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Matters of policy, as decided upon by the German Supreme Co&mandof the Armed Forces, and insofar as they affect the OT, are put intoexecution by the chiefs of the Einsatzgruppen in conjunction with thecommanding general of the corresponding military theatre or sector ofoperations. Construction plans affecting EGW, for example, weredrawn up under direction of its Chief, Oberbaudirektor WEISS. (Ife isat the same time RJNDSTEDT's chief engineer (General Ingenieur beimOberbefehlshaber West)). To carry the example further, estimates ofrequirements for raw material, drawn up on the basis of a long termconstruction programme (of at least six months duration) were thensubmitted to the OTZ byEGHT, along with the actual plans. Approvalby the latter was a matter of routine, provided the plans submittedconformed in general to the strategic policy laid down by the SupremeCommand for the theatre of operations occupied by EGW (France, Belgium,and the Netherlands). The material was then allotted to EGW, throughthe OTZ by virtue of SEBER's authority in the matter of priorityallotment of essential war material* The actual shipments were madethrough Wehrmacht channels (Hauptverkehrsdienst or Central TrafficService) and were labelled Wehrmachtgut (Armed Forces property). Fordiscussion on the administration of supplies, see II Fa. OTZ's sphereof authority in the matter of recruitment of manpower is discussedin the part oft Manpower (IV D).25« "Farmanent Organisation*• Chain of CommandA decree, sigied by SFEKR on 24 September 1943* ordered thenormalisation of OT administrative levels in all theatres of operationalong the following uniform chain of command.1. Einsatzgruppe (EG: Area Control Staff: Army Group Level)2. Einsatz (E: Area Control Staff; Army Level)3. Oberbauleitung (OBL: Basic OT Construction Sector anaAdministrative HQ)4. Bauleitung (BL: Sub-Sector)5. Abschnittsbauleitung (ABL: Local Supervisory Staff)6. Baustelle (Construction Site)All of these terms, with the exception of that of Binsatzgruppe, hadexisted in the OT since its inception in 1938* but they had neverbeen uniformly defined. This was particularly true of the designations,Einsatz and Abschnittsbauleitung. The uniformity in terminologywhich the decree attempted to establish in German occupied territorywas not realised in practice until the OT evacuated into Germany(see II Ab "Current Organization"). Reasons for the ineffectivenessof the decree in the case of the EGW and elsewhere are outlinedin IA7 and IIAa 27 and 30.26. "Permanent Organisation". The Einsatzgruppe. (EG; Area Control"Staff, Army Group Level).The term Einsatzgruppe* was first identified in Oct 1941 inconnection with the creation of Einsatzgruppe West (see Part V).From Einsatzgruppe downwards, the OT should be visualised, not in theform of a hierarchy of units, but rather as a theatre of constructionoperations controlled by various levels of administrative staffs,of which the Einsatzgruppe (Area Control Staff on Army Group Level)is the highest. The Binsatzgruppe West (EGMT) comprising France,Belgium and the Netherlands is used throughout this book as a model,inasmuch as it represented the "permanent" type of OT organizationto a greater extent than any other Einsatzgruppe. Other Einsatzgruppenare, however, discussed wherever they are believed to be ofinterest for purposes of comparison.Although the OTZ issued the general regulations governingadministrative and operational policy, the Einsatzgruppe is an executiveand operational unit in its own domain. The administrativeorganization of each Einsatzgruppe is basically alike; there are, however,- 26 ­