The
Feldgendarmerie ( ) were the
military police units of the armies of the
German Empire (including the
Wehrmacht) from the mid 19th Century until the conclusion of
World War II.
Early history
Early incarnations of the Feldgendarmerie came into being on an ad-hoc basis through mobilizations of the Germany army as a whole, most notably in the wars of 1866 and 1870. At the outbreak of the
First World War the Feldgendarmerie comprised 33 companies. They each had 60 men and two NCOs. By 1918, the number of companies had been expanded to115 units.
After World War I all military police units were disbanded and no police units existed in the post-war Weimar Republic. Garrison areas were patrolled by regular soldiers functioning as military police.
Nazi Germany
with a
Wehrmacht uniform]]
When
Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933,
Feldgendarmerie were reintroduced into the
Wehrmacht. The new units received full infantry training and were given extensive police powers. A military police school was set up at
Potsdam, near
Berlin to train
Feldgendarmerie personnel. Subjects included Criminal code, general and special police powers, reporting duties, passport and identification law, weapons drill, self-defence techniques, criminal police methodology, and general administration.
All prospective candidates served at a Feldgendarmerie command after the first term of examinations. Courses lasted one year and failure rates were high: in 1935 only 89 soldiers graduated from an initial intake of 219 candidates. Feldgendarmerie were employed within army divisions and as self-contained units under the command of an army corps. They often worked in close cooperation with the Geheime Feldpolizei (), district commanders and SS and Police Leaders.
World War II
Operations
, July 1941. The sign says "Partisan danger ahead. Single vehicles Stop! Hold weapons ready.".]]
Until 1943, the
Feldgendarmerie units were generally given occupation duties in territories controlled by the
Wehrmacht. Their missions, to police the areas behind the front lines, ranged from straightforward traffic control and population control to suppression and execution of partisans and the apprehension of enemy stragglers.
When combat units moved out of a region, control was then transferred to the occupation authorities under the control of the Nazi Party and SS. The Feldgendarmerie role would formally end as the fronts moved forward. But Feldgendarmerie units are known to have assisted the SS in committing numerous war crimes in occupied areas. Author Anthony Beevor explores some well-documented cases of their participation in his book Stalingrad.
But as the tide of war changed for Nazi Germany, the Feldgendarmerie became more popularly known by the pejorative Kettenhunde () for the gorget they wore with their uniforms. Many ordinary soldiers deemed to be deserters were summarily executed by Feldgendarmerie units. The arbitrary and brutal policing of soldiers gave them the other nickname Heldenklau () because they screened refugees and hospital transports for potential deserters with orders to kill suspected malingerers. Rear-echelon personnel would also be checked for passes that permitted them to be away from the front.
The Feldgendarmerie also administered the Strafbattalion () which were Wehrmacht punishment units created for soldiers convicted by court martial and sentenced to a deferred execution. During the final days of the war, as the Third Reich crumbled, recruits or soldiers who committed even the slightest infraction were sent to Strafbatallions.
Organization
on the
Eastern Front in June 1943.]]
The
Feldgendarmerie was under the direct control of the German High Command O.K.H (
Oberkommando des Heeres). A
Feldgendarmerie General Major , who was in charge of all
Feldgendarmerie personnel attached to the Wehrmacht, was directly subordinated to the
Generalquartiermeister. He was responsible for postings and personal administration, monitoring the performance of the police units, allocation of tasks, traffic regulations and training. His immediate subordinate was a staff officer attached to each Oberkommando Army who commanded the one or more
Feldgendarmerie battalions attached to each Wehrmacht formation. The staff officer was responsible for maintaining order and discipline, traffic control during large scale troop movements and maintaining transport routes. Each Feldgendarmerie battalion also had support personnel such as cooks, clerks, and armourers.
A battalion was subdivided into smaller-sized Truppen which were attached to each division or corps. A Gruppe, a section sized unit, were then assigned to specific field or local commands. Feldgendarmerie sections would also be temporarily assigned to special operations, such as anti-partisan duties. A typical "trupp" attached to an Infantry or Panzer Division would have up to three officers, 41 NCO's and 20 enlisted men. They would operate in Kubelwagens, trucks and motorcycles (with sidecars).
Equipment
These battalions were equipped with motorcycles and motorcycle combinations which were armed with MG34 machine guns,
Kubelwagens, Field cars such as the
Horch 4x4 and 3 ton
Opel Blitz lorries and a small number of armoured vehicles as a means of transport.
Weapons
Personal weapons consisted of small arms such as the
Walther PP which was designed as a civilian police pistol (PP-Police Pistole) or the
Walther PPK both of which were favoured by officers whereas the
Luger PO8 and
Walther P38 were used by other ranks. Automatic
machine pistols were carried by NCOs and the
Mauser Karabiner 98k rifle was issued but was not widely used. The
MG34 and
MG42 were used as vehicle mounted armament for defending road blocks or vehicle checkpoints.
Postwar reorganization
of the
Feldjägers is the
Prussian
Gardestern Schwarzen Adlerordens (The order of the black eagle) created by
Frederick I of Prussia.]] With the creation of the
Bundeswehr in
1955, many of its branches of service were given names that would at least nominally distinguish them from their logical
Wehrmacht equivalents. Thus, military police in the modern
Bundeswehr were not called
Feldgendarmerie. In fact, the original intent was to call the MPs
Militärpolizei, literally military police. However, state officials protested as the law enforcement function in the brand new German constitution had been given primarily to the states, not the federation. The word
Polizei (Police) was jealously guarded by the states, so the Federal Defence Ministry searched for a new designation and adopted
Feldjäger which was a traditional
Prussian regiment with some military police type functions.
See also
Feldjägerkorps
Strafbattalion
External links
An independent historian's page on the history of the German Feldgendarmerie and Feldjäger
Notes
Category:Defunct law enforcement agencies of Germany
Category:Military of Germany
Category:Defunct military provosts
Category:Gendarmerie
