Online Guide: German Army of WWII

Online Guide: German Army of WWII

The German Army of World War II, otherwise known as the Heer, was one of the branches of the overall German military, which was known as the Wehrmacht. The Heer existed from 1935 to 1945 and housed a total of roughly 15 million soldiers. Of those soldiers, nearly half of them became casualties of World War II. In this online guide, we will provide links and resources to some of the most important information concerning the German Army of WW II. These will include the WW II timeline, the German army battles, German army campaigns, their weapons and technology, the Waffen-SS, Fallschirmjager, Hitler's foreign legions, and the commanders of the German army.

WWII Timeline

WWII began on September 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. This act prompted a declaration of war on September 3, 1939 by Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand. South Africa joined in the declaration of war on September 6 and Canada joined in on September 10. The German army experienced much early success as they forced the surrender of Poland in less than a month. The German army’s success continued in 1940 with invasions of Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Holland, Belgium, France and Britain. All countries except Britain surrendered in 1940. In 1941, Germany turned against its former ally Russia and declared war on the United States. After almost 3 years of fierce battle, the war turned sharply against Germany on June 6, 1944 at the battle of Normandy, otherwise known as D-Day. On May 7, 1945, Germany finally surrendered to allied forces, ending the war in Europe.

• World War II Timeline: Detailed chronology of events concerning most aspects of the war beginning September 1, 1939 and ending September 16, 1945.
• German invasion of Poland September 1, 1939 beginning WWII: Links and resources to articles about the German invasion of Poland and the Polish campaign during WWII.
• The Battle of Britain July 10, 1940: The Battle of Britain history site covering all aspects of this important battle.
• The Battle of Normandy June 6, 1944: Detailed description of The Battle of Normandy, which was the turning point for the allies of the war in Europe.
• Germany Surrenders May 7, 1945: US government document detailing the terms of the German surrender on May 7, 1945, ending the European theatre of WWII.

German Army Battles

The German army had many key battles throughout World War II. The battles mentioned in the timeline above were the most important, but there were several others throughout the war. In addition to the above mentioned battles, Germany also had important battles in France, Stalingrad, and the Battle of the Bulge. Overall, the German army was very successful in its early battles, but that early success gave way to major defeats as their army became increasingly depleted and the allies became stronger.

• The Battle of France May 10-June 22 1940: Description of the battle and fall of France in the spring and early summer of 1940.
• The Battle of Stalingrad: Database with detailed description and timeline of the battle of Stalingrad July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943.
• The Battle of the Bulge: US army handbook describing all aspects of the Battle of the Bulge December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945.

German Army Campaigns

The German army campaigns were characterized by their great organization and efficiency. The campaigns early in the war were highly successful as they were able to catch the rest of Europe off guard with the sheer force of their military. These campaigns became less effective as the war raged on and the allied forces grew stronger. The German army campaigns were also adversely affected later in the war by having to fight major battles on multiple fronts and by bad weather conditions in the winter on the Russian front.

• German invasion of Norway and Denmark April 9, 1940: Detailed background and description of the German Army’s invasion of Norway and Denmark in 1940, which greatly expanded their military campaign.
• German Campaigns in the Balkans October 1940-March 1941: Online pamphlet describing in depth the German campaigns against Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete written “from the German point of view.”
• German Eastern Front Campaign against the Soviet Union: Background of German and Soviet relations leading up to the German army offensive against the Soviets known as the Eastern Front Campaign.

German Weapons and Technology

During WWII, German foot soldiers used a wide range of weapons to fight the enemy. The standard firearm was the bolt action rifle named the Karabiner 98k. Later in the war, the troops also used an automatic rifle called the Gewehr 41(W). Troops also commonly used a sub-machine gun called the MP40 and the later version MP43. The technology of these weapons evolved quickly as the war went on.

• Karabiner 98k Bolt Action Rifle: Pictures and description of the Karabiner 98 bolt action rifle and its technological evolution from its development in 1898 through WWII.
• Gewehr 41(W) Automatic Rifle: Picture and history of the Gewehr 41(W) automatic rifle.
• MP40 Submachine Gun: History, picture and description of the MP40 submachine gun.

The Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS was the military branch of the overall SS, also known as the Gestapo. The Waffen SS functioned as an elite military unit comparable to the U.S. Special Forces. At its height, the Waffen SS was 600,000 strong and it spearheaded many of the most critical campaigns of the war, performing the riskiest and most difficult combat operations of all the German military units.

• Waffen-SS Organization: Organizational structure of the overall SS and how the Waffen-SS fits into the grand scheme of the SS organization.
• Waffen-SS Order of Battle: Guide to Waffen-SS order of battle, ranks, training and other various information on this organization.

Fallschirmjager

The Fallschirmjager were the German paratroopers during WWII. The Fallschirmjager are credited with making the first infantry air assaults in history. These paratroopers played a pivotal role in success of some of Germany’s early campaigns, especially 1941 invasion of the island of Crete. First established in 1936, the Fallschirmjager were a branch of the German air force.

• Weapons and Equipment of the Fallschirmjager: A detailed description of the various weapons and equipment employed by the German paratroopers of WWII.
• Operation Mercury - the airborne invasion of Crete: A pdf document providing an operational analysis of Operations Mercury, the Fallschirmjager’s airborne invasion of the island of Crete.

Hitler's Foreign Legions

Adolf Hitler employed a legion of foreign volunteers known as Hitler’s foreign legions or the Freiwillige. These volunteers served under the umbrella of the Waffen-SS. It is believed that nearly 2 million foreign volunteers were part of Hitler’s foreign legions. There were volunteers in Hitler’s army from nearly every country that was involved in WWII and they were integrated into all parts of Hitler’s military.

• Freiwillige-The Foreign Volunteers: Description of the activities and roles of the foreign volunteers of the Freiwillige and links to many of the countries these volunteers were from.
• Danish Volunteers in the Waffen-SS: Pdf document covering in detail the contribution of Danish volunteers to Hitler’s foreign legion.

Commanders of the German Military

Hitler had commanders of various aspects of his military that were feared just as much as Hitler himself. Herman Goering was chief of the Luftwaffe, which was the German air force. Heinrich Himmler was head of the SS (Gestapo) and Minister of the Interior. Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch was commander of the German army until he was forced to resign for health reasons and ineffectiveness in 1941 and was replaced by Hitler himself.

• Herman Goering: Online biography of Herman Goering.
• Heinrich Himmler: Online biography of Heinrich Himmler.
• Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch: Online biography of Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch.