Wehrmachtbefehlshaber
Commander of the Wehrmacht | |
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Wehrmachtbefehlshaber | |
![]() Standard of the Wehrmachtbefehlshaber | |
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Type | Supreme Commander |
Status | Abolished |
Abbreviation | W.Bfh. |
Member of | Wehrmacht |
Reports to | Oberkommando der Wehrmacht |
Appointer | Reichführer |
Term length | No fixed length |
Formation | 1940 |
Abolished | 7 May 1945 |
The Wehrmachtbefehlshaber[a] (lit. 'Military Commander'[b]) was the German chief military position, in countries occupied by the Wehrmacht which were headed by a civilian administration.[2] The main objective was military security in the area, and command the defense in case of attack or invasion.[3][4] The Wehrmachtbefehlshaber also had a judicial function, as he served as judge in German military courts. He had no control over Army units, but was responsible for defence, and housing for troops.[5] In the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, the Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber was also responsible for securing the occupied territories, protect transport links and recording the crops.[6]
Wehrmachtbefehlshaber in the occupied areas
[edit]Balkan
[edit]Following the Invasion of Yugoslavia, the commander of the 12th Army was designated "Commander-in-Chief of the German troops in the Balkans", which was later renamed Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Südost.
No. | Portrait | Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber Südost | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wilhelm List (1880–1971) | Generalfeldmarschall9 June 1941 | 15 October 1941 | 128 days | [7][8] | |
2 | Walter Kuntze (1883–1960) | General der Pioniere29 October 1941 | 2 July 1942 | 246 days | [8][9] | |
3 | Alexander Löhr (1885–1947) | Generaloberst3 July 1942 | 31 December 1942 | 181 days | [10] |
Belgium and Northern France
[edit]In Belgium and Northern France, control was originally given to a Military Administration. However, in July 1944, after the dismissal of Alexander von Falkenhausen and the creation of the Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France, the post of Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Belgien-Nordfrankreich was established.[11][12]
No. | Portrait | Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Belgien-Nordfrankreich | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Martin Grase (1891–1963) | General der Infanterie15 July 1944 | 13 September 1944 | 60 days | [13] | |
2 | Richard Jungclaus (1905–1945) | SS-Gruppenführer13 September 1944 | September 1944 | <17 days | [13][14] |
Greater Paris
[edit]On 1 August 1944, Hitler appointed Dietrich von Choltitz, Commanding general and Wehrmachtbefehlshaber of greater Paris (German: Kommandierenden General und Wehrmachtbefehlshaber von Groß-Paris).[15]
No. | Portrait | Wehrmachtbefehlshaber von Groß-Paris | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dietrich von Choltitz (1894–1966) | General der Infanterie1 August 1944 | 25 August 1944 | 24 days | [15] |
Channel Islands
[edit]Following the German occupation of the Channel Islands, command was given to the Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Kanalinseln.
No. | Portrait | Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Kanalinseln | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rudolf Graf von Schmettow (1891–1970) | Generalleutnant1 October 1944 | 20 February 1945 | 148 days | [16] | |
2 | Friedrich Hüffmeier (1898–1972) | Vizeadmiral26 February 1945 | 9 May 1945 | 72 days | [16][17] |
Denmark
[edit]Following the German occupation of Denmark, on 9 April 1940, the post of Befehlshaber der Deutsches Truppen des Heeres in Dänemark was created, with Leonhard Kaupisch initially holding the position. The Befehlshaber's task was to provide military security for Denmark and to prevent hostile landings.[18] Following the Telegram Crisis and the breakdown of cooperation between the Danish government and the German occupation force, Erich Lüdke was removed from the post, and its role was expanded to Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Dänemark.[19] The post lasted until the surrender of Germany.[18]
No. | Portrait | Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Dänemark | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hermann von Hanneken (1890–1981) | General der Infanterie12 October 1942 | 27 January 1945 | 2 years, 107 days | [19] | |
2 | Georg Lindemann (1884–1963) | Generaloberst27 January 1945 | 6 May 1945 | 99 days | [20] |
The Netherlands
[edit]With the creation of the Reichskommissariat Niederlande, the post of Wehrmachtbefehlshaber in den Niederlanden was established, having control over the military in the area.[21] By order of 17 May 1942, the Wehrmachtbefehlshaber received the position and powers of an army commander-in-chief.[22]
No. | Portrait | Wehrmachtbefehlshaber in den Niederlanden | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Friedrich Christiansen (1879–1972) | General der Flieger29 May 1940 | 7 April 1945 | 4 years, 313 days | [21] |
Norway
[edit]On 25 July 1940, Wilhelm Keitel added a supplement to the Führer Decree of 24 April 1940 on the exercise of governmental powers in Norway, which ordered that the commander of XXI Army Corps should immediately bear the name "Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Norwegen".
In order to prepare for the war against the USSR and the subsequent command on the Finnish theater of action, a "Command Center Finland" of the AOK Norway was set up. The Army High Command in Lapland emerged from this command post. On 14 January 1942, it took command of the AOK Norway's forces on the Finnish front. On 22 June 1942, AOK Lapland was renamed 20th Mountain Army.
When the German troops on the Scandinavian Peninsula had to withdraw, there was a reorganization of the command structure. The AOK Norway was dissolved on 18 December 1944; the powers of the Wehrmachtbefehlshaber passed to commander of the 20th Mountain Army.[23]
No. | Portrait | Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Norwegen | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nikolaus von Falkenhorst (1885–1968) | Generaloberst25 July 1940 | 18 December 1944 | 4 years, 146 days | [24][25] | |
2 | Lothar Rendulic (1887–1971) | Generaloberst18 December 1944 | 8 January 1945 | 21 days | [26] | |
3 | Franz Böhme (1885–1947) | General der Gebirgstruppe8 January 1945 | 7 May 1945 | 119 days | [27] |
Ostland
[edit]In the Reichskommissariat Ostland the military command was controlled by the Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber Ostland. The Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber was responsible for security within the occupied territories (including partisan control), to protect traffic connections and to record the harvest. It was created on 25 July 1941 and was transferred to Kolberg on 10 August 1944 as part of the withdrawal, and was dissolved on September 30, 1944.[6]
No. | Portrait | Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Ostland | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Walter Braemer (1883–1955) | Generalleutnant24 June 1941 | 18 April 1944 | 2 years, 299 days | [28][29] [30][31] | |
2 | Werner Kempf (1886–1964) | General der Panzertruppe1 May 1944 | 10 August 1944 | 101 days | [32] |
Belarus
[edit]The Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber Weißruthenien staff was created on 18 April 1944 from the Commanding general of security forces and commanders in the Army Group Rear Area staff. From 15 October 1943, this staff was subordinate to the Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber Weißruthenien as "Commanding general of security forces and commanders in White Ruthenia". Parts of the staff were used in July 1944 for the formation of the Rothkirch General Command, which was reclassified as General Command LIII Army Corps on 13 November 1944.[6]
No. | Portrait | Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Weißruthenien | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Edwin Graf von Rothkirch und Trach (1888–1980) | General der Kavallerie18 April 1944 | 27 October 1944 | 192 days | [33] |
Ukraine
[edit]In Reichskommissariat Ukraine the military control was given to the Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Ukraine, which was created on 1 September 1941.[6][34]
No. | Portrait | Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Ukraine | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Waldemar Henrici (1878–1950) | Generalleutnant1 September 1941 | October 1942 | 1 year, 3 months | [35] | |
2 | Karl Kitzinger (1886–1962) | General der FliegerOctober 1942 | 21 July 1944 | 1 year, 9 months | [35][2] |
Sardinia and Corsica
[edit]Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Sardinien und Korsika WB Korsika was formed in September 1943 in direct succession to Wehrmachtbefehlshaber auf Sardinien und Korsika when the latter HQ was renamed officially for the last time. The combined staff for Sardinia and Corsica was created before in summer 1943 by merging the before existing staffs of Kommandant der deutschen Wehrmacht auf Korsika and Kommandant der deutschen Wehrmacht auf Sardinien. With the evacuation of Sardinia in September already and the evacuation of Corsica on 3 October 1943 (entirely finished on 5 October) finally, the staff ceased to exist.
No. | Portrait | Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Sardinien und Korsika | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Generalleutnant Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin (1891–1963) | 8 September 1943 | 5 October 1943 | 27 days | [36] |
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ CIA 1951, p. 197.
- ^ a b Lower 2005, p. 96.
- ^ Altenburger n.d.
- ^ Hitler 1942.
- ^ NIOD 2017.
- ^ a b c d Bundesarchiv5.
- ^ Sangster & Battistelli 2016, p. 204.
- ^ a b Manoschek 1995, p. 150.
- ^ Schmider 2017, p. 1075.
- ^ Bundesarchiv.
- ^ Moll 1997, p. 431.
- ^ Bundesarchiv1.
- ^ a b Dimitri n.d.
- ^ Münkel 1996, p. 77.
- ^ a b Moll 1997, p. 441.
- ^ a b Jersey War Tours n.d.
- ^ Bölscher 2015, pp. 193–194.
- ^ a b Bundesarchiv2.
- ^ a b Thomsen 2009, p. 158.
- ^ Thomsen 2009, pp. 185, 186.
- ^ a b Foray 2011, p. 21.
- ^ Bundesarchiv3.
- ^ Bundesarchiv4.
- ^ Frøland, Ingulstad & Scherner 2016, p. 26.
- ^ British Military Court 1946, p. 18.
- ^ Bohn 2000, p. 31.
- ^ Bohn 2000, p. 44.
- ^ Moll 1997, pp. 196–197 & 205.
- ^ Müller & Volkmann 2012, p. 867.
- ^ Matthäus & Bajohr 2015, p. 460.
- ^ Hoppe 2011, p. 552.
- ^ MMG 2010.
- ^ Gerlach 2000, p. 11.
- ^ Lower 2010, p. 224-225.
- ^ a b Court of Hanover 1968.
- ^ Schreiber 1990, p. 105.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bohn, Robert (2000). Reichskommissariat Norwegen: "Nationalsozialistische Neuordnung" und Kriegswirtschaft. De Gruyter Oldenbourg. ISBN 978-3486564884.
- British Military Court (1946). "Trial of Generaloberst Nickolaus von Falkenhorst, Case No. 61" (PDF). Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals. 11: 18–30. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- Bölscher, Bernd (2015). Hitlers Marine im Landkriegseinsatz (in German). Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3738635096. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- CIA (September 1951). MIL-GEO: The Geographic Service of the German Army (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2017.
- Foray, Jennifer L. (2011). Visions of Empire in the Nazi-Occupied Netherlands. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107015807.
- Frøland, Hans Otto; Ingulstad, Mats; Scherner, Jonas (2016). "Perfecting the Art of Stealing: Nazi Exploitation and Industrial Collaboration in Occupied Western Europe". In Frøland, Hans Otto; Ingulstad, Mats; Scherner, Jonas (eds.). Industrial Collaboration in Nazi-Occupied Europe: Norway in Context. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 1–34. ISBN 978-1-137-53423-1.
- Gerlach, Christian (2000). Kalkulierte Morde. Die deutsche Wirtschafts- und Vernichtungspolitik in Weißrußland 1941 bis 1944 (in German). ISBN 978-3930908639. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- Hoppe, Bert (2011). Sowjetunion mit annektierten Gebieten I: Besetzte sowjetische Gebiete unter deutscher Militärverwaltung, Baltikum und Transnistrien (in German). Munich: Oldenburg Verlag. ISBN 978-3-486-58911-5. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
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- Lower, Wendy (2010). ""On Him Rests the Weight of the Administration": Nazi Civilian Rulers and the Holocaust in Zhymortyr". In Brandon, Ray; Lower, Wendy (eds.). The Shoah in Ukraine: History, Testimony, Memorialization. ISBN 978-0253222688. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- Manoschek, Walter (1995). "Serbien ist judenfrei": Militärische Besatzungspolitik und Judenvernichtung in Serbien 1941/42 (Beiträge zur Militärgeschichte, Band 38) (in German). De Gruyter Oldenbourg. ISBN 978-3486561371.
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- Schmider, Klaus (2017). Frieser, Karl-Heinz (ed.). Germany and the Second World War: Volume VIII: The Eastern Front 1943-1944: The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198723462.
- Schreiber, Gerhard (1990). Die Italienischen Militärinternierten Im Deutschen Machtbereich 1943-1945: Verachtet - Verraten - Vergessen (Beiträge Zur Militärgeschichte) (in German). De Gruyter Oldenbourg. ISBN 978-3486553918.
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- Online
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- Bundesarchiv. "BArch Bild 146-1969-041-30" (PDF). Retrieved 4 September 2019.
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{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Bundesarchiv2. "BArch RW 38 Wehrmachtbefehlshaber in Dänemark". invenio.bundesarchiv.de (in German). Freiburg: Bundesarchiv. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Bundesarchiv3. "BArch RW 37 Wehrmachtbefehlshaber in den Niederlanden". invenio.bundesarchiv.de (in German). Freiburg: Bundesarchiv. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Bundesarchiv4. "BArch RW 39/Wehrmachtbefehlshaber in Norwegen". invenio.bundesarchiv.de (in German). Freiburg: Bundesarchiv. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Bundesarchiv5. "BArch RW 41/74: Territoriale Befehlshaber in der Sowjetunion". invenio.bundesarchiv.de (in German). Bundesarchiv. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
{{cite web}}
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