Volksarmee

Service branches
 Chief of Staff
 Military age
 Conscription
 Available formilitary service
 Active personnel
 Reserve personnel
 History

The **People's Army** (German: *Volksarmee*,**VA**), also known as the **German People's Army** (**GPA**) (German: *Deutsche Volksarmee*,**DVA**), is the armed forces of the Free Socialist Republic of Germany. Although smaller than its Soviet counterpart, it is considered one of the highest quality military forces in the world due to high discipline, quality training, skilled officers and its status as a volunteer only force.

## History

The Volksarmee was established on 1 May 1919 as the People's Militia (German: *Volksmilitz*) during the May Uprising in Berlin. After the Red Belt was fully secured a month later, the Volksmilitz was reformed as the Volksarmee and the forces of the worker's militias and the defected Reichswehr were united under this organization.

In the early months of the Civil War, the Volksarmee struggled to find skilled officers and leaders, however, the mass defections from the Reichswehr brought many skilled officers to the disposal of the People's Army, such as Erwin Rommel. Many soldiers who distinguished themselves in battle as skilled leaders were also provided officer status. Perhaps the most famous of these is Ludwig Renn, the current Chief of Staff.

During the Civil War, the Volksarmee swelled to a size of around 1,000,000 at its peak, with about 1,800,000 serving throughout the conflict. The unity of these forces stood in sharp contrast to the great rifts in the White movement, which had been split between the Reichswehr, the Freikorps, the Stahlhelm, republican paramilitaries and other groups who often refused to cooperate on the battlefield. The Volksarmee remained a volunteer force throughout the entire conflict, meaning it experienced few internal political divisions and defections.

After the Civil War concluded in November 1920, the Volksarmee was progressively reduced in size so that a larger workforce could be utilized to rebuild Germany. By 1923 the Volksarmee had been reduced to about 600,000 active troops, but gradually grew again over the following years to achieve its current strength. It received a new official doctrine and structure on 11 August 1923 and became the force it is today.

### Ideology

The Volksarmee, being a volunteer force, is for the most part composed of forces loyal to the socialist cause the government champions. The Volksarmee remains officially socialist ideologically, though recruits are not required to be members of any political party. Symbols of socialism and international solidarity remain an integral part of the Volksarmee, and this is embodied in the motto. The Volksarmee was intentionally left without an official national or ethnic label to adhere to the internationalist platform of the FSRD.

### Training

Military service is not compulsory, though the state provided schooling system does encourage young adults to pursue a military career and offers training and benefits for doing so. This training is considered high quality, and the doctrine is derived from traditional Prussian military tactics. The volunteer nature of the army, in spite of its benefits, has proven to be a hindrance in recent years due to a lack of sufficient recruits to meet demands for expansion.

### Composition

As of 1932 the Volksarmee has an active personnel count of about 800,000 soldiers, with an additional 120,000 in reserve personnel. Many are considered career soldiers. The vast majority of the Volksarmee comes from lower working-class backgrounds and the remaining former aristocracy are generally discouraged from joining the Volksarmee. Primary school is the average highest level of education among Volksarmee soldiers.

### Newspaper

The Volksarmee has an official newspaper called *Die Volksarmee* which reports on military news, recent achievements and operations, as well as important recent events.

## Organization

The Volksarmee has four branches:

* The *Landstreitkräfte* (Land Forces) with an active personnel strength of about 660,000.
* The *Volksmarine* (People's Navy) with an active personnel strength of about 100,000.
* The *Luftstreitkräfte* (Air Forces) with an active personnel strength of about 40,000.

This is supplemented by about 120,000 reserve personnel, as well as about 25,000 members of the Rote Garde (the armed forces of the People's Ministry of Internal Security), and 100,000 active members of the paramilitary Roter Frontkämpferbund.

### Uniforms

The uniforms of the Volksarmee are based on late designs of German uniforms made during the Great War. They have preserved the traditional feldgrau (field grey) colour, though various adjustments have been made throughout the last decade. The uniform includes a patch with a red star, partly as a means to distinguish German soldiers from their counterparts in Baden-Württemberg, who have also adopted modified versions of the imperial uniforms.