German Armed Forces

— The Wehrmacht's victory theme in Call of Duty: United Offensive

The German Armed Forces (Imperial German Army, Wehrmacht, National People's Army or Bundeswehr) is the most prevalent of the antagonist forces in the World War II Call of Duty series, and are the main antagonists in Call of Duty, Call of Duty: United Offensive, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty: WWII and Call of Duty: Vanguard. They also appear in Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

Branches of the German Army[]

German Empire[]

Heer[]

The Heer was the land branch of the Imperial German Army during World War I. They are seen wearing gray-green uniforms with stalhelms and gas masks.

Luftstreitkräfte[]

The Luftstreitkräfte was the air branch of the Imperial German Army during World War I.

Nazi Germany[]

Heer[]

The Heer was the land branch of the Wehrmacht during World War II and is by far the most prominent branch in the Call of Duty series in this respect. The Heer is seen in the form of infantry, panzers, and panzer grenadiers. They're recognizable by their field grey uniforms (although varying in missions) and stalhelms.

WAWWehrmacht — German soldiers in *World at War*

Luftwaffe[]

Main article: Luftwaffe

The Luftwaffe was the air branch of the Wehrmacht during World War II and is often seen in the form of planes which the player must either shoot down or take cover from. The planes' play limited roles in Call of Duty as they are rarely confronted directly. However, the Fallschirmjägers (paratroopers) in contrast are much more common and appear regularly throughout Call of Duty, especially in the American campaign.

Kriegsmarine[]

Main article: Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the naval branch of the Wehrmacht during World War II. The most significant appearance of the Kriegsmarine is during the infiltration of Battleship Tirpitz in Call of Duty, where the player encounters Matrosengefreiter and Korvettenkapitän guards on the ship. They're otherwise the rarest of the three branches through the series.

Waffen-SS[]

Main article: Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel. Although not a part of the Wehrmacht directly, they operationally served with the Heer. They are rarely seen, and often distinguishable from regular soldiers as their uniforms are slightly different as they wear camouflaged smocks and helmet covers, wear SS runes on the collars, have an eagle on the sleeve, divisional cuff titles on the left, and black shoulder boards for the enlisted men.

East Germany[]

Nationale Volksarmee[]

Main article: National People's Army

The Nationale Volksarmee were the armed forces of East Germany during the Cold War. Their uniforms were based on their Wehrmacht predecessor as they still used field grey uniform style with M56 helmets, which was an evolution of the Stalhelm helmets.

Germany[]

Bundeswehr[]

Main article: Bundeswehr

The Bundeswehr are the armed forces of today Germany. They took part in World War III against the Russian invasion of Europe.

Call of Duty and United Offensive[]

The Wehrmacht appears in every mission, except in the Berlin map of United Offensive's multiplayer.. They wear field grey uniforms and a stalhelm in most levels, except in winter maps where they don greatcoats.

Call of Duty 2[]

In Russia, German soldiers wear grey uniforms with masks and a helmet or white winter uniforms either with black helmets or a hood.

In North Africa, German soldiers resemble the Afrika Korps with brown uniforms and tan helmets, sometimes with goggles and a mask, or grey shirts with brown pants.

In France and the Rhine, German soldiers wear field grey uniforms with helmets with decals on both sides. Members of the Spanish Blue Division also appear and wear either brown trenchcoats or grey uniforms with a camouflaged Zeltbahn (poncho). German Officers also appear in these areas, only using MP40s or Luger pistols and recognizable by their schirmmützen (caps).

Call of Duty: World at War[]

Campaign[]

German soldiers appear as enemies in every missions of the Soviet campaign, except in the level Downfall where they are replaced by SS Honor Guards. They wear German field grey uniforms with Stahlhelms or field caps and use Gewehr 43 semi-automatic rifles, Kar98k rifles, MP40 submachine guns, Stielhandgranate grenades, mounted MG42s and Walther P38 pistols in last stand.

Officers can also be encountered in different levels of the game and use MP40s.

In the level Vendetta, Dimitri Petrenko and Viktor Reznov hunt a German general named Heinrich Amsel.

German Panzer IV and Tiger II tanks are encountered in the levels Vendetta, Their Land, Their Blood and Blood and Iron and Panther tanks in Blood and Iron. Most of the time the player has to destroy several of them to achieve the missions.

Multiplayer[]

The Wehrmacht is a playable faction in the European maps in the game, they always face the Red Army.

German character models depends on the type of weapons used and also the perks.

Riflemen, Submachine Gunners and Snipers are actually Waffen-SS troops, due to the SS woodland camouflage uniform used. They respectively wear a Stahlhelm, a field cap and a Stalhelm with leaves on it.

Machine Gunners and Shotgunners resembles Wehrmacht troops encountered in the campaign, they wear German field grey uniforms with Stahlhelms, the shotgunners have net cover on their helmets.

Panzer IV tanks can be used in the multiplayer maps Downfall, Seelow, Outskirts and Roundhouse.

Multiplayer Maps[]

Zombies[]

Edward Richtofen was a Major General in the German Army.

Call of Duty: Black Ops[]

Campaign[]

The German Army are the enemies in World War 2 level Project Nova, where the Red Army assault a grounded German Boat in order to capture the nazi scientist Friedrich Steiner with the Nova 6 supply.

They wear German winter uniforms with Stalhelms, and use STG-44 assault rifles, MP40 machine pistols, Stielhandgranate grenades, mounted MG42 machine guns and Panzerschreck RPGs. They do not use Kar98ks unlike the previous games.

Zombies[]

The Ultimis incarnation of Edward Richtofen was a Major General in the German Army.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3[]

The Bundeswehr appears as an allied faction in the campaign level Scorched Earth. Leopard 2 tanks are seen assisting Team Metal in the defense of Berlin against Russian Ground Forces.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II[]

Imperial German soldiers are seen in the cutscene of the Zombies map Origins digging tunnels and fighting zombies in the dig site and trenches. They eventually became outnumbered and zombified according to the zombies appearance. They are seen using WW2 era STG-44s. German planes can be seen fighting in the sky of the battlefield.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III[]

Campaign[]

"The German Tiger Tank. 'King Tiger' they called it. Immune to most munitions. Are you strong enough to defeat it?"

— Sarah Hall talking to the player in her Mind.

The German Military is an enemy faction during a flashback during the mission "Demon Within". In this mission, the Player uses a DNI mental link to force their way into Sarah Hall's mind in which she re-imagines the Siege of Bastogne that she references in her final paper at the academy. The Player must fight against Hall's warped mental universe. In Hall's mind, the German Military and US Military are both mostly using 2060s-era weapons, with the exceptions being the King Tiger tank, the Stielhandgranates, and the mounted MG42s.

Near the end of the mission, German Military zombies appear, attacking the player with vehement ferocity.

Zombies[]

The German Military appear zombified in the Zombies maps The Giant, Der Eisendrache and Dead Ops Arcade II: Cyber's Avengening. German soldiers are seen in the starting cutscene of Der Eisendrache transporting and defending Ultimis "Tank" Dempsey from capture by Primis characters.

The Ultimis version of Edward Richtofen was a Major General in the Wehrmacht.

Imperial German soldiers are seen in the cutscene of the map Origins digging tunnels and fighting zombies in the dig site and trenches. They eventually became outnumbered and zombified according to the zombies appearance. They are seen using WW2 era STG-44s. German planes can be seen fighting in the sky of the battlefield.

Call of Duty: WWII[]

Campaign[]

The German military appear as the antagonists in every mission of the campaign in Call of Duty: WWII. they also commonly appear alongside the Waffen-SS who first appear in Death Factory. They use mostly German weapons but will sometimes use captured Russian weapons.

Submachine gunners wear grey uniforms with black pants and have field caps. In Liberation they have unique dark green uniforms and light green caps. In Battle of the Bulge they have black gloves. they use submachine guns such as the Waffe 28, MP40 and captured PPSh-41 SMGs.

German riflemen wear trench coats and helmets. In the Battle of the Bulge they have gloves and scarves around their neck. They use Kar98k rifles or captured Russian SVT-40s. and Polish Karabins.

Shotgunners wear regular infantry uniforms and helmets but also have shotgun shells strapped to their uniforms, in battle of the Bulge they have Splittertarnmuster helmet covers and pants. They use either M30 Luftwaffe Drilling or Toggle Action shotguns.

Machine Gunners have ammo belts around their neck and helmets with leaves tied to them, in Liberation they wear regular helmets, they use either MG42 or MG 15 machine guns.

Flametroopers wear black gloves and a helmet with protective goggles. They use a Flammenwerfer 35 flamethrower. The fuel tank can be shot to set them on fire.

Rocket troopers have green bags filled with rockets and three tank destruction badges on their arms. They use Panzerschreck rocket launchers and Toggle action shotguns in close range.

Snipers have a similar appearance to the Snipers from multiplayer. In Liberation the snipers from the houses wear submachine-gunners' grey uniform, using scoped Karabin semi auto rifles.

Officers wear grey officer uniforms and hats, using MP40s and behaving hsimilar to sub machine gunners.

Multiplayer[]

The German Army is playable for the majority of the Axis Powers except for the Airborne Division which features the Royal Italian Army.

Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII[]

Zombies[]

The Ultimis version of Edward Richtofen was a Major General in the Wehrmacht.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War[]

The East German Army appears as an enemy faction in the early half of the campaign level Brick in the Wall. The GDP border guards can be seen patrolling the tunnels and guarding the checkpoints of and the land in between the Berlin Wall.

Call of Duty: Vanguard[]

The German Army appear in every mission except The Battle of Midway and Numa Numa Trail.

Riflemen wear trench coats and helmets, they sometimes have masks over their face, in North Africa they have yellow clothing and winter clothing in Lady Nightingale. they use bolt action or semi auto rifles, the soldiers in North Africa have assault rifles.

Submachine gunners use MP40s with different attachments. in North Africa they have yellow pants and hats with green shirts and red desert goggles. they sometimes use Kar98 rifles with bayonets. Engineers appear in Phoenix, they also use MP40s but their guns have no attachments.

Shotgunners have helmets with straps and have shotguns shells strapped across their chest, they use Einhorn Revolving shotguns.

Snipers wear Ghilie suits and will use scoped G-43 or Kar98k rifles, in close range they use Klauser pistols. The snipers in North Africa have the same appearance as the submachinegunners.

Machine Gunners carry MG42 machine guns and have ammo belts across their chest.

Rocket Troopers carry Panzerschreck rocket launcers and carry Klauser pistols for close range.

A single German officer appears in Lady Nightingale, who uses a Machine Pistol.

German Military Personnel[]

Brigadier General Richter (K.I.A.)
Major General Heinrich Amsel (K.I.A.)
Major General Edward Richtofen (Ultimis version) (K.I.A)
Doctor Ludvig Maxis (Unknown)
German Tank Commander (Unknown)
German Rifleman (Unknown)
Colonel Huber (K.I.A.)
Colonel Baumann (K.I.A.)
Colonel Keller (K.I.A.)
Colonel Sauer (K.I.A.)
Walter Gerber (Unknown)
German Tank Commander (K.I.A.)
German Prisoner (P.O.W)
Captain Metz (K.I.A.)
Doctor Peter Straub (K.I.A.)
Grüppenführer Heinz Richter (K.I.A.)

Equipment[]

Weapons[]

Explosives[]

Aircraft[]

Ground Vehicles[]

Gallery[]

Call of Duty and United Offensive[]

Call of Duty 2[]

Call of Duty 3[]

Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts[]

Call of Duty: World at War[]

Call of Duty: Black Ops[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3[]

Call of Duty: Black Ops II[]

Call of Duty: Black Ops III[]

Call of Duty: WWII[]

Call of Duty: Vanguard[]

Quotes[]

Main article: German Military/Quotes

Trivia[]

Many German soldiers in the missions of Call of Duty 2 set in Europe bear the decal of the Spanish Blue Division on their helmets.
In the mission Hostage! in Call of Duty 3, all the enemies belong to the Feldgendarmerie, the Military Police units of the Heer. Their uniforms differ from normal by wearing Feldgendarmerie on the cuffs and Feldjägerkorps on the gorgets.
At the end of a victorious multiplayer match when playing as the Wehrmacht in Call of Duty: World at War, during the Königgratzer Marsch, the following Propaganda is heard: "Vor uns liegt Deutschland, in uns marschiert Deutschland, und hinter uns, kommt Deutschland!" (translates to "Germany lies before us, Germany marches within us, and Germany follows us!").