Cannabis Sativa October 12, 2016October 12, 2016 thcscience_admin You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reason: You can view and copy the source of this page:== Origin == ===Etymology=== The German term ''"Wehrmacht''" stems from the compound word of {{lang-de|wehren}}, "to defend" and {{lang|de|Macht}}, "power, force".{{efn|See [[wikt:Wehrmacht#German|the Wiktionary article]] for more information.}} It has been used to describe any nation's armed forces; for example, {{lang|de|Britische Wehrmacht}} meaning "British Armed Forces". The [[Frankfurt Constitution]] of 1849 designated all German military forces as the "German ''Wehrmacht''", consisting of the {{lang|de|Seemacht}} (sea force) and the {{lang|de|Landmacht}} (land force).{{sfn|Huber|2000}} In 1919, the term ''Wehrmacht'' also appears in Article 47 of the [[Weimar Constitution]], establishing that: "The Reich's President holds supreme command of all armed forces [i.e. the ''Wehrmacht''] of the Reich". From 1919, Germany's national defense force was known as the {{lang|de|[[Reichswehr]]}}, a name that was dropped in favor of ''Wehrmacht'' on 21 May 1935.{{sfn|Strohn|2010|p=10}} While the term ''Wehrmacht'' has been associated, both in the German and English languages, with the German armed forces of 1935–45 since the Second World War, before 1945 the term was used in the German language in a more general sense for a national defense force. For instance, the German-aligned formations of Poles raised during the First World War were known as the ''[[Polnische Wehrmacht]]'' ('Polish Wehrmacht', 'Polish Defense Force') in German. === Background === [[File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-16108,_Vereidigung_von_Reichswehr-Soldaten_auf_Hitler.jpg|alt=|thumb|253x253px|''Reichswehr'' soldiers swearing the [[Hitler oath]] in August 1934]] In January 1919, after [[World War I]] ended with the signing of the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|armistice of 11 November 1918]], the armed forces were dubbed {{lang|de|Friedensheer}} (peace army).{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|p=60}} In March 1919, the national assembly passed a law founding a 420,000-strong preliminary army, the {{lang|de|Vorläufige Reichswehr}}. The terms of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] were announced in May, and in June, Germany signed the treaty that, among other terms, imposed severe constraints on the size of Germany's armed forces. The army was limited to one hundred thousand men with an additional fifteen thousand in the navy. The fleet was to consist of at most six [[battleship]]s, six [[cruiser]]s, and twelve [[destroyer]]s. [[Submarine]]s, [[tank]]s and heavy [[artillery]] were forbidden and the air-force was dissolved. A new post-war military, the ''[[Reichswehr]]'', was established on 23 March 1921. [[Conscription|General conscription]] was abolished under another mandate of the Versailles treaty.{{sfn|Craig|1980|pp=424–432}} The ''Reichswehr'' was limited to 115,000 men, and thus the armed forces, under the leadership of [[Hans von Seeckt]], retained only the most capable officers. The American historians Alan Millet and [[Williamson Murray]] wrote "In reducing the officers corps, Seeckt chose the new leadership from the best men of the general staff with ruthless disregard for other constituencies, such as war heroes and the nobility."{{sfn|Murray|Millett|2001|p=22}} Seeckt's determination that the ''Reichswehr'' be an elite cadre force that would serve as the nucleus of an expanded military when the chance for restoring conscription came essentially led to the creation of a new army, based upon, but very different from, the army that existed in World War I.{{sfn|Murray|Millett|2001|p=22}} In the 1920s, Seeckt and his officers developed new doctrines that emphasized speed, aggression, combined arms and initiative on the part of lower officers to take advantage of momentary opportunities.{{sfn|Murray|Millett|2001|p=22}} Though Seeckt retired in 1926, his influence on the army was still apparent when it went to war in 1939.{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|p=22}} Germany was forbidden to have an air force by the Versailles treaty; nonetheless, Seeckt created a clandestine cadre of air force officers in the early 1920s. These officers saw the role of an air force as winning air superiority, strategic bombing, and close air support. That the ''Luftwaffe'' did not develop a strategic bombing force in the 1930s was not due to a lack of interest, but because of economic limitations.{{sfn|Murray|Millett|2001|p=33}} The leadership of the Navy led by Grand Admiral [[Erich Raeder]], a close protégé of [[Alfred von Tirpitz]], was dedicated to the idea of reviving Tirpitz's High Seas Fleet. Officers who believed in submarine warfare led by Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] were in a minority before 1939.{{sfn|Murray|Millett|2001|p=37}} By 1922, Germany had begun covertly circumventing the conditions of the Versailles treaty. A secret collaboration with the [[Soviet Union]] began after the [[Treaty of Rapallo (1922)|Treaty of Rapallo]].{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|p=131}} Major-General [[Otto Hasse (General)|Otto Hasse]] traveled to Moscow in 1923 to further negotiate the terms. Germany helped the Soviet Union with industrialization and Soviet officers were to be trained in Germany. German tank and air-force specialists could exercise in the Soviet Union and German chemical weapons research and manufacture would be carried out there along with other projects.{{sfn|Zeidler|2006|pp=106–111}} In 1924 a [[Lipetsk fighter-pilot school|fighter-pilot school]] was established at [[Lipetsk]], where several hundred German air force personnel received instruction in operational maintenance, navigation, and aerial combat training over the next decade until the Germans finally left in September 1933.{{sfn|Cooper|1981|pp=382–383}} However, the arms buildup was done in secrecy, until Hitler came to power and it received broad political support.{{sfn|Müller|2016|p=10}} Return to Wehrmacht.