The Wehrkreis System
As already
mentioned the 12th Infantry Division came from Wehrkreis II. Wehrkeis
II had its headquarters in Stettin and covered Mecklenburg and Pomerania. This
area covered approximately 54,000 square km with a population of 3.25 million
A Wehrkreis is
a German military district. These date back to 1919 when the Reichswehr
functioned as the Armed Forces Command of the Weimar Republic.
The Wehrkreis
had responsibility for recruiting, drafting and training German soldiers for a
Division. It also had responsibility for the mobilization of divisions, training
them and providing them with trained replacements.
When Adolf
Hitler came to power in 1933 he got rid of the Republic and Reichswehr and instead formed the Wehrmacht. Hitler had the
foresight to keep the Wehrkreis system that had already established contingency
plans for a large expansion of the army. Initially the Wehrkreis worked directly
under the Oberkommando des Heeres (Army High Command) but in 1938 the Home (or
replacement) Army was created to oversee and coordinate Wehrkreis operations
although little actually changed until late 1942.
During the
expansion programme the number of Wehrkreis increased from seven in 1932 to
nineteen in 1943. Although they lost some of their training responsibilities
from late 1942 until 1944 the divisions still primarily looked to the Wehrkreis
for training and replacements as the war progressed. They were also responsible
for refitting depleted divisions.
The German
Army was mobilised in waves of divisions and this continued throughout the war.
This was carried out by the Wehrkreis under supervision of the Replacement Army.
This system continued until the end of the war. From 1934-45 there were at
thirty-eight ‘waves’.
Before the
general mobilization of June 1939 each Wehrkreis had two components to its
headquarters. This was comprised of a tactical component, which became a corps
headquarters that got sent to the front on mobilization, and a deputy component,
which remained in the territory to coordinate training and replacement
activities.
The deputy
component was made up of older soldiers who weren’t up to the rigours of a
campaign but who were well trained and fully able to fulfil their duties. Most
positions in military districts were held by older officers, many of whom were
WW1 veterans and were competent military administrators.
Wehrkreise of Germany
Source:
My Ramblings, Ostmann S.