The German Army: History and Modernity

The history of Germany is closely connected with wars. The two most bloody wars in the history of mankind were unleashed precisely by this country and its government. In different years of its existence, the international community left Germany isolated and imposed a ban on maintaining the armed forces, but the German army had the property of reborn and once again became one of the most exemplary and disciplined in the world. However, to date, many analysts indicate a certain decline in the morale of 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 World War II, did Germany become one of the most powerful states that actively build up its armaments, despite the moratorium? We'll talk about all this in our today's article.

The German Armed Forces: Roots and Traditions

The German army, in the form in which it was transformed by the beginning of the twentieth century, arose in the period of the struggle against Napoleon. At that time, the officers took an active part in the military operations against Bonaparte on the side of the Russian troops, and often battles were fought on the territory of Russia. Most of the higher military ranks were recruits from among large landowners and considered themselves defenders of the monarchy. As a basis for imitation, officers took the device of the Prussian army, its mentality, understanding of discipline and rejection of any socialist ideas.

Over time, a special layer of officers was formed in the German army, which passed on their traditions to their sons and grandsons. By 1913, about eighty percent of the top commanders were from the military environment, brought up in the appropriate traditions. Those who came to the army from without, quickly adopted rules and norms of behavior dictated from above. Thus, the backbone of the German armed forces was formed, to which the features of the army of the epoch of feudalism were inherent, a clear subordination and ideas of honor.

Impact of the Versailles Treaty

Even Bismarck formed in his time the main rule of all military campaigns in Germany - a preventive war, which preempted any blow from the surrounding countries of Europe. Surprisingly, it was this idea of the "blitzkrieg" that excited the minds of virtually 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 peace signed by the Versailles, Germany was placed within the framework of a strict limitation of 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, they were just defensive forces that could be responsible for order within the country. The Reichswehr consisted of the following number of military men:

• One hundred thousand men of land forces;
• Fifteen thousand seamen.

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 bypass all established bans and begin to transform its troops, gradually building up military power. To help in this could only one of the most powerful states of the time - 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 flying and tank schools, German soldiers were trained. This violated the isolation of Germany and contributed to strengthening its position in the international arena.

However, during the time of cooperation, the Soviet Union did not succeed too much in the implementation of its agreements. For example, only two hundred military pilots and thirty tankmen passed 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 the military transformation

Since 1932, Hitler began to pursue an active policy of building military power in spite of all prohibitions and doctrines. Germany's active armament did not go unnoticed, but none of the European powers even tried to interfere with 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 - again, a military appeal was introduced for men and boys, the number of divisions increased to thirty-six, and the ground forces reached five hundred thousand people. To popularize the army, a special magazine began to be published among the population, where news, interviews of soldiers and officers, as well as propaganda materials were printed.

During this period, the age-old traditions of the German armed forces were violated, they included a large number of ordinary citizens, 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 observance of strict discipline and unquestioning submission.

Hitler sought revenge for the disgraceful defeat in the First World War and gradually jammed all the armed forces under him. He managed to inspire the military with an unusual admiration for his persona 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 profound meaning, because for a German officer observance of these vows was a matter of honor. Therefore, most of the military continued to fulfill their duty even after they lost faith in Hitler's ideas and victory during the Second World War. During all this time, only a few officers allowed themselves to cross over to the side of the enemy, the rest were faithfully observing vows, despite the inexpediency of many orders.

Wehrmacht and preparation for war

Since 1935 the German armed forces began to be called "Wehrmacht", and the whole further 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 practiced psychological methods of influencing ordinary people. First of all, it concerned the work with the officers, which was to become the vanguard and inspirer in the coming war.

The coordination of the actions of the German troops at the beginning of the campaign of the thirty-ninth year of the last century was provided with special principles, according to which the officer corps was being prepared. Among them are the following:

• All commanders were to assess 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 schematism in the management of the battle;
• Each commander must independently take decisions and act in a critical situation or in the absence of communication with the higher leadership.

Also, each soldier had an idea that it was necessary to perceive orders only from his immediate commander, which excluded even the rare facts of desertion or disobedience.

Thanks to all the events and the first significant successes in military operations in Europe, the German army by the forty-first year of the last century was a coordinated and harmonious mechanism, adapted and ready to perform any combat missions.

The army on the eve of the attack on the USSR

By the twenty-second of June of 1941 the Wehrmacht had come fairly well-prepared. Its total number exceeded seven million perfectly trained soldiers and officers, ready to execute any order of their Fuhrer. In addition to this number, a little more than one million people were part of the reserve army.

Land forces of Germany consisted of one hundred and three divisions, precisely from them the first shock wave directed to the USSR was formed. It consisted of three million three hundred infantrymen. Twenty-one, not completely staffed, divisions were brought to the western borders. Fifty-five large army units headed east.

It is interesting that many parts located on the eastern direction were arranged by volunteers from France, Spain, Italy and other European countries. Of course, they were not as well trained as the officers' backbone of the Wehrmacht, but they were still a powerful and well-prepared structure. The German army of 1941 was multinational and only after a few years began to focus on the purebred Aryan race.

It is interesting that in the first months of the war the number of German troops in the territory of our country has significantly decreased. This was due to the fact that Germany did not expect strong resistance and was not ready for protracted military actions, and therefore did not work out a scheme for transferring its soldiers to combat positions in order to compensate for the losses.

Rank in the German Army

The Armed Forces of the Wehrmacht consisted of a large number of ranks. It is quite difficult to list all of them within the framework of one article, so we will mention them only for higher and staff-officers.

The first category is characterized by nineteen titles, of which the highest is the Reichsmarschall. Then follows the generals of different arms, including all known services. The lowest rank is the field bishop of the Wehrmacht. It is interesting that the post of clergyman is in all army divisions.

The second category is represented by fifteen titles. The supreme is the oberst or the colonel. After him, according to seniority, there are colonels of all arms, then the majors are listed. In this category, there is the title of inspector of military bands and two posts of clergy.

In addition to the above, there were still eighty-six ranks in Germany.

Military forces of Germany after the war

Historians say that during the war, a little more than seventeen million people were drafted into the army, but in May 1945 the strength of the armed forces was limited to three million soldiers and senior officers. And 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 soldiers of the Wehrmacht and a few people's militia were completely disarmed. The military industry not only fell under the ban, but also lost all its base - factories, factories and laboratories.

In parallel with all these measures, the winner countries confiscated all the aircraft, and the inhabitants of Germany lost the opportunity to rise into the air. As a result, in 1949 the country was divided into two states - the FRG and the GDR. Since that moment, their development has gone along different paths, this also concerns the armed forces.

Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany

Only in 1955 the FRG was able to form its own armed forces. They were called "Bundeswehr" and were formed from hundreds of citizens who voluntarily swore allegiance, according to ancient traditions. Two years later, a military duty was imposed throughout the territory of the state, which was abolished after the end of the war in 1945.

Initially, the Bundeswehr was limited in foreign operations, but forty years after its formation, the FRG army began to actively participate in actions sanctioned by the UN.

The uniform of the Bundeswehr has a spotted coloring with a large number of dots, stripes and inclusions to smooth out the boundaries of the flowers. This color scheme is well proven in operations among the forest. There is also an option for military operations in the mountains. It should be noted that the form of the Bundeswehr was taken as the basis of the Austrian army, but it has a uniform coloring in this version.

Characteristics of the armed forces of Germany to date

At the moment, the army consists of the following categories:

• ground troops;
• The German Air Force;
• IUD.

As a supplement at the beginning of the two thousandth, special support forces were created. A little later, there was a medical and sanitary service, which provides military health care.

The armed forces of Germany are divided directly into the armed forces themselves and civil administration. And in the Bundeswehr there is no post of commander, she, depending on the situation, moves to different positions. In peacetime, it is the Minister of Defense, and in case of danger, the German Chancellor. To date, this right has Angela Merkel.

For the combat readiness of the troops are responsible inspectors who control different categories of troops. For example, the German Air Force has an air force inspector. The main title is the inspector-general, who performs all supervisory functions.

The German army today numbers more than two hundred thousand military men and seventy-five thousand civilians. The call for service begins with nineteen years, if there is a delay, a citizen of the country can be called once again even at thirty-two.

The Armed Forces of Germany already sixteen years ago lifted restrictions for the service in the army of female members. 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 over twelve thousand. Most of them serve in sanitary units, about nine percent choose for themselves the German Navy. Every year, women are showing more interest in the army service.

Military equipment of Germany: tanks and submarines

During the Second World War, the country was famous for its technology, but the entire military industry was completely destroyed. Therefore, for a long time, Germany lagged behind most of Europe in this sector. And what happens in the state at the moment?

German tanks have always been light and maneuverable, the same traditions have survived after the war. To date, German armored vehicles are based on the model of the Leopard tank. The first sample was released in mass production in 1963. Now the German tanks "Leopard" have more than ten modifications, which served as a basis for the development of armored cars.

The German fleet consists of three divisions, the combat base of which consists of submarines. At the moment, new submarines for some European powers are being built at the shipyards of the country, which indicates serious achievements in the field of the military industry. Germany's submarines are ordered by Greece and the Republic of Korea. Part of the order by the Germans has already been completed, and the submarines are on alert duty in these countries. About possible deliveries are negotiating with the Germans Portugal, Turkey and Pakistan.

German submarines are of the type 214, which can be autonomous swimming up to eighty-four days. Diesel-electric submarines after the latest 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, five of whom 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 Germany has always skillfully circumvented all prohibitions and increased its power, despite the condemnation of other powers. Now the state is again trying to raise the number of military personnel to five hundred thousand people in the shortest possible time. That is how much the armed forces of the country counted during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. It is not known what this desire of the German government will lead to, for it is not a secret for anyone that the international situation in the world is extremely tense. It is to be 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.