Wehrmacht - Origin and Use of The Term

Origin and Use of The Term

The term Wehrmacht generically describes a nation's Armed Forces, thus, Britische Wehrmacht denotes “British Armed Forces.” The term Wehrmacht is in Article 47 of the 1919 Weimar Constitution, establishing that: Der Reichspräsident hat den Oberbefehl über die gesamte Wehrmacht des Reiches (“The Reich's President holds supreme command of all armed forces of the Reich”). From 1919, Germany’s national defence force was known as the Reichswehr, which name was dropped in favor of Wehrmacht on 16 March 1935. The name Wehrmacht even in Germany is generally considered a proper noun of the 1935-45 armed forces, being replaced by Streitkräfte in its original meaning; however, this was not so even some decades after 1945. The German rank of General saw its widest usage during World War II. Due to the massive expansion of the German armed forces (Wehrmacht), a new “wave” of generals was promoted in the 1930s that would lead Germany into war.