Appendix B.

Part I.
Organization And Structure Of The German Army, 1941

In an examination of the organization and structure of the German army in 1941 it is important to keep in mind the distinction between the Army (Das Heer) and the Armed Forces (Die Wehrmacht) Since it was the Army that bore the brunt of the fighting in Russia, no attempt will be made here to discuss the structures of the other components of the armed forces A detailed treatise on the Luftwaffe would be more appropriate in a book dealing with the Battle of Britain or the air battle over Germany from 1943 to 1945

In 1941 much of the army's organizational structure was not at all different from what it had been in World War I The foundation of the army was the military district (Wehrkreis) In 1941 there were twenty-one districts in the Greater German Reich Each district was home base to several divisions and their subordinate regiments When war mobilization began in 1939 there were 51 divisions and 2 brigades At the time of the Russian campaign, the strength of the army had risen to 208 divisions, of these about 154 were on the eastern front, including 4 German divi sions in Finland

The German war mobilization plan was based on a two-part Ersatz, or replacement system Each peacetime unit that was already at full combat strength was supposed to have a permanent replacement unit behind it The purpose of this replacement unit was to handle recruiting and training and also to organize the reservists should they be called up Replacement divisional headquarters were set up that, during peacetime, had purely administrative functions [344] This plan allowed for rapid mobilization in event of a war or crisis without causing large transportation or economic dislocations. When war occurred, four waves (Welte) of infantry could be raised on relatively short notice: (1) active units, (2) reservists, (3) Landwehr territorial units, and (4) men 19-20 years old (Jahrgange) who had undergone a short period of training. The 1921 Jahrgang was called up in March 1941, and the 1922 group in May. These forces were brought into the replacement army (Ersatzheer). In June, 1941, 80,000 men were available as immediate replacements for the eastern front, and another 300,000-350,000 were in the Ersatzheer, mostly in the 20th Jahrgang. In 1939 the population of the Greater German Reich was 80.6 million: 38.9 million men and 41.7 million women. Of the men, 12 million fell into the age group 15-34; of these, the Wehrmacht could expect to claim 7 million. In 1939 the civilian labor force was reckoned at 24.5 million men and 14.6 million women: 18.1 million men were employed in war-related or critical industries. In June 1941, the German Army had 3.8 million men, of which 3.3 million were deployed against the Soviet Union. Of 21 fully equipped panzer divisions, 17 were targeted for Russia, 2 were in the OKH reserve destined for Russia, and 2 were in North Africa. In 1941 the army high command structure was organized as shown in Figure 1-B.

The backbone of the German army was, of course, the infantry division. Of the 154 divisions deployed against Russia, including reserves, there were 100 infantry, 19 panzer, 11 motorized, 9 security, 5 Waffen SS, 4 light, 4 mountain, 1 SS police, and 1 cavalry. A typical infantry division in June 1941 had 17,734 men organized as follows:*