1. Introduction
As has been shown, the Home Command in wartime is responsible for the replacement of personnel, the procurement of equipment, and territorial administration and defense. Most of these functions are exercised through the regional corps areas, which are the permanent basis for the organization and administration of the German Army. It is these functions which are discussed in this section.
A few functions of the Home Command are performed on a basis other than the territorial one of corps areas and are not included here. By far the most important of these is the procurement, acceptance, storage, and issue of ordnance materiel, which is handled by the Army Ordnance Office and the Ordnance Inspectorate operating through their own regional organization; this function is discussed in detail in Chapter VI below. Other types of supplies, with the exception of gasoline and lubricants, are administered by the corps areas after procurement policies have been established by the High Command.
2. Corps Area Responsibilities
The functions of the corps area headquarters in wartime may be divided into those which it performs as a territorial command and those which accrue to it as the deputy headquarters of a peacetime army corps which is now in the field. As a territorial command it is responsible to the Armed Forces High Command and has responsibilities affecting all three branches of the Armed Forces; in this capacity it is officially referred to as Corps Area Headquarters … (Wehrkreiskommando … ). In its other capacity it is under the Army High Command alone and is referred to as Deputy Headquarters of the ... Army Corps (Stellvertretendes Generalkommando … Armeekorps); as such it is responsible for the replacement training system for all the field units which are affiliated with it.
The following are the principal responsibilities of this combined headquarters:
Conscription of manpower, carried out through a system of conscription offices. (See Section VI of this chapter below.) Training, conducted in training units which come under controlling staffs of regimental and division status and in military schools. (See Section VI.) Replacement of personnel for the affiliated field units and formation of new units. (See Section VI.)
Local defense is provided for, in the first instance, by static units of various types, particularly the local defense battalions (Landesschützen-Bataillone), local construction units (Landesbaupioniere), and river guard units (Landespioniere). Such units are controlled by a special administrative division staff (Divisions-Kommando z.b.V.), of which one was set up in each corps area early in the war. They provide guards for vital installations and for prisoner of war camps and furnish personnel for local garrison battalions (Standortbataillone) and companies. In case of emergency the corps area commander has extraordinary powers over civilian agencies as well as the military units and installations in his territory; he may then, for example, issue orders to the provincial and local authorities, commandeer transport and supplies, and take any other steps necessary until outside help arrives.
Any General Headquarters units of the Field Army which are temporarily stationed in the corps area are controlled by the corps area headquarters through its special administrative division staff (Div. Kdo. z.b.V.) or other appropriate command channel.
Auditing of the accounts of all field units affiliated with the corps area is another responsibility.
All military personnel, regardless of their own unit affiliation, are subject to the curfews and other disciplinary regulations issued by the local garrison commander within the corps area. These regulations are enforced by a patrol service maintained by the corps area headquarters as well as by the garrison headquarters. In all territorial matters the corps area commander has a large degree of autonomy. He allots units to garrisons and determines the areas controlled by the garrison commanders. He also controls the Corps Area Administration (Wehrkreisverwaltung) and its subordinate administrative offices so far as their activity concerns the troops stationed in the corps area.
3. Corps Area Headquarters Organization
The various responsibilities of the corps area commander and the corps area headquarters are reflected in the composition and functions of his regular staff and attached special command staffs.
In principle, the staff is organized like any normal corps staff. The differences result from the fact that it has, not an operational, but a replacement mission; furthermore it is not a mobile, but a static organization. Thus, for example, Section 1 b, which in a field unit handles supply of equipment and ammunition, is in this case also responsible for the supply of manpower and for sending replacements to the Field Army; Section I c, normally intelligence, is not primarily concerned with obtaining information about the enemy but with counterintelligence and security; and Sections II, personnel, and IV a. administration, are expanded, Section II serving also as the depository for personnel records while Section IV a is incorporated into the large and semi-autonomous organization of the Corps Area Administration (Wehrkreisverwaltung).
The staff is headed by a Chief of Staff (Chef des Stabes) and includes the following sections:
Section I is responsible for such matters as training, quarters, air raid protection, gas defense, transportation, training films, surveying and mapping, engineer units, and technical supervision of utilities in military installations.
Signal matters are handled in the I a Section by the Commander of Signal Troops (Kommandeur der Nachrichtentruppen). He in turn has a staff of his own concerned with training, activation, and replacement of signal units, supervision of radio traffic, static telephone installations, signal equipment, and female auxiliaries.
Section I b handles the supply of ordnance equipment and ammunition for units stationed in the corps area. As an echelon in the control of manpower, this section supervises the conscription offices (Wehrersatzdienststellen) and is responsible for issuing the orders for the transfer of replacements to units of the Field Army in response to their requisitions.
Section I c handles counterintelligence and security to the limited extent that the corps area headquarters participates in these activities. It also is concerned with Armed Forces propaganda and press relations, as well as the training and employment of interpreters. Formerly this section also handled troop welfare, morale building, and recreational activities; later, these became the responsibility of the National-Socialist Guidance Officer (Nationalsozialistischer Führungsoffizier) who is an independent staff officer in charge of a newly created section of the staff.
Section II, the personnel section, is divided into Subsections II a, dealing with officer personnel, and II b, concerned with enlisted personnel. Subsection II a keeps individual records for all professional officers regardless of where they are employed and handles the recruiting of officer candidates and awards of decorations. Subsection II b deals with transfers and detachment of individual enlisted men to schools or for other duty. It does not keep individual records for enlisted personnel, as these are kept by the conscription offices. It also handles the recruiting of potential officer and noncommissioned officer candidates (Annahmestellen für den Führernachwuchs), deferment of essential workers, and furloughs and discharges.
Section III is headed by the corps judge (Korpsrichter); however the corps area headquarters is not an important echelon for legal matters.
Section IV a, administration, is headed by the Korpsintendant who at the same time has charge of the Corps Area Administration (Wehrkreisverwaltung).
Section IV b is headed by the Deputy Corps Surgeon (Stellvertretender Korpsarzt, also called Wehrkreisarzt), who advises the commander on medical questions and has a staff of his own. Under him special medical officers (Truppenärzte) supervise discharges for medical reasons which are handled through army discharge bureaus (Heercsentlassungsstellen).
Section IV c is the Deputy Corps Veterinarian (Stellvertretender Korpsveterinär, also called Wehrkreisveterinär), who has his own separate staff.
Section IV d comprises the Protestant and Catholic corps area chaplains (Wehrkreispfarrer).
Motor transport (Heeres-Motorisierung) is handled by a separate staff section, sometimes called Section V or referred to as the Corps Area Motor Transport Officer (Wehrkreiskraftfahroffizier). It deals with the issue of licenses for military drivers and vehicles; allocation and distribution of military vehicles, tires, equipment, gasoline, and oil; traffic control; and the supply of vehicles.
Independently of this section there exists a Commander of Motor Maintenance Troops (Kommandeur der Kraftfahrparktruppe), who controls motor maintenance training units, motor maintenance and repair parks, and parks for spare parts and tires. This commander is sometimes, if not always, the same man as the Corps Area Motor Transport Officer.
On the staff of each corps area headquarters a Section F, Welfare (Fürsorge), controls the activities of welfare officers (Fürsorge-Offiziere) who give advice and assistance to professional soldiers who are discharged or about to be discharged. All discharged non-professional soldiers are taken care of by the Ministry of Labor.
This section represents that part of the German Welfare and Pensions (Fürsorge und Versorgung) organization which is administered by the corps area commander. The other part, Pensions (Versorgung), is handled on a different level, the chain of command going from the Armed Forces High Command to one of three regional Welfare Groups (Versorgungsgruppen) which are located at Berlin, Breslau, and Munich. These control the Welfare and Pension Offices (Fürsorge- und Versorgungsämter), of which there is one in each corps area. These offices, which do not form part of the corps area organization, grant pensions for discharged professional soldiers and their dependents. The reason for the separation of these offices from the control of the corps area commander is the desire to achieve uniformity in the administration of pensions throughout the entire Reich.
Attached to the staff of each corps area headquarters is a Commander of Prisoners of War (Kommandceur der Kriegsgefangenen im Wehrkreis . . .), who is in charge of all prisoner of war camps in the corps area. He controls camps for officers (Offizierslager or Oflag) and camps for enlisted personnel (Mannschafts-Stammlager or Stalag), both types being designated by the Roman numeral of the corps area and distinguished by letters, as XII A, B, etc.
The Commander of Military Police Patrols (Kommandeur des Streifendienstes) is the superior of all road and railway patrols. He is directly subordinate to the corps area commander and works in close liaison with the garrison commanders.
The Officer for Military Economic Affairs (Wehrwirtschaftsoffizier) handles, for the corps area commander, all questions of military economics having a territorial bearing; he is at the same time a direct representative of the Armed Forces Economic Office in the Armed Forces High Command and liaison officer to the regional armament inspectorates (Rüstungsinspektionen) of the Ministry for Armaments and War Production (Ministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion).
4. Garrison Headquarters
The local territorial responsibilities of the corps area commander are exercised through Armed Forces Senior Garrison Officers (Wehrmacht-Standortalteste). In garrisons with permanent headquarters (Kommandanturen), or on maneuver areas (Truppenübungsplätze), the commander (Kommandant) is automatically the senior garrison officer.
If the majority of the units or installations in a garrison belong to the Navy or Air Force, the senior garrison officer may be taken from these branches of the Armed Forces instead of from the Army, but he remains subordinate to the corps area commander.
The area of the garrison town and its immediate vicinity is designated as the garrison district (Standortbezirk), its boundaries fixed by the senior garrison officer with the approval of the corps area commander. Within this district the senior garrison officer is fully responsible for discipline, local defense, and related matters on behalf of the entire Armed Forces; enlisted personnel, for example, require a pass to leave the garrison district.
All parts of the corps area which are not included in garrison districts are allotted by the corps area commander to so-called garrison areas (Standortbereiche), which are placed under the control of existing senior garrison officers for the exercise of the same functions as within the districts.
If there is an airport (Fliegerhorst) within the garrison district, it is treated as an autonomous district and placed under the command of a German Air Force officer.
The senior garrison officer is authorized to commandeer soldiers and horse-drawn vehicles in his area to do work for the general purposes of the garrison. In case of emergency he may mobilize special detachments.
The senior garrison officer issues regulations for garrison guards and patrols and cooperates with units of the Armed Forces Patrol Service (Wehrmacht-Streifendienst). He is responsible for local defense measures, especially for the air raid protection of all installations belonging to the Armed Forces, and for the efficiency of the air raid protection services.
The senior garrison officer is responsible for the maintenance of military discipline among all members of the Armed Forces within his territory; all military personnel on leave have to report at the garrison headquarters within 48 hours, and the senior garrison officer may declare certain restaurants or streets off limits.
5. Corps Area Administration
a. GENERAL.
All administrative matters in the German Army are controlled at the top by the Army Administration Office (Heeresverwaltungsamt) in the Army High Command. Under this office the administrative agencies within Germany are organized on a territorial basis, with the Corps Area Administration (Wehrkreisverwaltung) as the next lower echelon. Below this, these matters are handled by the local garrison administrations (Heeres-Standortverwaltungen) and other specialized types of local administrative agencies. This entire system operates independently of the tactical chain of command. The word "administration" (Verwaltung) in the German Army covers primarily pay, rations, clothing, and billeting.
b. DUAL POSITION OF THE CORPS AREA ADMINISTRATION.
The degree of independent authority of the Corps Area Administration in carrying out its duties depends on the nature of the subject matter, which is divided into two basic categories: those in which the Corps Area Administration acts independently of the Corps Area Headquarters and is responsible only to the Army Administration Office, and those in which it acts on the orders of the corps area commander. In the latter type of subject, the Corps Area Administration functions as the IV a, or administrative section, of the corps area staff, and these subjects are usually referred to as "IV a matters". They are mostly matters connected with the administration of the corps area headquarters itself or of the units directly subordinate to it.
The matters in which the Corps Area Administration acts independently are those which derive from its status as a responsible echelon in the territorial administrative structure. In these matters it has its own direct administrative channels, upwards to the Army Administration Office and downwards to the local garrison administrations. They include the following categories:
Pay, accounting, social insurance, and allowances.
Procurement, storage, and issue of utensils and general equipment.
Supervision of the handling of food in processing plants and in the ration depots.
Billeting, so far as it is not determined by the military decision of the corps area commander.
Building and civilian contracts.
Personnel matters of all administrative officers in the Corps Area Administration, its subordinate agencies, and Field Army units maintained by the corps area.
Training of administrative officers.
In principle this separation into "IV a matters" and independently handled administrative matters is carried down to the lowest administrative echelons, although the scope of their independent authority is less comprehensive than that of the Corps Area Administration. This basic division of the administrative authority is characteristic of the dual functions and responsibilities of the administrative service of the German Army.
The head of the Corps Area Administration is an administrative officer in the Special Troop Service (Truppensonderdienst) with the title Korpsintendant who is at the same time the head of Section IV a of the staff of the corps area commander. As head of the Corps Area Administration the Korpsintendant is directly subordinate to the Army Administration Office; as a staff officer he is subordinate to the commanding general.
c. FUNCTIONS OF THE CORPS AREA ADMINISTRATION.
The principal function of the Corps Area Administration consists in supervising the various local offices in the corps area which constitute the executive organs of administration. The local administrative offices are:
Army garrison administrations (Heeres-Standortverwaltungen).
Army ration main depots (Heeres-Verpflegungshauptämter) and army ration depots (Heeres-Verpflegungsämter).
Hospital administrations (Lazarettverwaltungen).
Clothing offices (Bekleidungsämter).
Construction offices (Heeresbauämter).
Administrative offices of units of battalion or higher status located in the corps area (Zahlmeistereien).
An additional function of the Corps Area Administration is auditing the accounts of the battalion administrative officers (Truppenzahlmeister) of Field Army units affiliated with the corps area, wherever they are located. It may issue instructions to these officers, but they are technically subordinate not to it but to the Field Army administrative headquarters at higher echelons.
Figure 8.—Corps Area Administration.
The Corps Area Administration is also responsible for personnel matters of administrative officers in units affiliated with the corps area and serves as their replacement unit. It also trains such officers.
d. ORGANIZATION OF THE CORPS AREA ADMINISTRATION.
Corresponding to its responsibilities the Corps Area Administration is subdivided into the following sections (Sachgebicte):
Section A: Fiscal matters; interpretation of pay regulations; travel, moving, and transportation allowances; welfare and pensions; vocational schools of the Army; office equipment; libraries; general rules for cashiers, bookkeepers, and auditors; office regulations for paymasters.
Section B: For the duration of the war this section is known as the auditing office (Abrechnungsintendantur). It audits the accounts of unit paymasters in the field and of ordnance installations in the corps area.
Section C: Rations; procurement, administration, and issue of rations through the ration depots; procurement of forage for the remount depots; bakeries; troop-kitchens; ration supply for the troops while on maneuvers; auditing of the accounts of the ration depots and of those garrison administrations with a "rations" department; auditing of the accounts of the remount depots.
Section D: Supervision of the garrison administrations; auditing of their accounts; billeting; administration of real estate.
Section E: Administration of hospitals; auditing of their accounts; questions concerning civilian workers; legal matters so far as not dealt with in any of the other sections; clothing; supervision of clothing depots and auditing of their accounts.Section F: Construction matters; supervision of the construction offices; civilian contracts.
Section G: Procurement of living quarters for members of the staff of the Corps Area Administration.
Section P: (P I) Personnel matters of the administrative officers. (P II) Personnel matters of civilian workers.
e. SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE HEADQUARTERS.
(Comparable with the Corps Area Administrations, but in a special position, is the Administration for Central Army Tasks (Verwaltung für Zentralaufgaben des Heeres). This office is organized in the name way as the Corps Area Administrations and carries out the administration for OKH-controlled establishments in Corps Area III such as demonstration units, army specialist schools, academies, and other institutions.
f. SUBORDINATE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES.
Of the various local administrative agencies subordinate to the Corps Area Administration, those which deal with rations and clothing form part of the organization of supply and are therefore dealt with in detail in Chapter VI below.
The most important of the remaining local offices are the garrison administrations (Heeres-Standortverwaltungen).
As a rule there is a garrison administration in every garrison and on every maneuver area; it is always designated by the name of the garrison town. Large cities may have more than one garrison administration.
The head of the garrison administration is an administrative officer who is appointed by the Army High Command and who is directly subordinate to the Korpsintendant. The head of the garrison administration is not on the staff of the garrison commander, and there is no subordination of the garrison administration to the garrison commander. The two are expected to cooperate closely, but in practice this dual authority leads at times to difficulties which have to be adjusted by agreement between the Corps Area Administration and the corps area commander.
The garrison administration normally consists of the following departments:
Real estate management (Grundstücksverwaltung).
Garrison finance office (Heeresstandortkasse).
Pay records for civilian workers (Standortlohnstelle).
Pay records for soldiers (Standortgebührnisstelle).
Utensils and general equipment depot (Gerätclager).
The real estate department handles the main task of the garrison administration, which is the management and utilization of the real estate including training area, and the erection, maintenance, and administration of the buildings and other installations owned or rented by the Army. Excluded from these are the garrison hospitals (Standortlazarette) and the installations of the remount depots, which are taken care of by these organizations themselves.
The garrison finance office has the task of making payments and keeping books and accounts for the garrison administration and the construction offices (Heeresbauämter). It also keeps the surplus cash for other local offices of the Army. Affiliated with a garrison finance office are all small unit pay offices (Zahlstellen) and branch pay offices (Nebenzahlstellen), which are only allowed to make cash payments and which therefore use the garrison finance office for other types of payment.
The pay office for civilian workers keeps the pay records for these groups and instructs the garrison finance office to make the corresponding payments.
The department handling pay records of soldiers in the field determines the regular service pay (Wehrmachtbesoldung for professional soldiers and Kriegsbesoldung for all other soldiers) and makes the corresponding payments through the garrison finance office to their accounts or dependents.
The utensils and general equipment depots store tools, utensils, and office equipment used in barracks and other installations. Such utensils and general equipment are procured by the Corps Area Administration, which orders one or several of the larger garrison administrations to effect the purchases for the entire area and store the goods.
Another type of local administrative agency is the hospital administration (Lazarettverwaltung). This is subordinate to the Corps Area Administration as well as to the medical officer in charge of the hospital. It deals independently, under the supervision of the Corps Area Administration, with payments, bookkeeping, and accounting for the hospital. In its concern for the medical personnel, officials, and hospitalized soldiers in matters of pay, rations, and clothing it occupies the same position as the administrative office (Zahlmeister) of a unit staff. With regard to the administration of the real estate and buildings belonging to the hospital it has the same responsibilities as the garrison administration has for other property.
Army construction offices (Heeresbauämter and Heeresneubauämter) are established by the Army High Command, which also appoints the head of the office and determines the size of his staff. The work of the construction offices is supervised by the Director of Construction (Section F) in the Corps Area Administration. Within their district Army construction offices deal with the technical side of the construction, repair, and maintenance of buildings owned or rented by the Army and give advice to the other administrative agencies.
6. Medical Service and Installations
a. MEDICAL SERVICE.
Within the Armed Forces the administration of the medical services and the use of the medical installations and facilities in Germany have been centralized to a high degree. In considering the medical organization of the Replacement Army it should be borne in mind that these facilities, to a varying degree, are also at the disposal of the other branches of the Armed Forces and of the Waffen-SS.
The Chief Army Medical Inspector (Heeressanitätsinspekteur), whose activities are supervised by the Armed Forces Surgeon General (Chef des Wehrmachtsanitätswesens), is stationed at the headquarters of the Commander of the Replacement Army but does not form part of his staff. He works through his own staff, the Army Medical Inspectorate (Heeressantitätsinspektion), which is part of the General Army Office (Allgemeines Heeresamt). He is the head of the medical services of the Field Army as well as of the Replacement Army. The Chief Army Medical Inspector is the superior of the medical personnel of the Army in disciplinary matters and questions concerning medical work. He decides on the assignment and promotion of medical officers.
Within the limits of the directives issued by the Armed Forces Surgeon General he has the following responsibilities:
Training of medical personnel.
Direction of the medical service including hygienic and sanitary measures in the Army.
Evacuation and hospitalization of casualties and the administration of all military hospitals.
Supply of drugs and medical equipment for the Army.
The permanent medical installations in Germany comprise medical units, hospitals, and supply installations which are all organized on a strictly territorial basis.
b. CORPS AREA SURGEONS.
In the Replacement Army the channels of command go through the chief medical officers of the corps areas. These officers have a dual title. They are called deputy corps surgeon (Stellvertretender Korpsarzt) for orders which concern the troops and emanate from the deputy corps headquarters (Stellvertretendes Generalkommando), and corps area surgeon (Wehrkreisarzt) in all territorial matters which are handled under the authority of the corps area headquarters (Wehrkreiskommando). In this dual capacity they are on the staff of the corps area commander and head the IV b (medical) section of this staff. They are therefore subordinate to the commander of the corps area as well as to the Chief Army Medical Inspector. Within their territory the chief medical officers of the corps areas have the same functions and responsibilities as the Chief Army Medical Inspector.
A German Medic providing first aid to a wounded soldier in France, June 1940.
c. MEDICAL UNITS.
The corps area surgeons control the medical replacement battalions (Sanitäts-Ersatzabteilungen), one in each corps area, which train medical replacements for the Field Army. They also control the medical battalions (Sanitäts-Abteilungen), which during the war comprise all the medical personnel other than those in training, serving in the Replacement Army with units or in general hospitals. Each corps area usually has two or three medical battalions, which are designated by their headquarters town.
The medical battalions are composed of medical sections (Heeres-Sanitätsstaffeln) of varying size. The medical sections are the local sub-units of the medical battalions and generally can be found in every permanent garrison and every maneuver area. They are designated by the name of the garrison town.
The commander of the medical section is the local representative of the corps area surgeon and also serves as the garrison surgeon (Standortarzt) and head of the IV b section on the staff of the senior garrison officer. The garrison surgeon is therefore subordinate to the senior garrison officer as well as to the corps area surgeon. The garrison surgeon also controls the military hospitals in his area.
d. HOSPITALS.
In peacetime all the larger garrisons had permanent garrison hospitals (Sandort-Lazarette). In addition there existed several Army tüberculosis hospitals (Lazarette für Lungenkranke des Heeres) and Army sanatoriums (Kurlazarette des Heeres).
In wartime all these hospitals are designated general hospitals (Reservelazarette). Thus the garrison hospitals became Reservelazarette, the tüberculosis hospitals Reserve-Lazarette für Lungenkranke, and the sanatoriums Reserve-Kurlazarrete. In addition Army convalescents' homes (Heeres-Genesungsheime), general hospitals for prisoners of war (Reservelazarette für Kriegsgefangene), and other types were created.
Since the peacetime facilities were entirely inadequate for the wartime needs, a large number of civilian institutions and suitable buildings such as civilian hospitals, hotels, and schools were taken over and converted into general hospitals. The general hospitals are designated by the name of the town, and Roman numerals if there is more than one general hospital in the town—for example Reservelazarett Kassel III. If a general hospital controls wards in separate buildings these usually are called part-hospitals (Teillazarette). The capacity of a general hospital may vary anywhere from 100 to 1,000 or more beds.
The medical personnel of a general hospital belong to the medical section (Heeressanitätsstaffel) which is stationed in that particular town or district. They therefore are affiliated permanently with one of the medical battalions (Sanitätsabteilungen) of the corps area.
For the purposes of medical supervision, general hospitals, with an aggregate of about 5,000 beds in a given area of the Wehrkreis, are grouped together into general hospital districts (Reservelazarett-Bezirke) which are under the supervision of senior medical officers.
The majority of the general hospitals are equipped and staffed to deal with a fairly wide range of casualties and diseases, but a few of them specialize, such as general hospitals for blind soldiers or for soldiers with brain injuries. In the military medical organization, the main types of casualties and diseases are indicated by a system of code numbers, running from 1 to 21, in order to facilitate the distribution of casualties to those hospitals which are best fitted for their treatment.
For the purposes of evacuation and distribution of casualties each general hospital in a given area is subordinate to a transportation headquarters (Transport-Kommandantur), where a medical liaison officer handles all these questions. The distribution itself is based on daily reports from the general hospitals to their local distributing centers (Kranken-Verteilungs-Stelle) giving the number of unoccupied beds.
All general hospitals form part of the Replacement Army and therefore, as a rule, all soldiers sent to a general hospital automatically are transferred from the Field Army to the Replacement Army. At times, when the Theater of Operations has extended into Germany proper, this rule has been modified, so that soldiers who are sent to general hospitals in the corps areas near the combat zone are transferred to the Replacement Army only after having stayed in the general hospital for 8 weeks; this is the same period that applies to field hospitals.
7. Veterinary Service
a. CONTROL.
At the head of the veterinary services of the Armed Forces is the Veterinary Inspector (Veterinärinspekteur), who is stationed at the heaquarters of the Commander of the Replacement Army. Although subordinate to the latter, he receives his instructions regarding questions concerning both the Field Army and the Replacement Army direct from the Commander-in-Chief of the Army.
The staff of the Veterinary Inspector is the Veterinary Inspectorate in the General Army Office (Allgemeines Heeresamt).
The Veterinary Inspector is the superior of all veterinary and horse-shoeing personnel in all matters concerning their professional or vocational activity. He makes suggestions to the Army Personnel Office for the appointment of the higher ranking veterinary officers of the Army and makes these appointments himself for the lower ranks.
He instructs the Army Veterinarian (Heeres-Veterinär) with regard to the veterinary service in the Field Army, the evacuation of horses, and the replacement of horses and veterinary equipment.
In the Replacement Army the Veterinary Inspector directs the veterinary service in accordance with instructions given by the Commander of the Replacement Army. He is responsible for the training of veterinary and horse-shoeing personnel and the replacement of veterinary equipment. He gives the instructions for the distribution of horses evacuated from the field and their allocation to home horse hospitals (Heimat-Pferde-Lazarette).
In the Zone of the Interior the authority of the Veterinary Inspector is exercised through the deputy corps veterinarian (Stellvertretender Korpsveterinär), who is on the staff of the deputy corps commander as his IVc. He holds the alternative title of Corps Area Veterinarian (Wehrkreisveterinär) for his territorial functions.
Under the deputy corps veterinarian are the veterinary personnel and the veterinary installations located in his territory.
b. VETERINARY INSTALLATIONS.
Each corps area has home horse hospitals (Heimat-Pferdelazarette), to which are evacuated the horses which cannot be treated at the installations of the Field Army, and sick horses from the Replacement Army. The home horse hospitals are numbered with the Arabic number of the corps area, and if there is more than one horse hospital in a corps area they will be distinguished by adding 100, 200, etc., to the number.
Horses that have been cured go from the home horse hospital to a home horse park (Heimatpferdepark). Each corps area has one home horse park. The Corps Veterinarian orders which horses from the home horse park are to go to the Field Army and which to the Replacement Army.
8. Other Installations
a. REMOUNTS.
Army remount purchasing commissions (Heeres-Remontierungskommissionen) procure young horses for the Army. These commissions are outside the corps area structure and directly subordinate to the Army High Command.
The young horses purchased for the Army are stabled and maintained by Army remount depots (Heeres-Remonteämter) until they have reached the age for training in corps area riding and driving schools or delivery to troop units. The remount depots are independent of the remount purchasing commissions. They are subordinate to the corps area commander, but in certain respects they are under direct control of the Inspector of Riding and Driving at the Army High Command (Inspekteur des Reit- und Fahrwesens) so as to assure uniformity throughout all corps areas.
b. FORESTRY.
The Army Forest and Fisheries Control Offices (Heeres-Forstaufsichtsämter) supervise the administration and utilization of forests and fisheries connected with properties belonging to the Army, such as maneuver areas. In Germany proper there are two of these control offices, at Berlin and Wiesbaden, controlling the local offices in the Corps Areas I-XIII.
These local offices are called Army Forest Offices (Heeres-Forstämter); they in turn supervise forestry offices (Heeres-Oberförstereien and Heeres-Revierförstereien).
The Army forest and fisheries control offices act in conjunction with the respective corps area headquarters on matters concerning the troops and with the corps area administrations in fiscal and bookkeeping questions.
c. MILITARY PRISONS.
Military prisons are inter-service institutions. They are not organized on a territorial basis but generally have several corps areas allotted to them.
There are various kinds of military prisons, each kind receiving prisoners of a different category. These prisoners originate from the Replacement Army as well as from the Field Army.
Wehrmacht-Gefängnisse, which are responsible directly to the Armed Forces High Command, receive soldiers who are condemned to terms for more than 3 months. They are also used for prisoners of war who are sentenced to terms of imprisonment.
Wehrmacht-Untersuchungsgefängnisse accept prisoners with sentences of up to 3 months.
Wehrmacht-Haftanstalten are subordinate to garrison headquarters and take prisoners with sentences of up to 6 weeks.
There is one Wehrmacht-Festungshaftanstalt, which takes soldiers whose sentences specify that they are to be confined to a fortress, i.e., that their offense is not a dishonorable one.
d. ARMED FORCES SIGNAL HEADQUARTERS (Wehrmacht-Nachrichtenkommandanturen) are designated by the towns in which they are located. They are regional liaison offices between the Armed Forces and the German Postal Service (Deutsche Reichspost). In addition to their liaison functions they collect data on installations for long-distance communications which are of military importance.