Secret Field Police (First World War)
The Secret Field Police in World War I was set up at least in the armies of Prussia , Bavaria and Saxony when the war broke out in 1914. After the outbreak of war, the Secret Field Police was subordinate to the Army High Command, later units were added to the Army Group Command . In the GHQ there was also a unit. They were responsible for combating sabotage and espionage and for monitoring the population in the war zone. It should also fight crime among its own soldiers. On the Eastern Front and in Belgium Central police stations were set up instead of the Secret Field Police.
staff
At the Army High Command and Army Group Command, the Secret Field Police consisted of a field police commissioner and six policemen and two train soldiers ; at the headquarters of the GFP, field police director Bauer, seven field police commissioners and 30 policemen as well as six train soldiers and twelve motor vehicle drivers. The staff consisted of police officers and lawyers, the latter mainly from the Reichsgericht. The policemen, train soldiers and motor vehicle drivers were non-commissioned officers, the field police commissioners and the field police director were officers.
uniform
The service was initially performed in civilian style. From April 1918 ( Prussia ) and July 1918 ( Saxony ) uniforms were introduced, mainly for representative purposes. In Bavaria , uniforms were only planned: in October 1918, the first drafts of badges were made, but the project was no longer implemented due to the end of the war. In Prussia it was permitted from October 1918 to wear uniforms of team ranks for covert service. The uniform M1915 was introduced, as it was worn in the military administration. (: Like Prussia However, instead of the military insignia such police were Berlin police , Saxony like Dresden police) and gold or silver (former officers and the reserve status officers ) Portepee , no helmet and a special hat with blue trim strips worn.
literature
- Gérald Sawicki: A War-time Secret Police: Activities ofe the Geheime Feldpolizei on the Western Front During the First World War , in: Jonas Campion / Laurent López / Guillaume Payen (eds.): European Police Forces and Law Enforcement in the First World War , Cham / Switzerland (palgrave macmillan) 2019, pp. 75–88. ISBN 978-3-030-26101-6 . ISBN 978-3-030-26102-3
References
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Secret field police and central police stations (PDF; 85 kB)
- ↑ a b c Weapons budget and proof of strength of the secret field police 1914–1918 (PDF; 179 kB)