Army High Command
As Army High Command ( AOK ) was mainly in the First and Second World War, the command authority of an army called.
First World War
In the army of the German Empire , the Army Inspections (most recently No. I to VIII) existed as command authorities above the army corps , which were converted / renamed into Army High Command during the First World War .
In Austria-Hungary , the Army High Command (AOK) set up at the beginning of the war in the summer of 1914 - there was only one - was the command center for all land and naval forces deployed in the dual monarchy.
Second World War
During the Second World War, an AOK (Commander-in-Chief: generally Colonel General upwards) led several army corps and had its own (army) troops, e.g. B. heavy artillery , engineers and other special troops, which were subordinate to him according to availability and order. The AOK was located as a command between the Army Group and the Army Corps . As a rule, however, the request for and distribution of supplies was carried out directly by the senior quartermaster of the AOK; the Army Group Command was only involved in crisis situations.
The area of responsibility of an AOK was divided into the area of operations , which in turn was subdivided into corps and division level, and the rear army area , which was subordinate to the "Commander rear area" ( Korück ).
In the course of the war, army departments and army groups were formed as a temporary measure in addition to the AOKs . These often did not have all the required command means and were named after the respective commander.
Structure of an AOK
The normal structure of an army high command in World War II included:
- Commander of the Army High Command
- Chief of the General Staff (e.g. Major General )
-
Department I ( management department )
- First General Staff Officer (Ia) (Operations)
- Third General Staff Officer (Ic) (enemy situation)
- Fourth General Staff Officer Id (training)
- National Socialist Commanding Officer (NSFO; from 1944)
-
Department II ( Adjutantur - Administration)
- 1. Adjutant IIa (personnel matters of officers)
- 2nd Adjutant IIc (personnel matters for NCOs and men)
-
Quartermaster's Department (replenishment)
- Second General Staff Officer ( Chief Quartermaster )
- Army doctor IVb
- Army Veterinary IVc
- commands:
- Higher Artillery Commander ( Harko )
- Army Pioneer Leader ( A.Pi.Fü )
- Army News Leader ( A.Nachr.Fü. )
- Staff officer for gas defense
- Staff officer for anti-tank fighting ( Stopak )