| Imperial Defence Forces of Germany Reichswehr | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the German Armed Forces | |
| Motto | Wir Dienen Deutschland "We serve Germany" |
| Founded | 1871 |
| Current form | 1935 |
| Service branches |  Reichsheer Reichsmarine Luftwaffe |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Bonn and Potsdam |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Chancellor Angela Merkel |
| Minister of Defence | Ursula von der Leyen |
| Inspector General | General Volker Wieker |
| Manpower | |
| Military age | 17 |
| Conscription | No |
| Active personnel | 1,638,200 |
| Reserve personnel | 382,000 |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | €83 billion (2016) (3rd) |
| Percent of GDP | 2.76% (2016) |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers |
|
The Reichswehr (German, Realm Defence) is the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities. The States of Germany are not allowed to maintain armed forces of their own, since the German Constitution states that matters of defense fall into the sole responsibility of the federal government.
The Reichswehr is divided into a military part (armed forces or Streitkräfte) and a civil part with the armed forces administration (Wehrverwaltung). The military part of the federal defence force consists of the Reichsheer (Army), Reichsmarine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air Force), Streitkräftebasis (Joint Support Service), Zentraler Sanitätsdienst (Joint Medical Service), and the Kommando Cyber- und Informationsraum (Cyber and Information Space Command) branches.
The Reichswehr traces its history to the Deutsches Heer and the Kaiserliche Marine formed when Germany was first unified in 1871. The German Armed Forces in its current form was created by the government of Adolf Hitler in 1935 when both the Heer and the Marine — now the Reichsheer and Reichsmarine respectively — were unified under a single central command structure, along with the Luftwaffe, which was separated from the Reichsheer to become one of the world's first independent air forces. The Reichsheer fought alongside the Allies to achieve victory over the Fascist League in World War III, and contributed to the establishment of Germany's status as a great power.
As of 28 February 2017, the Reichswehr has a strength of 1,638,200 active soldiers, making it the fourth-largest military in the world, behind those of China, Russia and Cygnia. In addition the Reichswehr has approximately 382,000 reserve personnel (2016). With German military expenditures at €83 billion, the Reichswehr is the third-best-funded military force in the world.
| ||||||||||||||