NOTE
World War II German
military terminology was basically similar to that of other
major military powers, though literal translations are
sometimes misleading, e.g. Armeegruppe versus
Heeresgruppe. Though both can literally be translated as
army group, they have distinct meanings. In many of
the following definitions, the literal translation is
followed by a translation into the equivalent English
military term.
● ● ●
A
Abteilung: lit.
detachment; used in this sense and also to designate
battalions in certain branches of the armed forces, e.g. Artillerie-Abteilung
Abwehr:
the joint military intelligence service of the Wehrmacht
Armee: field army;
the second-highest field command, usually controlling 2-4
corps
Armeeabteilung:
army detachment; a temporary command arrangement placing one
corps in command of a second corps
Armeegruppe: army
group; a temporary command arrangement placing one field
army in command of a second field army
Armeekorps: army
corps; term designating corps-level headquarters controlling
2-4 infantry divisions
Armeeoberkommando (AOK):
army command; the headquarters of a field army
Armee-Sanitäts-Abteilung:
medical battalion attached to a field army
Artillery-Kommandeur (motorisiert)
(Arko): Motorized Artillery Commander;
artillery headquarters staff charged with general
supervision of the artillery of a corps
Aufklärung:
reconnaissance
Aufklärungsgruppe (Aufkl
Gr):
Luftwaffe air reconnaissance group; Up to 1943 the
suffex (N) denoted short-range and the suffex (F)
denoted long range
Aufmarsch: initial
deployment of forces at the the start of a war or major
campaign
Aufstellungswelle:
mobilization wave;
infantry
divisions were raised in "waves," with all divisions of a
given wave organized in accordance with the table of
organization in force at the time, e.g.
Aufstellungswelle
32,
which raised the Volksgrenadier-Divisionen,
26 in number
Auftragstaktik:
lit. mission-based tactics; the German Army method of
command whereby an objective only was specified, leaving
subordinate commanders to plan the operation in detail
B
Batterie:
battery; a company-size artillery unit, usually consisting
of four field guns or howitzers
Baupioniertruppen:
construction engineer troops
Befelshaber:
commander
Bewegungskrieg: mobile
warfare
bodenständig:
static; designation for second-line infantry divisions
raised for occupation duties and coastal defense
D
Deutsches
Afrikakorps (DAK):
German Africa Corps; designation for the force sent to North
Africa in 1941 in support of the Italian Army; commanded by
Erwin Rommel
E
Eisenbahn-Artillerie:
railroad artillery; heavy guns or howitzers mounted on rail
cars
Eisernen Kreuze:
Iron Cross; Nazi Germany's third-highest military
decoration, awarded in two grades; originally instituted by
King Frederick William III of Prussia in 1813
Ersatzheer:
Replacement Army; home-based command responsible for
training and replacements, raising new units, etc.
F
Fallschirmjäger:
parachute infantry of the Luftwaffe; see also Luftlande
Feldgendarmerie (Feldgend):
lit. field police; Army military police; see also
Geheime Feldpolizei
Feldhaubitze: field
howitzer; term for howitzers of 150mm or lower caliber
Feldlkanone: field
gun; term for lower-caliber guns, usually 75mm to 105mm
Feldersatzbataillon:
field replacement battalion; divisional sub-unit for
reception and training of replacements
Feldpost: lit. field post; military postal service
Fernaufklärungsgruppe (FAGr):
from 1943 the designation for a Luftwaffe long-range air reconnaissance group
Festung: fortress
Flak: acronym for
Flugabwehrkanone
(antiaircraft cannon); used to designate antiaircraft
weapons, troops and units, e.g.
Flakbatterie
(antiaircraft battery)
Flak-Abteilung:
antiaircraft artillery battalion
Flakpanzer: armored self-propelled antiaircraft gun
Fliegerdivision:
air division; a Luftwaffe echelon of command analogous to a
US Army Air Forces wing
Fliegerkorps: air
corps; a Luftwaffe echelon of command analogous to a US
Army Air Forces air division or command
Freiwillige:
volunteer; usually referred to foreign troops serving with
the Army or the Waffen-SS
Fremde Heere Ost (FHO):
Foreign Armies East; the military intelligence section of
the OKH, whose wartime activities focused almost exclusively
on the USSR and the Red Army
Führer-Begleit-Bataillon (FBB):
lit. Leader Escort Battalion, raised in 1939 to serve as
Hitler's personal Army guard force; its first commander was
Major-General Erwin Rommel; later the FBB was expanded into
a panzer brigade and ultimately into a panzer division
Füsilier: fusilier;
term denoting infantry units armed with heavy weapons,
usually of company or battalion size
G
Gebirgsjäger:
mountain infantry; designation for troops and units, e.g.
Gebirgsjägertruppen,
Gebirgsjäger-Division
Geheime Feldpolizei (GFP):
Secret Field Police; the counterintelligence service
of the Army; see also
Feldgendarmerie
Geschütz:
gun or cannon
Geschwader: wing; a Luftwaffe formation analogous to the US Army Air Forces
wing, usually formed with
three to five Gruppen
Geschwaderkommodore:
(Luftwaffe)
wing commander; an officer, usually in the rank of colonel
or lieutenant-colonel, commanding a Geschwader
Gewehr:
rifle
Grenadier:
designation for infantry troops and units from 1942, e.g.
Grenadier-Regiment
Gruppe: group; a Luftwaffe echelon of command analogous to a US
Army Air Forces group, usually formed with three Stafflen
Gruppenfliegerstab (Gruft):
Luftwaffe Army
Cooperation Staff attached to an army group or field army
Gruppenkommando:
Army Group Command; the highest-level field command of the
Reichsheer
H
Heer: Army
Heeres-Artillerie-Abteilung:
Army Artillery Battalion; nondivisional artillery battalion
of the Heerestruppen (see below)
Heeresgruppe: army
group; the highest-echelon field command, controlling a
variable number of field armies
Heeres-Küstenartillerie:
Army coast defense artillery
Heeresleitung: the
headquarters of the Reichsheer under the Weimar
Republic, 1919-33
Heerestruppen:
lit. army troops; nondivisional combat and support units for
allocation to armies and corps as required, e.g. artillery
and engineer battalions
Hilfskreuzer:
auxiliary cruiser; designation for merchant vessels taken
over by the Kriegsmarine and refitted for service as
high seas commerce raiders
Hilfswillige:
auxiliary volunteer; citizens of the USSR serving with the
German Army, usually in labor battalions and other support
units; see also Osttruppen
Höheres Kommando:
lit. higher command; a reduced-strength corps headquarters
employed in quiet sectors or for special missions; see also
zur besonderer Verwendung
Höheren-Artillery-Kommandeur
(motorisiert) (Harko): Motorized Higher Artillery
Commander; artillery headquarters staff charged with general
supervision of the artillery of a field army
I
Infanterie-Geschütz (IG):
infantry gun; howitzers of 75mm and 150mm caliber providing
direct fire support for infantry regiments and other units
Infanterie-Regiment "Großdeutschland":
Infantry Regiment "Greater Germany," the German Army's elite
formation; formed in 1939 by expanding and renaming the
Wachregiment Berlin
(Berlin Guard Battalion); during the war was expanded into a
panzer grenadier division and ultimately into a panzer corps
of two divisions
J
Jagdbomber (Jabo):
fighter-bomber
Jagdgeschwader
(JG): lit. hunter wing; Luftwaffe fighter wing
Jagdpanzer: lit.
tank hunter; armored
self-propelled tank destroyer
Jäger:
lit. hunter; term used for light infantry troops
Jäger-Division:
light infantry division
K
Kampfgeschwader
(KG): lit. battle wing; Luftwaffe bomber wing
Kampfgruppe:
lit. battle group. (1) a temporary, ad hoc grouping of
ground combat troops
and units, usually of company, battalion, or regimental size;
(2) a Luftwaffe bomber group (KGr)
Karabiner:
carbine
Kavallerie:
horse cavalry; during the war mechanized reconnaissance
units also belonged to the cavalry branch
Kaserne:
barracks or military compound
Kettenkrad:
halftrack motorcycle used primarily on the Eastern Front
Kolonne:
column; designation for the supply and transportation units
of combat units
Kommandant des
rückwärtiges Armeegebiet (Korück): Commandant of Army Rear-Area
Security; officer in charge of the zone, usually 50-100
miles deep, in the immediate rear of a field army; see also Landesschützen,
Ordnungspolizei
Sicherheits-Division
Kommandantur:
headquarters
Korps: corps; as in
other armies a command echelon controlling 2-4 divisions;
see also Armeekorps, Panzerkorps
Korpskommando:
corps command; the headquarters of a army corps
Kradschützen:
motorcycle infantry
Kriegsmarine: Navy
Kriegsorden des Deutsches Kreuz:
War Order of the German Cross;
military decoration introduced in 1941 and awarded in two
grades, Gold for acts of valor and Silver for distinguished
service; the former ranked between the Iron Cross 1st Class
and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross; the latter ranked
between the War Merit Cross 1st Class and the Knight's Cross
of the War Merit Cross
Kriegsschule:
military school for officer basic training
Kriegstagebuch:
lit. war day book; unit war diary.
Kriegsverdienstkreuz:
War Merit Cross; military and civilian decoration introduced
in 1941 for distinguished wartime service; awarded in three
grades with swords for military personnel and without swords
for civilian officials; in 1941 an additional grade, the
Kriegsverdienstmedaille
(War Merit Medal) was introduced to recognize civilian
contributions to the war effort, e.g. outstanding
performance by a factory worker
Küstenfliegergruppe (KuFlGr):
lit. coastal flying group;
Luftwaffe short-range maritime air reconnaissance
group
L
Landesschützen:
second-line militia; employed as
rear-area security troops, often attached to security
divisions; see also
Kommandant des
rückwärtiges Armeegebiet,
Sicherheits-Division
Landwehr:
lit. territorial defense; designation for the Army's
peacetime militia; at the start of the war became the
infantry divisions of the 3rd Wave
Legion Condor:
Condor Legion; Luftwaffe formation consisting of air and
flak units, sent to Spain to support the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War
Leichte-Division:
light division;
mechanized division, conceived as the
successor to the horse cavalry division; four were formed
before the war but were converted into armored divisions (Panzer-Divisionen)
in 1939-40
Luftflotte: air
fleet; a Luftwaffe echelon of command analogous to a US
Army Air Forces numbered air force
Luftgau: air
district; a geographical administrative command of the Luftwaffe;
at the beginning of the war there were eighteen Luftgaue
Luftlande:
lit. air landing, i.e. airmobile; Army combat units configured for movement by air
transport and glider
but not parachute troops: see also
Fallschirmjäger
Luftwaffe: Air
Force
Luftwaffen-Feld-Division:
Air Force Field Division; a ground combat formation
utilizing surplus Luftwaffe personnel; 21 such
divisions were raised in mid-1942 and in late 1943 those
remaining were transferred to the Army
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