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MARCH 1945 UNCLASSIFIEDTM-E 30451munication so that the army group <strong>com</strong>mandercan devote himself entirely to <strong>com</strong>bat operations.Similarly, the Army Rear Area is controlled bya Commander .of Army Rear Area (Kommandantdes rihkwtirtigen Armeegebiets) with the statusof a division <strong>com</strong>mander. The rear area <strong>com</strong>mandershave at their disposal security (Siclzeru8rg.r) units and police troops and set up varioustypes of administrative headquarters.6. Administration of Occupied TerritoryIn occupied territory, or the Zone of MilitaryAdministration (which in some cases has beenthe "friendly" territory of nations allied to Germany),the administrative structure is distinctfrom the operational control of any German <strong>com</strong>batunits stationed in it. In France before theAllied landing in 1944, for example, the MilitaryAdministration under General von Stiilpnagelwas responsible for local security and fordealing with the French authorities and the population,but had no direct connection with vonRundstedt's army group which was stationedthere for operational purposes. Distinct fromboth these <strong>com</strong>mands were the training unitsin reserve divisions stationed in France, whichcame under the control of the Commander of theReplacement Army in Berlin for training andreplacement purposes.Typical of the flexibility of the German systemwas the great variety shown in the forms ofmilitary administration in the different occupiedcotintries. In each case the form of Germanmilitary control was adapted to the strategic needsas well as to the political, economic, and psychologicalfactors. In Denmark there was officiallyno control at all, sinke the country was regardedas "protected" and not occupied; the Germantroops stationed there came under a Commanderof German Troops in Denmark, while the administrationof the country was left to the constitutionalDanish government, subject only (until1944) to German diplomatic pressure. At theopposite extreme was Poland, where no remnantof the-previous native administration remainedand the Germans had to have tight militarycontrol and even do most of the local policing.In France and ‘some other countries theGermans worked largely through the native authoritiesbut also set up their own administrativearea headquarters (Oberfeldkommandanturen)and sub-area headquarters (Feldkommandanturen)as the local garrison <strong>com</strong>mands.Section V. FUNCTIONS OF THECORPS AREA1. IntroductionAS has been shown, the Home Command in wartimeis responsible for the replacement of personnel,the procurement of equipment, andterritorial administration and defense. Most ofthese functions are exercised through the regionalcorps areas, which are the permanent basis forthe organization and administration of the GermanArmy. It is these functions which are discussedin this secticn.A few, functions of the Home Command areperformed on a basis other than the territorial oneof corps areas and are not included here. By farthe most important of these is the procurement,acceptance, storage, and issue of ordnance materiel,which is hantllc~tl by the Army OrdnanceOffice and the Ordnance Inspectorate operatingthrough their own regional organization ; this func-.tion is discussed in detail in Chapter \‘I below.Other types of supplies, with the exception ofgasoline and lubricants, are administered by thecorps areas after procurement policies have beenestablished by the High Command.2. Corps Area ResponsibilitiesThe functions of the corps area headquarters inwartime may be divided into those which it performsas a territorial <strong>com</strong>mand and those whichaccrue to it as the deputy headquarters of a peacetimearmy corps which is now in the field. As aterritorial <strong>com</strong>mand it is responsible to the ArmedForces High Command and has responsibilitiesaffecting all three branches of the Armed Forces;in this capacity it is officially refcrrcd to as CorpsArea Headquarters . . . (Wckrkrciskommando. . . ). In its other capacity it is under the ArmyHigh Command alone and is referred to asDeputy Headquarters of the ... Army Corps(Stcllvcrtretcndes Gcncralkommando . . . Armcckorps); as such it is responsible for the replacementtraining system for all the field units whichaye affiliated with it.The following are the principal responsibilitiesof this <strong>com</strong>bined headquarters :Conscription of manpower, carried out througha system of conscription offices. (See Section VIof this chapter below.)Training, conducted in training units which<strong>com</strong>e under controlling staffs of regimental and

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