What was the conscription age of the Wehrmacht?

by empressu

Before 1943 and the formation of the Volkssturm, were there any teenagers (specifically German teenagers) in the battlefield?

LBo87

No, not to my knowledge. Legally, you were fit for service in the Wehrmacht from the age of 18 to 45 years with a duration of service from 1-2 years (in times of peace). Conscription was reintroduced in 1935 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles which limited Germany to voluntary armed forces of 100,000 men maximum.

SectoidEater

This is an anecdote so feel free to delete or ignore.

My grandfather joined up with the Wehrmacht at age 17 and saw combat in the USSR at the same age. He claimed that several of his friends did the same. You could not be drafted before the age of 18 but volunteering was okay - they often tried to steer you towards a noncombat position (Navy or Airforce) but if you wanted in they wouldn't stop you.

This of course all changed during the later years of the war with the Volkssturm. You could also be quite young to work an AA gun crew. Another good example is the Hitlerjugend division which fought in Normandy and had many under-18 members. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_SS_Panzer_Division_Hitlerjugend