The Führer Directives were instructions and strategic plans issued by Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

 himself. They covered a wide range of subjects from detailed direction of military units in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 to the governance of occupied territories and their populations. Under the Nazi system, they were binding, to be followed to the letter and superseded any other law.

They should not be confused with the Führer Orders, issued late in the war, which were more precise and low-level and could be written or verbal. They were as binding as the more general Directives.

The Directives

Directive No	Date issued	Subject
1	August 31, 1939	Plan of Attack on Poland	German Invasion of Poland; text of Directive
2	September 3, 1939	Hostilities in the West
3	September 9, 1939	Transfer of Forces from Poland to the West
4	September 25, 1939	Finishing the War in Poland
5	September 30, 1939	Partition of Poland
6	October 9, 1939	Plans for Offensive in the West
7	October 18, 1939	Preparations for Attack in the West
8	November 20, 1939	Further Preparations for Attack in the West
9	November 29, 1939	Instructions for Warfare against the Economy of the Enemy
10	January 19-February 18, 1940	Concentration of Forces for "Undertaking Yellow"
10a	March, 1940	Case "Weser Exercise" against Denmark and Norway	Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
11	May 14, 1940	The Offensive in the West
12	May 18, 1940	Prosecution of the Attack in the West
13	May 24, 1940	Next Object in the West
14	June 8, 1940	Continuation of the Offensive in France
15	June 14, 1940	Advance on the Loire
16	July 16	Operation Sea Lion	text of Directive
17	August 1	Battle of Britain	text of Directive
18	November 12	Seizure of Gibraltar Gibraltar Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...	Operation Felix Operation Felix Operation Felix was the codename for a proposed German seizure of Gibraltar during World War II. It never got beyond the staff study stage, even though planning continued into 1944, primarily because of Francisco Franco's reluctance to commit Spain to enter the war on the Axis... ; text of Directive
19	December 10, 1940	German occupation of Vichy France Vichy France Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...	Operation Attila Operation Attila Operation Attila may refer to:*Operation Attila , a plan for the Nazi occupation of Vichy France*Operation Atilla, actions of the Turkish armed forces during the invasion of Cyprus... ; text of Directive
20	December 13, 1940	German invasion of Greece	Operation Marita; text of Directive
21	December 18, 1940	Invasion of the Soviet Union	Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare... ; text of Directive; alternative text of Directive
22	January 11, 1941	German Support for Battles in the Mediterranean Area
23	February 6, 1941	Directions for Operations against the English War Economy
24	March 5, 1941	Co-operation with Japan
25	March 27, 1941	Plan of Attack on Yugoslavia	Operation 25
26	April 3, 1941	Co-operation with our Allies in the Balkans
27	April 4, 1941	Plan of Attack on Greece
28	April 25, 1941	Invasion of Crete	Operation Mercury; text of Directive
29	May 17, 1941	Proposed Military Government of Greece	text of Directive
30	23 May 1941	Support of anti-British forces in Iraq Iraq Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....	(see Führer Directive No. 30 Fuhrer Directive No. 30 Führer Directive No. 30 was a directive issued by German dictator Adolf Hitler during World War II.-Overview and background:Führer Directive No. 30 dealt with German intervention in support of Arab nationalists in the Kingdom of Iraq... )
31	June 9, 1941	German Military Organisation in the Balkans
32	July 11, 1941	Plans following defeat of the Soviet Union	Operation Orient; text of Directive
32 supplement	July 14, 1941	Use of Resources following defeat of the Soviet Union	text of Directive
33	July 19, 1941	Continuation of the War in the East	Two Panzer Groups were removed from Army Group Centre Army Group Centre Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union... , depriving it of the armour needed to attack Moscow.
34	July 30, 1941	Strengthening Soviet resistance
34 supplement	August 12, 1941
35	September 6, 1941	Moscow Offensive	Operation Typhoon
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37
38
39	December 8, 1941	Abandoning the Offensive
40	March 23, 1942	Competence of Commanders in Coastal Areas	Command Organization of the Coasts Atlantic Wall Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40... ; text of Directive
41	April 5, 1942	Summer Campaign in the Soviet Union	Operation Blue Operation Blue Case Blue , later renamed Operation Braunschweig, was the German Armed Forces name for its plan for a 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and November 1942....
42	May 29, 1942	Instructions for operations against unoccupied France and the Iberian Peninsula	Operation Attila Operation Attila (WW II) During World War II, Operation Attila was a plan for the Nazi occupation of Vichy France. This plan was drawn up in 1940 in case the French rejoined the Allies or in case of an Allied threat to the south of France....  replaced by Case Anton Case Anton Operation Anton was the codename for the military occupation of Vichy France carried out by Germany and Italy in November 1942.- Background :... ; Operation Isabella Operation Isabella During World War II, Operation Isabella was a Nazi German plan to be put into effect after the collapse of the Soviet Union to secure bases in Spain and Portugal for the continuation of the strangulation of Great Britain. This concept was laid out by Hitler in June 1941 but was never executed....  cancelled; text of Directive
43	July 11, 1942	Continuation of Operations from the Crimea
44	July 21, 1942	Operations in Northern Finland
45	July 23, 1942	Continuation of Operation Brunswick
46	August 18, 1942	Instructions for Intensified Action Against Banditry in the East
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48
49
50	September 28, 1943	Concerning the preparations for the withdrawal of 20th Mountain Army to Northern Finland and Northern Norway
51	November 3, 1943	Preparations for a two-front war	text of Directive
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