During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
used the system of
military districtMilitary districts are formations of a state's armed forces which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and in countries with conscript forces, often handle parts of the conscription cycle.Navies have also used...
s to relieve field commanders of as much administrative work as possible and to provide a regular flow of trained recruits and supplies to the Field Army. The method they adopted was to separate the
Field ArmyA Field Army, or Area Army, usually referred to simply as an Army, is a term used by many national military forces for a formation superior to a corps and beneath an army group....
(
Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres) from the Home Command (
Heimatkriegsgebiet) and to entrust the responsibilities of training, conscription, supply and equipment to that command.
The Commander of the Infantry Corps with the identical number also commanded the
Wehrkreis in peacetime, but command of the
Wehrkreis passed to his second-in command at the outbreak of war.
Before the start of the war, there were also four Motorized Army Corps (in effect, staffs to control the training of Panzer and Light Panzer formations) which had no corresponding military districts, but were served (as regards conscription and supplies) by the districts in which Corps headquarters or subordinate formations had their Home Garrison Stations.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
used the system of
military districtMilitary districts are formations of a state's armed forces which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and in countries with conscript forces, often handle parts of the conscription cycle.Navies have also used...
s to relieve field commanders of as much administrative work as possible and to provide a regular flow of trained recruits and supplies to the Field Army. The method they adopted was to separate the
Field ArmyA Field Army, or Area Army, usually referred to simply as an Army, is a term used by many national military forces for a formation superior to a corps and beneath an army group....
(
Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres) from the Home Command (
Heimatkriegsgebiet) and to entrust the responsibilities of training, conscription, supply and equipment to that command.
The Commander of the Infantry Corps with the identical number also commanded the
Wehrkreis in peacetime, but command of the
Wehrkreis passed to his second-in command at the outbreak of war.
Before the start of the war, there were also four Motorized Army Corps (in effect, staffs to control the training of Panzer and Light Panzer formations) which had no corresponding military districts, but were served (as regards conscription and supplies) by the districts in which Corps headquarters or subordinate formations had their Home Garrison Stations. These Corps were:
- XIV Army Corps (Motorized) - XIV. Armeekorps (mot.)
- XV Army Corps (Motorized) - XV. Armeekorps (mot.)
- XVI Army Corps (Motorized) - XVI. Armeekorps (mot.)
- XIX Army Corps - XIX. Armeekorps
The Districts were organized into a Chain of Command that included
Area Headquarters (
Wehrersatzbezirk Hauptquartier) and
Sub-area headquarters (
Wehrbezirk Hauptquartier).
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Germany was divided into nineteen military districts. At the start of the war, there were only fifteen:
- I - Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of eastern Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945. It was founded by the Teutonic Knights just south of the Sambian peninsula in the year 1255 AD during the Northern Crusades and named for King Ottokar II of Bohemia...
- (East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia...
; Memel; and Bialystok))
- Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of eastern Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945. It was founded by the Teutonic Knights just south of the Sambian peninsula in the year 1255 AD during the Northern Crusades and named for King Ottokar II of Bohemia...
- Tilsit; Gumbinnen; Treuburg; Bartenstein; Braunsberg; Allenstein; Sudauen;
- Allenstein
- Lötzen; Zichenau
Ciechanów is a town in north-central Poland with 45,900 inhabitants . It is situated in Masovian Voivodeship . It was previously the capital of Ciechanów Voivodeship.-History:...
- II - Stettin
- (Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
and PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
)
- Köslin
- Stolp; Kolberg; Neustettin; Deutsch Krone; Woldenburg
Dobiegniew is a town in Poland, in Lubusz Voivodeship, in Strzelce-Drezdenko County. It has 3,189 inhabitants .In WWII, the Oflag II-C POW camp was located nearby.-External links:*...
/Neumark-Places:*Neumark, a region formerly of Brandenburg, now in Poland called Lubus Land*Neumark, Thuringia*Neumark, Saxony*Nowe Miasto Lubawskie, Poland-Other:*the Hungarian March was called the Neumark* Tim Neumark, an American pianist...
- Stettin
Szczecin - is the capital city of West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of the 2005 census the city had a total population of 420,638. In 2007 its population was 407,811.Szczecin is located on the...
;
- Swinemünde; Preußisch Stargard
Starogard Gdański is a town in Eastern Pomerania in northwestern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants...
; GreifswaldGreifswald is a town in northeastern Germany, situated approximately 200 km to the north of Berlin in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It borders the Baltic Sea and is crossed by a small river called the Ryck....
; StralsundStralsund is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund ....
- III - Berlin
Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
- (Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
and part of NeumarkThe Neumark , also known as the New March or East Brandenburg , comprised a region of the Prussian province of Brandenburg, Germany, located east of the Oder River in contemporary Poland....
)
- IV - Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
- (Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a federal state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states.Long in the heart of German-speaking Europe, Saxony became one of the new...
; ThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is located in central Germany. It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen
Bundesländer...
; and northern BohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Czech Republic...
)
- V - Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
- (Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
; part of BadenBaden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine River in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
; and AlsaceAlsace is the fourth-smallest of the 26 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the sixth-most densely populated region in France , with 222 inhabitants per km²...
)
- VI - Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region and it is also capital of the local government region Regierungsbezirk Münster...
- (Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Bochum, Detmold, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Minden and Münster and included in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia....
; RhinelandThe Rhineland is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. After the collapse of the French Empire in the early 19th century, the German and Dutch speaking regions at the middle and lower course of the Rhine were annexed to the kingdom of Prussia...
; and the EupenEupen is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège, 15 km from the German border , from the Dutch border and from the nature reservation "High Fens" . The town is also the capital of the Euroregion Meuse-Rhine....
-MalmedyMalmedy is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. It belongs to the French Community of Belgium. On January 1, 2006 Malmedy had a total population of 11,829...
district of BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
)
- VII - Munich
Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
- (Southern Bavaria
Bavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
)
- VIII - Breslau
- Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany....
; the SudetenlandSudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia associated with Bohemia.The name is derived from the...
districts of BohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Czech Republic...
and MoraviaMoravia is a historical region in central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, one of the former Czech lands. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region.-Geography:...
; and southwest PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
- IX - Kassel
Kassel Kassel Kassel and of the district (Kreis) of the same name...
, included parts of ThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is located in central Germany. It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen
Bundesländer...
and HesseHesse is a state of Germany with an area of and just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden. Hesse's largest city is nearby Frankfurt am Main.Hesse contributes the largest share to the Rhine Main Area....
. The Commander was General der Infanterie Schellert over three Bereich Hauptsitze:
- Kassel
Kassel Kassel Kassel and of the district (Kreis) of the same name...
(nine Unterregion-Hauptsitze): Kassel I, Kassel II, KorbachKorbach is the district seat of Waldeck-Frankenberg in northern Hesse, Germany. It is over a thousand years old and a former Hanseatic town. It is located on the German Framework Road.- Geography and geology :...
, Marburg (Lahn)Marburg is a city in Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Its population is 78,701, and its geographical position is .- Founding and early history :...
, HersfeldHersfeld may refer to:*Bad Hersfeld, a town in Hesse*Hersfeld Abbey, a monastery in Hesse...
, SiegenSiegen is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia.It is a Große kreisangehörige Stadt . It is in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in Arnsberg region...
, WetzlarWetzlar is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of the Lahn-Dill district. Located at 8° 30′ E, 50° 34′ N, there are approximately 54,000 inhabitants...
, FuldaFulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
, & Giessen.
- Frankfurt am Main (six): Frankfurt am Main I, Frankfurt am Main II, Offenbach am Main, Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg is a large town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat....
, Friedberg- Places :* Friedberg, Bavaria* Friedberg, Hesse* Friedberg, Styria* Aichach-Friedberg* University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg* Frymburk in Bohemia - People :...
, &HanauHanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main.-Districts :-History:Hanau was first mentioned in 1143 and became a city in 1303....
.
- Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany mostly known for its cultural heritage. It is located in the Bundesland of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
(nine): WeimarWeimar is a city in Germany mostly known for its cultural heritage. It is located in the Bundesland of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, SangerhausenSangerhausen is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, without being part of it.It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. 35 km east of Nordhausen, and 50 km west of Halle...
, GeraGera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster , approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometers to the east of Erfurt...
, RudolstadtRudolstadt is a town in the German Bundesland of Thuringia, close to the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north....
, Mulhausen (Thuringia)Mühlhausen is a city in the federal state Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Unstrut-Hainich district, and lies along the river Unstrut. Mühlhausen had c. 37,000 inhabitants in 2006.-History:...
, ErfurtErfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and is the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nürnberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
, EisenachEisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Population was 43,626 in 2006.-History:...
, GothaGotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
, & MeiningenMeiningen is a town in Germany - located in the Southern part of the state of Thuringia and the district seat of Schmalkalden-Meiningen. It is situated on the river Werra.-History:The place was first mentioned in 982 and was chartered in 1230....
.
- X - Hamburg
Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
- (Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the two historical duchies of Schleswig and Holstein...
; part of HanoverHanover or Hannover , on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, in their dignities as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg Hanover or Hannover , on the river Leine, is...
; and Danish SlesvigSlesvig is the Danish name for:* Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, a German city* The former Duchy of Schleswig * A former name for Hedeby, a Viking Age trading center, originally the largest town in the Nordic Countries...
- XI - Hanover
Hanover or Hannover , on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, in their dignities as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg Hanover or Hannover , on the river Leine, is...
- (Braunschweig
Braunschweig , known as Brunswiek in Low German, is a city of 245,810 people , located in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser...
; AnhaltAnhalt is a historical county in Germany, located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe in Middle Germany. It now forms part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.-Dukes of Anhalt:...
, and MagdeburgMagdeburg , the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, is situated at the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe. Emperor Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, lived during most of his reign in the town and was buried in the cathedral after his death...
)
- XII - Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwestern Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
- (Eifel
The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium.-Geography:...
; KoblenzKoblenz is a city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz Koblenz (also Coblenz in pre-1926 German spellings; French Coblence) is a city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the...
; MannheimMannheim is a city in Germany. With 327,318 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg after the capital Stuttgart....
; MetzMetz is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. It is located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers....
; the Palatinate; the Saar- Places :*Saar, Bahrain, a town in Bahrain*Saar Region and Saar Area— in context, any of the below:*Saar , or Saar River valley — an important navigable river running through the borderlands of France and Germany through a mineral rich, highly developed, industrial region once part of...
; LorraineMoselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
; NancyNancy is a city in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France, and formerly the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, and then the French province of the same name.The city is the head of the department...
; and LuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small, landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany...
)
- XIII - Nürnberg
- (Northern Bavaria
Bavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
; western BohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Czech Republic...
; RegensburgRegensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
; and Eger----Eger is a city in northern Hungary, the county seat of Heves, east of the Mátra Mountains. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, historic buildings , and red and white wines...
)
- XVII - Vienna
Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
- (Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
; southern BohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Czech Republic...
and southern MoraviaMoravia is a historical region in central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, one of the former Czech lands. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region.-Geography:...
)
- XVIII - Salzburg
' is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburg's "Old Town" with its world famous baroque architecture is one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city is noted for its...
- (Styria; Carinthia
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes....
; Tyrol; and southern SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
Wehrkreis XX and XXI were established in Poland to control Danzig and
PosenPoznań is a city in west-central Poland with over 557,264 inhabitants . Located on the Warta River, it is one of the oldest cities in Poland, making it an important historical centre and a vibrant centre of trade, industry, and education. Poznań is Poland's fifth largest city and fourth biggest...
, which were a part of the
German EmpireThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
before the First World War and were
annexed into GermanyThis article deals with territories annexed into Nazi Germany. For territories occupied in 1939 but not annexed, see General Government.At the beginning of World War II, nearly a quarter of the pre-war Polish areas were annexed by Nazi Germany and placed under German civil administration...
after 1939.
- XX - Danzig
- (Danzig Free State; Polish Corridor
The Polish Corridor was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia which provided the Second Republic of Poland with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany from her province of East Prussia...
; Neustadt an der DosseNeustadt an der Dosse is a town in the district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin, Brandenburg, Germany with a population of 4013 . It has a total area of 75.62km², and lies close to the river Dosse.-History:...
; Stargard in PommernStargard Szczeciński is a city in northwestern Poland, with 71,017 inhabitants . Situated on the Ina River, it is the capital of Stargard County in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship ; previously it was in the Szczecin Voivodeship...
; Marienwerder; Graudenz; BrombergBydgoszcz is a city currently located in northern Poland, on the Brda and Vistula rivers, with a population of 360,142 , agglomeration more than 400 000, which makes it the 8th biggest city in Poland...
and ThornToruń is a city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River, with population over 207,190 as of 2006, making it the second-largest city of Kujawy-Pomerania Province, after Bydgoszcz. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus...
)
- XXI - Posen
Poznań is a city in west-central Poland with over 557,264 inhabitants . Located on the Warta River, it is one of the oldest cities in Poland, making it an important historical centre and a vibrant centre of trade, industry, and education. Poznań is Poland's fifth largest city and fourth biggest...
- (Posen
Poznań is a city in west-central Poland with over 557,264 inhabitants . Located on the Warta River, it is one of the oldest cities in Poland, making it an important historical centre and a vibrant centre of trade, industry, and education. Poznań is Poland's fifth largest city and fourth biggest...
; LissaLissa is:* the old Venetian name for the Adriatic island of Vis* the German name for the town of Leszno in Poland when it had a Moravian college and a gymnasium...
; Hohensalza; Leslau; KalischKalisz is a city in central Poland with 107,910 inhabitants , the capital city of Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
; and Litzmannstadt)
Two additional
Wehrkreis were established after the invasion of Poland. These were
Wehrkreis Böhmen-Mähren which covered the so-called Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia that was Czech areas not part of the
SudetenlandSudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia associated with Bohemia.The name is derived from the...
and
Wehrkreis General-Government which controlled the remainder of Poland.
It has been speculated that the missing
Wehrkreis number—
XIX—was intended for use inside Russia if Germany had been successful in completing the invasion and additional numbers would have been assigned to the named
Wehrkreis at the end of the war.
In peace time, the
Wehrkreis was the home to the Infantry Corps of the same number and all subordinate units of that Corps.
Sources
- Hogg, Ian V., German Order of Battle 1944: The regiments, formations and units of the German ground forces, Arms and Armour Press, London, 1975