THIRD REICH ARMY COMMAND FLAGS

GREATER GERMAN REICH

COMMAND FLAGS & PENNANTS OF THE ARMY

Image Added September 2003

Flag for Military Governors

Notes

The German Army's World War II system of command flags and pennants was developed in the late 1920's, with additions and modifications being made as required. For the most part they were used as car flags and as marker flags for headquarters.

The Chief of the Army Command (Commander-in-Chief of the Army from 1935) had a flag with a red frame and a white field bearing the traditional Iron Cross; the design was modified when the title was changed. In 1941, Hitler assumed personal command of the Army and this flag became obsolete. In 1944, a flag similar to the 1931-35 design, but with Nazi eagles in the corners and a white swastika on the Iron Cross, was adopted for the Chief of the Army High Command (the wartime title for the Chief of the Great General Staff). A distinctive flag for Army field marshals was adopted in 1940 after several generals were promoted to that rank. Military governors of occupied territories also had a distinguishing flag.

The flags for higher headquarters were identical to those specified in the Army's 1905 Field Service Regulations. In 1939 an additional flag was introduced for army groups, similar to the flag for armies except for a white-red frame. The flag for panzer groups was adopted in 1940 but abolished in 1941 when these formations were upgraded to army status, e.g. Fourth Panzer Group became Fourth Panzer Army. Thereafter they used the army flag.

Regiments had rectangular flags with a field in the arm-of-service color (Waffenfarbe), divided by a broad horizontal black stripe. Battalions had triangular pennants of the same pattern. Engineer units had a white stripe, since the engineer Waffenfarbe was black. For company-sized units, a triangular pennant with a vertical stripe was used.

All these flags were abolished in 1945 when the Army was disbanded after Germany's surrender, but in the 1950's, the newly organized West German Bundesheer adopted a similar system of flags and pennants that is still in use.

Flag Proportions: High command and higher headquarters flags were made square. Other flags and pennants were made in 2:3 proportions.