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| Feldgendarmerie | |
|---|---|
 Uniform of a Feldgendarm duringWorld War II, including the distinctivegorget | |
| Active | 1810-1812 1866–1918 1933–1945 |
| Disbanded | Nominally 8 May 1945 Completely 1946 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Saxony German Empire Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Heer Luftwaffe |
| Type | Military Police |
| Role | Apprehendingdeserters, border control andanti-partisan duties. |
| Nickname(s) | Kettenhunde (English:Chain-dogs) |
| Insignia | |
| Regimental Flag |  |
| Regimental Patch |  |
The termFeldgendarmerie (German:[ˈfɛlt.ʒãdaʁməˌʁiː]ⓘ;transl. "fieldgendarmerie") refers tomilitary police units of the armies of theKingdom of Saxony (from 1810), theGerman Empire andNazi Germany up to the end ofWorld War II in Europe.
From 1810 to 1812Saxony,Württemberg,Prussia andBavaria founded a rural police force based on the model of the NapoleonicFrench Gendarmerie.
ThePrussian Gendarmerie staff (Königlich Preußische Landgendarmerie;Royal Prussian State Gendarmerie) were well-proven infantry and cavalry NCOs who joined it after serving their standard time in the army and also included some COs. Officially they were still military personnel, equipped and paid by the Ministry of War, but in peacetime they were attached to the Ministry of the Interior, serving as normal or as mounted police.In case of a maneuver, mobilization or war, 50% of the Gendarmerie formed the core of military police in the army, called Feldgendarmerie. Should more manpower be needed, regular infantry and cavalry corporals and some COs were seconded to the Feldgendarmerie under the supervision of the former Gendarmerie NCOs/COs. The uniform of the Feldgendarmerie was identical to the uniform of the Landgendarmerie.
At the outbreak of theFirst World War, the Feldgendarmerie comprised 33 companies, which each had 60 men and two NCOs. By 1918, the number of companies was expanded to 115 units.
After World War I, all military police units were disbanded; no police units existed in the inter-warWeimar Republic era. Garrisons were patrolled by regular soldiers performing the duties of the military police.
WhenAdolf Hitler came to power in 1933,Feldgendarmerie were reintroduced into theWehrmacht. The new units received full infantry training and were given extensive police powers. A military police school was set up inPotsdam nearBerlin to trainFeldgendarmerie personnel. The subjects covered included criminal code, general and special police powers, reporting duties, passport and identification law, weapons drill, self-defence techniques, criminal police methodology and general administration.
All prospective candidates served at aFeldgendarmerie command after the first term of examinations. Courses lasted one year and failure rates were high: in 1935 only 89 soldiers graduated from an initial intake of 219 candidates.Feldgendarmerie were employed within army divisions and as self-contained units under the command of an army corps. They often worked in close cooperation with theGeheime Feldpolizei (English:Secret Field Police), district commanders andSS and Police Leaders.
Feldgendarmerie units were generally givenoccupation duties in territories directly under the control of theWehrmacht. Their duties policing the areas behind the front lines ranged from straightforward traffic control and population control to suppression and execution ofpartisans and the apprehension of enemy stragglers.
When combat units moved forward out of a region, theFeldgendarmerie role would formally end as control was then transferred tooccupation authorities under the control of theNazi Party andSS.[clarification needed] ButFeldgendarmerie units are known to have assisted the SS in committingwar crimes inoccupied areas. AuthorAntony Beevor explores some well-documented cases of their participation in his bookStalingrad. Also,Felgendarmerie units took active part in Jew hunting operations, including in Western Europe.
But by 1943 as the tide of war changed for Nazi Germany, theFeldgendarmerie were given the task of maintaining discipline in theWehrmacht. Many ordinary soldiers deemed to bedeserters were summarily executed byFeldgendarmerie units. This earned them the pejorativeKettenhunde (English:chained dogs) after thegorget they wore with their uniforms.The arbitrary and brutal policing of soldiers gave them the other nicknameHeldenklauer (English:hero-snatcher) because they screened refugees and hospital transports for potential deserters with orders to kill suspectedmalingerers. Rear-echelon personnel would also be checked for passes that permitted them to be away from the front.
TheFeldgendarmerie also administered theStrafbataillone (English:Penal Battalions) which wereWehrmacht punishment units created for soldiers convicted bycourt martial and sentenced to a deferredexecution. During the final days of the war, as theThird Reich crumbled, recruits or soldiers who committed even the slightest infraction were sent to aStrafbataillon.
Like many other elements of the German Army, theFeldgendarmerie was involved inthe Holocaust. For instance, in August 1942Feldgendarmerie units rounded up Jews in theOccupied Zone of France as part of a mass deportation operation.[1]The Oxford Handbook of Holocaust Studies stated in 2010 that there is a need for further research into the role of theFeldgendarmerie during the Holocaust.[2]
TheSS-Feldgendarmerie wore the same uniform and gorget as their Army counterparts but had an addition cuff title indicating they were military police. Generally they conducted the same policing role, such as controlling rear areas but they also conductedcounter-insurgency and extermination operations withEinsatzgruppen against Jews, partisans and those deemed to be "enemies of the Reich". These SS units had a severe reputation for being strict enforcers of military law. NicknamedKopf Jäger (Head Hunters), they also tracked down and punished those deemed to be deserters. From 1944 onwards, former members of theOrdnungspolizei serving with theWaffen-SS, were also given military police powers and duties. These specialSS-Feldgendarmerie were denoted by a diamond polizei-eagle insignia worn on the lower sleeve.
In January 1944 as the Red Army began to advance on the Eastern Front, the power of theFeldgendarmerie was superseded by the creation of theFeldjägerkorps. Answering only to theGerman High Command (OKW), its three regiments were founded to maintain discipline and military cohesion in all branches of theWehrmacht (including theFeldgendarmerie). Feldjägers were recruited from decorated, battle-hardened officers and NCOs. They had the military authority of the OKW to arrest and execute officers and soldiers from either theWehrmacht or the SS for desertion, defeatism and other duty violations. Every unit of theFeldjäger had command of a "Fliegendes Standgericht" (flying drumhead trial/flying court martial), which comprised three judges.[3]
Despite the surrender of all German forces in May 1945, someFeldgendarmerie andFeldjägerkorps units inthe western zones of occupied Germany were allowed to keep their weapons by the Allies because of the number ofDisarmed Enemy Forces that required guarding and processing. For example, theBritish VIII Corps based inSchleswig-Holstein used an entire regiment of volunteers from theFeldgendarmerie to maintain discipline at its demobilisation center atMeldorf. Re-activated military police, who received extra rations as pay, were identified by an armband statingWehrmachtordnungstruppe (Armed Forces Order Troop). In June 1946, more than 12 months after the official end of World War II, theFeldgendarmerie became the last German units to surrender their arms.
TheFeldgendarmerie was under the direct control of the German High Command O.K.H. (Oberkommando des Heeres). AFeldgendarmerie major general who was in charge of allFeldgendarmerie personnel attached to the Wehrmacht, was directly subordinated to theGeneralquartiermeister. He was responsible for postings and personnel administration, monitoring the performance of the police units, allocation of tasks, traffic regulations and training. His immediate subordinate was a staff officer attached to each Oberkommando Army who commanded the one or moreFeldgendarmerie battalions attached to each Wehrmacht formation. The staff officer was responsible for maintaining order and discipline, traffic control during large scale troop movements and maintaining transport routes. Each Feldgendarmerie battalion also had support personnel such as cooks, clerks, and armourers.
A battalion was subdivided into smaller-sizedTruppen[citation needed] which were attached to each division or corps. AGruppe, a section sized unit, were then assigned to specific field or local commands.Feldgendarmerie sections would also be temporarily assigned to special operations, such as anti-partisan duties. A typical Truppe attached to an Infantry or Panzer Division would have up to three officers, 41 NCOs and 20 enlisted men. They would operate inKübelwagen, trucks and motorcycles (withsidecars).
These battalions were equipped with motorcycles andsidecars,Kübelwagen, field cars such as theHorch 4x4 and 3 tonOpel Blitzlorries and a small number of armoured vehicles as a means of transport.
Personal weapons consisted of small arms such as theWalther PP which was designed as a civilian police pistol (PP Polizei-Pistole) or theWalther PPK both of which were favoured by officers whereas theLuger P08 andWalther P38 were used by other ranks.Machine pistols were carried by NCOs and theMauserKarabiner 98k, the MP40 was issued but was not widely used. TheMG34 andMG42 were used as vehicle mounted armament for defending road blocks or vehiclecheckpoints.
Because the Feldgendarmerie did not have enough manpower to fulfill all of their tasks, the Wehrmacht established several military police like troops, some of them with limited authority.
With the creation of theBundeswehr in 1955, many of its branches of service were given names that would at least nominally distinguish them from their logicalWehrmacht equivalents. Thus, military police in the modernBundeswehr were not calledFeldgendarmerie. In fact, the original intent was to call the MPsMilitärpolizei, literally military police. However, state officials protested as the law enforcement function in the brand new German constitution had been given primarily to the states, not the federation. The wordPolizei (Police) was jealously guarded by the states, so the Federal Defence Ministry searched for a new designation and adoptedFeldjäger which was a traditionalPrussian regiment with some military police type functions.