Oberkommando des Heeres

Oberkommando des Heeres
Command flag from 1938 to 1942
Founded 1935
Disbanded 23 May 1945
Country  German Reich
Branch German Army
Type High Command
Part of Oberkommando der Wehrmacht
Nickname(s) OHK
Commanders
Chief of the General Staff Wilhelm Keitel
Insignia
Command flag 1936-38
Command flag 1938-42

The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) was the High Command (lit. Upper Command) of the German Army during the Era of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as a part of Adolf Hitler's re-militarisation of Germany. From 1938 OKH was, together with OKL (Oberkommando der Luftwaffe, High Command of the Air Force) and OKM (Oberkommando der Marine, High Command of the Navy), formally subordinated to the OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, High Command of the Armed Forces), with the exception of the Waffen-SS. During the war, OKH had the responsibility of strategic planning of Armies and Army Groups, while the General Staff of the OKH managed operational matters. Each German Army also had an Armeeoberkommando, Army Command, or AOK. Until the German defeat at Moscow in December 1941, OKH and its staff was de facto the most important unit within the German war planning. OKW then took over this function for theatres other than the German-Soviet front. OKH commander held the title Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres (High Commander of the Army). Following the Battle of Moscow, after OKH commander Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch was excused, Hitler appointed himself as Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

OKH vs OKW

Hitler had been the head of OKW since January 1938, using it to pass orders to the navy (OKM), air force (OKL), and army (OKH). After a major crisis developed in the Battle of Moscow, Walther von Brauchitsch was dismissed (partly because of his failing health), and Hitler appointed himself as head of the OKH while still retaining his position at the OKW. At the same time, he limited the OKH's authority to the Russian front, giving OKW direct authority over army units elsewhere. This enabled Hitler to declare that only he had complete awareness of Germany's strategic situation, should any general request a transfer of resources between the Russian front and another theater of operations.[1]

Leadership

Commander-in-Chief of the Army

The Commander-in-Chief of the Army (German: Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres) was the supreme commanding authority of the German Army in times of Nazi Germany. Commanders-in-Chief of the Army were:

№ OfficeholdersTook officeLeft officeTime in office
1
von Fritsch, WernerColonel General
Werner von Fritsch
(1880–1939)		1 January 19344 February 19384 years, 34 days
2
von Brauchitsch, WaltherField Marshal
Walther von Brauchitsch
(1881–1948)		4 February 193819 December 19413 years, 318 days
3
Hitler, AdolfFührer and Reich Chancellor
Adolf Hitler
(1889–1945)
[lower-alpha 1]		19 December 194130 April 1945 †3 years, 132 days
4
Schörner, FerdinandField Marshal
Ferdinand Schörner
(1892–1973)
[lower-alpha 2]		30 April 19458 May 19458 days

Chief of the OKH General Staff

Flag of Chief of the German Army General Staff

The Chiefs of the OKH General Staff (German: Chef des Generalstabes des Heeres) were:

№ Chief of StaffTook officeLeft officeTime in office
1
Beck, LudwigColonel General
Ludwig Beck
(1880–1944)		1 July 193531 August 19383 years, 61 days
2
Halder, FranzColonel General
Franz Halder
(1884–1972)		1 September 193824 September 19424 years, 23 days
3
Zeitzler, KurtColonel General
Kurt Zeitzler
(1895–1963)		24 September 194210 June 19441 year, 260 days
4
Heusinger, AdolfGeneral Lieutenant
Adolf Heusinger
(1897–1982)
[lower-alpha 3]		10 June 194421 July 194441 days
5
Guderian, HeinzColonel General
Heinz Guderian
(1888–1954)		21 July 194428 March 1945250 days
6
Krebs, HansGeneral of the Infantry
Hans Krebs
(1898–1945)
[lower-alpha 4]		1 April 19451 May 1945 †30 days
7
Keitel, WilhelmField Marshal
Wilhelm Keitel
(1882–1946)		1 May 194513 May 194512 days
8
Jodl, AlfredColonel General
Alfred Jodl
(1890–1946)		13 May 194523 May 194510 days

Although both OKW and OKH were headquartered in Zossen during the Third Reich, the functional and operational independence of both establishments were not lost on the respective staff during their tenure. Personnel at the sprawling Zossen compound remarked that even if Maybach 2 (the OKW complex) was completely destroyed, the OKH staff in Maybach 1 would scarcely notice. These camouflaged facilities, separated physically by a fence, also maintained structurally different mindsets towards their objectives.

On 28 April 1945 (two days before his suicide), Hitler formally subordinated OKH to OKW, giving the latter command of forces on the Eastern Front.[2]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Hitler assumed personal command of the OKH following Brauchitsch's dismissal in order to supervise Operation Barbarossa, the German-led invasion of the Soviet Union.
  2. ↑ one of Hitler's favorite military commanders was named in Hitler's last will and testament, which the latter issued prior to his suicide on April 30, 1945 as the new commander of the OKH. Meanwhile, the OKH was subordinated to the OKW of the Wehrmacht, under Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel.
  3. ↑ Later served as the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (1957–1961) and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (1961–1964)
  4. ↑ Committed suicide

References

  1. ↑ Barnett, Correlli (1989). Hitler's Generals. Grove. p. 497. ISBN 978-1555841614.
  2. ↑ Grier, Howard D. Hitler, Dönitz, and the Baltic Sea, Naval Institute Press, 2007, ISBN 1-59114-345-4. p. 121
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