Military career of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler's military service | |
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Allegiance |
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Service/ | |
Years of service | 1914–1920 |
Rank | Gefreiter |
Unit | 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment |
Battles/wars |
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Awards |
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The military career of Adolf Hitler, who was the dictator of Germany from 1933 until 1945, can be divided into two distinct portions of his life. Mainly, the period during World War I when Hitler served as a Gefreiter (lance corporal[A 1]) in the Bavarian Army, and the era of World War II when he served as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) through his position as Führer of Nazi Germany.
History
First World War
In
He was 25 years old in August 1914, when
During the war, Hitler served in France and Belgium in the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 (1st Company of the List Regiment).[7][5] Hitler considered the war the best years of his life.[8] He was described by other soldiers as aloof, quiet, and a loner, never receiving mail from home, but regularly reading pamphlets and literature.[8] Hitler often expressed outrage at his fellow soldiers visiting French prostitutes, both for their nationality as well as the immorality of the act.[8] However, despite them considering him odd, Hitler was liked and accepted by his peers.[8]
He was an infantryman in the 1st Company during the First Battle of Ypres (October 1914), which Germans remember as the Kindermord bei Ypern (Ypres Massacre of the Innocents) because approximately 40,000 men (between a third and a half, many of them university students) of nine newly enlisted infantry divisions became casualties in the first twenty days. Hitler's regiment entered the battle with 3,600 men but at its end mustered only 611 men.[9] By December, Hitler's own company of 250 was reduced to 42. Biographer John Keegan claims that this experience drove Hitler to become aloof and withdrawn for the remaining years of war.[10] After the battle, Hitler was promoted from Schütze (private) to Gefreiter (lance corporal). He was assigned to be a regimental message-runner.[11][12]
Some have regarded this assignment as "a relatively safe job", because regimental headquarters was often several miles behind the front.[13] According to Thomas Weber, earlier historians of the period had not distinguished between regimental runners, who were based away from the front "in relative comfort", and company, or battalion runners, who moved among the trenches and were more often under fire.[13]
Messengers' duties changed as the German Army on the Western Front settled into their defensive positions as a result of the ongoing stalemate. Fewer messages went by foot or bicycle and more by telephone. Hitler's circle of comrades also served at headquarters. They laughed at "Adi" for his aversion to smutty stories, and traded their jam rations for his tobacco.[A 2]
In early 1915, Lance Corporal Hitler adopted a stray dog he named Fuchsl (Little Fox), who was taught many tricks and became his companion. Hitler described him as a "proper circus dog". In August 1917 the List Regiment transferred to a quiet sector of the front in Alsace. During the journey, both Fuchsl and Hitler's portfolio of sketches and paintings were stolen.[15] Hitler, though heartbroken by his loss, did take his first leave, which consisted of an 18-day visit to Berlin where he stayed with the family of a comrade.[16]
The List Regiment fought in many battles, including the
At the
During the Battle of the Somme in October 1916 Hitler received a wound in his left thigh when a shell exploded at the entrance to the dispatch runners' dugout.[23] He begged not to be evacuated,[citation needed] but was sent for almost two months to the Red Cross hospital at Beelitz in Brandenburg. Thereafter, he was ordered to the depot in Munich. He wrote to his commanding officer, Hauptmann Fritz Wiedemann, asking that he be recalled to the regiment because he could not tolerate Munich when he knew his comrades were at the Front.[24] Wiedemann arranged for Hitler's return to his regiment on 5 March 1917.[16]
On 15 October 1918, he and several comrades were temporarily blinded—and according to
On 19 November 1918, Hitler was discharged from the Pasewalk hospital and returned to Munich. Arriving on 21 November, he was assigned to 7th Company of the 1st Replacement Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Regiment. In December he was reassigned to a Prisoner of War camp in Traunstein as a guard.[31] There he would stay until the camp dissolved January 1919.[A 4]
He returned to Munich and spent a few months in barracks waiting for reassignment. Munich, then part of the People's State of Bavaria, was in a state of chaos with a number of assassinations occurring, including that of socialist Kurt Eisner[A 5] who was shot dead in Munich by a German nationalist on 21 February 1919. His rival Erhard Auer was also wounded in an attack. Other acts of violence were the killings of both Major Paul Ritter von Jahreiß and the conservative MP Heinrich Osel. In this political turmoil, Berlin sent in the military – called the "White Guards of Capitalism" by the communists. On 3 April 1919, Hitler was elected as the liaison of his military battalion and again on 15 April. During this time he urged his unit to stay out of the fighting and not join either side.[32] The Bavarian Soviet Republic was officially crushed on 6 May 1919, when Lt. General Burghard von Oven and his military forces declared the city secure. In the aftermath of arrests and executions, Hitler denounced a fellow liaison, Georg Dufter, as a Soviet "radical rabble-rouser."[33] Other testimony he gave to the military board of inquiry allowed them to root out other members of the military that "had been infected with revolutionary fervor."[34] For his anti-communist views he was allowed to avoid discharge when his unit was disbanded in May 1919.[35]
Army intelligence agent
In June 1919 he was moved to the demobilization office of the 2nd Infantry Regiment.[A 6] Around this time the German military command released an edict that the army's main priority was to "carry out, in conjunction with the police, stricter surveillance of the population ... so that the ignition of any new unrest can be discovered and extinguished."[33] In May 1919 Karl Mayr became commander of the 6th Battalion of the guards regiment in Munich and from 30 May as head of the "Education and Propaganda Department" (Dept Ib/P) of the Bavarian Reichswehr, Headquarters 4.[36] In this capacity as head of the intelligence department, Mayr recruited Hitler as an undercover agent in early June 1919. Under Captain Mayr, "national thinking" courses were arranged at the Reichswehrlager Lechfeld near Augsburg,[36] with Hitler attending from 10 to 19 July. These courses were primarily designed to educate on German history, the course of the War, and to stem the spread of Bolshevism.[37] During this time Hitler impressed Mayr. Hitler himself realised during these courses that he had a particular oratory strength, regularly making anti-Semitic speeches.[37] He assigned Hitler to an anti-bolshevik "educational commando" as 1 of 26 instructors in the summer of 1919.[38][39][40][A 7]
As an appointed Verbindungsmann (intelligence agent) of an Aufklärungskommando (reconnaissance commando) of the Reichswehr, Hitler's job was to influence other soldiers and to
Rearmament
Six days after being sworn in as Chancellor in 1933, Hitler met with the German military leaders, declaring that his first priority was rearmament.
On 1 August 1934, a new law stated that on
Hitler guided the steps of their rearmament, thanks to his retentive memory and interest in technical questions. General Alfred Jodl wrote that Hitler's "astounding technical and tactical vision led him also to become the creator of modern weaponry for the army".[50] He hammered home arguments by reciting long passages from Frederick the Great and other military thinkers. "Although the generals might at times refer to Hitler as a 'facile amateur', he was so far as an understanding of military history and weapons technology went, better educated and equipped than most of them."[51] On 4 February 1938, after Blomberg's disgrace and retirement, Hitler announced in a decree: "From henceforth I exercise personally the immediate command over the whole armed forces."[52] He abolished the War Ministry and took Blomberg's other title, Commander-in-Chief, for himself. By that year's end, the army had more than 1 million men and 25,000 officers.
World War II
In his speech of 1 September 1939 at Kroll Opera House following the invasion of Poland, Hitler declared: "From now on I am just the first soldier of the German Reich. [A 8] I have once more put on the coat that was most sacred and dear to me. I will not take it off again until victory is secured, or I will not survive the outcome."[53] From then on, he began wearing a grey military jacket with a swastika eagle sewn on the upper left sleeve. Throughout the war, the only military decorations Hitler displayed were his Wound Badge and Iron Cross from World War I and the Nazi Golden Party Badge. Hitler's position in World War II was essentially supreme commander of the German Armed Forces (Oberbefehlshaber der Deutschen Wehrmacht).
After ordering the preparations for the attack on Poland, he scrutinised all the staff prepared for the first three days of operations down to the regimental level. He rewrote the plans for the capture of a crucial bridge, making them much bolder.
By 1938, Hitler had started becoming obsessed with his life mission and became convinced of his own infallibility. He stopped listening to counter-opinions and became overconfident in his own political moves and military expertise following the early victories.[56] Hitler deepened his involvement in the war effort by appointing himself commander-in-chief of the German Army (Heer) in December 1941; thus taking a direct operational posting usually held by a full German general. From this point forward he personally directed the war against the Soviet Union, while his military commanders facing the Western Allies retained a degree of autonomy.[57] Hitler's leadership became increasingly disconnected from reality as the war turned against Germany, with the military's defensive strategies often hindered by his slow decision making and frequent directives to hold untenable positions. Nevertheless, he continued to believe that only his leadership could deliver victory.[58] In the final months of the war Hitler refused to consider peace negotiations, regarding the destruction of Germany as preferable to surrender.[59] The military did not challenge Hitler's dominance of the war effort, and senior officers generally supported and enacted his decisions.[60] By 22 April 1945, when he finally acknowledged that the war was lost, Hitler told Generals Wilhelm Keitel and Jodl that he had no further orders to give.[61]
Awards and decorations
Decorations from World War I
- Iron Cross, Second Class – 2 December 1914[20]
- Bavarian Cross of Military Merit, Third Class with Swords– 17 September 1917
- Regimental Diploma (Regiment "List") – 5 May 1918
- Wound Badge in Black – 18 May 1918[62]
- Iron Cross, First Class – 4 August 1918[20]
- Bavarian Medal of Military Service, Third Class – 25 August 1918
- Cross of Honor with Swords – 13 July 1934 (retroactively awarded to all war veterans)
After the end of the war, the only decorations Hitler regularly wore were the Wound Badge and First Class Iron Cross. Of the Nazi Party badges, the Golden Party Badge number '1' was the only one he wore on a regular basis.[63]
Notes
- ^ As a gefreiter, Hitler wore one stripe on his uniform, the rank being the result of his sole promotion, from his initial rank of private. Most English-language sources refer to Hitler as "lance corporal" or "corporal", while occasionally a source – such as Volker Ullrich in his biography of Hitler, in the English translation from German by Jefferson Chase – chose to use "private first class" or "private".[1][2]
- ^ Two of them joined him in 1940 after the victory over France and the Low Countries for a nostalgic tour of their old haunts in Flanders.[14]
- ISBN 9783453033856. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
Frage: Warum ist dieser 'Führer' viereinhalb Kriegsjahre lang ewig nur Gefreiter geblieben? Es war Mangel an Unteroffizieren; trotzdem sagte sein Kompanieführer: 'Diesen Hysteriker mache ich niemals zum Unteroffizier!' [Question: Why did this 'Fuehrer' remain a mere Lance-Corporal for four and a half long years of war? There was a shortage of non-commissioned officers; nevertheless his company commander said: 'I will never make this hysterical man a non-com!']
- POW camp to the East, near the Austrian border. The prisoners were Russian, and Hitler had volunteered for the posting. Shirer 1960, p. 34; Toland 1976, p. xx.
- Wittelsbach monarchy in Bavariain November 1918, which led to his being described as "the symbol of the Bavarian revolution".
- ^ John Toland suggests that Hitler's assignment to this department was partially a reward for his "exemplary" service in the front lines, and partially because the responsible officer felt sorry for Hitler as having no friends, but being very willing to do whatever the army required. Toland 1976, p. xx.
- ^ Apparently someone in an army "educational session" had made a remark that Hitler deemed "pro-Jewish" and Hitler reacted with characteristic ferocity. Shirer states that Hitler had attracted the attention of a right-wing university professor who was engaged to educate enlisted men in "proper" political belief, and that the professor's recommendation to an officer resulted in Hitler's advancement. Shirer 1960, p. 35. "I was offered the opportunity of speaking before a larger audience; and ... it was now corroborated: I could 'speak.' No task could make me happier than this; ... I was able to perform useful services to ... the army. ... [I]n ... my lectures I led many hundreds ... of comrades back to their people and fatherland." Hitler 1999, pp. 215–216.
- ^ Erster Soldat des Deutschen Reiches – a self-claimed rank, equivalent of Generalissimo
References
- ^ O'Donnell 1978, p. 48.
- ^ Ullrich 2016, p. 56.
- ^ a b Shirer 1960, p. 27.
- ^ Weber 2010, p. 16.
- ^ a b Kershaw 1998, p. 90.
- ^ Evans 2003, pp. 163–164.
- ^ Weber 2010, pp. 12–13.
- ^ The Great Courses. Event occurs at 17:20-18:30. Archivedfrom the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ Solleder 1932.
- ^ Keegan 1987, p. 239.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 53–54.
- ^ Weber 2010, p. 100.
- ^ a b c Alberge 2010
- ^ Kershaw 2000, p. 299.
- ^ Joachimsthaler, A. (1989) Korrektur einer Biographie. Adolf Hitler 1908–1920, München:Herbig, pp. 141–144
- ^ a b Kershaw 2008, p. 58.
- ^ Shirer 1960, p. 30.
- ^ Weber 2010, p. 156.
- ^ Solleder 1932, p. 114.
- ^ a b c Bullock 1962, pp. 52–53.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 59.
- ^ Meyer, A. (1934) Mit Adolf Hitler im Bayr. R.I.R. 16 List, Neustat-Aisch: Georg Apperle
- ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 57.
- ^ Langer 1972, pp. 135–136.
- ^ Langer 1972, p. 136.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 59–60.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 60, 62.
- ^ The Great Courses. Event occurs at 18:30-19:30. Archivedfrom the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ Langer 1972, p. 37.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 64.
- ^ Ullrich 2016, p. 75.
- ^ Ullrich 2016, p. 79.
- ^ a b Ullrich 2016, p. 80.
- ^ Mitchell 2013, p. 37.
- ^ Shirer 1960, p. 34.
- ^ a b Kershaw 2008, pp. 72–74.
- ^ The Great Courses. Event occurs at 20:00-22:00. Archivedfrom the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ Rees 2012, pp. 17–18.
- ^ Ullrich 2016, p. 82.
- ^ Shirer 1960, p. 35.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 82.
- ^ Stackelberg 2007, p. 9.
- ^ Kershaw 1998, p. 441.
- ^ Messerschmidt, M. (1969). Die Wehrmacht im NS-staat. Zeit der indoctrination, Hamburg:Decker's Verlag, pp. 18–47
- ^ Schoenbaum, D.(1967). Hitler's social revolution. Class and Status in Nazi Germany 1933–1939, London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, p. 68
- ^ O'Neill, R. J. (1966). The German Army and the Nazi Party, 1933–1939, London: Cassell, p. 65
- ^ Shirer, W.S. (1941). Berlin Diary, London: Hamish Hamilton, p. 346
- ^ Strawson 1971, p. 43.
- ^ Rosinski, H. (1939). The German Army, London: Hogarth Press, p. 237
- ^ Schramm 1972, p. 104.
- ^ Strawson 1971, p. 51.
- ^ Strawson 1971, p. 66.
- ^ Stein 2002, p. 26.
- ^ Strawson 1971, p. 92.
- ^ Schramm 1972, p. 148.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 420, 446–447, 559–561, 571.
- ^ Kershaw 2012, pp. 169–170.
- ^ Overy 2005, pp. 421–425.
- ^ Kershaw 2012, pp. 396–397.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 171–395, 569.
- ^ Strawson 1971, p. 226.
- ^ Steiner 1976, p. 392.
- ^ Angolia 1989, p. 183.
Sources
- Alberge, Dalya (16 August 2010). "Adolf Hitler a war hero? Anything but, said first world war comrades". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- Angolia, John (1989). For Führer and Fatherland: Political & Civil Awards of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 978-0-912-13816-9.
- ISBN 978-0-14-013564-0.
- ISBN 978-0-14-303469-8.
- ISBN 978-0-395-92503-4.
- ISBN 978-0-7126-6526-1.
- ISBN 0-713-99047-3.
- ISBN 0-713-99229-8.
- Kershaw, Ian (2008). Hitler: A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06757-6.
- Kershaw, Ian (2012). The End: Hitler's Germany, 1944–45 (Paperback ed.). London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-101421-0.
- ISBN 978-0-465-04620-1.
- Mitchell, Otis C. (2013). Hitler's Stormtroopers and the Attack on the German Republic, 1919-1933. McFarland. ISBN 9780786477296.
- ISBN 0-395-25719-0.
- ISBN 978-0-19-280670-3.
- ISBN 9780307377296.
- Schramm, Percy E. (1972). Hitler. The Man and the Military Leader. London: Allen Lane The Penguin Press.
- ISBN 978-0-671-62420-0.
- Solleder, Fridolin (1932). Vier Jahre Westfront. Geschichte des Regiments List R. J. R. 16. München: Verlag Max Schrift.
- Stackelberg, Roderick (2007). The Routledge Companion to Nazi Germany. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-30860-1.
- Stein, George (2002) [1966]. The Waffen-SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War 1939–1945. Cerberus Publishing. ISBN 978-1841451008. Archivedfrom the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ISBN 978-90-279-7651-2.
- Strawson, John (1971). Hitler as Military Commander. London: B. T. Bastford.
- ISBN 978-0-385-03724-2.
- ISBN 9780385354394.
- Weber, Thomas (2010). Hitler's First War. New York: ISBN 978-0-19-923320-5.
Further reading
- Eberle, Henrik (2014). Hitlers Weltkriege: Wie der Gefreite zum Feldherrn wurde [Hitler's world wars: How the private became a military commander]. Hoffman und Campe Verlag. ISBN 978-3455502657.
- Fritz, Stephen G. (2020). The First Soldier: Hitler as Military Leader. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300251463.
- Pyta, Wolfram (2015). Hitler. Der Künstler als Politiker und Feldherr [Hitler. The artist as politician and military commander]. Munich: Siedler Verlag. ISBN 978-3-641-15701-2.
- Riecker, Joachim (2009). Hitlers 9. November: Wie der Erste Weltkrieg zum Holocaust führte [Hitler's 9 November: How World War I led to the Holocaust]. WJS. ISBN 978-3937989570.