German Army
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| German Army Deutsches Heer | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The German Army (German: Deutsches Heer[1], [IPA: heɐ] listen ) is the land component of the Bundeswehr ("Federal Defence Forces") of the Federal Republic of Germany. Traditionally, the German military forces have been composed of the Army, the Navy, and after the First World War, the Air Force. The Heer was re-formed in the 1950s as the West German Army as part of the Bundeswehr. In October 1990, upon the reunification of Germany, the East German army, the National People's Army (NVA), was integrated into the now unified force.
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[edit] History
[edit] Overview
Since Germany first became a modern unified state in 1871, previous names of German unified military forces have included:
- 1919–1935 Reichswehr ("Empire Defence" and "Empire Defence Force") consisting of the Reichsheer (Army) and the Reichsmarine (Navy);
- 1935–1945 Wehrmacht ("Defence Force") consisting of the Wehrmacht Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), and Luftwaffe (Air Force);
- West Germany
- 1955–October 1990 Bundeswehr ("Federal Defence Forces") (West Germany) consisting of the Heer, Bundesmarine (Federal Navy) and Luftwaffe;
- East Germany
- 1956–October 1990 Nationale Volksarmee ("National People's Army"), consisting of the Landstreitkräfte (Land Forces), Grenztruppen der DDR (Border Troops of the GDR), Luftstreitkräfte / Luftverteidigung (Air Forces / Air Defence) and the Volksmarine (People's Navy)
- October 1990–present Bundeswehr: Deutsches Heer, Deutsche Marine and Deutsche Luftwaffe.
[edit] Pre-1914
After the reform movement of the Prussian Army following a series of disastrous defeats at the hands of her enemies in the 18th Century, internal analysis of the lessons learned had informed Prussian civilian and military leadership, that while individual soldiers were first rate, command structures, staff organization and generalship was a hit-and-miss affair, more dependent on the martial skills of the individual members of the German nobility from the Kings on down who dominated the military profession. Too often, military talent was brought together only after the Nation faced a crisis. There was little effective organizational work in between wars. The rise of the German General Staff, an institution that sought to institutionalize military excellence, brought the German Army back from years of atropy and the humiliation of Napoleon's capture of Berlin. With a membership in the officer corps extended to all qualified German speaking men via national examinations, the improved education of the military schools, the intensive selection process of the top 1% of graduated from the Kriegsacademie, with its new rising class of top notch and world class leaders, the German Army was set on a course of eventual near total dominance in Europe.
Following the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo the Prussian Kingdom had years of military successes in the 19th and 20th centuries. Every able bodied man between the ages of 17 and 45 was liable for military service. There were 4 classes of service; Active (Aktiv), Reserve, Landwehr and Landsturm. The Landwehr and Landsturm were only called up at times of war. The basic unit of the army at this time was the Regiment. Regiments were typically raised and supported by a specific city or region. Each regiment was then stationed near its home city. The Reserve regiment was often made up of past members of the local regiment. The Landwehr and Landsturm units were also organized the same way. An individual could spend all 22 years of military service surrounded by their friends and family. This created close ties within regiments, however, because of this system, the entire population of young men from a city or region could be wiped out in one battle.
[edit] World War I 1914–1918
The German army that fought in World War I was not in fact a single, unitary army. The four German kingdoms that existed prior to the unification of Germany in January 1871, Bavaria, Prussia, Saxony and Württemberg, each retained their own army upon unification. Prussia had the largest army of the four. After the unification and the formation of the German Empire, the Prussian army became the nucleus of the Army of the German Empire (Deutsches Reichsheer). By 1914 the German army fielded 50 active divisions and by 1918 251 divisions had been created.
[edit] Reichswehr 1918–1935
Following the end of World War I and the collapse of the German Empire most of the German army (Heer) was demobilized or simply dissolved. Many former soldiers drifted into small armed groups known as Freikorps. The Freikorps were generally groups of 100 men or fewer that protected a neighbourhood or town. On March 6, 1919 an army known as the Vorläufige Reichswehr (Provisional German Defence Force) was formed with about 400,000 men, many drawn form the Freikorps. Then, in September 30, 1919 the Übergangsheer (Transitional Army) was created from the Defence Force and the Freikorps. Finally, on January 1, 1921 the 100,000 man Reichswehr was formed with 7 Infantry Divisions and 3 Cavalry Divisions. It was the Reichswehr who crushed Adolf Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch in Munich in November 1923.
[edit] Wehrmacht 1935–1945
Under the Treaty of Versailles, the Reichswehr was only allowed 100,000 men split between the Army and the Navy. Following the 1932 German elections the Nazi party came to power and began to abrogate the treaty. The Army was made part of the Wehrmacht in May 1935 with the passing of the "Law for the Reconstruction of the National Defence Forces". The Wehrmacht included not just the Army and Navy but also a third branch known as the Luftwaffe. Initially, the Army was expanded to 21 divisional-sized units and smaller formations. Between 1935 and 1945 this force grew to consist of hundreds of divisions and thousands of smaller supporting units. Between 1939 and 1945 close to 16 million served in the Army. Over 1.6 million were killed and over 4.1 million were wounded. Of the 7,361 men awarded the initial grade of the highest Nazi combat honour of World War II, the Knight's Cross, 4,777 were from the Army, making up 65% of the total awarded. The Allies dissolved the German Army on 20 August 1946.
[edit] Current Army
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The Bundeswehr Heer was founded in 1955 as the army of West Germany. After 1990, it absorbed the army of socialist East Germany which was called the Landstreitkräfte (terrestrial armed forces), a part of the Nationale Volksarmee. The former East German forces were initially directed by the Bunderwehr Command East, which disbanded on 30 June 1991, and then the land forces element was brought under the command of the new IV Corps at Potsdam (formed from the former Landstreitkräfte headquarters). However in 2001 IV Corps became the German Armed Forces Operational Command responsible for overseas missions, a similar organisation to the British Permanent Joint Headquarters.
[edit] Personnel
115.147 soldiers
[edit] Structure
The German Army is commanded by the Inspector of the Army (Inspekteur des Heeres), acting as chief of staff of the Army Staff at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Berlin and Bonn. The major commands are the German Army Command in Koblenz and the German Army Office in Cologne.
[edit] German Army Command
The German Army Command in Koblenz (Heeresführungskommando) leads all combat units (three armoured/mechanized divisions, two special divisions and one independent brigade). It is commanded by a Lieutenant General.
[edit] German Army Office
The German Army Office in Cologne (Heeresamt) is the superordinate authority for all supporting elements of the Army, such as schools and education centres.
Current Structure of as of December 19th, 2007, down to Battalion-Level
- Inspector of the Army (Currently: Lieutenant General Hans-Otto Budde)
- Army Staff at the Federal Ministry of Defence
- Army Command
- HQ Company
- Franco-German Brigade
- HQ Company Image:Flag of France.svgImage:Flag of Germany.svg
- 550th Armoured Engineer Company Image:Flag of Germany.svg
- 3ème Régiment de Hussards Image:Flag of France.svg
- 292nd Light Infantry Battalion Image:Flag of Germany.svg
- 110ème Régiment d’Infanterie Image:Flag of France.svg
- 295th Mixed Artillery Battalion Image:Flag of Germany.svg
- Support Battalion Image:Flag of France.svgImage:Flag of Germany.svg
- I. German/Dutch Corps
- HQ Company (German shares)
- Signal Battalion (German shares)
- HQ Support Battalion (German shares)
- Eurocorps
- HQ Company (German shares)
- Command Support Brigade
- Signal Battalion (German shares)
- HQ Support Battalion (German shares)
- Multinational Corps North East
- HQ Company (German shares)
- Signal Battalion (German shares)
- Intervention Forces Command
- HQ Company
- Command Support Battalion
- Division Intervention Forces/ 1st Armoured Division
- HQ Company
- 1st Army Band
- 110th Light NBC Company
- 610th Light Air Defence Battery
- 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion
- 3rd Logistics Battalion
- 7th NBC Battalion
- 61st Armoured Air Defence Battalion
- 1st Signal Regiment
- 6th Air Defence Regiment
- 61st Air Defence Battalion
- 62nd Air Defence Battalion
- 100th Artillery Regiment
- 72nd Artillery Battalion
- 121st Artillery Battalion
- 131st Artillery Battalion
- 132nd Rocket Artillery Battalion
- 100th Engineer Regiment
- 1st Armoured Engineer Battalion
- 130th Engineer Battalion
- 140th Heavy Engineer Battalion
- 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade
- HQ Company
- 421st Mechanized Infantry Battalion
- 9th Armoured Brigade
- HQ Company
- 90th Reconnaissance Company
- 90th Armoured Engineer Company
- 33rd Armoured Battalion
- 92nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion
- 93rd Armoured Battalion
- 141st Logistics Battalion
- 325th Armoured Artillery Battalion
- 21st Armoured Brigade “Lipperland”
- HQ Company
- 210th Reconnaissance Company
- 7th Logistics Battalion
- 51st Logistics Battalion
- 203rd Armoured Battalion
- 212th Mechanized Infantry Battalion
- 215th Armoured Artillery Battalion
- 10th Armoured Division
- HQ Company
- 10th Army Band
- 12th Armoured Brigade “Upper Palatinate”
- HQ Company
- 4th Signal Battalion
- 4th Logistics Battalion
- 4th Armoured Engineer Battalion
- 8th Reconnaissance Battalion
- 104th Armoured Battalion
- 112th Mechanized Infantry Battalion
- 122nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion
- 23rd Mountain Infantry Brigade
- HQ Company
- 230th Mule Company
- 5th Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion
- 8th Mountain Engineer Battalion
- 8th Mountain Logistics Battalion
- 210th Mountain Signal Battalion
- 230th Mountain Reconnaissance Battalion
- 231st Mountain Infantry Battalion
- 232nd Mountain Infantry Battalion
- 233rd Mountain Infantry Battalion
- 30th Mechanized Infantry Brigade “Alb-Brigade”
- HQ Company
- 294th Mechanized Infantry Battalion
- 345th Armoured Artillery Battalion
- 13th Mechanized Infantry Division
- HQ Company
- 2nd Army Band
- 37th Mechanized Infantry Brigade “Free State Saxony”
- HQ Company
- 370th Supplies Company
- 13th Reconnaissance Battalion
- 131st Logistics Battalion
- 701st Signal Battalion
- 371st Mechanized Infantry Battalion
- 391st Mechanized Infantry Battalion
- 393rd Armoured Battalion
- 571st Mountain Infantry Battalion
- 701st Armoured Engineer Battalion
- 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade “North-East”
- HQ Company
- 142nd Logistics Battalion
- 401st Mechanized Infantry Battalion
- 411th Mechanized Infantry Battalion
- 413th Armoured Battalion
- 803rd Armoured Engineer Battalion
- 14th Mechanized Infantry Division “Hanseatic League”
- HQ Company
- 14th Army Band
- 610th Signal Battalion
- 801st Signal Battalion
- 6th Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion
- 18th Armoured Brigade “Holstein”
- HQ Company
- 182nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion
- 515th Armoured Artillery Battalion
- Division Special Operations
- HQ Company
- 300th Army Band
- 100th Airborne Signal Company
- 200th Airborne Signal Company
- 200th Long Range Reconnaissance Company
- 100th Airborne Air Defence Battery
- Special Forces Command
- HQ Company
- 1st Commando Company
- 2nd Commando Company
- 3rd Commando Company
- 4th Commando Company
- Specialized Commando Company
- Signal Company
- Support Company
- Medical Elements
- Training Elements
- Centre for Enhancements and Trials
- 26th Airborne Brigade “Saarland”
- HQ Company
- 260th Airborne Reconnaissance Company
- 260th Airborne Engineer Company
- 261st Airborne Battalion
- 262nd Airborne Battalion
- 263rd Airborne Battalion
- 31st Airborne Brigade “Oldenburg”
- HQ Company
- 310th Airborne Reconnaissance Company
- 270th Airborne Engineer Company
- 272nd Airborne Battalion
- 313th Airborne Battalion
- 373rd Airborne Battalion
- Division Airmobile Operations
- HQ Company
- 12th Army Band
- Signal Battalion Division Airmobile Operations
- 15th Army Aviation Regiment
- 151st Army Aviation Battalion
- 152nd Army Aviation Battalion
- 25th Army Aviation Regiment
- 251st Army Aviation Battalion
- 252nd Army Aviation Battalion
- 30th Army Aviation Regiment
- 301st Army Aviation Battalion
- 1st Airmobile Brigade
- HQ Company
- 1st Cavalry Regiment
- 10th Army Aviation Regiment
- 26th Attack Helicopter Regiment
- 36th Attack Helicopter Regiment
- Army Troops Brigade
- 14th Armoured Brigade “Hessian Lion”
- HQ Company
- 200th Armoured Engineer Company
- 64th Armoured Battalion
- 820th Signal Battalion
- XXX Army Office
- HQ Company
- NBC- and Force Protection School
- Artillery School
- Officer Candidate Battalion Idar-Oberstein
- Special Warfare School
- 209th Special Warfare Training Company
- Combat Simulation Centre of the Army
- Combat School of the Army
- Army Aviation School
- Army Air Defence School
- Mountain- and Arctic Warfare School
- Infantry School
- Officer Candidate Battalion Hammelburg
- Airborne School
- 909th Training and Trial Company (Airborne)
- Logistical Centre of the Army
- Officer School of the Army
- Tactical Centre of the Army
- Non-Commissioned Officer School of the Army
- Armoured Troops School of the Army
- Officer Candidate Battalion Munster
- Engineer School / Structural Engineering School of the Army
- Technical School for Land Systems/ Technical School of the Army
Future Structure of the Army ("Heer 2010")
[edit] Truppengattungen
Unlike the armies of its neighbours (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark), the German army hardly deploys usual regiments. Instead, individual battalions of the same branch of service are given unique numbers. The ordinal of the respective battalion is derived from its position in the superordinate unit; For example, the second battalion of 9th Armoured Brigade receives the designation "92nd Battalion".
The German Army distinguishes 11 different branches of service or corps, known as Truppengattungen. Each Truppengattung is responsible for education and training of its units, mostly by its own schools or training centres. Optically they can easily be distinguished by the "Waffenfarbe" (Corps colour), which is worn as a "Litze" attached to the rank insignia, and by the colour of the beret
- Combat Forces
* Armoured Troops
o Armoured Troops
o Mechanized Infantry
* Infantry:
o Paratroopers
o Mountain Infantry
o Light Infantry
* Special Forces
- Combat Support Forces
* Artillery Troops * Army Air Defence Troops * Army Aviation Troops * Engineer Troops * NBC Troops
- Command Support Forces
* Signal Troops
* Army Reconnaissance Troops
o Armoured Reconnaissance Troops
o Long Range Reconnaissance Troops
o Army Intelligence Troops
o Artillery Drone Reconnaissance Troops
* Army Logistics Troops
o Supplies Troops
o Transportation Troops
o Maintenance Troops
* Army Medical Services
Beret Colour (Army only)
- Black: Armoured Troops, Reconnaissance Troops
- Green: Infantry Troops
- Dark Red: Aviation Troops, Airborne Troops, Special Forces
- Light Red: Combat Support Troops
- Dark Blue: Medical Troops
- Navy Blue: Multinational Units, Officer Candidate Battalions
- Bright Blue: Troops with United Nations Missions
Waffenfarbe (Army only)
- Dark Red: NBC Troops
- Bright Red: Artillery, General ranks, Army Air Defence Troops
- Lemon Yellow: Signal Troops
- Grey: Aviation Troops
- Dark Green: Airborne Troops, Mountain Infantry Troops, Light Infantry Troops
- Bright Green: Mechanized Infantry Troops
- White: Music troops
- Golden: Army Reconnaissance Troops
- Rose: Armoured Troops
- Dark Blue: Medical Troops
- Black: Engineers
- Blue: Supplies Troops
- Bright Blue: Maintenance Troops
- Crimson: General Staff
[edit] Weapons
[edit] Standard light weapons
- Heckler & Koch G36—5.56 mm x 45 assault rifle replacing the Heckler & Koch G3 as primary weapon
- Version G36K and G36C for several branches including Special Forces
- Heckler & Koch MG4—5.56 mm light machine gun, replacing the MG3 in the squad automatic weapon role
- MG3—7.62 mm x 51 machine gun
- G8—7.62 mm x 51 automatic rifle, only used by special forces
- HK21E—7.62 mm x 51 machine gun, only used by special forces
- Heckler & Koch MP7—4.6 mm x 30 submachine gun, replacing the MP2
- MP2—9 x 19 mm submachine gun
- Heckler & Koch MP5—9 x 19 mm submachine gun, only used by the military police (Feldjäger) and the KSK
- Heckler & Koch P8—9 x 19 mm pistol
- G22—7.62 mm x 66.5B sniper rifle
- G24—sniper rifle, only used by special forces
- G82—sniper rifle
- HK MSG3—7.62 mm x 51 sniper rifle
- Dynamit Nobel Panzerfaust 3—anti-tank rocket launcher
- Raytheon Fliegerfaust 2 (FIM-92 Stinger)—infrared homing surface-to-air missile
- MILAN—anti-tank guided missile system
- Granatpistole 40mm—grenade launcher
- HK GMG—grenade autocannon
- AG36—grenade launcher
- KM2000—172 mm tantō style blade standard combat knife
800px-G36bw.jpg
Gewehr G36 with retracted bipod |
Machine gun HK MG43 (MG4).jpg
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G82Sept2006.jpg
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G22 ohne Schalldaempfer.jpg
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MSPO2007-48.jpg
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[edit] Reconnaissance systems
- Fennek (light wheeled reconnaissance vehicle), replacing some Luchs
- Luchs A2 (wheeled reconnaissance vehicle)
- Luna X 2000 (reconnaissance drone system)
- KZO (reconnaissance drone system)
- Aladin (reconnaissance drone system)
- MIKADO (mini reconnaissance drone system)
- RASIT (radar system), being phased out
- BÜR (radar system), replacing RASIT and ABRA
[edit] Combat vehicles
- Leopard 2 (Main Battle Tank)
- A4, being phased out
- A5
- A6
- Marder 1 A3/A5 (infantry fighting vehicle)
- Puma (IFV) (infantry fighting vehicle), replaces the Marder in the Mechanized Infantry
- Wiesel 1/2 (light air-transportable tracked multirole vehicle)
- as a reconnaissance vehicle for the airborne troops
- with autocannon 20 mm
- with TOW
- with mortar 120 mm
- as a radar vehicle for the light air defence system (LeFlaSys)
- as a command vehicle for the LeFlaSys
- as an engineer reconnaissance vehicle
- with Stinger equipped for the LeFlaSys
- as a medical vehicle for the airborne troops
- M113 A2 (multirole armoured vehicle), being phased out
- GTK Boxer (multirole armoured vehicle), replaces M113 and Fuchs
- Jaguar 2 (tank destroyer), being phased out
- Dingo 1/2 (armoured wheeled vehicle)
- Grizzly (armoured wheeled vehicle)
- AGF Serval (Light infantry vehicle)
- YAK (Duro III) (armoured wheeled vehicle)
- Mungo ESK (armoured transport vehicle)
- Fuchs 1/2 (multirole armoured vehicle)
- BV 206 S (tracked armoured transport vehicle)
GTK Boxer front.JPG
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PzH2000.Ger.jpg
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Krauss Maffai Mungo.jpg
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Dingo 2.jpg
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Serval 2.jpg
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[edit] Artillery
- M270 MLRS (227 mm multiple rocket launcher)
- PzH 2000 (155 mm self-propelled howitzer), replacing M109
- M109 A3 GE A1 (155 mm self-propelled howitzer), upgraded, being phased out and replaced by PzH 2000
- ABRA (artillery radar system), being phased out
- COBRA (artillery radar system)
- ATMAS (artillery weather measure system)
- SMA (artillery sound measure system)
[edit] Air Defence Systems
- Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer Gepard 1 A2 (Self propelled anti air gun)
- ROLAND (Air defence system), phased out
- LeFlaSys (leichtes Flugabwehrraketensystem), based on Wiesel 2
- LÜR (radar system), being phased out
- BÜR (radar system)
[edit] Engineer equipment
- Dachs (tracked engineer tank)
- Büffel (tracked salvage tank)
- Biber (bridge layer)
- Panzerschnellbrücke 2 (bridge layer), replacing the Biber
- Scorpion (mine system)
- Keiler (mine breaker)
- M3 (amphibious vehicle)
- Motorboot 3 (motorboat)
- Medium Girder Bridge (bridge system)
- Faltfestbrücke (solid bridge system)
- Faltschwimmbrücke (swimming bridge system)
- Pontoon bridge
- Faltstraßensystem (mobile roadway system)
[edit] Aircraft inventory
The German Army operates 317 helicopters. Nearly all were built in Germany while nearly 40% are indigenous designs. 80 Eurocopter Tiger and 80 NH90 helicopters have been ordered.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[2] | Notes |
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| UH-1 Iroquois | Image:Flag of Germany.svg Germany | utility helicopter | UH-1D | 82 | being withdrawn; built by Dornier |
| Bölkow Bo 105 | Image:Flag of Germany.svg Germany | scout/attack helicopter | PAH-1/VBH | 104 | |
| Eurocopter EC 135 | Image:Flag of Europe.svg European Union | utility helicopter | 22 | ||
| Eurocopter Tiger | Image:Flag of Europe.svg European Union | attack helicopter | 80 (planned), entered service | ||
| NHI NH90 | Image:Flag of Europe.svg European Union | transport helicopter | NH90 TTH | 80 | |
| Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion | Image:Flag of Germany.svg Germany | transport helicopter | CH-53G/CH-53GS | 80 | 110 built by VFW |
[edit] Logistic equipment
- SLT 50-3 Elefant (heavy tractor trailer, tank transport)
- Berge- und Kranfahrzeug, BKF 30.40 (salvage vehicle)
[edit] Non-combat vehicles
- Mercedes-Benz 250 GD "Wolf"
- KTM LC4 Military 27 PS, motorcycle
- ATV Yamaha Kodiak 400, Quad
- LKW 2t mil gl, 4x4 (Unimog)
- LKW 5t mil gl, 4x4
- LKW 5t tmil, 4x4
- LKW 7t mil gl, 6x6
- LKW 7t tmil, 6x6
- LKW 10t mil gl, 8x8
- LKW 15t mil gl, 8x8
- LKW 15t mil gl MULTI, 8x8
- Volkswagen T platform (T3/T4)
[edit] References
- Wheeler-Bennett, Sir John The Nemesis of Power: German Army in Politics, 1918-1945 New York: Palgrave Macmillan Publishing Company, 2005.
[edit] See also
- Bundeswehr
- Heer
- Infantryman of the Future
- History of Germany during World War II
- Prussian Army
- Reichswehr
[edit] References
- ^ The German word Heer means simply "army". The term is not restricted to any particular country, so "das britische Heer" would mean "the British army".
- ^ "World Military Aircraft Inventory", Aerospace Source Book 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 15 2007.
[edit] External links
[edit] Historical links
- German Armed Forces 1918-1945
- German Army pre 1914
- German Army 1914-1918
- German Army Organization 1914
- German Infantry Photographs from WWII - Colour photographs of German infantry during World War II
- Gebirgsjaeger - German Mountain Troops
- Axis History - Axis History site including German troops.
de:Heer (Bundeswehr) es:Heer fa:ارتش fr:Heer (armée) ja:ドイツ陸軍 no:Deutsches Heer fi:Heer
