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78-524: From 1810 to 1812 Saxony, Württemberg , Prussia and Bavaria founded a rural police force after the model of the Napoleonic French Gendarmerie . The Prussian Gendarmerie staff ( Königlich Preußische Landgendarmerie ; Royal Prussian State Gendarmerie ) were well-proven infantry and cavalry NCOs after serving their standard service time at the army and some COs. Officially they were still military personnel, equipped and paid by

156-635: A Feldgendarmerie 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 the Geheime Feldpolizei (English: Secret Field Police ), district commanders and SS and Police Leaders . Feldgendarmerie units were generally given occupation duties in territories directly under

234-523: A civil list (annual grant) equivalent to 103,227 pounds sterling in the early 20th century. The kingdom possessed a centuries-old bicameral legislature known generally in English as the Estates of Württemberg . The upper chamber ( German : Standesherren ) comprised: The lower house ( German : Abgeordnetenhaus ) had 92 members: The king appointed the president of the upper chamber; after 1874,

312-625: A concentration camp. A third of the 28,000 troops who joined the division were political prisoners from Baumholder and Heuberg . The 999th Light Afrika Division initially fought in North Africa and later in the Soviet Union . Some units were also used as garrison troops in Greece and in the fight against partisans in the Balkans . Several hundred soldiers from the division deserted to

390-644: A factory. Ooidal iron ore (Bohnerz aus Eisenroggenstein) was found. After the Franco-Prussian War , the mining was stopped. The main minerals of industrial importance found in the kingdom were salt and iron. The salt industry came to prominence at the beginning of the 19th century. The iron industry had greater antiquity, but the lack of coal slowed its development. Other minerals included granite, limestone, ironstone, and fireclay. Textile manufacturers produced linen, woolen, and cotton fabrics, particularly at Esslingen and Göppingen , and paper making

468-591: A general superintendent or prelate from each of six principal towns. The synod consisted of a representative council including both lay and clerical members. The Catholic Church in the kingdom was led by the Bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart , who answered to the Archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau . Politically, it obeyed a Catholic council that was appointed by the government. A state-appointed council ( Oberkirchenbehörde ) regulated Judaism after 1828, forming

546-831: A keen split between the parties, but the Prime Minister Karl von Weizsäcker stayed in office until the change in the constitution of the German Empire under Prince Maximilian of Baden 's chancellorship in October 1918 compelled the Württemberg Government to give way, and the Weizsäcker Ministry resigned. The kingdom ended with the abdication of William II in November, but the political system experienced no further convulsions of

624-522: A long history of producing red wines , growing different varieties from those grown in other German wine regions. The Württemberg wine region centred on the valley of the Neckar and several of its tributaries, the Rems , Enz , Kocher , and Jagst . The Mohrenköpfle is the traditional swine. On the orders of King William I, masked pigs were imported from Central China in 1820/21, to improve pig breeding in

702-683: A peace in August 1866. Württemberg paid an indemnity of 8,000,000 gulden, and concluded a secret offensive and defensive treaty with its conqueror. Württemberg was a party to the 1864 Geneva Convention and the St Petersburg Declaration of 1868 . The end of the struggle against Prussia allowed a renewal of democratic agitation in Württemberg, but this had achieved no tangible results when the war broke out in 1870. Although Württemberg had continued to be antagonistic to Prussia,

780-563: A portion of his sentence in "a special probation corps before the enemy". However, recidivist criminals and hardcore elements in the German prison system were not allowed to join those units. Beginning in April 1941, convicted soldiers – even those sentenced to death – who had shown exceptional bravery or meritorious service, were allowed to rejoin their original units. However, those in probation units were expected to undertake dangerous operations at

858-468: A privy council, consisting of the ministers and some nominated councillors ( German : wirkliche Staatsräte ), who advised the sovereign. The judges of a special supreme court of justice, called the State Tribunal ( German : Staatsgerichtshof ) functioned as the guardians of the constitution. This court was partly elected by the chambers and partly appointed by the king. Each of the chambers had

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936-543: A probation period in a Bewährungsbataillon unit. They were monitored and commanded by selected officers, NCOs, and assigned enlisted men, who made up a quarter of the total strength. Although battle losses were high, the desire to win the right to leave probation meant combat morale was high. Major operations conducted by Bewährungsbataillone on the Eastern Front included Kamianka , Ukraine , as well as at Gruzino and Sinyavino , near Leningrad . In October 1942,

1014-437: A sense of duty, honor and purpose. Those goals were to be achieved through harsh discipline and punishments, extensive indoctrination programs, and restrictions on home leave. Troops who conformed were eventually transferred to regular units. However, those who continued to show indiscipline or opposed the military were transferred to Sachsenhausen concentration camp . Before World War II, there were nine Sonderabteilungen within

1092-550: A serious character, with a constitution that resembled those of the other German states . Authority over the churches resided with the king. So long as he belonged to the Evangelical State Church in Württemberg , the king was its guardian. The Protestant Church was controlled (under the Minister of Religion and Education) by a consistory and a synod . The consistory comprised a president, 9 councilors, and

1170-545: The Bundeswehr in 1955, many of its branches of service were given names that would at least nominally distinguish them from their logical Wehrmacht equivalents. Thus, military police in the modern Bundeswehr were not called Feldgendarmerie. In fact, the original intent was to call the MPs Militärpolizei, literally military police. However, state officials protested as the law enforcement function in

1248-534: The Feldgendarmerie , the German military police. By 1943, the course of the war had turned against Nazi Germany . Military losses and the need to maintain discipline by example made the German High Command order that further punishment units should be formed from the thousands of Wehrmacht military prisoners that were held in its military prisons . The Strafbataillon , which were under

1326-538: The Gulden . From 1857, the Vereinsthaler was introduced alongside it, and from 1873 onwards, both were replaced by the gold Mark . The state revenue for 1909–1910 totalled an estimated amount equivalent at the time to £4,840,520, nearly balanced by expenditure. About one-third of the revenue derived from railways, forests, and mines, about £1,400,000 from direct taxation, and the remainder from indirect taxes,

1404-829: The Ordnungspolizei serving with the Waffen-SS , were also given military police powers and duties. These special SS-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 the Feldgendarmerie was superseded by the creation of the Feldjägerkorps . Answering only to the German High Command (OKW), its three regiments were founded to maintain discipline and military cohesion in all branches of

1482-930: The Danube district. The people of the north-west represent Alemannic stock, those of the north-east Franconian , and those of the centre and south Swabian . The Kingdom’s civil service employed families and individuals who remained prominent in German public life after 1918. These included the Weizsäcker family , the von Neuraths and the von Stauffenbergs , and individuals such as Matthias Erzberger and Friedrich von Payer . In 1910, there were 506,061 people working in agriculture; 432,114 had industrial occupations; and 100,109 were in trade and commerce. The largest towns included Stuttgart (with Cannstatt), Ulm , Heilbronn , Esslingen am Neckar , Reutlingen , Ludwigsburg , Göppingen , Schwäbisch Gmünd , Tübingen , Tuttlingen , and Ravensburg . The territory of Württemberg

1560-636: The Duke of Württemberg (1754–1816; succeeded: 1797), assumed the title of King Frederick I on 1 January 1806. He abrogated the constitution, and united Old and New Württemberg. Subsequently, he placed the property of the church under government control, and greatly extended the borders of the kingdom by the process of mediatisation . In 1806, Frederick joined the Confederation of the Rhine and received further territory with 160,000 inhabitants. Later, by

1638-698: The Feldgendarmerie were given the task of maintaining discipline in the Wehrmacht . Many ordinary soldiers deemed to be deserters were summarily executed by Feldgendarmerie units. This earned them the pejorative Kettenhunde (English: chained dogs ) after the gorget they wore with their uniforms. The arbitrary and brutal policing of soldiers gave them the other nickname Heldenklauer (English: hero-snatcher ) because they screened refugees and hospital transports for potential deserters with orders to kill suspected malingerers . Rear-echelon personnel would also be checked for passes that permitted them to be away from

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1716-645: The Horch 4x4 and 3 ton Opel Blitz lorries and a small number of armoured vehicles as a means of transport. Personal weapons consisted of small arms such as the Walther PP which was designed as a civilian police pistol (PP Polizei-Pistole) or the Walther PPK both of which were favoured by officers whereas the Luger P08 and Walther P38 were used by other ranks. Machine pistols were carried by NCOs and

1794-483: The Imperial German Army . For the next 10 years, Württemberg enthusiastically supported the new order. Many important reforms ensued, especially in the area of finance, but a proposal to unify the railway system with that of the rest of Germany failed. After reductions in taxation in 1889, changes to the constitution were considered. Charles wished to strengthen the conservative element in the chambers, but

1872-639: The Mauser Karabiner 98k , the MP40 was issued but was not widely used. The MG34 and MG42 were used as vehicle mounted armament for defending road blocks or vehicle checkpoints . 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

1950-540: The Mauser factory at Oberndorf am Neckar ), scientific and artistic appliances, pianos (at Stuttgart), organs and other musical instruments, photographic apparatus, clocks (in the Black Forest ), electrical apparatus, and gold and silver goods. Chemical works, potteries, cabinet-making workshops, sugar factories, breweries, and distilleries operated throughout the kingdom. Hydropower and petrol largely compensated for

2028-618: The Peace of Vienna of October 1809, about 110,000 more people came under his rule. In return for these favours, Frederick joined French Emperor Napoleon in his campaigns against Prussia , Austria , and Russia . Of the 16,000 of his subjects who marched to Moscow, only a few hundred returned. After the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, Frederick deserted the French emperor and, by a treaty with Metternich at Fulda in November 1813, he secured

2106-616: The Wehrmacht (including the Feldgendarmerie ). 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 the Wehrmacht or the SS for desertion, defeatism and other duty violations. Every unit of the Feldjäger had command of a "Fliegendes Standgericht" (flying drumhead trial/flying court martial), which comprised three judges. Despite

2184-602: The Wehrmacht in Nazi Germany. According to estimates, between 3000 and 6000 Wehrmacht personnel passed through those special departments. A total of 320 "incorrigible rogues" were transported to concentration camps. However, with the outbreak of war in 1939, the Sonderabteilungen were disbanded. They were replaced with the Feld-Sonder Battalion (English: Special Field Battalion ) under

2262-471: The 999th Light Afrika Division was formed from civilian criminals and prison inmates who had been deemed "unfit for military service". They were encouraged to volunteer on the promise that all past crimes would be wiped out by exemplary bravery in combat. However, anyone who refused to join the Bewährungstruppe (English: probation troop ) would stay in prison without rights to parole, or be sent to

2340-610: The Allies. In September 1944, some troops from the 999th, including Falk Harnack and Gerhard Reinhardt , took active part in armed resistance with the Greek Liberation Army (ELAS) . In the final years of the war, order within all branches of the Wehrmacht was upheld by a specially-formed military police, the Feldjägerkorps . These military police units, which had seniority over all other Feldgendarmerie , were formed from combat-decorated officers and NCOs. Possessing

2418-588: The German Army, the Feldgendarmerie was involved in the Holocaust . For instance, in August 1942 Feldgendarmerie units rounded up Jews in the Occupied Zone of France as part of a mass deportation operation. The Oxford Handbook of Holocaust Studies stated in 2010 that there is a need for further research into the role of the Feldgendarmerie during the Holocaust. The SS-Feldgendarmerie wore

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2496-690: The Israelite Religious Community of Württemberg ( German : Israelitische Religionsgemeinschaft Württembergs ). The kingdom claimed universal literacy (reading and writing) among citizens over the age of 10 years. Higher education institutions included the University of Tübingen , the Stuttgart University of Technology , the veterinary college, and the commercial college at Stuttgart, and the agricultural college of Hohenheim . Gymnasia and other schools existed in

2574-598: The Kingdom of Württemberg. This crossbreeding with the "Chinese pigs" was particularly successful within the stocks of domestic pigs in the Hohenlohe region and the area around the town of Schwäbisch Hall. To help people to help themselves, Württemberg planted an alley of trees.( Dienstbarkeit on private ground). The tree farms of William I and the Brüdergemeinde delivered for free. In former times, iron ore

2652-571: The Ministry of War, but in peacetime 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 of the army, called Feldgendarmerie. Should more manpower be needed, regular infantry and cavalry corporals and some COs were seconded to the Feldgendarmerie under supervision of

2730-723: The United Kingdom. King William abdicated on 30 November 1918, following Germany's defeat in the First World War, ending a dynasty that had lasted 837 years. The kingdom was replaced with the Free People's State of Württemberg . After World War II, Württemberg was divided between the American and French occupation zones and became part of two new states: Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern . These two states merged with South Baden in 1952 to become

2808-563: The brand new German constitution had been given primarily to the states, not the federation. The word Polizei (Police) was jealously guarded by the states, so the Federal Defence Ministry searched for a new designation and adopted Feldjäger which was a traditional Prussian regiment with some military police type functions. Kingdom of W%C3%BCrttemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( German : Königreich Württemberg [ˌkøːnɪkʁaɪç ˈvʏʁtəmbɛʁk] )

2886-528: The commotion that ensued, Frederick died on 30 October 1816. Frederick was succeeded by his son, William I (1781–1864; succeeded: 1816), who after much discussion, granted a new constitution in September 1819. This constitution (with subsequent modifications) remained in force until 1918. The desire for greater political freedom did not entirely fade under the constitution of 1819, and after 1830, some transitory unrest occurred. A period of quiet set in and

2964-629: The competition between Austria and Prussia for supremacy in Germany, William had consistently taken the Austrian side and the new king continued this policy. In 1866, Württemberg took up arms on behalf of Austria in the Austro-Prussian War , but three weeks after the Battle of Königgrätz (3 July 1866), the allies suffered a comprehensive defeat at the Battle of Tauberbischofsheim . The Prussians occupied northern Württemberg and negotiated

3042-490: The condition of the kingdom, and its education, agriculture, trade, and economy improved. Both in public and in private matters, William's frugality helped to repair the country's shattered finances. The inclusion of Württemberg in the German Zollverein and the construction of railways fostered trade. The revolutionary movement of 1848 did not leave Württemberg untouched, although no violence took place in

3120-536: The confirmation of his royal title and of his recent acquisitions of territory. Meanwhile, his troops marched into France with the allies. In 1815, the king joined the German Confederation , but the Congress of Vienna made no change to the extent of his lands. In the same year, he laid before the representatives of his people the outline of a new constitution , but they rejected it, and in the midst of

3198-615: The control of the Feldgendarmerie . However, as the war continued, the need for more military personnel grew accordingly. Military tribunals were directed by the OKW to send incarcerated members of the Wehrmacht , as well as "subversives", to Bewährungsbataillone (English: probation battalions ) at the front. The 500th Probation Battalion was created by a secret Führer directive in December 1940. The order stated that any first-time convicted soldier could return to his unit after he had served

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3276-459: The control of the Wehrmacht . Their duties policing the areas behind the front lines ranged from straightforward traffic control and population control to suppression and execution of partisans and the apprehension of enemy stragglers. When combat units moved forward out of a region, the Feldgendarmerie role would formally end as control was then transferred to occupation authorities under

3354-534: The control of the Feldgendarmerie , were then used to conduct dangerous operations (sometimes akin to suicide missions ) for the Heer , such as clearing minefields , assaulting difficult objectives and defending positions against overwhelming attacking forces. They were also made to do hard manual labor in frontline locations, building and repairing military infrastructure and defenses. Prisoners who survived their missions would be deemed "fit to fight" and returned to

3432-593: The control of the Nazi Party and SS . But Feldgendarmerie units are known to have assisted the SS in committing war crimes in occupied areas . Author Antony Beevor explores some well-documented cases of their participation in his book Stalingrad . 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,

3510-541: The direct authority from the OKW, they had the power to maintain control and discipline throughout all the German armed forces including the SS . The Feldjägerkorps had the authority in the field to summarily execute officers or enlisted men for any breach of military discipline, order or duty. By September 1944, all soldiers and recruits who received a sentence of deferred execution in a drumhead court-martial were sent directly to Strafbataillons . Numbers rapidly increased as

3588-401: The field with the "rights" of a combat soldier. Although most Strafbataillon personnel were used on the Eastern Front , some were sent to the Ardennes , on the Western Front during the last major German offensive , in December 1944. The Strafbataillon were developed from the Sonderabteilungen (English: special departments ) that existed in pre-war Nazi Germany. Initially, Nazi policy

3666-432: The first car manufacturer, incorporated his business in 1900 as Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft , and its successor company Mercedes-Benz always had plants near Stuttgart. At Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance , Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin constructed airships from 1897 until his death in 1917. In 1907, the kingdom had 2,000 km (1,200 mi) of railways, of which all except 256 km (159 mi) belonged to

3744-402: The former Gendarmerie NCOs/COs. The uniform of the Feldgendarmerie was identical with the uniform of the Landgendarmerie. At the outbreak of the First World War the Feldgendarmerie comprised 33 companies. They each had 60 men and two NCOs. By 1918, the number of companies had been expanded to 115 units. After World War I, all military police units were disbanded and no police units existed in

3822-430: The front. The Feldgendarmerie also administered the Strafbataillone (English: Penal Battalions ) which were Wehrmacht punishment units created for soldiers convicted by court martial and sentenced to a deferred execution . During the final days of the war, as the Third Reich crumbled, recruits or soldiers who committed even the slightest infraction were sent to a Strafbataillon . Like many other elements of

3900-457: The front. Refusal entailed execution of the original sentence. Those who did refuse were labeled "criminal entities" and sent to the harsh moorland labor camps in Emsland in Lower Saxony . There was a strong incentive to join Bewährungsbataillon because convicted soldiers lost both their honor and citizen rights. The only way to get those rights back was probation in Bewährungsbataillon 500. During World War II, more than 27,000 soldiers served

3978-445: The greatest east to west was 160 km (99 mi). The border had a total length of 1,800 km (1,100 mi) and the total area of the state was 19,508 km (7,532 sq mi). The kingdom had borders with Bavaria on the east and south, with Baden in the north, west, and south. The southern part surrounded the Prussian province of Hohenzollern on most of its sides and touched on Lake Constance . Frederick III,

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4056-675: The inter-war Weimar Republic era. Garrisons were patrolled by regular soldiers performing the duties of the military police. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, Feldgendarmerie were reintroduced into the Wehrmacht . The new units received full infantry training and were given extensive police powers. A military police school was set up at Potsdam , near Berlin to train Feldgendarmerie personnel. Subjects 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

4134-502: The king and his ministers succeeded in assembling a servile diet that surrendered the privileges gained since 1848. In this way, the authorities restored the constitution of 1819 and power passed into bureaucratic hands. A concordat with the papacy proved almost the last act of William's long reign, but the diet repudiated the agreement. In July 1864, Charles I (1823–1891; succeeded: 1864) succeeded his father William as king and almost at once had to face considerable difficulties. In

4212-432: The kingdom shared in the national enthusiasm that swept over Germany. The Army of Württemberg played a creditable part in the Battle of Wörth and in other operations of the war. In 1871, Württemberg became a member of the new German Empire , but retained control of its own post office , telegraphs , and railways. It also had certain special privileges with regard to taxation and maintained its army autonomously within

4290-467: The lack of coal, and liquid carbonic acid was produced from natural gas springs beside the Eyach , a tributary of the Neckar. The kingdom's principal exports included cattle, cereals, wood, pianos, salt, oil, leather, cotton and linen fabrics, beer, wine, and spirits. Commerce centred on the cities of Stuttgart , Ulm , Heilbronn , and Friedrichshafen . Stuttgart boasted an extensive book trade. The kingdom had creative inventors; Gottlieb Daimler ,

4368-428: The larger towns, while every commune had a primary school. Numerous schools and colleges existed for women. Württemberg also had a school of viticulture . The education system was improved in 1909. Under the terms of a military convention of 25 November 1870, the troops of Württemberg formed the XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps of the Imperial German Army . Until 1873, the kingdom and some neighbouring states used

4446-446: The laws of 1874, 1876, and 1879 effected only a slight amount of change. When King Charles died suddenly on 6 October 1891, he was succeeded by his nephew, William II (1848–1921; succeeded: 1891), who continued Charles' policies. Constitutional discussions continued and the election of 1895 returned a powerful party of democrats. William had no sons, nor had his only Protestant kinsman, Duke Nicholas (1833–1903). Consequently, power

4524-534: The lower chamber elected its own chairman. Members of each house had to be over 25 years of age. Württemberg parliamentary terms lasted six years and all male citizens over 25 had the right to vote in the ballots. The highest executive power rested in the hands of the Ministry of State ( German : Staatsministerium ), consisting of six ministers: justice , foreign affairs (with the royal household, railways, posts and telegraphs), interior , public worship and education , war , and finance . The kingdom also had

4602-405: The modern German state of Baden-Württemberg within the Federal Republic of Germany . The Kingdom of Württemberg functioned as a constitutional monarchy within the German Empire , with four votes in the Federal Council ( German : Bundesrat ) and 17 in the Imperial Diet ( German : Reichstag ). The constitution rested on a law of 1819, amended in 1868, 1874, and 1906. The king received

4680-405: The official end of World War II, the Feldgendarmerie became the last German units to surrender their arms. The Feldgendarmerie was under the direct control of the German High Command O.K.H. ( Oberkommando des Heeres ). A Feldgendarmerie major general who was in charge of all Feldgendarmerie personnel attached to the Wehrmacht, was directly subordinated to the Generalquartiermeister . He

4758-488: The post office and sundry items. In 1909, the public debt amounted to £29,285,335, of which more than £27,000,000 resulted from railway construction. Of the expenditure, over £900,000 went towards public worship and education, and over £1,200,000 went in interest and debt repayment. The kingdom contributed £660,000 to the treasury of the German Empire. Population statistics for Württemberg's four departments ( Kreise ) for 1900 and 1905 appear below: Settlement density

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4836-444: The rest of Germany. Strafbataillon Strafbataillon ( English : "penal battalion") is the generic term for penal units that were created from prisoners during the Second World War in all branches of the Wehrmacht . Soldiers, criminals and civilians sentenced to those units were generally poorly armed and required to undertake dangerous high-casualty missions. The Strafbataillon were operated and administered by

4914-495: The right to impeach ministers. The nation comprised four departments or districts ( German : Kreise ), subdivided into 64 divisions ( German : Oberamtsbezirke ), each under a "head man" ( German : Oberamtmann ) assisted by a local council ( German : Amtsversammlung ). Each department was headed by its own government ( German : Regierung ). Between 1900 and 1910, the political history of Württemberg centred on constitutional and educational questions. The constitution

4992-597: 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 conducted counter-insurgency and extermination operations with Einsatzgruppen 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. Nicknamed Kopf Jäger (Head Hunters), they also tracked down and punished those deemed to be deserters. From 1944 onwards, former members of

5070-422: The state. Navigable waterways included the Neckar, the Schussen, Lake Constance, and the Danube downstream from Ulm. The kingdom had fairly good quality roads, the oldest of them of Roman construction. Württemberg, like Bavaria , retained the control of its own postal and telegraph service following the foundation of the new German Empire in 1871. In 1904, the Württemberg railway system integrated with that of

5148-673: The surrender of all German forces in May 1945, some Feldgendarmerie and Feldjägerkorps units in the western zones of occupied Germany were allowed to keep their weapons by the Allies because of the number of Disarmed Enemy Forces that required guarding and processing. For example, the British VIII Corps based in Schleswig-Holstein used an entire regiment of volunteers from the Feldgendarmerie to maintain discipline at its demobilisation center at Meldorf . Re-activated military police, who received extra rations as pay, were identified by an armband stating Wehrmachtordnungstruppe (Armed Forces Order Troop). In June 1946, more than 12 months after

5226-425: The territory. William had to dismiss Johannes Schlayer (1792–1860) and his other ministers, and appoint men with more liberal ideas, proponents of a united Germany . William proclaimed a democratic constitution, but as soon as the movement had spent its force, he dismissed the liberal ministers, and in October 1849, Schlayer and his associates returned to power. In 1851, by interfering with popular electoral rights,

5304-457: The war drew to a close in May 1945. Danish writer, Sven Hassel , uses the Strafbataillon in many of his novels about the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front. The fictional unit of disgraced German paratroopers , who are sent to kidnap British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in The Eagle Has Landed , by Jack Higgins , are also recruited from a Wehrmacht penal unit. In the German TV miniseries Generation War , Wilhelm, who deserts from

5382-409: Was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg . The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg , which existed from 1803 to 1806. The borders of the Kingdom of Württemberg, as defined in 1813, lay between 47°34' and 49°35' north and 8°15' and 10°30' east. The greatest distance north to south was 225 kilometres (140 mi) and

5460-417: Was concentrated in the Neckar valley from Esslingen northward. The overall rate of population increase from 1900 to 1905 amounted to 1.22% per year. About 8.5% of births were out of wedlock . Classified according to religion around 1905, about 69% of the population professed Protestantism, 30% Roman Catholicism, and about 0.5% Judaism. Protestants predominated in the Neckar district and Roman Catholics in

5538-430: Was due to pass to a Roman Catholic branch of the family, raising difficulties concerning the relations between church and state. As of 1910, the heir to the throne was Duke Albert (born 1865) of the Altshausen family. An older Catholic line, that of the Duke of Urach , was bypassed as a result of a morganatic marriage contracted in 1800. A Protestant morganatic line included Mary of Teck , who married George V of

5616-553: Was largely agricultural; of its 19,508 square kilometres (7,532 sq mi), 44.9% comprised agricultural land and gardens, 1.1% vineyards, 17.9% meadows and pastures, and 30.8% forests. It possessed rich meadowlands, cornfields, orchards, gardens, and hills covered with vines. The chief agricultural products were oats, spelt , rye, wheat, barley and hops, peas and beans, maize, fruit (chiefly cherries and apples), beets, and tobacco, as well as dairy and garden produce. Livestock included cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses. Württemberg has

5694-939: Was mined on the Heuberg . The buttress wood was bought in Truchtelfingen and used by Lautlingen miners at the Hörnle area. In Oberdigisheim Geppert in 1738 SHW-Ludwigsthal produced iron ore. From an old 3.5 km mine in an ooidal iron ore seam (Doggererzflöz) in Weilheim is wood in the Tuttlinger Fruchtkasten. Steel was produced in Tuttlingen by the Schwäbische Hüttenwerke in Ludwigstal, which produces now iron brakes. had

5772-487: Was prominent in Ravensburg , Heilbronn , and throughout Lower Swabia . Assisted by the government, manufacturing industries developed rapidly during the later years of the 19th century, notably metal working, especially branches that required skilled workmanship. Particular importance attached to iron and steel goods, locomotives (for which Esslingen enjoyed a good reputation), machinery, cars, bicycles, small arms (in

5850-606: 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 more Feldgendarmerie 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

5928-719: Was revised in 1906 when Württemberg introduced, before any other German state, the proportional system of election for the Second Chamber of the Diet. The result of the elections of 1906 was such that the two Liberal parties on the one side and the Catholic Centre and the Conservatives on the other were equally strong, so that the Social Democrats held the balance. Subsequent political changes resulted in

6006-653: Was subdivided into smaller-sized Truppen which were attached to each division or corps. A Gruppe , 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 in Kübelwagen , trucks and motorcycles (with sidecars ). These battalions were equipped with motorcycles and sidecars , Kübelwagen , field cars such as

6084-596: Was to rebuild the armed forces by keeping "potential troublemakers" away from the troops and removing any "destructive elements" from military service. But on 21 May 1935, Adolf Hitler decreed that under the new Nazi Defence Act, any conscript who was deemed "unfit for military service because of subversive activity" would be arrested. However, soldiers who were deemed disruptive to military discipline, but were otherwise "worthy of service", would be sent to military Sonderabteilungen . Those units were designed to change attitudes toward state and national policy while instilling

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