occupation walther von brauchitsch
A commander - in - chief is the person or body that exercises supreme operational command and control of a nation ' s ___MASK60___ forces or significant elements of those forces . In the latter case , the force element is those forces within a particular region , or associated by function . As a practical term ; it refers to ___MASK60___ competencies that reside in a nation - state ' s executive leadership  either a ___MASK36___ , a head of government , a minister of defence , a national cabinet , or some other collegial body . Often , a given country ' s commander - in - chief ( if held by an official ) need not be or have been a commissioned officer or even a veteran . This follows the principle of civilian control of the ___MASK60___ . A ___MASK36___ ( or chief of state ) is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state . In developing the current Constitution of France ( 1958 ), former French president Charles de Gaulle said the ___MASK36___ should embody " the spirit of the nation " (""). In some countries , typically those with parliamentary governments , the ___MASK36___ is a ceremonial figurehead that does not actually guide day - to - day government activities and may not even be empowered to exercise any kind of political authority ( e . g ., Queen Elizabeth II in the United Kingdom ). In other countries , the ___MASK36___ is also the head of government , such as in the U . S ., where the president is both a public figurehead and the actual highest ranking political leader who , in practice , oversees the executive branch . Strategic bombing is a ___MASK60___ strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale or its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of ___MASK60___ operations , or both . It is a systematically organized and executed attack from the air which can utilize strategic bombers , long - or medium - range missiles , or nuclear - armed fighter - bomber aircraft to attack targets deemed vital to the enemy ' s war - making capability . A great power is a ___MASK48___ state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale . Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength , as well as diplomatic and soft power influence , which may cause middle or small powers to consider the great powers ' opinions before taking actions of their own . International relations theorists have posited that great power status can be characterized into power capabilities , spatial aspects , and status dimensions . ___MASK90___ are members of the armed forces . Usually , personnel are divided into military branches roughly defined by certain circumstances of their deployment . Those who serve in a typical large land force are soldiers , making up an ___MASK28___ . Those who serve in seagoing forces are seamen or sailors , and their branch is a navy or coast guard . ___MASK58___ serve in a marine corps . In the 20th century , the development of powered flight aircraft prompted the development of air forces , serviced by airmen . Designated leaders of military personnel are officers . These include commissioned officers , warrant officers and non - commissioned officers ( NCOs ). For naval forces , non - commissioned officers are referred to as petty officers ( POs ). military personnel are instructed to wear dog tags A ___MASK60___ alliance is an international agreement concerning national security , when the contracting parties promise to support each other in case of a crisis that has not been identified in advance . ___MASK60___ alliances differ from coalitions , as coalitions are formed for a crisis that are already known . Genocide is intentional action to destroy a people ( usually defined as an ethnic , national , racial , or ___MASK63___ group ) in whole or in part . The hybrid word " genocide " is a combination of the Greek word " génos " (" race , people ") and the Latin suffix "- cide " (" act of killing "). The United Nations Genocide Convention defines genocide as " acts committed with intent to destroy , in whole or in part , a national , ethnic , racial or ___MASK63___ group ". Heinrich Alfred Hermann Walther von Brauchitsch ( 4 October 1881 -- 18 October 1948 ) was a German field marshal and the Commander - in - Chief of the German ___MASK28___ in the early years of World War II . Born into an aristocratic military family , Brauchitsch joined the 3rd Guards Grenadier Regiment 1901 . He served on the staff of several formations that fought over a dozen major battles of World War I , serving with the XVI Corps , 34th Infantry Division and Guards Reserve Corps as a staff officer before taking part in no fewer than twenty - eight notable clashes on the Western Front , including the Battle of Verdun , the Battle of Armentières , the Battle at the Aisne , and the Battle of the Lys . For his service on the Western Front , he was awarded the Iron Cross and the House Order of Hohenzollern . After Hitler ' s rise to power in 1933 , Brauchitsch was put in charge of the East Prussian Military District , and became a popular officer because of his kindness to the civilian Prussian population in times of local fires . Although he personally disliked Nazism , he borrowed immense sums of money from Hitler and eventually became dependent on his financial help . Brauchitsch primarily served as Commander - in - Chief of the German ___MASK28___ before World War II , from 1938 , and during the two first years of war , until 1941 . He played a key role in the Battle of France and oversaw the German military campaigns in Yugoslavia and Greece . For his part in Battle of France , Brauchitsch became one of 12 generals promoted to field marshal on 19 July 1940 . After a first heart attack in November 1941 and the failed Moscow offensive in December 1941 , Hitler dismissed him as Commander - in - Chief of the ___MASK28___ ; he spent the rest of the war in enforced retirement , and never saw Hitler again . After World War II , Brauchitsch was arrested on charges of war crimes , but died of a heart attack in 1948 before he could be prosecuted . Brauchitsch married Elizabeth von Karstedt , an heiress from Brandenburg , in 1910 , with whom he had three children . They were divorced in 1938 and , shortly after , he married Charlotte Rüffer . Hiroshima is perhaps best known as the first city in history to be targeted by a nuclear weapon when the ___MASK33___ Air Forces ( USAAF ) dropped an atomic bomb on the city ( and later on Nagasaki ) at 8 : 15 a . m . on August 6 , 1945 , near the end of World War II . Total war is warfare that includes any and all civilian - associated resources and infrastructure as legitimate ___MASK60___ targets , mobilizes all of the resources of society to fight the war , and gives priority to warfare over non - combatant needs . The American - English Dictionary defines total war as " war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used , the territory or combatants involved , or the objectives pursued , especially one in which the laws of war are disregarded ." Civilian control of the ___MASK60___ is a doctrine in ___MASK60___ and political science that places ultimate responsibility for a country ' s strategic decision - making in the hands of the civilian political leadership , rather than professional ___MASK60___ officers . The reverse situation , where professional ___MASK60___ officers control national politics , is called a ___MASK60___ dictatorship . A lack of control over the ___MASK60___ may result in a state within a state . One author , paraphrasing Samuel P . Huntington ' s writings in " The ___MASK61___ and the State ", has summarized the civilian control ideal as " the proper subordination of a competent , professional ___MASK60___ to the ends of policy as determined by civilian authority ". In ___MASK74___ , a civilian is " a person who is not a ___MASK16___ of the military or of a police or firefighting force ", as defined by Merriam Webster ' s Dictionary . From the perspective of the U . S . Department of Defense , Chapter 18 of Title 10 United States Code refers to non - military ___MASK25___ officers as civilians since they are employees rather than enlisted personnel , and also in order to distinguish itself from military police . In military and ___MASK25___ slang , the term " Civies " or " Civvies " are often used to refer civilian population or civilian clothing . Head of government is a generic term used for either the highest or second highest ___MASK46___ in the executive branch of a ___MASK48___ state , a federated state , or a self - governing colony , ( commonly referred to as countries , nations or nation - states ) who often presides over a cabinet , a group of ministers or secretaries who lead executive departments . The term " head of government " is often differentiated from the term " ___MASK36___ ", ( e . g . as in article 7 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties , article 1 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons , including Diplomatic Agents and the United Nations protocol list ), as they may be separate positions , individuals , and / or roles depending on the country . In politics and ___MASK60___ planning , a war effort refers to a coordinated mobilization of society ' s resources  both industrial and human  towards the support of a ___MASK60___ force . Depending on the militarization of the culture , the relative size of the armed forces and the society supporting them , the style of government , and the popular support for the ___MASK60___ objectives , such war effort can range from a small industry to complete command of society . An " ___MASK46___ " is someone who holds an office ( function or mandate , regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it ) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority ( either their own or that of their superior and / or employer , public or legally private ). World War I ( WWI or WW1 ), also known as the First World War , or the Great War , was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918 . More than 70 million ___MASK90___ , including 60 million Europeans , were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history . Over nine million combatants and seven million civilians died as a result of the war ( including the victims of a number of genocides ), a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents ' technological and industrial sophistication , and the tactical stalemate caused by gruelling trench warfare . It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history , and paved the way for major political changes , including revolutions in many of the nations involved . Command generally refers to the ability to " dominate an area of situation ". There are several definitions of command and control ( C2 ). According to older versions of U . S . ___MASK28___ FM 3 - 0 , C2 in a military organization is the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commanding officer over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission . The term may also refer to command and control systems within a military system . World War II ( often abbreviated to WWII or WW2 ), also known as the Second World War , was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945 , although related conflicts began earlier . It involved the vast majority of the world ' s nations  including all of the great powers  eventually forming two opposing ___MASK60___ alliances : the Allies and the Axis . It was the most widespread war in history , and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries . In a state of " total war ", the major participants threw their entire economic , industrial , and scientific capabilities behind the war effort , erasing the distinction between civilian and ___MASK60___ resources . Marked by mass deaths of civilians , including the Holocaust ( in which approximately 11 million people were killed ) and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centres ( in which approximately one million were killed , and which included the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ), it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities . These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history . The ___MASK60___ , also called the armed forces , are forces authorized to use deadly force , and weapons , to support the interests of the state and some or all of its citizens . The task of the ___MASK60___ is usually defined as defense of the state and its citizens , and the prosecution of war against another state . The ___MASK60___ may also have additional sanctioned and non - sanctioned functions within a society , including , the promotion of a political agenda , protecting corporate economic interests , internal population control , construction , emergency services , social ceremonies , and guarding important areas . The ___MASK60___ can also function as a discrete subculture within a larger civil society , through the development of separate infrastructures , which may include housing , schools , utilities , food production and banking . The United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 , 1945 , respectively , during the final stage of World War II . The United States had dropped the bombs with the consent of the ___MASK24___ as outlined in the Quebec Agreement . The two bombings , which killed at least 129 , 000 people , remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history .