German Military

The German Military has been one of the most powerful armed forces for the past three hundred years. It is especially famous for two major power struggles in the early 1900s.

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

Pre-World War II Military
Deutsches Heer (German Army) or Reichsheer (Reich Army or Imperial Army) was the name given the combined armed forces of the German Reich, also known as the Imperial German Army. The German Army was formed in 1871 during the creation of the German Reich or German Empire as it was known until 1919. It was formed from the individual militaries of the constituent German states and existed until 1919, dissolved in the wake of the Armistice of 1918 and the end World War I. Germany's navy at this time was the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). During the later years of World War I, the Germans employed elite Stormtrooper divisions to infiltrate trenches. They were too few and too late to turn the tide of the war.

The November Revolution of 1918-1919 led to the end of monarchy in Germany and the transformation of the German Reich into a republic, now often referred to as the Weimar Republic. The military of Germany during this period was called the Reichswehr composed of the Reichsheer and Reichsmarine. The Reichswehr was to be a force with a standing army one-hundred thousand men and a navy of fifteen thousand, in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, greatly reduced both in personnel and military production compared to its predecessor. General conscription was abolished, the fleet size was reduced to a maximum of six battleships, six cruisers, and twelve destroyers, the Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) was abolished and production of heavy artillery, submarines and tanks was forbidden. The Reichswehr was renamed Wehrmacht in 1935 in the wake of the the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) coming to power in the German government.

Wehrmacht


The Reichswehr was renamed Wehrmacht on October 15, 1935 and was Nazi Germany's state military force during World War II. The name "Wehrmacht" means "Defence Force" or "Reaction Force" in German. It was composed of the Army (Heer), Navy (Kriegsmarine), and Air Force (Luftwaffe). From its formation until April 30, 1945 it was led by Adolf Hitler, the Wehrmacht supreme commander, to whom all personnel swore a personal oath. After Hitler's suicide on April 30, 1945, Karl Dönitz took his place as supreme commander of the Wehrmacht. In the years leading up to World War II, Germany pursued a policy of open rearmament in defiance of the treaties signed after the 1918 Armistice. General conscription was reinstated and military hardware production was resumed, increasing the Wehrmacht's strength each year, well beyond the size of a defensive force. The Wehrmacht carried out integrations of various pre-World War I territories of Germany and Austria, initially without resistance. Austria and Sudentenland were joined to Germany in 1938. Bohemia and Moravia were made a protectorate of Germany in 1939. The Wehrmacht carried out the German invasion to reclaim western Poland in 1939, demonstrating its combat effectiveness against the Polish military. This invasion is cited as the beginning of World War II in Europe. At the start of World War II, the Wehrmacht quickly swept across Europe reaching all the way to the English Channel in the West and Moscow in the East. During the war, administration was carried out by the High Command of the Wehrmacht (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht).

The Wehrmacht is an enemy faction in all of the Call of Duty series, except Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2.

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. Individual Wehrmacht soldiers do not have much strength or stamina in campaign mode so the player 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.

Wehrmacht Equipment

 * FG42
 * Flammenwerfer 35
 * G41
 * G43 (Gewehr 43)
 * Kar98k
 * Luger
 * MG34
 * MG42
 * MP40
 * MP44 (STG-44)
 * Panzerfaust
 * Panzerschreck
 * Stielhandgranate
 * Walther P38
 * 8 cm Granatwerfer 34
 * FlaK 88
 * Flakvierling
 * Kübelwagen
 * Horch 1a
 * Opel Blitz Truck
 * Panzer III
 * Panzer IV
 * Panther
 * Tiger
 * Tiger II
 * SdKfz 2 Kettenkrad
 * SdKfz 184 Panzerjäger Elefant
 * SdKfz 222
 * SdKfz 250
 * SdKfz 251 Hanomag
 * Junkers Ju 52
 * Junkers Ju 87 Stuka
 * Messerschmitt Bf 109
 * Messerschmitt Me 323
 * V2 Rocket

Each Wehrmacht soldier is most often equipped with either an MP-40 submachine gun or a Kar98k carbine in battle as well as a sidearm, such as a Luger pistol or P38. They could have also been issued Gewehre 43 and MP44 in the later years of combat. The soldiers also have at least one stick hand grenade and can often be found manning stationary machineguns.

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

Luftwaffe
See main page here

Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the naval arm of the Wehrmacht. Hitler originally envisioned a massive surface fleet, consisting of battleships and aircraft carriers. However, U-boats proved to be more effective against enemy freighters and after the near-destruction of the surface fleet, resources were fueled into U-boat production. Unfortunately, U-boat service was extremely hazardous; of the 40,000 men who served on U-boats, only 10,000 survived the war. By 1944, the U-boat service became near-suicidal as the Allies covered most of the air over the Atlantic. Following the end of World War II, the Kriegsmarine was succeeded by the Deutsche Marine and Volksmarine.

Wehrmacht Personnel

 * Heinrich Amsel, General
 * Doctor Richtofen
 * Adolf Hitler, Führer, Reich President, Reich Chancellor, Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht 1934-1945, Commander-in-Chief of the Army 1941-1945
 * Karl Dönitz, Grand Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, after April 30, 1945 Reich President and Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht
 * Heinrich Alfred Hermann Walther von Brauchitsch, Field Marshal, Commander-in-Chief of the Army 1938-1941
 * Wilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel, Field Marshal, Chief of the High Command of the Wehrmacht 1938-1945
 * Alfred Jodl, Colonel General, Chief of Operations Staff of High Command of the Wehrmacht
 * Ferdinand Schörner, Field Marshal, Commander of Army Group Centre in 1945, Commander-in-Chief of the Army in May 1945
 * Franz Ritter von Halder, Colonel General, Chief of Army High Command 1938-1942
 * Kurt Zeitzler, Colonel General, Chief of Army High Command 1942-1944
 * Adolf Heusinger, General, Chief of Army General staff in June and July 1944
 * Heinz Guderian, Colonel General, Chief of Army High Command, 1944-1945
 * Hans Krebs, General of the Infantry, Chief of Army High Command 1945
 * Erich Johann Albert Raeder, Grand Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy 1928-1945
 * Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, General Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy in May 1945
 * Hermann Wilhelm Göring, Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force until May 1945, Prime Minister of Prussia
 * Robert Ritter von Greim, Air Force Field Marshal, Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force after Göring in 1945
 * Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt, Army Field Marshal, Commander of Army West Command 1940-1941, 1942-1944, 1944-1945
 * Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, Army Field Marshal, Commander of Afrika Korps, Panzer Army Africa, Army Group Africa and Army Group B
 * Friedrich Dollmann, Army Colonel General, Commander of the Seventh Army 1939-1944
 * Hans Eberhard Kurt von Salmuth, Army Colonel General, Commander of the Fifteenth Army 1943-1944
 * Wilhelm Falley, Army Lieutenant General, Commander of the Ninety-First Infantry Division
 * Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus, Army Field Marshal, Commander of the Sixth Army at Stalingrad
 * Fritz Erich von Manstien, Army Field Marshal, Commander of Army Group Don at Stalingrad
 * Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, Air Force Field Marshal, Commander of Luftflotte 4 at Stalingrad
 * Otto Moritz Walter Model, Field Marshal, commander of Army Group Centre June 1944, Army Group B August 1944, and Army Command West (OB West) August-September 1944.
 * Hasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel, Army General of the Armoured Troops, commander of the Fifth Panzer Army during the Ardennes Offensive
 * Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz, Army General of the Armoured Troops, commander of the Forty-Seventh Panzer Corps during the Siege of Bastogne
 * Erich Brandenberger, Army General of the Armoured Troops, commander of the Seventh Army during the Ardennes Offensive
 * Kurt von Tippelskirch, Army General of the Infantry, commander of Army Group Vistula
 * Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling, Army General of the Artillery, commander of Berlin Defense Area in after April 23, 1945
 * Albert Kesselring, Air Force Field Marshal, commander of Army Command South (OB Süd)
 * Fridolin Rudolf Theodor Ritter und Edler von Senger und Etterlin, Army General of the Armoured Troops, commander of German forces in Sicily during the Allied invasion

Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was the combat arm of the paramilitary Schutzstaffel, or SS. It evolved into an elite fighting force that sought death across Europe (Waffen-SS units did not fight in the Africa Theater; Field Marshal Erwin Rommel famously refused to have them in his Afrika Korps). While not a branch of the Wehrmacht, the Waffen-SS fought along side the German Army and fell under the field command of Wehrmacht officers.

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. 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 occupying Allied Powers: France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. Germany was completely demilitarised and any plans for a German military were forbidden by Allied regulations. There was a discussion between France, the United Kingdom, and the United States 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 (National People's Army) which was eventually dissolved with the reunification of Germany in 1990. 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 defense. 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 East German Nationale Volksarmee was disbanded and 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 thirty-nine former Volksmarine vessels of various types.

Bundeswehr Equipment in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2

 * G3
 * G36C
 * MG4
 * MP5
 * MP5K
 * MP7
 * UMP45
 * USP .45
 * WA2000

Quotes

 * "Achtung! Granate / "Look out! Grenade!"
 * "Amerikanische Handgranate! / "American hand grenade!"
 * "Amerikanische Infanterie! / "American infantry!"
 * "Amerikanische Truppen! / "American troops!"
 * "Amis! / "Yanks!"
 * "Angriff! Angriff! / "Attack! Attack!"
 * "Auf der rechten Seite! / "On the right-hand side!
 * "Besser du als ich, Ami! / "Better you than me, Yank!"
 * "Bewegung! / "Move it!"
 * "Deckung! Geh in Deckung! / "Cover! Go for cover!"
 * "Die Amerikaner kämpfen wie die Franzosen! / "The Americans fight like the French!"
 * "Die Amerikaner sind schwach und ihr Präsident ist ein Krüppel! / "The Americans are weak and their president is a cripple!"
 * "Eine Granate! Kommt sofort! / "One grenade! Coming up!"
 * "Engländer! / "Englishman!"
 * "Feindliche Infanterie! / "Enemy infantry!"
 * "Feuerschutz! / "Covering fire!"
 * "Geh nach Hause, Yankee! / "Go home Yankee!"
 * "Geh und hilf ihm, er wurde getroffen! / "Go and help him, he got hit!"
 * "Gib' auf! Wir wissen doch beide dass du keine Chance hast! / "Give up! Both of us know that you have no chance!"
 * "Granate! Macht schnell! / "Grenade! Look sharp!"
 * "Hab ein! / "Got one!"
 * "Hey, du Idiot! Fang das! / "Hey, you idiot! Take this!"
 * "Hey, du idiot! Fang das hier! / "Hey, you idiot! Take this here!"
 * "Hey Yankee! Wenn wir den Krieg gewonnen haben, werden eure Kinder Deutsch sprechen! / "Hey Yankee! When we have won the war, your children will be speaking German!"
 * "Hier, ein Geschenk von der Deutschen Armee! / "Here, a gift from the German army!"
 * "Ich komme mit! / "I'm going with you!"
 * "Ich hab ein/einen! Ich hab ein/einen! / "I got one! I got one!"
 * "Ihn hat's erwischt! / He['s been caught!"
 * "In Deckung gehen! Los! / "Go for cover! Go!"
 * "Kommunisten! / "Communists!"
 * "Kritischer Treffer! / "Critical hit!"
 * "Lade nach! / "Reload!"
 * "Linke Seite! / "Left-hand side!"
 * "Los geht's! / "Here we go!"
 * "Los los los! / "Go go go!"
 * "Mann am Boden! / "Man on the ground!"
 * "Nachladen! Nachladen! / "Reloading! Reloading!"
 * "Sanitäter! / "Medic!"
 * "Sowjetische Truppen! / "Soviet troops!"
 * "Sperrfeuer! / "Curtain fire!"
 * "Stirb, du Yankee Bastard! / "Die, you Yankee bastard!"
 * "Tötet die Ami's! / "Kill the Yanks!"
 * "Tötet die Amerikanischen Soldaten! / "Kill the American soldiers!"
 * "Vorsicht! Granate! / "Watch out! Grenade!"

In the mission Downfall in Call of Duty: World at War the following can be heard:
 * "Deutschland über alles!" - "Germany over all!"
 * "Für den Führer!" - "For the Führer!"
 * "Für die Ehre des Reiches!" - "For the honor of the Reich!"
 * "Gebt euer Leben für das Deutsche Reich!" - "Give your lives for the German Reich!"
 * "Gebt euer Leben für den Führer!" - "Give your lives for the Führer!"

Wehrmacht multiplayer announcements in Call of Duty: World at War:
 * "Conquer all that stand before us!"-At start of Team Deathmatch
 * "March together for victory!"-At start of Team Deathmatch
 * "Unite, under the Iron Cross!"-At start of Team Deathmatch
 * "Trust none but the Führer!"/"You alone must defend the glory of the Reich!" -At start of Free-for-All match
 * "Hunt the flag down!"-At start of a Capture the Flag match
 * "For the Führer!"-At start of Search and Destroy match
 * "Fight for the flag!" - At the start of War match
 * "Our recon plane will find them!" -when friendly player calls recon plane
 * "Enemy recon plane!" - when enemy player calls recon plane
 * "Our artillery will shake them up!" - when friendly player calls in artillery.
 * "Enemy artillery!" - when enemy player calls in artillery.
 * "Our hounds will tear them to shreds!" - when friendly player calls in dogs.
 * "They sent the hounds, but they too will find only death!" - when enemy player calls in dogs.
 * "Give your lives for Germany!"/"For the preservation of the Reich!, we must fight on!"-near the end of a match
 * "A draw is a disgrace to the Fatherland!" -At match draw
 * "A draw will not stand in the way of ultimate victory!" -At match draw
 * "Ensure this is the only time we taste defeat!"-At match defeat
 * "Keep fighting until German victory is assured!"-At match defeat
 * "Victory belongs to Germany!"-At match victory
 * "We honor the Führer with our success!"-At match victory

Trivia

 * German Forces have been antagonists in nearly all of the Call of Duty games. (With the exception of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2).


 * A young, unnamed and overly aggressive Wehrmacht soldier is the multiplayer announcer for the Germans in Call of Duty: World at War.


 * At the end of a match in Call of Duty: World at War, if you are on the Wehrmacht and you win, when showing the stats music will play (Der Königgrätzer Marsch) and you can faintly make out a Hitler Speech.
 * Some soldiers look like young Hitler Youth troopers, and looks short in comparison of other Wehrmacht troops and Red Army allies.
 * Multiplayer character models in Call of Duty: World at War look somewhat ragtag and dirty. This could be due to the fact that Germany was losing the war at that time, or that World at War was a much darker game than past Call of Duty installments.
 * Although the team name says Wehrmacht, the models for the rifleman and submachine gunner for multiplayer in Call of Duty: World at War are actually Waffen SS due to the distinctive woodland camouflage uniforms.