As a theatre commander, he was answerable directly to the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) and commanded ground, naval and air forces, but this was of little importance at first as most German units were under Italian operational control.
Som chef for et operationsområde var han direkte underlagt Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) og havde kommandoen over hær-, flåde- og luftstyrker, hvilket i begyndelsen ikke havde den store betydning, da de fleste tyske enheder var underlagt italiensk operationel kontrol.