alihpaul von hindenburg
wehrmacht adalah nama angkatan bersenjata nazi-jerman sejak tahun 1935 sampai 1945.
selama perang dunia ii, wehrmacht terdiri dari heer (angkatan darat), kriegsmarine (angkatan laut), luftwaffe (angkatan udara) dan pasukan elit jerman saat itu waffen-ss ("ss bersenjata"), serta ditambah unit-unit bekas sturmabteilung (sa).
asal dan penggunaan istilah
sebelum bangkitnya nsdap, istilah wehrmacht digunakan dalam arti umum untuk menyebutkan angkatan bersenjata dari bangsa manapun, yang difungsikan sebagai "pertahanan tanah air".
contohnya, istilah britische wehrmacht berarti menunjuk kepada angkatan bersenjata inggris.
pasal 47 dari undang-undang dasar republik weimar tahun 1919 menyatakan "reichsprsident memegang kekuasaan tertinggi semua angkatan bersenjata reich".
untuk memberi ciri khas, istilah reichswehr digunakan untuk menyebut angkatan bersenjata jerman.
pada tahun 1935, atau pada saat kaum nazi bangkit, reichswehr kemudian diganti menjadi wehrmacht.
maka, istilah wehrmacht secara tak resmi digunakan untuk merujuk kepada angkatan bersenjata jerman selama masa reich ke-3 dan pd ii.
pasca perang dunia ii
setelah nazi jerman menyerah tanpa syarat pada tanggal 7 mei 1945, jerman dilarang memiliki angkatan bersenjata.
terbelahnya jerman pada masa perang dingin memicu pembentukan angkatan militer di republik federal jerman (jerman barat) dan republik demokratik jerman (jerman timur).
militer jerman barat terbentuk pada tanggal 5 mei 1955 dengan nama bundeswehr yang berarti angkatan pertahanan federal.
sementara militer jerman timur dibentuk pada 1 maret 1956 dengan nama tentara rakyat nasional (nationale volksarmee).
supreme high command of the armed forces (okw)
supreme commander of the armed forces
fhrer and reichskanzler adolf hitler (19351945)
groadmiral karl dnitz (1945)
commander-in-chief of the armed forces
generalfeldmarschall paul von hindenburg (19331934), president of the reich
fhrer and reichskanzler adolf hitler (19341935)
generaloberst werner von blomberg (19351938), minister for war, promoted generalfeldmarschall (1936)
vested into the supreme commander (theoretically) and the chief of the supreme high command (practically)
vice commander-in-chief of the armed forces
general werner von blomberg (19331935), promoted generaloberst 1933
chief of the armed forces supreme high commandgeneralfeldmarschall wilhelm keitel (19381945)
chief of the operations staff (wehrmachtfhrungsstab)generaloberst alfred jodl
supreme high command of the army (okh)
generaloberst werner von fritsch (19351938)
generaloberst walther von brauchitsch (19381941), promoted to generalfeldmarschall 1940
fhrer and reichskanzler adolf hitler (19411945)
generalfeldmarschall ferdinand schrner (1945)
chiefs of staff of the german army
general ludwig beck (19351938)
general franz halder (19381942)
general kurt zeitzler (19421944)
generaloberst heinz guderian (19441945)
general hans krebs (1945, committed suicide in the fhrerbunker)
supreme high command of the navy (okm)
war navy commanders-in-chief
admiral erich raeder (19281943), promoted to generaladmiral 1936, groadmiral 1940
groadmiral karl dnitz (19431945)
generaladmiral hans-georg von friedeburg (1945)
"admiral inspector": groadmiral erich raeder (19431945) (sinecure)
supreme high command of the air-force (okl)
general hermann gring (19351945), promoted generaloberst 1936, generalfeldmarschall 1938 (!), reichsmarschall (singularily) 1940
generalfeldmarschall robert ritter von greim (1945)
ludwig beckchief of the general staff of the heer from 1933 to 1938
fedor von bockcommander of the failed operation typhoon
walther von brauchitschcommander-in-chief of the heer from 1938 to 1941
wilhelm franz canarishead of the abwehr, a wehrmacht intelligence service
karl dnitzgrand admiral of the kriegsmarine and architect of the u-boat force; last president of the third reich following hitler's suicide
reinhard gehlenchief of military intelligence on the eastern front; first head of the postwar federal intelligence service (bnd)
heinz guderianpanzer commander
franz halderchief of the general staff of the heer from 1938 to 1942
kurt von hammerstein-equordcommander-in-chief of the reichswehr and opponent of hitler
hermann hothpanzer commander on the eastern front
alfred jodlchief of the operations staff of the okw
wilhelm keitelcommander-in-chief of the okw
albert kesselringan air-marshal of the luftwaffe; overall commander of the mediterranean theater
ewald von kleista field marshal of the heer
hans gnther von klugefield marshal and commander of oberbefehlshaber west
siegfried knemeyerchief luftwaffe aviation technologist under air force c-in-c hermann goering
wilhelm ritter von leebcommander of army group c during the battle of france
gnther ltjensadmiral and fleet commander of the bismarck flotilla
erich von mansteinfield marshal, military strategist, and prominent proponent of the blitzkrieg
walter modelfield marshal, commanded the defence of the eastern front from the soviet counterattack
friedrich pauluscommander of german forces at stalingrad
erich raedergrand admiral of the kriegsmarine, credited with building the kriegsmarine
walther von reichenaucommander of the 6th army
wolfram freiherr von richthofenfield marshal in command of the stuka forces of the luftwaffe for a time during the war, relative of the red baron of world war i
robert ritter von greimfield marshal, commander-in-chief of the luftwaffe in the last days of the war
erwin rommelfield marshal, commander of the afrika korps
gerd von rundstedtgeneralfeldmarschall, held amongst the highest commands throughout world war ii
claus schenk graf von stauffenbergone of the leading participants in the 20 july plot
kurt studentfounder and commander of germany's fallschirmjger airborne troops
erwin von witzlebenprominent conspirator of the 20 july plot
adalah tidak tepat jika menyamakan wehrmacht hanya dengan angktan darat (heer).
kendaraan wehrmacht yang digunakan oleh heer, luftwaffe atau angkatan laut memiliki plat nomor dengan wh, wl, wm.