Historical reference · 1933–1945
German Military Organization in World War II
Combat & Chains
Units and chains of command in the Wehrmacht, SS, SA, NSDAP, Hitler Youth and Reich Labour Service – 73 levels from the squad to the high command, each with its typical strength and the rank that usually led it.
At a glance
Army and Waffen-SS unit sizes compared
Army and Waffen-SS field units followed the same pattern; what differed were the ranks at their head. The last column shows the names the Allgemeine SS and the SA used for the same levels.
| Level | Heer (Army) | Waffen-SS | Army strength, 1939 | Allgemeine SS / SA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squad | GruppeUnteroffizier | GruppeSS-Unterscharführer | 10 | Schar |
| Platoon | ZugLeutnant / Feldwebel | ZugSS-Untersturmführer | about 50 | Trupp |
| Company | KompanieHauptmann | KompanieSS-Hauptsturmführer | 201 | Sturm |
| Battalion | BataillonMajor | BataillonSS-Sturmbannführer | 860 | Sturmbann |
| Regiment | RegimentOberst | RegimentSS-Standartenführer | about 3,000 | Standarte |
| Division | DivisionGeneralleutnant | DivisionSS-Brigadeführer / SS-Gruppenführer | about 17,000 | – |
| Corps | KorpsGeneral der Waffengattung | KorpsSS-Obergruppenführer | 2–5 divisions | – |
| Army | ArmeeGeneraloberst | ArmeeSS-Oberst-Gruppenführer | several corps | – |
The party names mark the same rung, not the same kind of unit. An SA-Sturm was a group of men from one town district who met on weekday evenings, not a company in the field.
Organisation by organisation
From the smallest unit to the top
Choose an organisation to follow its chain of command upwards. Strengths are establishment figures or typical ranges; real units were often far weaker.
Wehrmacht – Heer (Army)
The Heer was the largest branch of the Wehrmacht. About 13.6 million men served in it during the war, and according to Rüdiger Overmans some 4.2 million of them died, most in the war against the Soviet Union or in Soviet captivity.
The ladder follows the infantry. Other arms used the same levels under their own names: an artillery company was a Batterie, a cavalry company a Schwadron, and in the artillery and the Panzer arm a battalion was called an Abteilung.
GruppeSquad
10 men (1939)
Commander: Unteroffizier; in wartime often an Obergefreiter
A Gruppenführer and nine men built around one light machine gun, an MG 34 or later the MG 42. The gun carried the squad's firepower, and much of the riflemen's work was to protect it and keep it supplied with ammunition.
ZugPlatoon
about 50 men
Commander: Leutnant; often a Feldwebel or Oberfeldwebel
Four squads and a small platoon headquarters in 1939, three squads from 1943. Junior officers were in short supply for most of the war, so experienced senior NCOs led a large share of the platoons.
KompanieCompany
201 men (1939), about 140 (1944)
Commander: Hauptmann or Oberleutnant (Kompaniechef)
Three rifle platoons and a company troop. Day-to-day administration and discipline lay with the senior NCO, the Hauptfeldwebel, whom the men called the Spieß.
BataillonBattalion
860 men (1939), 708 (1944)
Commander: Major; in wartime often a Hauptmann
Three rifle companies and a machine-gun company in 1939. The smallest formation that could fight on its own with heavy weapons under its own command.
RegimentRegiment
about 3,000 men (1939)
Commander: Oberst or Oberstleutnant
Three battalions plus an infantry-gun company and an anti-tank company. From October 1942 infantry regiments were renamed Grenadier-Regimenter. The name changed, the structure did not.
BrigadeBrigade
no fixed strength
Commander: Oberst, sometimes Major
Not a regular rung in the German chain. The word covered very different units: assault-gun brigades that were only battalion-sized, the Panzer brigades of summer 1944 with one tank and one Panzergrenadier battalion, and rocket-launcher brigades of two regiments.
DivisionDivision
about 17,000 men (1939), about 10,000 (Volksgrenadier, 1944)
Commander: Generalleutnant or Generalmajor
Three infantry regiments, an artillery regiment and battalions for reconnaissance, engineers, anti-tank defence, signals and supply. The division could fight and feed itself, which made it the unit in which German planning counted. By 1944 many carried their number on a fraction of their establishment.
KorpsCorps
two to five divisions
Commander: General der Infanterie, der Artillerie, der Panzertruppe (General der Waffengattung)
A command staff with its own artillery and engineers but few permanent troops. Divisions were moved in and out as the situation required. Corps of armoured divisions were called Panzerkorps.
ArmeeArmy
several corps
Commander: Generaloberst or General der Waffengattung
Held a sector of the front together with its rear area. Armoured armies were called Panzerarmee. The 6th Army, encircled at Stalingrad in November 1942, had roughly a quarter of a million men in the pocket.
HeeresgruppeArmy group
several armies
Commander: Generalfeldmarschall or Generaloberst
The highest field command. Three army groups, North, Centre and South, opened the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.
Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH)Army High Command
entire army
Commander: Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres; from December 1941 Hitler himself
After dismissing Walther von Brauchitsch in December 1941, Hitler took over command of the army in person. From then on the OKH ran the Eastern Front, while the OKW ran the other theatres.
Wehrmacht – Luftwaffe (Air Force)
The Luftwaffe was more than its aircraft. It also ran the anti-aircraft artillery, the paratroopers, the air signals service and, from late 1942, its own field divisions.
Flying units and flak had separate ladders. Both are shown below.
Flying units
RotteElement
2 aircraft
Commander: Rottenführer (the leading pilot; a function, not a rank)
Leader and wingman. The loose pair, worked out by German fighter pilots in Spain, let each pilot cover the other's blind spot. The Allies later adopted the same principle.
SchwarmFlight
4 aircraft
Commander: Schwarmführer
Two Rotten, flown in the formation the RAF called the finger-four, because the aircraft sat like the fingertips of a flat hand.
StaffelSquadron
9–12 aircraft, later up to 16
Commander: Staffelkapitän, usually an Oberleutnant or Hauptmann
Comparable to a company, with its own ground crew. Staffeln were numbered in Arabic numerals across the whole Geschwader: 7./JG 52 was the seventh Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52.
GruppeGroup
three, later four Staffeln (30–40 aircraft, later more)
Commander: Gruppenkommandeur, usually a Major or Hauptmann
The basic operational unit, normally based together on one airfield. Gruppen carried Roman numerals: III./JG 52.
GeschwaderWing
three to four Gruppen (about 90–120 aircraft)
Commander: Geschwaderkommodore, usually an Oberstleutnant or Oberst
Named after its role: Jagdgeschwader for fighters, Kampfgeschwader for bombers, Sturzkampfgeschwader for dive bombers, Nachtjagdgeschwader for night fighters. Its Gruppen often served on different fronts at the same time. JG 52 ended the war as the highest-scoring fighter wing in history.
FliegerdivisionAir division
several Geschwader
Commander: Generalmajor or Generalleutnant
Intermediate command between the Geschwader and the Fliegerkorps. The 7th Flieger-Division was the parachute formation that took Crete in May 1941.
FliegerkorpsAir corps
several Geschwader or divisions
Commander: General der Flieger or Generalleutnant
Operational command for a theatre or a task. Fliegerkorps VIII under Wolfram von Richthofen specialised in close support for the army.
LuftflotteAir fleet
several Fliegerkorps with flak and signals units
Commander: Generaloberst or Generalfeldmarschall
The strategic command for a whole front or region. Four air fleets existed in 1939. In 1944 Luftflotte Reich took over the air defence of Germany itself.
Anti-aircraft artillery (Flak)
Flak-BatterieFlak battery
four heavy guns in 1939, later often six to eight
Commander: Batteriechef, usually an Oberleutnant or Hauptmann
The firing unit of the flak arm. Heavy batteries fought with the 8.8 cm gun, which the Wehrmacht also used against tanks. From 1943 schoolboys served in the home batteries as Luftwaffenhelfer.
Flak-DivisionFlak division
several flak regiments
Commander: Generalmajor or Generalleutnant
Defended a city or an industrial region, or supported an army in the field. The 1st Flak Division defended Berlin, including its flak towers.
Wehrmacht – Kriegsmarine (Navy)
The navy was organised around its ships, not around a fixed ladder. U-boats, the surface fleet and coastal security each had their own chain of command, and the three met only at the top, in the Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine.
In 1945 sailors without ships were formed into naval infantry divisions and sent to fight on land.
Schiff / BootShip or boat
from about 45 men (Type VII U-boat) to over 2,000 (battleship Bismarck)
Commander: Kommandant: Oberleutnant zur See or Kapitänleutnant on a U-boat, Kapitän zur See on a battleship
The ship itself was the unit. Its commander answered for the crew, the boat and the mission, often weeks away from any superior.
FlottilleFlotilla
several boats of one type, often divided into half-flotillas
Commander: usually a Korvettenkapitän, sometimes a Kapitänleutnant or Fregattenkapitän
Destroyers, torpedo boats, S-boats and minesweepers were grouped by type for command and maintenance. U-boat flotillas were base and administrative units. At sea the boats took their orders directly from the Befehlshaber der U-Boote (BdU).
U-Boot-Gruppe („Rudel“)Wolf pack
three to more than twenty U-boats
Commander: no commander at sea; directed by the BdU from shore
Boats were placed in a patrol line under a code name such as Gruppe Leuthen. The first to sight a convoy reported it and shadowed it, and headquarters ashore directed the others onto it.
SicherungsdivisionSecurity division
several flotillas of minesweepers, patrol boats and escorts
Commander: Kapitän zur See or Konteradmiral
Held a stretch of coast: swept mines, escorted coastal convoys and guarded harbour approaches. Nine security divisions were formed, grouped under the Befehlshaber der Sicherung for each sea area.
FlotteFleet
the heavy surface ships
Commander: Flottenchef, an Admiral
The battleships and cruisers with their escorts, commanded at sea by the Flottenchef. After the Bismarck was sunk in May 1941, taking Flottenchef Günther Lütjens with her, the heavy ships rarely operated together.
MarinegruppenkommandoNaval group command
all naval forces in one theatre
Commander: Generaladmiral or Admiral
Operational command between the high command and the forces at sea, for example Marinegruppenkommando Nord and Marinegruppenkommando West.
Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine (OKM)Naval High Command
entire navy
Commander: Oberbefehlshaber: Großadmiral Erich Raeder, from January 1943 Karl Dönitz
Decided construction programmes, operational areas and the balance between U-boats and surface ships. Raeder resigned after Hitler ordered the big ships to be scrapped; Dönitz, until then commander of the U-boats, succeeded him.
SS – Allgemeine SS and Waffen-SS
The SS used two vocabularies. The Allgemeine SS, the part-time party formation, kept the unit names it shared with the SA: Schar, Trupp, Sturm, Sturmbann, Standarte. The Waffen-SS, which fought alongside the Wehrmacht, adopted army terms for its field units during the war. Its ranks remained SS ranks.
The Waffen-SS was not part of the Wehrmacht. By 1945 it had 38 divisions by name, many of them far below strength. The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg declared the SS a criminal organisation.
Allgemeine SS (General SS)
Approximate strengths; the part-time units varied widely by region and year.
ScharSection
about 8–12 men
Commander: SS-Scharführer or SS-Unterscharführer
The smallest unit of the part-time SS, usually drawn from one neighbourhood.
TruppPlatoon
three Scharen, about 20–60 men
Commander: SS-Hauptscharführer or SS-Untersturmführer
Grouped the Scharen of a district for drill and duty evenings.
SturmCompany
three Trupps, about 70–120 men
Commander: SS-Obersturmführer or SS-Hauptsturmführer
The basic local unit. Members met after work for drill, sport and ideological instruction.
SturmbannBattalion
three to four Stürme, about 250–600 men
Commander: SS-Sturmbannführer
Covered a town or several rural districts.
StandarteRegiment
three Sturmbanne, about 1,000–3,000 men
Commander: SS-Standartenführer
Numbered and tied to a region. The name refers to the standard carried at parades.
AbschnittDistrict
several Standarten
Commander: SS-Oberführer or SS-Brigadeführer
Regional command level between the Standarten and the Oberabschnitt.
OberabschnittMain district
several Abschnitte
Commander: SS-Gruppenführer or SS-Obergruppenführer
Broadly matched a military district. Its leader was usually also the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) for the region and so controlled the police as well.
Waffen-SS (armed SS)
GruppeSquad
about 10 men
Commander: SS-Unterscharführer or SS-Rottenführer
Organised and armed like an army squad.
ZugPlatoon
about 40–50 men
Commander: SS-Untersturmführer or SS-Oberscharführer
Three or four squads with a platoon headquarters.
KompanieCompany
about 150–200 men
Commander: SS-Obersturmführer or SS-Hauptsturmführer
Before the war the armed SS still called this level a Sturm.
BataillonBattalion
about 600–900 men
Commander: SS-Sturmbannführer, often an SS-Hauptsturmführer
Formerly Sturmbann. Artillery and armoured units, as in the army, used Abteilung.
RegimentRegiment
about 2,500–3,500 men
Commander: SS-Standartenführer or SS-Obersturmbannführer
Formerly Standarte. Many regiments carried names as well as numbers, such as Deutschland, Germania or Der Führer.
DivisionDivision
from under 10,000 to over 20,000 men
Commander: SS-Brigadeführer or SS-Gruppenführer, often an SS-Oberführer
The armoured divisions of 1943–44 were larger and better equipped than most army divisions. Many later divisions raised from foreign volunteers and conscripts never reached the strength of a brigade.
KorpsCorps
two or more divisions
Commander: SS-Obergruppenführer
The II SS Panzer Corps fought at Kharkov and Kursk in 1943 and in Normandy and at Arnhem in 1944.
ArmeeArmy
several corps
Commander: SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer or SS-Obergruppenführer
Only two SS formations reached army level, both in the last months of the war: the 6th SS Panzer Army under Sepp Dietrich and the 11th SS Panzer Army under Felix Steiner.
SA – Sturmabteilung (Stormtroopers)
The SA was the party's street army of the 1920s and early 1930s. After its leadership was murdered in the so-called Röhm Putsch of summer 1934, it lost its political weight and survived as a training and parade organisation. During the war it ran pre-military instruction.
Its unit names came from the 1920s and were later taken over by the SS.
Approximate strengths. SA units were organised by place of residence, not by military establishment.
ScharSection
about 4–12 men
Led by: SA-Scharführer
The smallest unit. In the first SA structure of 1926 this level was still called a Gruppe of about a dozen men.
TruppPlatoon
three to four Scharen, about 20–60 men
Led by: SA-Truppführer or SA-Obertruppführer
Grouped the Scharen of a neighbourhood.
SturmCompany
up to five Trupps, about 70–150 men
Led by: SA-Sturmführer to SA-Hauptsturmführer
Recruited from a town district or a cluster of villages. The level at which members met every week.
SturmbannBattalion
three to five Stürme, about 250–600 men
Led by: SA-Sturmbannführer
Formed in larger towns and administrative districts.
StandarteRegiment
three to five Sturmbanne, about 1,000–3,000 men
Led by: SA-Standartenführer
Numbered and tied to a region. Each had its own standard, the eagle-topped banner the name refers to.
BrigadeBrigade
several Standarten
Led by: SA-Brigadeführer
Added in 1927 as a level between the Standarte and the regional command.
GruppeGroup
several Brigaden
Led by: SA-Gruppenführer or SA-Obergruppenführer
The regional command, for example SA-Gruppe Berlin-Brandenburg. From August 1934 the highest level below the SA leadership.
ObergruppeHigher group
several Gruppen
Led by: SA-Obergruppenführer
Existed only briefly. By July 1933 the SA was organised in eight Obergruppen above 21 Gruppen. After the Röhm Putsch they were dissolved in August 1934.
Oberste SA-FührungSA Supreme Command
entire SA
Led by: Stabschef der SA: Ernst Röhm, from 1934 Viktor Lutze, from 1943 Wilhelm Schepmann
SA headquarters in Munich. Hitler held the title of Oberster SA-Führer himself; the Stabschef ran the organisation.
NSDAP – territorial organisation of the party
The party reached into every street. Its territorial chain, from the Block to the Gau, ran parallel to the state administration and increasingly overrode it.
Its local officials, the Hoheitsträger, assessed people's political reliability. Their judgement could decide a job, a licence or a promotion.
BlockBlock
40–60 households
Led by: Blockleiter
The street-level post. The Blockleiter collected dues, handed out material and knew who flew the flag and who did not.
ZelleCell
four to eight Blocks (about 160–480 households)
Led by: Zellenleiter
Coordinated the Blockleiter of a neighbourhood and passed their reports upwards.
OrtsgruppeLocal branch
150–1,500 households, 50–500 party members
Led by: Ortsgruppenleiter
The central local unit for a town district or small town. Villages too small for an Ortsgruppe were organised as a Stützpunkt.
KreisDistrict
several Ortsgruppen, usually one rural district or city
Led by: Kreisleiter
The level at which party and state met most directly. In many districts the Kreisleiter carried more weight than the Landrat, the head of the state administration.
GauRegion
several Kreise
Led by: Gauleiter
Regional party district. Their number rose from 33 in 1925 to 43 by 1941. Many Gauleiter were also Reich Governors or, in wartime, Reich Defence Commissioners, and so held party and state power at once.
ReichsleitungParty leadership
entire party
Led by: Reichsleiter, under Hitler as Führer
Party headquarters in the Brown House in Munich. Eighteen Reichsleiter headed its main offices.
Hitler Youth – HJ, Jungvolk and BDM
Membership became compulsory by law in 1939. The organisation had four branches with the same ladder under different names: the Deutsches Jungvolk for boys aged 10 to 14, the Hitlerjugend proper for boys aged 14 to 18, the Jungmädelbund for girls aged 10 to 14 and the Bund Deutscher Mädel for girls aged 14 to 18.
The cards use the HJ names and give the names of the other branches underneath.
KameradschaftSection
about 10 members
Led by: Kameradschaftsführer
The smallest unit and the one for weekly meetings, sport and field exercises.
Jungvolk: Jungenschaft · BDM: Mädelschaft · Jungmädel: Jungmädelschaft
ScharTroop
about three Kameradschaften
Led by: Scharführer
Comparable to a platoon.
Jungvolk: Jungzug · BDM: Mädelschar · Jungmädel: Jungmädelschar
GefolgschaftCompany
about three Scharen
Led by: Gefolgschaftsführer
Comparable to a company.
Jungvolk: Fähnlein · BDM: Mädelgruppe · Jungmädel: Jungmädelgruppe
StammBattalion-sized unit
about 600 members
Led by: Stammführer
Comparable to a battalion.
Jungvolk: Jungstamm · BDM: Mädelring · Jungmädel: Jungmädelring
BannDistrict
about 2,400–3,600 members
Led by: Bannführer
Numbered and usually matched to a party Kreis.
Jungvolk: Jungbann · BDM and Jungmädel: Untergau
GebietRegion
several Banne
Led by: Gebietsführer
Broadly matched a party Gau. By 1942 there were 42 Gebiete in the Reich.
BDM: Obergau
ReichsjugendführungReich Youth Leadership
entire Hitler Youth
Led by: Reichsjugendführer: Baldur von Schirach, from 1940 Artur Axmann
Headquarters in Berlin. It ran the four branches, the leadership schools and, in wartime, the deployment of young people as flak helpers, harvest workers and finally in the Volkssturm.
Reichsarbeitsdienst (Reich Labour Service)
The law of 26 June 1935 made six months of labour service compulsory for young men, usually before their military service. For young women it became compulsory in 1939.
The men lived in camps, drained moors and built roads. From 1939 the RAD worked more and more for the Wehrmacht, on fortifications and supply routes, and by 1944 its men also served in flak batteries.
Men’s Labour Service
TruppSection
about 17 men
Led by: Truppführer or Obertruppführer
The smallest work unit.
ZugPlatoon
52 men, including two leaders
Led by: Unterfeldmeister or Feldmeister
Three Trupps. The Zug usually worked a site together.
AbteilungCompany
three to four Züge, about 150–215 men
Led by: Oberfeldmeister or Oberstfeldmeister
The basic RAD unit, housed in its own barracks camp. Unlike the army's Abteilung, which was battalion-sized, the RAD Abteilung was the size of a company.
GruppeGroup
five to fifteen Abteilungen
Led by: Arbeitsführer or Oberarbeitsführer
Battalion- to regiment-sized formation with its own staff.
ArbeitsgauLabour district
four to twelve Gruppen
Led by: Arbeitsgauführer, a Generalarbeitsführer or Oberstarbeitsführer
Regional command, numbered in Roman numerals. There were 38 by the end of the war.
Reichsleitung des RADRAD leadership
entire Labour Service
Led by: Reichsarbeitsführer Konstantin Hierl
Headquarters in Berlin-Grunewald. Hierl had built up the labour service before 1933 and led it until 1945.
Women’s Labour Service (RADwJ)
LagerCamp
several dozen Arbeitsmaiden
Led by: Lagerführerin
The women's service was organised in camps. The young women worked in farm households and, during the war, in armaments factories, offices and air defence.
BezirkDistrict
13 districts across the Reich
Led by: Bezirksführerin
Regional level of the women's service, later merged into the Arbeitsgaue.
