militia were completely disarmed. The military industry not only fell under the ban, but also lost its entire base - plants, factories and laboratories.
In parallel with all these events, the victorious countries confiscated all aircraft, and the inhabitants of Germany lost the opportunity to fly into the air. As a result, in 1949 the country was divided into two states - Germany and the GDR. From this moment, their development went in different ways, this also applies to the armed forces.
Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany
Only in 1955 was Germany able to form its own armed forces. They were called the Bundeswehr and were formed from hundreds of citizens who voluntarily swore allegiance, according to ancient traditions. Two years later, military duty was introduced throughout the state, which was canceled after the end of the war of the forty-fifth year.
Initially, the Bundeswehr was limited in foreign operations, but forty years after its formation, the German army began to take an active part in actions authorized by the UN.
The shape of the Bundeswehr is spotted in color with a large number of dots, stripes and blotches to smooth out the borders of the flowers. This color scheme has proven itself in operations among the forest. There is also an option for military operations in the mountains. It is worth noting that the uniform of the Bundeswehr was taken as a basis by the Austrian army, however, it has a solid color in this design.
Description of the armed forces of Germany today
Currently, the army consists of the following categories:
- ground troops;
- German Air Force;
- Navy.
As an addition, special support forces were created at the beginning of the 2000s. A little later, a health service emerged to ensure the health of the military.
The German Armed Forces are divided directly into the armed forces themselves and civilian control. Moreover, in the Bundeswehr there is no post of commander, she, depending on the situation, moves to different posts. In peacetime, this is the Minister of Defense, and in case of danger - the German Chancellor. To date, Angela Merkel has this right.
Inspectors controlling various categories of troops are responsible for the combat readiness of the troops. For example, the German Air Force has air force inspectors . The main title is the inspector general, who performs all the monitoring functions.
The German army today has more than two hundred thousand military and seventy-five thousand civilians. A call to the service begins at the age of nineteen, if there is a delay, a citizen of the country can be called up again even at thirty-two years.
The German Armed Forces sixteen years ago lifted restrictions on the service of women in the army. They got equal rights with men and even have the opportunity to rise to the rank of general. The number of German female soldiers is already more than twelve thousand people. Most of them serve in the sanitary units, about nine percent choose the German Navy. Every year, women are showing increasing interest in military service.
German military equipment: tanks and submarines
During World War II, the country was famous for its equipment, but the entire military industry was completely destroyed. Therefore, for a long time, Germany lagged significantly behind most European countries in this industry. And what is happening in the state today?
German tanks have always been distinguished by lightness and maneuverability, the same traditions have survived after the war. At present, German armored vehicles are based on the Leopard tank model. The first sample was mass-produced in 1963. Now German Leopard tanks have more than ten modifications, which served as the basis for the development of armored vehicles.
The German fleet consists of three units, the combat basis of which is submarines. To date, new submarines for some European powers are being built at the country's shipyards, which indicates serious achievements in the field of military industry. Germany submarine orders Greece and the Republic of Korea. Part of the order by the Germans has already been completed, and submarines are on alert in these countries. Possible deliveries are being negotiated with the Germans, Portugal, Turkey and Pakistan.
German submarines are of type 214, which can be in autonomous navigation for up to eighty-four days. Diesel-electric submarines, after the last modifications, can dive to a depth of four hundred meters and develop an underwater speed of up to twenty knots.
The crew of the submarine consists of twenty-seven people, of which five are officers. This submarine is armed with twenty torpedoes, twenty-four bottom mines and thirty-six anchor mines.
The history of the German army is filled with various events, quite often the country was on the verge of complete elimination of the armed forces. But always Germany skillfully circumvented all prohibitions and increased its power, despite the censure of other powers. Now the state is again trying to raise the number of military personnel to five hundred thousand people as soon as possible. That is how much the country's armed forces totaled during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. It is not known what this desire of the German government will lead to, because it is no secret to anyone that the international situation in the world is extremely tense. It is hoped that Angela Merkel and other top officials of the state still remember the lessons taught by history and will not repeat the grave mistakes of the past.