Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht, German for Defence Force, was the armed forces of the Third Reich, Germany from 1935 to 1945. It was composed of the Heer, the Kriegsmarine, and the Luftwaffe. The Wehrmacht was one of the primary fighting forces for the Axis Powers during World War II. The Wehrmacht lost roughly 11.3 million men in the war.

The Wehrmacht was an incredibly brutal and effective military, infamous for perfecting and constantly utilizing the Blitzkrieg, German for lightning war, where they would invade countries with extremely fast and efficient attacks. Nazi Germany successfully invaded Denmark, Norway, Western Poland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Greece, and Yugoslavia. They tried but failed at invading Britain and the Soviet Union.

Due to their involvement in the Holocaust and partnership with the Schutzstaffel, the Wehrmacht was accused of several war crimes. Coupled with their shattered reputation and extreme loss of men, the Wehrmacht was virtually nonexistent by the end of the war, and was officially dissolved in 1946 in replaced by the Bundeswehr in 1955.