First general staff officer

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The First General Staff Officer or Ia ( "Roman Eins a" ) was a commanding assistant to the commander in higher staffs in the Prussian-German army and the Wehrmacht .

Tasks and position

He worked on everything that was connected with the individual parts of the unit in leadership and tactical terms, including troop command, training , organization, transport, accommodation, air protection, evaluation of experience, etc. The operations department was subordinate to the Ia for this purpose . The Ia advised the commander and prepared orders without being authorized to issue orders. In the absence of the commander, he acted as the commander's deputy in staffs below the corps level , in which there was no chief of staff . Successful completion of the war academy was a prerequisite for employment as a general staff officer .

In divisions of the Wehrmacht the position of Ia was filled by a lieutenant colonel in the general staff , and later also by a major i. G. , who, as the longest-serving troop officer, acted as the immediate superior of the officers in the general staff offices. In his position as assistant commanding officer, the Ia had the right to appeal to the commander; in the event of a deviating assessment of the situation or the like, his opinion was noted in the files if no agreement could be reached. In addition, the Ia was not bound to the normal official channels, but was able to report directly to higher authorities via the general staff channel.

The First Ordinance Officer (O1) acted as an assistant to the Ia . The head of the card office was subordinate to the Ia.

In the Bundeswehr , the G3 corresponds to the first general staff officer.

See also

literature

  • Veit Scherzer (Ed.): German troops in World War II. Volume 1: Veit Scherzer: Formation history of the army and the reserve army 1939 to 1945. Structure, strength, equipment, armament. Teilbd. B. Scherzers Militär-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-07-3 , pp. 714-715.
  • Herbert Schottelius , Gustav-Adolf Caspar: The Organization of the Army 1933-1939. In: Hans Meier-Welcker (ed.): Handbook on German military history. 1648-1939. Volume 7: Wehrmacht and National Socialism. 1933-1939. Bernard & Graefe, Munich 1978, ISBN 3-7637-0308-X , pp. 289–399, here pp. 333 and 367.