Changes: Military district (Germany)

Revision as of 21:35, 6 January 2019

During World War II Germany used the system of military districts (German language: Wehrkreis) to relieve field commanders of as much administrative work as possible and to provide a regular flow of trained recruits and supplies to the Field Army. The method they adopted was to separate the Field Army (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres) from the Home Command (Heimatkriegsgebiet) and to entrust the responsibilities of training, conscription, supply and equipment to that command.^[1]

The Commander of the Infantry Corps with the identical number also commanded the Wehrkreis in peacetime, but command of the Wehrkreis passed to his second-in command at the outbreak of war.

Before the start of the war, there were also four Motorized Army Corps (in effect, staffs to control the training of Panzer and Light Panzer formations) which had no corresponding military districts, but were served (as regards conscription and supplies) by the districts in which Corps headquarters or subordinate formations had their Home Garrison Stations. These Corps were:

XIV Army Corps (Motorized) - XIV. Armeekorps (mot.)
XV Army Corps (Motorized) - XV. Armeekorps (mot.)
XVI Army Corps (Motorized) - XVI. Armeekorps (mot.)
XIX Army Corps - XIX. Armeekorps

The Districts were organized into a Chain of Command that included Area Headquarters (Wehrersatzbezirk Hauptquartier) and Sub-area headquarters (Wehrbezirk Hauptquartier).

During World War II, Germany was divided into nineteen military districts. At the start of the war, there were only fifteen:

I - Königsberg
- (East Prussia; Memel; and Bialystok))
  - Königsberg
    - Tilsit; Gumbinnen; Treuburg; Bartenstein; Braunsberg; Allenstein; Sudauen;
  - Allenstein
    - Lötzen; Zichenau
II - Stettin
- (Mecklenburg and Pomerania)
  - Köslin
    - Stolp; Kolberg; Neustettin; Deutsch Krone; Woldenburg/Neumark
  - Stettin;
    - Swinemünde; Preußisch Stargard; Greifswald; Stralsund
III - Berlin
- (Brandenburg and part of Neumark)
IV - Dresden
- (Saxony; Thuringia; and northern Bohemia)
V - Stuttgart
- (Württemberg; part of Baden; and Alsace)
VI - Münster
- (Westphalia; Rhineland; and the Eupen-Malmedy district of Belgium)
VII - Munich
- (Southern Bavaria)
VIII - Breslau
- Silesia; the Sudetenland districts of Bohemia and Moravia; and southwest Poland
IX - Kassel, included parts of Thuringia and Hesse. The Commander was General der Infanterie Schellert over three Bereich Hauptsitze:
- Kassel (nine Unterregion-Hauptsitze): Kassel I, Kassel II, Korbach, Marburg (Lahn), Hersfeld, Siegen, Wetzlar, Fulda, & Giessen.
- Frankfurt am Main (six): Frankfurt am Main I, Frankfurt am Main II, Offenbach am Main, Aschaffenburg, Friedberg, &Hanau.
- Weimar (nine): Weimar, Sangerhausen, Gera, Rudolstadt, Mulhausen (Thuringia), Erfurt, Eisenach, Gotha, & Meiningen.
X - Hamburg
- (Schleswig-Holstein; part of Hanover; and Danish Slesvig
XI - Hanover
- (Braunschweig; Anhalt, and Magdeburg)
XII - Wiesbaden
- (Eifel; Koblenz; Mannheim; Metz; the Palatinate; the Saar; Lorraine; Nancy; and Luxembourg)
XIII - Nürnberg
- (Northern Bavaria; western Bohemia; Regensburg; and Eger)
XVII - Vienna
- (Austria; southern Bohemia and southern Moravia)
XVIII - Salzburg
- (Styria; Carinthia; Tyrol; and northern Slovenia

Wehrkreise XX and XXI were established in Poland to control Danzig and Posen, which were a part of the German Empire before the First World War and were annexed into Germany after 1939.

XX - Danzig
- (Danzig Free State; Polish Corridor; Neustadt an der Dosse; Stargard in Pommern; Marienwerder; Graudenz; Bromberg and Thorn)
XXI - Posen
- (Posen; Lissa; Hohensalza; Leslau; Kalisch; and Litzmannstadt)

Two additional Wehrkreise were established after the invasion of Poland. These were Wehrkreis Böhmen-Mähren which covered the so-called Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia that was Czech areas not part of the Sudetenland and Wehrkreis General-Government which controlled the remainder of Poland.

In peace time, the Wehrkreis was the home to the Infantry Corps of the same number and all subordinate units of that Corps.

References

↑ B2 Ian V. Hogg ed., German Order of Battle 1944

Sources

Hogg, Ian V., German Order of Battle 1944: The regiments, formations and units of the German ground forces, Arms and Armour Press, London, 1975

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Military district (Germany) and the edit history here.

[1] B2 Ian V. Hogg ed., German Order of Battle 1944

[1]

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 **([[East Prussia]]; [[Klaipėda Region|Memel]]; and Bialystok))
 ***Königsberg
-****[[Tilsit]]; [[Gumbinnen]]; [[Treuburg]]; [[Bartenstein]]; [[Braunsberg]]; [[Allenstein]]; [[Suwałki|Sudauen]];
+****Tilsit; Gumbinnen; [[Treuburg]]; [[Bartenstein]]; Braunsberg; Allenstein; [[Suwałki|Sudauen]];
-***[[Allenstein]]
+***Allenstein
-****[[Lötzen]]; [[Ciechanów|Zichenau]]
+****Lötzen; [[Ciechanów|Zichenau]]
 *II - Stettin
-**([[Mecklenburg]] and Pomerania)
+**(Mecklenburg and Pomerania)
-***[[Köslin]]
+***Köslin
-****[[Słupsk|Stolp]]; [[Kolberg]]; [[Neustettin]]; [[Deutsch Krone]]; [[Dobiegniew|Woldenburg]]/[[Neumark]]
+****[[Słupsk|Stolp]]; Kolberg; [[Neustettin]]; [[Deutsch Krone]]; [[Dobiegniew|Woldenburg]]/Neumark
 ***Stettin;
-****[[Swinemünde]]; [[Starogard Gdański|Preußisch Stargard]]; [[Greifswald]]; Stralsund
+****Swinemünde; [[Starogard Gdański|Preußisch Stargard]]; Greifswald; Stralsund
 *III - Berlin
 **(Brandenburg and part of Neumark)
@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 **(Württemberg; part of Baden; and Alsace)
 *VI - Münster
-**(Westphalia; [[Rhineland]]; and the [[Eupen]]-[[Malmedy]] district of [[Belgium]])
+**(Westphalia; [[Rhineland]]; and the [[Eupen]]-Malmedy district of Belgium)
 *VII - Munich
 **(Southern Bavaria)
 *VIII - Breslau
-**Silesia; the [[Sudetenland]] districts of Bohemia and Moravia; and southwest [[Poland]]
+**Silesia; the [[Sudetenland]] districts of Bohemia and Moravia; and southwest Poland
-*IX - Kassel, included parts of Thuringia and [[Hesse]]. The Commander was General der Infanterie [[Schellert]] over three Bereich Hauptsitze:<!--info from [[Kassel]]-->
+*IX - Kassel, included parts of Thuringia and Hesse. The Commander was General der Infanterie [[Schellert]] over three Bereich Hauptsitze:<!--info from [[Kassel]]-->
-**Kassel (nine Unterregion-Hauptsitze): <small>Kassel I, Kassel II, [[Korbach]], [[Marburg|Marburg (Lahn)]], [[Hersfeld]], [[Siegen]], [[Wetzlar]], [[Fulda]], & [[Giessen]].</small>
+**Kassel (nine Unterregion-Hauptsitze): <small>Kassel I, Kassel II, [[Korbach]], Marburg (Lahn), [[Hersfeld]], [[Siegen]], Wetzlar, Fulda, & Giessen.</small>
-**[[Frankfurt am Main]] (six): <small>Frankfurt am Main I, Frankfurt am Main II, [[Offenbach am Main]], [[Aschaffenburg]], [[Friedberg, Hesse|Friedberg]], &[[Hanau]].</small>
+**Frankfurt am Main (six): <small>Frankfurt am Main I, Frankfurt am Main II, [[Offenbach am Main]], Aschaffenburg, Friedberg, &Hanau.</small>
-**[[Weimar]] (nine): <small>[[Weimar]], [[Sangerhausen]], [[Gera]], [[Rudolstadt]], [[Muhlhausen|Mulhausen (Thuringia)]], [[Erfurt]], [[Eisenach]], Gotha, & [[Meiningen]].</small>
+**Weimar (nine): <small>Weimar, Sangerhausen, Gera, Rudolstadt, Mulhausen (Thuringia), Erfurt, Eisenach, Gotha, & Meiningen.</small>
 *X - Hamburg
 **(Schleswig-Holstein; part of Hanover; and Danish [[Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein|Slesvig]]
@@ Line 53: / Line 53: @@
 **(Austria; southern Bohemia and southern Moravia)
 *XVIII - Salzburg
-**(Styria; [[Carinthia (state)|Carinthia]]; [[state of Tyrol|Tyrol]]; and northern Slovenia
+**(Styria; Carinthia; [[state of Tyrol|Tyrol]]; and northern Slovenia
 ''Wehrkreise'' XX and XXI were established in Poland to control Danzig and Posen, which were a part of the [[German Empire]] before the [[First World War]] and were [[Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany|annexed into Germany]] after 1939.
 *XX - Danzig
-**(Danzig Free State; [[Polish Corridor]]; [[Neustadt an der Dosse]]; [[Stargard Szczeciński|Stargard in Pommern]]; [[Marienwerder]]; [[Graudenz]]; [[Bydgoszcz|Bromberg]] and [[Toruń|Thorn]])
+**(Danzig Free State; [[Polish Corridor]]; [[Neustadt an der Dosse]]; [[Stargard Szczeciński|Stargard in Pommern]]; Marienwerder; Graudenz; Bromberg and Thorn)
 *XXI - Posen
-**(Posen; [[Leszno|Lissa]]; [[Hohensalza]]; [[Włocławek|Leslau]]; [[Kalisz|Kalisch]]; and Litzmannstadt)
+**(Posen; Lissa; Hohensalza; Leslau; Kalisch; and Litzmannstadt)
 Two additional ''Wehrkreise'' were established after the [[invasion of Poland]]. These were ''Wehrkreis Böhmen-Mähren'' which covered the so-called [[Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia]] that was Czech areas not part of the [[Sudetenland]] and ''Wehrkreis'' [[General-Government]] which controlled the remainder of Poland.