The Oberkommando des Heeres was the High Command of the German Army during the Era of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as a part of Adolf Hitler's re-militarisation of Germany. From 1938 OKH was, together with OKL and OKM, formally subordinated to the OKW, with the exception of the Waffen-SS. During the war, OKH had the responsibility of strategic planning of Armies and Army Groups, while the General Staff of the OKH managed operational matters. Each German Army also had an Armeeoberkommando, Army Command, or AOK. Until the German defeat at Moscow in December 1941, OKH and its staff was de facto the most important unit within the German war planning. OKW then took over this function for theatres other than the German-Soviet front. OKH commander held the title Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres. Following the Battle of Moscow, after OKH commander Field MarshalWalther von Brauchitsch was excused, Hitler appointed himself as Commander-in-Chief of the Army.
OKH vs OKW
Hitler had been the head of OKW since January 1938, using it to pass orders to the navy, air force, and army. After a major crisis developed in the Battle of Moscow, Walther von Brauchitsch was dismissed, and Hitler appointed himself as head of the OKH while still retaining his position at the OKW. At the same time, he limited the OKH's authority to the Russian front, giving OKW direct authority over army units elsewhere. This enabled Hitler to declare that only he had complete awareness of Germany's strategic situation, should any general request a transfer of resources between the Russian front and another theater of operations.
Organisation
In 1944, these elements were subordinate to the OKH:
The Commander-in-Chief of the Army was the head of the OKH and the German Army during the years of the Nazi regime. Supreme Commanders of the Army were:
Chief of the OKH General Staff
The Chiefs of the OKH General Staff were: Although both OKW and OKH were headquartered in Zossen during the Third Reich, the functional and operational independence of both establishments were not lost on the respective staff during their tenure. Personnel at the sprawling Zossen compound remarked that even if Maybach 2 was completely destroyed, the OKH staff in Maybach 1 would scarcely notice. These camouflaged facilities, separated physically by a fence, also maintained structurally different mindsets towards their objectives. On 28 April 1945, Hitler formally subordinated OKH to OKW, giving the latter command of forces on the Eastern Front.
