The 1940 Field Marshal Ceremony refers to a promotion ceremony held at the Kroll Opera House in Berlin in which Adolf Hitler promoted twelve generals to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall ("field marshal") on 19 July 1940. It was the first occasion in World War II that Hitler appointed field marshals due to military achievements.
The prestigious rank of field marshal had been banned after World War I. As part of German rearmament, the rank was revived. Hitler promoted twelve selected generals to field marshal during the ceremony in Berlin for their role in the swift victory in the Battle of France and to raise morale. The ceremony highlighted the power and prestige of the Wehrmacht; France was considered to have had the strongest army in Europe, yet had been humiliatingly defeated in just six weeks. The ceremony was the first time Hitler appointed field marshals due to military achievements and was celebrated like no other promotion ceremony of the war.
During the same ceremony, Göring, already Generalfeldmarschall since 1938, was promoted to the rank, newly-created especially for him, of Reichsmarschall.
After World War I, the prestigious rank of field marshal was banned in the Weimar Republic, alongside other restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. After Hitler and the Nazi Party came to national power in January 1933, they began an expansion of the military; it was part of Hitler's desire to restore the army's power and prestige. In 1936, he revived the rank of Generalfeldmarschall. It was the highest and most prestigious military rank in Germany, originally only for the use of War Minister and Commander-in-Chief Werner von Blomberg. The traditional attribute distinguishing a German field marshal was an ornately decorated baton. More tangible benefits included a yearly salary of 36,000 Reichsmarks for life (a Field Marshal was deemed never to retire, but to remain permanently on active duty) and all earnings being exempt from income tax.
Flushed with enthusiasm by the swift defeat of the French army, considered to have been the strongest in Europe, and the Low Countries in June 1940, Hitler wanted to mark the occasion with a grand promotion ceremony. He also hoped the promotions would strengthen his influence over the traditional German General Staff. The twelve generals chosen for promotion, who all had played an important role in the victory, were (with the position they occupied during the Battle of France):
Generaloberst Wilhelm Keitel (Chef Oberkommando der Wehrmacht)
Generaloberst Walther von Brauchitsch (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres)
Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe A)
Generaloberst Fedor von Bock (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe B)
Generaloberst Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe C)
Generaloberst Erwin von Witzleben (Oberbefehlshaber 1. Armee)
Generaloberst Günther von Kluge (Oberbefehlshaber 4. Armee)
Generaloberst Walther von Reichenau (Oberbefehlshaber 6. Armee)
Generaloberst Wilhelm List (Oberbefehlshaber 12. Armee)
Generaloberst Erhard Milch (Generalinspekteur der Luftwaffe)
General der Flieger Albert Kesselring (Chef Luftflotte 2)
General der Flieger Hugo Sperrle (Chef Luftflotte 3)
In addition, 19 high-ranking officers were also appointed as new Generaloberst (14 from the Heer and 5 from the Luftwaffe):
General der Artillerie Franz Halder (Chef des Generalstabes des Heeres)
General der Artillerie Friedrich Fromm (Chef Heeresrüstung und Befehlshaber des Ersatzheeres)
General der Infanterie Nikolaus von Falkenhorst (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe XXI)
General der Kavallerie Maximilian von Weichs (Oberbefehlshaber 2. Armee)
General der Artillerie Friedrich Dollmann (Oberbefehlshaber 7. Armee)
General der Infanterie Adolf Strauß (Oberbefehlshaber 9. Armee)
General der Infanterie Ernst Busch (Oberbefehlshaber 16. Armee)
General der Artillerie Georg von Küchler (Oberbefehlshaber 18. Armee)
General der Artillerie Curt Haase (Kommandierender General III. Armeekorps)
General der Infanterie Eugen von Schobert (Kommandierender General VII. Armeekorps)
General der Infanterie Hermann Hoth (Kommandierender General XV. Armeekorps [mot.])
General der Kavallerie Erich Hoepner (Kommandierender General XVI. Armeekorps [mot.])
General der Panzertruppe Heinz Guderian (Kommandierender General XIX. Armeekorps [mot.])
General der Kavallerie Ewald von Kleist (Kommandierender General XXII. Armeekorps [mot.])
General der Flieger Ernst Udet (Generalluftzeugmeister und Chef Planungsamts der Luftwaffe)
General der Flieger Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (Chef Luftflotte 5)
General der Flieger Ulrich Grauert (Kommandierender General I. Fliegerkorps)
General der Flieger Alfred Keller (Kommandierender General IV. Fliegerkorps)
General der Flakartillerie Hubert Weise (Kommandierender General I. Flakkorps)
In particular, all Army Group commanders were promoted Field Marshal. In the case of Kesselring and Sperrle, the rank of Colonel General was bypassed. The commanders-in-chief of Navy and Air Force, Erich Raeder and Hermann Göring respectively, were not promoted Field Marshals because they already held the rank (or its equivalent Grand Admiral respectively). Given that Field Marshal was no longer as exceptional a rank as it was before, Göring, to satisfy his thirst for prestige, was promoted to the specially created rank of Reich Marshal. This made Göring the senior officer of the military, without, however, making him an actual superior of Army and Navy. It also underscored his status as Hitler's designated successor. He was the only person awarded this rank during the Nazi era, and it was abolished after the fall of the Nazi regime.
On 19 July 1940, Hitler summoned the generals to a ceremony in Berlin's Kroll Opera House (which housed the Reichstag after the Reichstag fire). After a speech regarding a peace proposal directed at Britain, Hitler personally rewarded his generals with their expensively decorated batons, and thanked them for their contributions to the victory.
The 1940 Field Marshal Ceremony was the first occasion Hitler appointed field marshals due to military achievements and was celebrated like no other promotion ceremony in Germany. The remaining five years of the war saw an additional twelve promotions, most of which were without ceremony, such as Friedrich Paulus's promotion, which was conferred over the radio by Hitler.
All of the generals promoted went on to achieve further success in their careers during the early years of victory which the German military obtained in the Second World War. Brauchitsch, Bock, Kesselring, Keitel, Leeb, List, Reichenau, Rundstedt, and Göring would all play decisive and important roles in the German-led Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Sperrle spent the rest of the war in semi-retirement, based with his unit in France. Milch was transferred to the production department and was responsible for aircraft production until the end of the war. Following his avid extermination of Jews in the autumn of 1941 (Severity Order, Babi Yar), Reichenau died on 14 January 1942. In 1943, after a series of German defeats on the Eastern Front, and the Allied invasion of Italy, the German military lost all initiative. Hitler's leadership became increasingly disconnected from reality as the war turned against Germany, with the military's defensive strategies often hindered by his slow decision making and frequent directives to hold untenable positions. His response to the worsening war situation was to unceremoniously sack general after general, a routine which ultimately affected the field marshals promoted at the ceremony. Erwin von Witzleben and Günther von Kluge were both involved in the 20 July Plot to assassinate Hitler. After it became clear that the assassination attempt had failed, Kluge committed suicide by taking cyanide poison on 17 August 1944. Witzleben was to have become Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht if the attempt had succeeded. He was arrested, stripped of his rank and expelled from the Army so that he could be tried in a civilian court, and sentenced to death; the execution was carried out on 8 August 1944. On 4 May 1945, less than a week before Nazi Germany surrendered, Bock died of wounds inflicted the day before by a strafing British fighter-bomber.
Shoulder strap rank insignia of a Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal) in 1940.
A Marschallstab (Field Marshal baton) of the Nazi German era.
New Generalfeldmarschall ceremony for Wehrmacht high ranking officers which were held at Krolloper, Berlin, on 19 July 1940. Adolf Hitler (Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht) handed over the Marschallstab to the new Field Marshals. From left to right: Oberst Rudolf Schmundt (Chefadjutant des Heeres beim Führer und Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht), Adolf Hitler (Führer und Reichskanzler), serta para penerima: Fedor von Bock (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe B), Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe C), Wilhelm List (Oberbefehlshaber 12. Armee), Hans-Günther von Kluge (Oberbefehlshaber 4. Armee), Erwin von Witzleben (Oberbefehlshaber 1. Armee), and Walther von Reichenau (Oberbefehlshaber 6. Armee).
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New Generalfeldmarschall ceremony for Wehrmacht high ranking officers which were held at Krolloper, Berlin, on 19 July 1940. Adolf Hitler (Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht) posed with 9 new Field Marshals from Heer, along with Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe) who was promoted to the Reichsmarschall rank. They're already holding the Marschallstab (Marshal Baton), specially designed for them. From left to right: Wilhelm Keitel (Chef des Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Gerd von Rundstedt (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe A), Fedor von Bock (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe B), Göring and Hitler, Walther von Brauchitsch (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres), Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe C), Wilhelm List (Oberbefehlshaber 12. Armee), Hans-Günther von Kluge (Oberbefehlshaber 4. Armee), Erwin von Witzleben (Oberbefehlshaber 1. Armee), and Walther von Reichenau (Oberbefehlshaber 6. Armee).
New Generalfeldmarschall ceremony for Wehrmacht high ranking officers which were held at Krolloper, Berlin, on 19 July 1940. Adolf Hitler (Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht) posed with 3 new Field Marshals from Luftwaffe, along with Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe) who was promoted to the Reichsmarschall rank. They're already holding the Marschallstab (Marshal Baton), specially designed for them. From left to right: Generalfeldmarschall Erhard Milch (Generalinspekteur der Luftwaffe als Vertreter des Oberbefehlshabers Göring), Generalfeldmarschall Hugo Sperrle (Chef Luftflotte 3), Hitler, Göring, and Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring (Chef Luftflotte 2). In total there were five Luftwaffe Marshals during World War II, with the remaining two were appointed after this event: Generalfeldmarschall Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (16 February 1943) and Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim (25 April 1945).
Still at the special promotion ceremony for Germany's new generals and marshals which was held on 19 July 1940 in Krolloper, Berlin. This photo shows Hitler greeting the new Generaloberst (Colonel-General), one rank lower than Generalfeldmarschall. From left to right: Großadmiral Erich Raeder (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine), Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch (back to the camera, Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres), and Generalfeldmarschall Erhard Milch (Generalinspekteur der Luftwaffe als Vertreter des Oberbefehlshabers Göring). Next are the officers who were promoted to the rank of Generaloberst: General der Artillerie Franz Halder (Chef des Generalstabes des Heeres), General der Artillerie Friedrich Dollmann (blocked by Hitler, Oberbefehlshaber 7. Armee), General der Kavallerie Ewald von Kleist (blocked by Hitler, Kommandierender General XXII. Armeekorps [motorisiert]), General der Kavallerie Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von Weichs (Oberbefehlshaber 2. Armee), General der Artillerie Georg von Küchler (Oberbefehlshaber 18. Armee), General der Infanterie Eugen Ritter von Schobert (bersalaman dengan Hitler, Kommandierender General VII. Armeekorps), General der Infanterie Ernst Busch (Oberbefehlshaber 16. Armee), General der Panzertruppe Heinz Guderian (Kommandierender General XIX. Armeekorps [motorisiert]), and General der Infanterie Hermann Hoth (Kommandierender General XV. Armeekorps). Interestingly, the new Generaloberst (from Halder to Hoth) stand in order of seniority. Other generaloberst appointed on the same day but not visible in this photo were (in order from left to right after Hoth): General der Infanterie Adolf Strauß (Kommandierender General II. Armeekorps), General der Artillerie Curt Haase (Kommandierender General III. Armeekorps), General der Infanterie Nikolaus von Falkenhorst (Oberbefehlshaber Armeegruppe XXI), General der Kavallerie Erich Hoepner (Kommandierender General XVI. Armeekorps [motorisiert]), and General der Artillerie Friedrich "Fritz" Fromm (Chef der Heeresrüstung und Befehlshaber des Ersatzheeres). In total there are new 14 Generaloberst!
Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2018/10/upacara-marsekal-baru-tahun-1940.html
https://audiovis.nac.gov.pl/obraz/27767/fbd6827600bbc526b48cf694702bcfd2/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940_Field_Marshal_Ceremony
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=45458&hilit=brauchitsch
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/hitlers-speech-and-honor-of-the-leadership-of-the-wehrmacht-news-photo/548866851
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