The Wehrmacht is the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It was divided into the Heer (Army), the Kriegsmarine (Navy) and the Luftwaffe (Air force).
In the novel The Wallenberg Dossier many officials and soldiers of the Wehrmacht are described.
Adolf Hitler audaciously established the Wehrmacht immediately after the Nazi rise to power in 1933 It had to be a modern offensively-capable armed force, adequate to the Nazi’s goals of conquer and regaining lost territory. Conscription was reinstated and massive investments and defense spending on the arms industry were approved to enable the growth of the Wehrmacht.
The Wehrmacht used modern strategies and tactics close-cover air-support, tanks and infantry disposition and the famous Blitzkrieg (lightning war). These tactics ave way to innovative campaigns in France (1940), the Soviet Union (1941) and North Africa (1941/42). However, supply and logistics problems and excessive demand on the field led to the first major defeat in the Battle of Moscow in 1941 followed by other defeats in all war theatres.
The Wehrmacht cooperated closely with the SS and the Einsatzgruppen. During World War II about 18 million men served in the Wehrmacht.