Heer

The Heer:

The Heer was the land forces branch of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany created in 1935. Its establishment marked a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles, which had restricted Germany to a 100,000-man army with no tanks, heavy artillery, or general staff. Under Adolf Hitler’s regime, the Heer expanded at a staggering pace. By the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, it had grown into a modern force of over 3.7 million men, organized into dozens of divisions equipped with tanks, motorized units, and advanced weaponry. This expansion was driven by Hitler’s vision of aggressive territorial conquest and the reassertion of German military dominance in Europe.

The Heer inherited much from the old Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic. Its traditions of discipline, professionalism, and decentralized command (known as Auftragstaktik, or mission-type tactics) gave it a reputation as one of the most effective land forces of the 20th century. The early campaigns of the war—such as the invasions of Poland in 1939, France and the Low Countries in 1940, and the Balkans in 1941—demonstrated the effectiveness of Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”). This method combined speed, concentrated armor, close air support, and shock tactics to overwhelm opponents before they could mount coordinated resistance. The Heer’s early victories earned it prestige both within Germany and abroad.

However, the Heer was not simply a conventional fighting force. It was an instrument of Hitler’s ideological war of conquest. Nowhere was this clearer than in the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Operation Barbarossa involved millions of Heer soldiers, making it the largest military invasion in history. The Heer was expected not only to defeat the Red Army but also to assist in the destruction of “undesirable” populations—most notably Jews, communists, and other groups targeted by Nazi racial policy. While the SS and Einsatzgruppen spearheaded mass shootings and extermination actions, the Heer often provided logistical support, participated in reprisals against civilians, and oversaw starvation policies that killed millions in occupied Soviet territories. This complicity undermines the postwar myth of the “clean Wehrmacht,” which long suggested the Heer fought honorably apart from Nazi crimes.

The Heer’s operational history was marked by both triumphs and catastrophic defeats. After the swift conquest of Western Europe, the invasion of the Soviet Union initially saw staggering advances, with German troops reaching the gates of Moscow by December 1941. Yet, the failure to capture the Soviet capital and the harsh Russian winter signaled the limits of Blitzkrieg. The defeat at Stalingrad in early 1943 further eroded the Heer’s aura of invincibility. Hundreds of thousands of German soldiers were encircled and captured, shattering morale and forcing the Wehrmacht onto the defensive for the remainder of the war. From that point, the Heer fought a grueling retreat, first on the Eastern Front, where Soviet forces steadily pushed westward, and later in Italy, France, and ultimately Germany itself.

Structurally, the Heer was massive and diverse. It included armored divisions (Panzertruppen), motorized and mechanized infantry, mountain troops (Gebirgsjäger), airborne forces (Fallschirmjäger, though technically under the Luftwaffe), and specialized engineer, artillery, and reconnaissance units. Elite formations like the Grossdeutschland Division and various Panzer divisions were considered among the most capable in the world. The Heer also relied heavily on conscription, drawing millions of men into service, including boys in their late teens and older men as the war dragged on. By 1944–45, the army was increasingly composed of poorly trained conscripts, foreign auxiliaries, and Volkssturm militia, reflecting the desperate state of Nazi Germany’s manpower reserves.

Relations between the Heer and the Nazi regime were complex. Many generals came from aristocratic or conservative backgrounds and did not fully embrace National Socialism, preferring to view themselves as professional soldiers. Nevertheless, they largely complied with Hitler’s ideological war aims, supported his invasions, and carried out criminal orders on the battlefield. Some officers harbored doubts or even engaged in conspiracies, most famously the failed July 20, 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, but these figures were the exception rather than the rule. For the most part, the Heer functioned as a loyal pillar of the Nazi state until its collapse.

By the end of the war in May 1945, the Heer was a shattered force. It had fought on multiple fronts simultaneously, stretched beyond its limits, and suffered catastrophic losses. Roughly 13 million men served in the Heer over the course of the conflict, and casualties were staggering: around 4.5 million dead, with millions more wounded or taken prisoner. In the East, many captured soldiers perished in Soviet captivity, while others faced years of imprisonment before being released. Following Germany’s surrender, the Heer was formally dissolved along with the rest of the Wehrmacht.

The legacy of the Heer is one of both military innovation and moral complicity. On the battlefield, it demonstrated tactical brilliance and adaptability, leaving a lasting influence on modern military doctrine. Yet its involvement in atrocities, from the starvation of Soviet POWs to reprisals against civilians and support for the Holocaust, tied it inseparably to the crimes of the Nazi regime. In the decades after the war, debates over the Heer’s role fueled the larger question of German responsibility. Today, historians recognize that the Heer was not merely a professional army caught in Hitler’s war, but an active participant in a campaign of conquest and extermination that defined the Second World War. 

During WWII the German Army consisted of about 13.6M volunteers and conscripts who served in the army. In 1935, the Heer has officially reached its goal of 36 Nazi divisions. After the annexation of Austria, five divisions were officially part of the German Army, including the Austrian Army.

After the annexations of different nations by Germany, and the starting of WWII, the tactic of Blitzkrieg (lightning war) was used in many wars for its speed and destructive power, which allowed for the Nazis to expand their influence all across Europe.

By 1944, both the Soviet and Allied powers had both fronts turn in their favor. With the Heer and the Wehrmacht in shambles, the German Army of the Nazi Party was unable to retaliate and strengthen both sides of the war. 

Ferdinand Schörner:

Ferdinand Schörner was a German military commander who held the rank of Generalfeldmarschall during the Third Reich in WWII. He commanded several army groups tied to the Heer and the Wehrmacht.

Schörner was a dedicated Nazi who eventually became well-known for his reputation in the German Army. By the end of WWII, he was Hitler's favorite commander. Following the war, he was convicted of many war crimes like other Nazi officers and generals. With the war crimes coming from Operation Barbarossa and West Germany of the divided Germany.

Schörner was born on June 12, 1892, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, a region of the German Empire. He entered the German Army led by the Kaiser in 1911, as a one-year volunteer. By 1914, he was Leutnant der Reserve in the German Army. 

He was awarded the Pour le Merite military order as a lieutenant when he took part in the Battle of Caporetto, which shattered the Allied-Italian lines. Continuing in the Reichswehr, in both wars. He then died on July 2, 1973, in Munich during the Cold War.