Wehrmacht
Third Reich's forces
Wehrmacht is the German word for "defense force," referring specifically to Nazi Germany's unified armed forces from 1935 to 1945.
The term encompasses the army, navy, and air force that fought in World War II.
Though technically distinct from the SS and other Nazi organizations, the Wehrmacht participated in war crimes and atrocities across occupied Europe.
Wehrmacht veterans faced difficult questions about their wartime service.
Fast, overwhelming military campaign
- panzerGerman armored fighting vehicle
- infantryGround combat troops
- divisionSplitting into parts
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
battalion · regiment · corps · brigade · tactics · strategy · campaign · operation
Soviet-German combat theater
- Operation BarbarossaNazi Soviet invasion
- Third ReichHitler's totalitarian German state
- StalingradRenamed Soviet industrial city
- NormandyNorthern French coastal region
Kursk · Ardennes · North Africa · Atlantic Wall · D-Day · surrender · occupation · war crimes
German military aviation
- StukaGerman diving attack aircraft
- U-boatUndersea warship from Germany
- MesserschmittGerman military aircraft maker
- BismarckPrussia's unifying statesman
dive bomber · fighter ace · naval warfare · air superiority · combined arms
- ModelPattern for imitation
- Afrika KorpsGerman expeditionary force, Libya
- field marshalSupreme army commander rank
- general staffSenior military planning officers
Supreme leader title
- HitlerNazi Germany's totalitarian leader
- ReichstagGerman parliamentary assembly
- GestapoNazi secret police
- propagandaBiased information for influence
Lebensraum · Nazi Party · oath of loyalty · Aryan · complicity · political control · Goebbels
German military bravery decoration
- jackbootsTall military boots
- MauserGerman rifle manufacturer
- shoulder boardsUniform rank markers
- peaked capVisored hat with flat crown
blitzkrieg
Fast, overwhelming military campaign
artillery · battalion · regiment · corps · brigade · tactics · strategy · campaign · operation · maneuver
Eastern Front
Soviet-German combat theater
- Operation BarbarossaNazi Soviet invasion
- Third ReichHitler's totalitarian German state
- StalingradRenamed Soviet industrial city
Normandy · Kursk · Ardennes · North Africa · Atlantic Wall · D-Day · surrender · occupation · war crimes · Nuremberg
Luftwaffe
German military aviation
- StukaGerman diving attack aircraft
- U-boatUndersea warship from Germany
- MesserschmittGerman military aircraft maker
Bismarck · dive bomber · fighter ace · naval warfare · air superiority · combined arms
Rommel
- ModelPattern for imitation
- Afrika KorpsGerman expeditionary force, Libya
- field marshalSupreme army commander rank
Führer
Supreme leader title
- HitlerNazi Germany's totalitarian leader
- ReichstagGerman parliamentary assembly
- GestapoNazi secret police
propaganda · Lebensraum · Nazi Party · oath of loyalty · Aryan · complicity · political control · Goebbels
Iron Cross
German military bravery decoration
- jackbootsTall military boots
- MauserGerman rifle manufacturer
- shoulder boardsUniform rank markers
- European MilitaryBritish Army, French Army, German Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force
- WWII GermanyNazi Germany, Nazi Party, Nazi regime, Third Reich, Hitler
- World War IIAllies, Nazi, Hitler, Axis, Third Reich
- armed forcesarmy, military, soldiers, troops, marines
- military personnelsoldiers, soldier, midshipmen, officers, troops
- D-DayD-Day, Normandy, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, Gold Beach
WehrmachtRed Army
Soviet ground forces
Soviet military · British Army · US Army · U.S. Army · Canadian Army