German Military

The German Military has been one of the most powerful armies for the past 300 years.

History
The German Military has a rich history of power and control.

Pre-World War II Military
The German Army (Deutsches Heer) was the name given the combined armed forces of the German Empire, also known as the Imperial Army (Reichsheer) or Imperial German Army. The Imperial German Army was formed when the German Empire was formed in 1871, and lasted until 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I. During the later years of World War 1, the Germans employed Elite Stormtrooper divisons to infiltrate trenches. They were too few and too late to turn the tide of the war.

World War II
During World War II the German Military, under the leadership of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, quickly swept across Europe reaching all the way to the English Channel.

Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht (Pronounced vher-macht) was Nazi Germany's military (army, navy and air force), during World War II. The Wehrmacht is seen in all of the Call of Duty series, except Call of Duty 4, also there was the German air force called the Luftwaffe. The name "Wehrmacht" means "Defense Power" in German.

History
The Wehrmacht formed first from Nazi Germany on October 15, 1935. The Wehrmacht fought the Americans, British, Russians, French, Canadians, and Polish during World War II. Soon the Wehrmacht was replaced by the Bundeswehr army in West Germany after the Wehrmacht was dissolved by the Allies on August 20, 1946. The wehrmacht's soldiers suffered great losses at Stalingrad (russia) and stalingrad was named the "Mass grave of the Wehrmacht."

Game Info
In story mode of the Call of Duty series the Wehrmacht soldiers' fighting differ from the modes, Easy, Medium, Hard, and sometimes even Veteran. The Wehrmacht soldiers are not usually difficult to kill in story mode so the main character can kill them easily. Also in Call of Duty 3 you can fight a Wehrmacht soldier hand-to-hand until someone gets killed in some levels, but not in the multiplayer mode.

Equipment
Each Wehrmacht soldier is most often equipped with either an MP-40 submachinegun or a Kar98k rifle in battle as well as a sidearm. The soldiers also have at least 1-3 stick hand grenades and can often be found manning stationary machineguns.

They wear different uniforms throughout each campain, each suited to the theatre of operations - light brown and tan uniforms for desert warfare or uniforms with stark white winter coats in Russia. Bandoleers with ammunition pouches are always worn on the uniforms.



Luftwaffe
See main page here

Post-World War II
The Bundeswehr is the name of the unified armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities.[1] German states are not allowed to maintain armed forces of their own as constitutional law prescribes that matters of defense fall into the sole responsibility of the federal government.

The Cold War period 1955-1990
Germany had been without its own armed forces since the Wehrmacht was dissolved in the years following World War II. Some smaller forces continued to exist as Border guard or naval minesweeping units, but not as a national defence force. The responsibility for the security of Germany as a whole rested with the four Allied Powers: the U.S., the UK, France, and the Soviet Union. Germany was completely demilitarised and any plans for a German military were forbidden by Allied regulations. There was a discussion between the United States, the United Kingdom, and France over the issue of a revived German military. In particular, France was reluctant to allow Germany to rearm in light of recent history. However, after the project for a European Defence Community failed in the French National Assembly in 1954, France agreed to West German accession to NATO and rearmament. With growing tensions between the Soviet Union and the West especially after the Korean War, this policy was to be revised. While the German Democratic Republic was already secretly rearming, the seeds of a new West German force started in 1950, when former high ranking German officers were tasked by chancellor Konrad Adenauer to discuss the options for West German rearmament. The results of a meeting in the monastery of Himmerod formed the conceptual base to build the new armed forces in West Germany. The Amt Blank, the predecessor of the later Federal Ministry of Defence, was formed the same year to prepare the establishment of the future forces. Hasso von Manteuffel, a former general of the Wehrmacht and liberal politician, submitted the name Bundeswehr for the new forces. This name was later confirmed by the German Bundestag. The Bundeswehr was officially established on the 200th birthday of Scharnhorst on 12 November 1955. After an amendment of the Basic Law in 1955, West Germany became a member of NATO. In 1956, conscription for all men between the ages of 18 and 45 was introduced, later augmented by a civil alternative with longer duration. In parallel, East Germany formed its own military force, the Nationale Volksarmee which was eventually dissolved with the reunification of Germany in 1990. A former Luftwaffe F-104 Starfighter at Le Bourget.During the Cold War the Bundeswehr was the backbone of NATO's conventional defense in Central Europe. It had a strength of 495,000 military and 170,000 civilian personnel. The Army consisted of three corps with 12 divisions, most of them heavily armed with tanks and APCs. The Air Force owned significant numbers of tactical combat aircraft and took part in NATOs integrated air defence. The Navy was tasked and equipped to defend the Baltic Approaches, to provide escort reinforcement and resupply shipping in the North Sea and to contain the Soviet Baltic Fleet.

Unification of West and East Germany 1990
After reunification of Germany in 1990, the Bundeswehr was reduced to 370,000 military personnel in accordance with the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany between the two German governments and the Allies. The former East German Nationale Volksarmee was disbanded. A small portion of its personnel and material were absorbed into the Bundeswehr. About 50,000 Volksarmee personnel were integrated into the Bundeswehr on 2 October 1990. This figure was rapidly reduced as conscripts and short-term volunteers completed their service. A number of senior officers received limited contracts for up to two years to continue daily operations. Personnel remaining in the Bundeswehr were awarded new contracts and new Bundeswehr ranks, dependent on their individual qualification and experience. Many received and accepted a lower rank than previously held in the Volksarmee. These were seen as demotions by critics. With the reduction, a large amount of the military hardware of the Bundeswehr, as well as of the Volksarmee, had to be disposed of. A majority of armored vehicles and fighter jet aircraft were dismantled under international disarmament procedures. Ships were scrapped or sold, often to the Baltic states and Indonesia, the latter receiving 39 former Volksmarine vessels of various types.