DoD! – TM-E-30-451 (Chapt.II pdf). Handbook on German Military Forces [DoD] (1945)

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CHAPTER II Organization of the Field Forces

Section I. OVER-ALL FIELD ORGANIZATION The High Command frameworks below the Army High Command are the Army Groups (Heeresgruppenkommandos) that are formed for particular campaigns to control two to four Armies in a single Theater of Operations, or in an important and more or less self-contained sector under such a theater. Since 1941 the total number of army groups has been between four and twelve. The chart on page 3 shows the variations in the number of Armies (Armeeoberkommandos) per army group, of corps per army and of divisions per corps. Section II. HIGH COMMAND IN THE FIELD Under the German military system the basic principle is unity of command at all levels. Thus the Army, Navy, and Air Force are considered branches of a single service, the Armed Forces (Wehrmacht). This joint High Command is responsible for the whole preparation of defense in time of peace and for the general conduct of war; it appoints commands for the joint task forces in the field and sees to it that the efforts of the three branches of the armed forces are thoroughly coordinated. In time of war the Armed Forces High Command, as well as the High Command of each of the three branches establishes a field headquarters away from Berlin for the conduct of operations. Its location at any given time depends on the theater to which the main attention is being directed. In the case of the Navy, it is usually at one of the naval bases while the headquarters of the Army, the Air Force and the Armed Forces have been in close proximity to each otherat various points since the spring of 1941. The Commander-in-Chief and the bulk of the General Staff of each High Command are stationed at field headquarters, while the non-operational branches back in the Zone of the Interior continue to handle all basic administrative matters, procurement, mobilization, training and replacement of personnel, and equipment. Hitler is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces (Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht). His Deputy as such is General Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of the Armed Forces High Command (Chef des Oberkommando der Wehrmacht). Under the Armed Forces High Command the functions of the joint general staff are performed by what is known as the Armed Forces Operations Staff (Wehrmachtführungsstaf-W.F.St). The field headquarters of the Armed Forces High Command which includes the principal sections of the Armed Forces Operations Staff is known as the Führerhauptquartier. During the Polish campaign it was stationed between Berlin and the Polish Frontier, moving to the Rhineland for the Western campaign in 1940, back to the East in 1941, and again to the West in 1944. Hitler's headquarters (Führerhauptquartier) is believed to have moved recently to southern Germany where it is probably located in the vicinity of Berchtesgaden. The personnel of the Armed Forces High Command is drawn from all three branches, but the Army naturally has the largest representation. The name of a command, organization, or unit deriving from the Armed Forces High Command is often prefixed by Wehrmacht- or Führungs in order to distinguish it from a similar command, organization, or unit in one of the three branches. Since December 1941, when von Brauchitsch was dismissed as Commander-in-Chief of the Army (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres), and Hitler took direct control of the Army, the field headquarters [II-1] U. S. Designations:

A H Comd (OKH)

A Gps (Heeresgruppenkommandos)

As (Armeeoberkommandos)

Corps (Korps)

Divs (Divisionen)

CG

Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres

Oberbefehlshaber der Heeresguppe

Befehlshaber des Armeeoberkommandos

Kommandierender General

C of S

Chef des Generalstabes des Heeres

Chef des Generalstabes

Chef des Generalstabes

Chef des Generalstabes

(I-a)

Offs

Heerespersonalamt

II-a, 1. Adjutant

II-a, 1. Adjutant

II-a, 1. Adjutant

II-a, 1. Adjutant

EM

Allgemeines Heeresamt, Truppenabteilung II-c, 2. Adjutant

II-c, 2. Adjutant

II-c, 2. Adjutant

II-c, 2. Adjutant

Oberquartiermeister IV

I-c, 3. Generalstabsoffizier

I-c, 3. Generalstabsoffizier

I-c, 3. Generalstabsoffizier

I-c, 3. Generalstabsoffizier

Opns

Oberquartiermeister I

I-a, 1. Generalstabsoffizier

I-a, 1. Generalstabsoffizier

Tng

Oberquartiermeister II

I-d, 4. Generalstabsoffizier

I-d, 4. Generalstabsoffizier

G-4

Generalquartiermeister (Gen. Qu.)

I-c, 2. Generalstabsoffizier

Oberquartiermeister (0. Qu)

Quartiermeister (Q- Qu.)

I-c, 2. Generalstabsoffizier

C Arty O

General der Artillerie

Stabsoffizier der Artillerie (Stoart)

Höherer Artilleriekommandeur (Harko)

Artilleriekommandeur (Arko)

Artillerieführer (Arfü)

G-1 G-2 G-3

Divisionskommandeur

I-a, 1. Generalstabsoffizier I-a, 1. Generalstabsoffizier

C Engr O

General der Pioniere und Festungen

General der Pioniere (Gen. d. Pi.)

Stabsoffizier der Pioniere (Stopi)

Kommandeur des Pionierbataillons

C Sig O

Chef des Heeresnachrichtenwesens

Heeresgruppennahrichtenführer (H. Gr. Nachr. Fu.) Armeenachrichtenführer (A. Nachr. FU.)

Korpsnachrichtenführer

Kommandeurder Nachrichtenabteilung

C Clm O

General der Nebeltruppen

Höherer Kommandeur der Nebeltruppen?

Stabsoffizier für Gasabwehr

Gasabwehroffizier (Gabo)

C AT O

General für Panzerabwehr

Stabsoffizier für Panzerbekämpfung?

Stabsoffizier für Panzerbekämpfung (Stopak) Stabsoffizier für Panzerbekämpfung

Armeepionierführer (A. Pi. Fu.)

Gasabwchroffizieror Gasschützoffizier (Gabo) Kommandeur der Panzerjägerabteilung

Figure 1.--German designations of Stf Offs andSecs in the higher echelons. [II-2]

Figure 2.--Over-all field organization. [II-3]

of the Army High Command virtually has been merged with that of the Armed Forces High Command. The functions of the two, however, have remained distinct, and there has been no personal union except at the top. Keitel acts as Hitler's deputy in the latter's capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Army as well as in his capacity as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. For the organization of the Armed Forces High Command see Figure 4, Chapter 1. For the organization of the Army High Command see Figure 5, Chapter 1. The Führerhauptquartier is frequently located in special trains. It is at all times well protected against air or land attacks by crack SS units. In addition to those the following two units of the elite army motorized division, the Grossdeutschland Panzer Grenadier Division, have been temporarily charged with that protection and were therefore awarded the honor of including "The Führer" in their unit designation. These units are: The Führer Escort Brigade, which consists of three infantry battalions, one artillery battalion, one tank regiment (including one battalion of Pz. Kpfw. IV and one battalion of assault guns), and one engineer company; The Führer Grenadier Brigade which consists of: Two infantry battalions (one motorized and one armored); one battalion of self-propelled artillery; one assault gun company; one Panther tank battalion. Section III. ORGANIZATION OF HIGHER HEADQUARTERS The headquarters of all German divisions, corps, armies, and army groups consist of command staffs (Kommandobehörden) which are organized in a uniform manner. Corps and higher staffs are known as senior command staffs (höhere Kommandobehörden). They are headed by a chief of staff, whereas in divisions the first General Staff officer in charge of operations is simultaneously head of the staff. The sections of these staffs are numbered with Roman numerals and letters. Similar to the custom in the U.S. Army, the numbers represent the sections as well as the men in charge of them. Originally the positions of I-a, I-b, I-c and I-d were all reserved for officers of the German General Staff Corps, but in 1944 the I-c at division and I-d at army and army group were frequently identified as not being General Staff officers. Figure 3 shows in numerical order the designations of the staff officers and sections, and Figure 4 shows the same staff officers and sections as they function operationally. The headquarters of an army group is organized similarly to that of an army, but the ranks of the officers holding corresponding positions are higher. The headquarters of a corps also is organized similarly to that of an army; however, the specialist officers more frequently take command in the field of all the units of their arm whether organic or attached. The headquarters of divisions also are organized similarly with most of the specialist officers being simultaneously in command of the units of their arms, e.g. the commanding officer of the division artillery regiment (Artillerieführer-Arfü) is also the chief artillery officer on the specialist staff of the division commander. When General Headquarters artillery units are attached to the division this Arfü usually is subordinated to a special artillery commander known as Artilleriekommandeur whose small special staff is supplemented in action by the organic staff of the division artillery regiment. While some of the designations of staff officers and sections remain unchanged in all echelons of higher headquarters (as the U.S. designations do) several of these titles vary in accordance with the rank and echelon in which they are functioning. It should be noted that the main channel of supplies flows from the Zone of the Interior via army to division, while the army group and the corps are primarily tactical headquarters. [II-4]

Figure 3.--Army Headquarters showing in numerical order the designations of the staff officers and sections. [II-5]

Figure 4.--Army Headquarters showing the staff officers and sections as they function operationally. [II-6]

Section IV. PRINCIPLES AND TRENDS IN UNIT ORGANIZATION AND EQUIPMENT The German Army, like the U.S. Army, believes in uniform organization for standard units up to and including companies, troops, and batteries. These either are combined as components of battalions, regiments, and divisions, or temporarily grouped in varying combinations as components of task forces or combat groups. Each standard unit of company size has a table of organization and table of equipment number designating its particular type, and each smaller unit adds a letter to that number designating its place within that standard unit. The following figures showing the organization, strength, and equipment of various German units are based on these tables of organization and equipment, but in the field the strength of any unit will vary in accordance with its specific mission and local conditions. However, even in the greatest deviation from the tables of organization and equipment, the basic pattern still will be clearly recognizable. As shown in Figure 2 in Section I, the German Army in the field is organized into army groups, armies, corps, and divisions. Divisions are the largest units in the German Army known to have a prescribed organization, and those divisions which function as tactical units are normally the smallest formations which include units of various arms and services resulting in operational self-sufficiency. General Headquarters, army, and corps troops are being allotted temporarily to lower echelons in a flexible manner, in accordance with operational plans or local tactical necessities. From the outbreak of the War until the summer of 1943, comparatively only minor changes occurred in the tables of organization of most types of German divisions. The average divisional table of organization strength for that period was about 15,000 to 17,000 and with the normally attached troops it usually reached about 20,000. From the summer of 1943 until now, however, several series of new tables of organization and equipment have been issued for almost all types of divisions showing revolutionary changes in their strength and equipment. In all these reorganizations the trend is clearly towardsan economizing of manpower and a simultaneous increase in firepower. This is being accomplished by a careful distribution of large numbers of automatic small arms, by lowering the number of mortars, antitank guns, and tanks, but at the same time increasing potentially their calibers and weights. These changes resulted in the lowering of the table of organization strength of the average German division to approximately 11,000 to 13,000 in January 1945 and further drastic action in that direction may be expected. The various types of German Army, SS, and Air Force divisions are shown in the following Section V, while their components and the general headquarters troops are listed in Sections VI and VII. Section V. DIVISIONS 1. Comparative Charts

The main types of German divisions, their German designations, and strengths are listed in the first two columns of Figure 5. The remaining columns on the upper part of that chart show the main components for the first 13 types of divisions. Figure 6 shows the type distribution of weapons and equipment in the first 13 types of divisions mentioned above. The following paragraphs of this section cover the more important types of German divisions and Sections VI and VII include the components of these divisions as well as General Headquarters troops listed together in accordance with their arm or service. These sections cover in great detail the three most numerous types of German divisions: the Infantry Division, 1944 Type; the Volks Grenadier Division; and the Armored Division, as well as the other types of divisions with their most important componentsonly.

Most of this information is based on factual evidence, and wherever such was not available the best possible estimates have been made. This refers particularly to the strength figures of the division staffs controlling various units (lower part of Figure 5), as such staffs may be temporarily in charge of much smaller or much larger numbers of men in accordance with tactical and local conditions. [II-7] DIVISIONS TYPES OF DIVISIONS

COMPONENTS

Personnel

Hq

Rcn

Sig

Inf

Infantry Division, Old Type (Infanteriedivision) (3 Inf Regts of 3 Bns each)

17,000 Div Hq

Rcn Bn

Sig Bn

Inf Regt

Infantry Division, 1944 Type[1] (Infanteriedivision n.A, later Kriegsetat 44) (3 Inf Regts of 2 Bns each)

12,500 Div Hq

Fus. Bn

Sig Bn

Inf Regt

Infantry Division, Two Regiment Type (Infanteriedivision) (2 Inf Regts of 3 Bns each)

10,000 Div Hq

Fus. Co

Sig Bn

Inf Regt

Volks Grenadier Division (Volksgrenadierdivision) (3 Inf Regts of 2 Bns each)

10,000 Div Hq

Fus. Co

Sig Bn

Inf Regt

SS Infantry Division (SS Grenadier division) (3 SS Inf Regts of 2 Bns each)

14,000 Div Hq

SS Rcn Bn

SS Sig Bn

SS Inf Regt

Army Mountain Division (Gebirgsdivision) (2 Mt Inf Regts of 3 Bns each)

13,000 Div Hq

Mt Rcn Bn

Mt Sig Bn

Mt Inf Regt

Army Light Division (Jägerdivision) (2 Light Inf Regts of 3 Bns each)

13,000 Div Hq

Bcl Bn

Sig Bn

Light Inf Regt

SS Mountain Division (SS Gebirgsdivision) (2 Mt Inf Regts of 4 Bns each)

16,000 Div Hq

SS Mt Rcn Bn

SS Mt Sig Bn

SS Mt Inf Regt

Army Motorized Division (Panzergrenadierdivision) (2 Mt Inf Regts of 3 Bns each)

14,000 Div Hq

Armd Rcn Bn

Armd Sig Bn

Mtz Inf Regt

SS Motorized Division (SS Panzergrenadierdivision) (2 SS Mtz Inf Regts of 3 Bns each)

15,000 Div Hq

SS Armd Rcn Bn

SS Sig Bn

SS Pz. Gren. Regt

Army Armored Division (Panzerdivision) (2 Pz. Gren. Regts of 2 Bns each)

14,000 Div Hq and Hq Co

Rcn Bn

Armd Sig Bn

Pz. Gren. Regt

SS Armored Division (SS-Panzerdivision) (2 Pz. Gren. Regts of 3 Bns each)

17,000 Div Hq and Hq Co

SS Armd Rcn Bn

SS Armd Sig Bn

SS Pz. Gren. Regt

Air Force Parachute Division (Fallschirmjägerdivision) (3 Prcht R Regts of 3 Bns each)

16,000 Div Hq

Rcn Co

Prcht Sig Bn

Prcht Rifle Regt

Air Force Field Division (Luftwaffenfelddivision) (3 Inf Regts of 2 Bns each)

12,500 Absorbed by the Army. Organized similarly to the Infantry Division, 1944 Type.

Cavalry Division (Kavalleriedivision) (4 Cav Regts of 2 Bns each)

16,000

Cossack and SS Cavalry Divisions consisting of two cavalry brigades, a weak artillery regiment and the usual supporting units.

Line of Communication Division (Sicherungsdivision)

10,000

Designed for mopping-up duties in the rear areas; may consist of two reinforced regiments or of a number of independent battalions.

Coast Defense Division (Künslenverteidigungsdivision)

10,000 Consists of a division staff controlling fortress battalions and coast artillery units in a coastal sector.

Assault Division (Sturmdivision)

10,000

Frontier Guard Division (Grenzwachdivision)

13,000 Consists of a division staff controlling certain frontier guard units.

Special Administrative Division Staff (Divisionskommando z.b.v.)

10,000

Consists of a division staff controlling Landesschützen Battalions and GHQ troops stationed in a corps area in Germany.

Replacement Division Staff (Div. Nr.....)

15,000

A division staff within a corps area in Germany to supervise the induction of personnel and replacements for field units.

An honorary title for some divisions with reduced infantry personnel and a concentration of heavy fire power and automatic weapons.

Reserve Division (Reservedivision)

16,000 Controls reserve units for training, occupational, and defensive duties.

Field Training Division (Feldausbildungsdivision)

16,000 Controls field training regiments in the rear of the Eastern Front.

Non-Motorized Air Force Antiaircraft Division (Flakdivision) (verlegefähig)

10,000 Consists of a division staff controlling antiaircraft and searchlight regiments having limited mobility.

Motorized Air Force Antiaircraft Division (Flakdivision) (motorisiert)

19,000

Consists of a division staff controlling motorized antiaircraft and searchlight regiments.

[1] This type of division is believed to have been superseded by the Infantry Division, Type 1945 (Infanteriedivision 45), in which the various components of the division have been reduced by approximately 10%, resulting in a total personnel of about 11,500.

Figure 5. [II-8] DIVISIONS