Feldgendarmerie: Difference between revisions
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The ''Feldgendarmerie'' also administered the ''[[Strafbattalion]]'' ({{lang-en|Penal Battalion}}) which were [[Wehrmacht]] punishment units created for soldiers convicted by [[court martial]] and sentenced to a deferred [[death sentence|execution]]. During the final days of the war, as the [[Third Reich]] crumbled, recruits or soldiers who committed even the slightest infraction were sent to Strafbatallions. |
The ''Feldgendarmerie'' also administered the ''[[Strafbattalion]]'' ({{lang-en|Penal Battalion}}) which were [[Wehrmacht]] punishment units created for soldiers convicted by [[court martial]] and sentenced to a deferred [[death sentence|execution]]. During the final days of the war, as the [[Third Reich]] crumbled, recruits or soldiers who committed even the slightest infraction were sent to Strafbatallions. |
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==Organization== |
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The organisation of the Feldgendarmerie began at the German High Command O.K.H (Oberkommando Des Heeres). Here a Feldgendarmerie General Major was directly sub-ordinated to the [[Quartermaster General]]. He held ultimate jurisdiction over the Feldgendarmerie units in the Wehrmacht, and was responsible for postings and personal administration, monitoring the performance of the police, allocation of tasks, laying down traffic regulations as well as devising training procedures. His immediate subordinates were the staff officers of each Oberkommando Army who was in charge of the Feldgendarmerie Battalion, one or more of which would be attached to each Army. The staff officer was responsible for maintaining order and discipline, traffic control during large scale troop movements and maintaining traffic routes. The Battalion also had a support group consisting of cooks, clerks, a cobbler and armourer. |
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Below the Battalion were platoon sized troops ("Truppen") which were attached to each Division or Corps. Groups ("Gruppe") were assigned to a field or local command, and separate units or sections could be assigned temporarily to specific duties for support. A typical "Feldgendarmerie" "trupp" attached to an Infantry or Panzer Division would probably consist of three officers, 41 NCO's and 20 men. these men would operate 17 [[Kubelwagen]]]s, four trucks and ten motorycles, four with sidecars. |
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===Equipment=== |
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These battalions were equipped with motorcycles and motorcycle combinations which were armed with MG34 machine guns, Kubelwagens, Field cars such as the [[Horch]] 4x4 and 3 ton [[Opel Blitz]] [[lorry|lorries]] and a small number of armoured vehicles as a means of transport. |
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===Weapons=== |
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Personal weapons consisted of small arms such as the [[Walther PP]] which was designed as a civilian police pistol (PP-Police Pistole) or the [[Walther PPK]] both of which were favoured by officers whereas the [[Luger PO8]] and [[Walther P38]] were used by other ranks. Automatic [[machine pistol]]s were carried by NCOs and the [[Mauser Kar 98]] rifle was issued but was not widely used. The MG34 and 42 were used as vehicle mounted armament for defending road blocks etc. |
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== Postwar reorganization == |
== Postwar reorganization == |
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Revision as of 16:00, 15 July 2010
| Feldgendarmerie | |
|---|---|
 Command pennant for a Feldgendarmerie company during World War II. | |
| Active | 1866 - 1918 1933 - 1945 |
| Disbanded | May 8, 1945 |
| Country | .svg){kind=small} German Empire  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Heer |
| Type | Military Police |
| Role | Apprehending deserters, border control and anti-partisan duties. |
| Nickname(s) | Kettenhunde (English: Chain-dog) |
The Feldgendarmerie (English: Field Gendarmerie [1]) were the military police units of the armies of the German Empire (including the Wehrmacht) from the mid 19th Century until the conclusion of World War II.
Early history
Early incarnations of the Feldgendarmerie came into being on an ad-hoc basis through mobilizations of the Germany army as a whole, most notably in the wars of 1866 and 1870. At the outbreak of the First World War the Feldgendarmerie comprised 33 companies. They each had 60 men and two NCOs. By 1918, the number of companies had been expanded to115 units.
After World War I all military police units were disbanded and no police units existed in the post-war Weimar Republic. Garrison areas were patrolled by regular soldiers functioning as military police.
Nazi Germany
When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, Feldgendarmerie were reintroduced into the Wehrmacht. The new units received full infantry training and were given extensive police powers. A military police school was set up at Potsdam, near Berlin to train Feldgendarmerie personnel. Subjects included Criminal code, general and special police powers, reporting duties, passport and identification law, weapons drill, self-defence techniques, criminal police methodology, and general administration.
All prospective candidates served at a Feldgendarmerie command after the first term of examinations. Courses lasted one year and failure rates were high, in 1935 only 89 soldiers graduated from an initial intake of 219 candidates. Feldgendarmerie were employed within army divisions and as self-contained units under the command of an army corps. They often worked in close cooperation with the Geheime Feldpolizei (English: Secret Field Police), district commanders and SS and Police Leaders.
World War II
Until 1943, the Feldgendarmerie units were generally given occupation duties in territories controlled by the Wehrmacht. Their missions, to police the areas behind the front lines, ranged from straightforward traffic control and population control to suppression and execution of partisans and the apprehension of enemy stragglers.
When combat units moved out of a region, control was then transferred to the occupation authorities under the control of the Nazi Party and SS. The Feldgendarmerie role would formally end as the fronts moved forward. But Feldgendarmerie units are known to have assisted the SS in committing numerous war crimes in occupied areas. Author Anthony Beevor explores some well-documented cases of their participation in his book Stalingrad.
But as the tide of war changed for Nazi Germany, the Feldgendarmerie became more popularly known by the pejorative Kettenhunde (English: chain-dog) for the gorget they wore with their uniforms. Many ordinary soldiers deemed to be deserters (Fahnenflüchtiger English: flag fugitive) were summarily executed by Feldgendarmerie units. The arbitrary and brutal policing of soldiers gave them the other nickname Heldenklau (English: hero-snatcher) because they screened refugees and hospital transports for potential deserters with orders to kill suspected malingers. Rear-echelon personnel would also be checked for passes that permitted them to be away from the front.
The Feldgendarmerie also administered the Strafbattalion (English: Penal Battalion) which were Wehrmacht punishment units created for soldiers convicted by court martial and sentenced to a deferred execution. During the final days of the war, as the Third Reich crumbled, recruits or soldiers who committed even the slightest infraction were sent to Strafbatallions.
Organization
The organisation of the Feldgendarmerie began at the German High Command O.K.H (Oberkommando Des Heeres). Here a Feldgendarmerie General Major was directly sub-ordinated to the Quartermaster General. He held ultimate jurisdiction over the Feldgendarmerie units in the Wehrmacht, and was responsible for postings and personal administration, monitoring the performance of the police, allocation of tasks, laying down traffic regulations as well as devising training procedures. His immediate subordinates were the staff officers of each Oberkommando Army who was in charge of the Feldgendarmerie Battalion, one or more of which would be attached to each Army. The staff officer was responsible for maintaining order and discipline, traffic control during large scale troop movements and maintaining traffic routes. The Battalion also had a support group consisting of cooks, clerks, a cobbler and armourer.
Below the Battalion were platoon sized troops ("Truppen") which were attached to each Division or Corps. Groups ("Gruppe") were assigned to a field or local command, and separate units or sections could be assigned temporarily to specific duties for support. A typical "Feldgendarmerie" "trupp" attached to an Infantry or Panzer Division would probably consist of three officers, 41 NCO's and 20 men. these men would operate 17 Kubelwagen]s, four trucks and ten motorycles, four with sidecars.
Equipment
These battalions were equipped with motorcycles and motorcycle combinations which were armed with MG34 machine guns, Kubelwagens, Field cars such as the Horch 4x4 and 3 ton Opel Blitz lorries and a small number of armoured vehicles as a means of transport.
Weapons
Personal weapons consisted of small arms such as the Walther PP which was designed as a civilian police pistol (PP-Police Pistole) or the Walther PPK both of which were favoured by officers whereas the Luger PO8 and Walther P38 were used by other ranks. Automatic machine pistols were carried by NCOs and the Mauser Kar 98 rifle was issued but was not widely used. The MG34 and 42 were used as vehicle mounted armament for defending road blocks etc.
Postwar reorganization
With the creation of the Bundeswehr in 1955, many of its branches of service were given names that would at least nominally distinguish them from their logical Wehrmacht equivalents. Thus, military police in the modern Bundeswehr were not called Feldgendarmerie. In fact, the original intent was to call the MPs Militärpolizei, literally military police. However, state officials protested as the law enforcement function in the brand new German constitution had been given primarily to the states, not the federation. The word Polizei (Police) was jealously guarded by the states, so the Federal Defence Ministry searched for a new designation and adopted Feldjäger which was a traditional Prussian regiment with some military police type functions.
See also
External links
Notes
- ^ A compound of the native German term Feld, and the word Gendarmerie, imported from Old French: calvary, from gent d'armes, gendarme, mounted soldier.