Schematic war organization of the Wehrmacht on September 1, 1939

The schematic war organization of the Wehrmacht on September 1, 1939 , shows the formation of the army , the air force and the navy of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of the attack on Poland .

The army was divided into two army groups . The Luftwaffe was divided into two air fleets, which were independent but were supposed to work closely with the corresponding army units. The Navy was present in the Baltic Sea with the Naval Group Command East. The divisions of the army belonged to different deployment waves , with the divisions of the 1st and 2nd deployment waves being the best equipped in terms of personnel and material.

army

Army Group North

• Commander in Chief: Colonel General Fedor von Bock
• Chief of the General Staff : Lieutenant General Hans von Salmuth
• First General Staff Officer : Colonel i. G. Wilhelm Hasse

3rd Army

• Commander in Chief: General of the Artillery Georg von Küchler
• Chief of the General Staff: Major General Herbert von Böckmann
• First General Staff Officer: Lieutenant Colonel i. G .: Herbert Wagner

I. Army Corps	11th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	61st Infantry Division	2nd wave of deployment
	Panzer Division Kempf	mixed formation of units of the army and the SS disposable troops , 164 armored fighting vehicles (61 PI , 81 P II , 3 P III, 9 P IV, 10 armored command vehicles )
	Border Guard Section Command 15	Frontier Guard Regiments 51 and 61
XXI. Army Corps	21st Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	228th Infantry Division	3rd wave of deployment
Management staff zbV	1st Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	12th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	Border Guard Regiment 31	Border troop
Brand group	Brigade Lötzen
	Goldap Brigade
reserve	217th Infantry Division	3rd wave of deployment
	1st Cavalry Brigade

4th Army

• Commander in Chief: General of the Artillery Günther von Kluge
• Chief of the General Staff: Major General Kurt Brennecke
• First General Staff Officer: Colonel i. G .: Rolf Wuthmann

II Army Corps	3rd Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	32nd Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
III. Army Corps	50th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	Brigade nets
XIX. Army Corps (motorized)	2nd Infantry Division (motorized)	1st wave of deployment
	20th Infantry Division (motorized)	1st wave of deployment
	3rd Panzer Division	391 Panzerkampfwagen (122 PI, 176 P II, 43 P III, 32 P IV, 18 tank command vehicles)
Border Guard Section Command 1	207th Infantry Division	3rd wave of deployment
	Frontier Guard Regiments 32 and 42	Border troop
Border Guard Section Command 2	Border Guard Regiments 2 and 12	Border troop
Border Guard Section Command 12	Border Guard Regiments 3, 13 and 23	Border troop
reserve	23rd Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	218th Infantry Division	3rd wave of deployment

Army Group North reserves

73rd Infantry Division	2nd wave of deployment
206th Infantry Division	3rd wave of deployment
208 Infantry Division	3rd wave of deployment
10th Panzer Division	150 armored fighting vehicles (57 PI, 74 P II, 3 P III, 7 P IV, 9 armored command vehicles)

Army Group South

• Commander in Chief: Colonel General Gerd von Rundstedt
• Chief of the General Staff: Lieutenant General Erich von Manstein
• First General Staff Officer: Colonel i. G. Günther Blumentritt

8th Army

• Commander in Chief: General of the Infantry Johannes Blaskowitz
• Chief of the General Staff: Major General Hans-Gustav Felber
• First General Staff Officer: Colonel i. G. Walter Schilling

X Army Corps	24th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
XIII. Army Corps	10th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	17th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
Border section command 13		Border troop
Border section command 14		Border troop
reserve	30th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment

10th Army

• Commander in Chief: General of the Artillery Walter von Reichenau
• Chief of the General Staff: Major General Friedrich Paulus
• First General Staff Officer: Colonel i. G. Eduard Metz

IV Army Corps	4th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	46th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
XI. Army Corps	18th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	19th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
XIV Army Corps (motorized)	13th Infantry Division (motorized)	1st wave of deployment
	29th Infantry Division (motorized)	1st wave of deployment
XV. Army Corps (motorized)	2nd light division	1st wave of deployment, 85 armored fighting vehicles (41 PI, 42 P II, 2 armored command vehicles)
	3rd light division	1st wave of deployment, 80 armored fighting vehicles (23 P II, 55 P 38t, 2 armored command vehicles)
XVI. Army Corps (motorized)	14th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	31st Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	1st Panzer Division	309 armored fighting vehicles (93 PI, 122 P II, 26 P III, 56 P IV, 12 armored command vehicles)
	4th Panzer Division	341 armored fighting vehicles (183 PI, 130 P II, 0 P III, 12 P IV, 16 armored command vehicles)
reserve	1st light division	1st wave of deployment, 226 armored fighting vehicles (65 P II, 112 P 35t, 41 P IV, 8 armored command vehicles)

14th Army

• Commander in Chief: Colonel General Wilhelm List
• Chief of the General Staff: Major General Eberhard von Mackensen
• First General Staff Officer: Colonel i. G. Otto Wöhler

VIII Army Corps	8th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	28th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	5th Panzer Division	335 armored fighting vehicles (152 PI, 144 P II, 3 P III, 14 P IV, 22 armored command vehicles)
	Border section command 3	Border troop
XVII. Army Corps	7th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	44th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	45th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
XVIII. Army Corps	3rd Mountain Division	1st wave of deployment
	4th light division	1st wave of deployment
	2nd Panzer Division	322 armored fighting vehicles (124 PI, 155 P II, 6 P III, 17 P IV, 20 armored command vehicles)
reserve	239th Infantry Division	3rd wave of deployment

Slovak Army

• 1st Slovak Division Janošik
• 2nd Slovak division Škultéty
• 3rd Slovak division Rázus
• Slovak fast division

Reserves of Army Group South

VII Army Corps	27th Infantry Division	1st wave of deployment
	68th Infantry Division	2nd wave of deployment
	62nd Infantry Division	2nd wave of deployment
	213 Infantry Division	3rd wave of deployment
	221st Infantry Division	3rd wave of deployment
	1st Mountain Division

air force

Air fleet 1

• Commander in Chief: General of the Airmen Albert Kesselring
• Chief of the General Staff: Colonel Wilhelm Speidel
• Area of ​​responsibility: Area of ​​Army Group North
• Actual strength: 1137 aircraft (62 reconnaissance planes, 526 fighter planes, 172 dive fighter planes, 155 destroyer planes, 222 fighter planes)

directly subordinated	1st and 3rd seasons of long-range reconnaissance group 121	24 reconnaissance aircraft (24 Dornier Do 17P / F )
	Weather investigation relay 1	3 weather reconnaissance aircraft (3 Heinkel He 111J )
1st Air Division	2nd Squadron of Remote Reconnaissance Group 121	11 reconnaissance aircraft (11 Dornier Do 17P / F)
	Staff and I./KG 1 , I./KG 152	84 combat aircraft (46 Heinkel He 111H, 38 Heinkel He 111 E)
	Staff and II./KG 26 , I./KG 53	72 combat aircraft (72 Heinkel He 111H)
	Stab, I., II. And III./KG 27	113 combat aircraft (113 Heinkel He 111P)
	II. And III./StG 2 , IV./LG 1 , 4./TrG 186	131 dive combat aircraft (122 Junkers Ju 87B , 9 Dornier Do 17P)
	I. and II./ZG 1, I. (J) / LG 2	122 destroyer aircraft (32 Messerschmitt Bf 110C , 90 Messerschmitt Bf 109E )
Air Force Command East Prussia	1st relay of the long-range reconnaissance group 120	12 reconnaissance aircraft (12 Dornier Do 17P)
	Staff, II. And III./KG 3	86 combat aircraft (86 Dornier Do 17Z)
	I./StG 1	41 dive fighters (38 Junkers Ju 87B, 3 Dornier Do 17P)
Air Force Training Division	4th Squadron of Remote Reconnaissance Group 121	12 reconnaissance aircraft (12 Dornier Do 17P / F)
	Staff, II. And III./LG 1	87 combat aircraft (87 Heinkel He 111H)
	Staff, I. and II./KG 2	84 combat aircraft (48 Dornier Do 17Z, 36 Dornier Do 17M)
	I./LG 1	33 destroyer aircraft (33 Messerschmitt Bf 110C)
Luftgaukommando I	I./JG 1	46 fighters (46 Messerschmitt Bf 109E)
	I./JG 21	39 fighters (39 Messerschmitt Bf 109D)
Luftgaukommando III	Staff, I. and 10./JG 2	53 fighters (44 Messerschmitt Bf 109E, 9 Messerschmitt Bf 109D)
Luftgaukommando IV	Staff and I./JG 3	47 fighters (47 Messerschmitt Bf 109E)
	I./JG 20	37 fighters (37 Messerschmitt Bf 109E)

Air fleet 4

• Commander in Chief: General der Flieger Alexander Löhr
• Chief of the General Staff: Colonel Günther Korten
• Area of ​​responsibility: Area of ​​Army Group South
• Actual strength: 598 aircraft (35 reconnaissance planes, 303 fighter planes, 83 dive fighter planes, 78 destroyer planes, 99 fighter planes)

directly subordinated	3rd Squadron of Remote Reconnaissance Group 123	12 reconnaissance aircraft (12 Dornier Do 17P)
	Weather investigation relay 76
2nd Air Division	3rd Squadron of Remote Reconnaissance Group 122	12 reconnaissance aircraft (12 Dornier Do 17 P)
	Staff, I., II. And III./KG 4	96 combat aircraft (96 Heinkel He 111P)
	Staff, I. and III./KG 76	84 combat aircraft (84 Dornier Do 17Z)
	Stab, I., II. And III./KG 77	123 warplanes (123 Dornier Do 17E)
	I./StG 2	41 dive fighters (38 Junkers Ju 87B, 3 Dornier Do 17P)
	I./ZG 76	33 destroyer aircraft (33 Messerschmitt Bf 110C)
Pilot zbV	1st Squadron of Remote Reconnaissance Group 124	11 reconnaissance aircraft (11 Dornier Do 17P)
	Staff I. and II./StG 77 , I./StG 76	1 dive combat aircraft (90 Junkers Ju 87B, 6 Dornier Do 17P)
	I./ZG 2	45 destroyer aircraft (45 Messerschmitt Bf 109B)
	Staff and II./LG 2	42 dive combat aircraft (39 Henschel Hs 123 , 3 Messerschmitt Bf 109E)
Air District Command VIII	I./JG 76	51 fighters (51 Messerschmitt Bf 109E)
	I./JG 77	48 fighters (48 Messerschmitt Bf 109E)
Luftgaukommando XVII

Navy

Marine Group Command East

• Commander in Chief: General Admiral Conrad Albrecht
• Chief of Staff: Rear Admiral Hubert Schmundt
• First Admiral Staff Officer: Captain Otto Fein

directly subordinated	Ship of the line Silesia
	Ship of the line Schleswig-Holstein
	1st speedboat flotilla	Schnellboats S 11, S 12, S 18, S 19, S 20, S 21, S 22, S 23, escort ship Tsingtau
Commander of the Reconnaissance Forces	Light cruiser Nuremberg	To protect the destroyer divisions
	Light cruiser Leipzig
	Light cruiser Cologne
Guide of the torpedo boats	1st Destroyer Division	Destroyer Z 1 , Z 2 , Z 4
	3rd Destroyer Division	Destroyer Z 14 , Z 15 , Z 16
	6th Destroyer Division	Destroyer Z 8 , Z 9 , Z 10 , Z 11
Leader of the minesweepers east	Torpedo boat T 196	Guide boat
	Escort flotilla	Fleet companion F 7, F 8, F 9, F 10
	Lock attempt command (SVK)	M-Boot Nautilus , M-Boot Otto Braun , M-Boot Pelikan , M-Boot Arkona , M-Boot Sundewall , from the 1st minesweeping flotilla: M 111, M 132
	3rd clearing boat flotilla	Clearance boats R 33, R 34, R 35, R 36, R 38, R 39, R 40, escort ship Von der Groeben
	1st minesweeping flotilla	Minesweepers M 1 , M 3, M 4, M 5, M 7, M 8
Guide of the submarines	Submarine boats U 5 , U 6 , U 7 , U 14 , U 18 , U 22 , U 31 , U 32 , U 35 , U 57	Submarine class II
Leader of the Sea Air Force East	Coastal Aviation Group 506	12 Heinkel He 60 , 12 Heinkel He 59
	Coastal Aviation Group 706	12 Heinkel He 60, 12 Heinkel He 59
	5th squadron of the flight group 196	12 Heinkel He 60

See also

• Schematic war organization of the Wehrmacht on May 10, 1940
• Schematic war organization of the Wehrmacht on April 6, 1941
• Schematic war organization of the Wehrmacht on June 22, 1941
• Schematic war organization of the Wehrmacht on June 6, 1944

literature

• Robert Forczyk : Case White: The Invasion of Poland 1939 . Bloomsbury Publishing , 2019, p. 360 ff.
• Horst Rohde: The German Reich and the Second World War . Hitler's first blitzkrieg and its effects on Northeast Europe , Volume 2, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 3-421-01935-5 .

Web links

• German Army Order of Battle, September 1, 1939 on niehorster.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Rohde, p. 103.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Thomas L. Jentz : Die deutsche Panzertruppe, Volume 1 , Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, ISBN 3-7909-0623-9 , p. 91.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Thomas L. Jentz: Die deutsche Panzertruppe, Volume 1 , Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, ISBN 3-7909-0623-9 , p. 90.
4. ^ Bernhard R. Kroener : The German Empire and the Second World War. The human resources of the Third Reich in the field of tension between the Wehrmacht, bureaucracy and the war economy 1939–1942 , Volume 5/1, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-421-06232-3 , p. 719.
5. ^ Bernhard R. Kroener: The German Empire and the Second World War. The human resources of the Third Reich in the field of tension between the Wehrmacht, bureaucracy and the war economy 1939–1942 , Volume 5/1, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-421-06232-3 , p. 718.
6. ^ Bernhard R. Kroener: The German Empire and the Second World War. The human resources of the Third Reich in the field of tension between the Wehrmacht, bureaucracy and the war economy 1939–1942 , Volume 5/1, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-421-06232-3 , p. 715.
7. ↑ Geirr H. Haarr: The Gathering Storm: The Naval War in Northern Europe September 1939 - April 1940 . Seaforth Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-1-84832-140-3 , pp. 467 ( google.de [accessed June 9, 2020]).
8. ^ Reinhart Ostertag: German minesweepers: 80 years of anti-sea mine defense . Koehler, 1986, ISBN 978-3-7822-0394-4 , pp. 65 ( google.de [accessed on June 9, 2020]).
9. ↑ Leader of the Sea Air Force East, German Air Force, 09/01/39. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .