Death Ride of the Panzers

by Dennis Oliver

  Brigade. A brigade, as in English. During the early war period divisions contained brigades, usually made up of two regiments. This structure was, however, abandoned as the war progressed and the term was most often used to describe an independent formation. Some Sturmgeschütz battalions were referred to as brigades.

  Brückenbau. Literally bridge construction, however, the word is almost always used to describe the bridging element of an engineer unit.

  Chef. Literally, the boss. The word was also used to describe a commander, for example Kompanie chef. Hitler’s staff privately referred to him as Der Chef.

  Chef des Generalstabes des Heeres. Chief of the general staff of the army. The Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine had similar appointments. Generaloberst Heinz Guderian held the position from July 21, 1944 until March 28, 1945.

  Dienstgrad. Service grade, usually used in connection with rank although Rang is also correct.

  Division. As in English, a division. An administrative and organizational unit generally made up of two or three regiments with support battalions and companies. Usually commanded by a Generalleutnant.

  Einheit. A general term for unit or formation.

  Einsatz. Employment or service.

  Eisenbahn. Railroad or railway.

  Eisern Kreuz. Iron Cross. Awarded for acts of bravery the second class medal was worn on the day of award only and thereafter as a ribbon while the first class medal was correctly worn on left breast of the uniform tunic. Thousands were awarded during the war, one of the last to 12 year old Hitlerjugend Alfred Zeck who was personally decorated by Hitler.

  Ergängzug. Replacement. For example, Ergängzug-Einheit or replacement unit.

  Ersatz. Replacement. For example, Panzer-Ersatz-Abteilung 18, a replacement unit based at Böblingen in Germany. The Ersatzheer was the replacement Army.

  Fahrer. Driver or private of a horse-drawn unit. A driver in a mechanized formation was referred to as a Kraftsfahrer.

  Fahrgestell. Chassis. Each tank received a unique Fahrgestellnummer or chassis number.

  Fallschirmjäger. A paratrooper. The word is also used in the titles of paratroop units, for example 3.Fallschirmjäger-Division and Fallschirm-Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 3.

  Faustpatrone. The forerunner of the Panzerfaust to which it was visually similar. The overall length, and importantly the warhead, of the Faustpatrone was, however, considerably smaller and therefore less effective.

  Feld. Literally field, although in the military context the word’s meaning would be the same as when it was used in the US or British armies, that is, an area of operations.

  Feldausbildungseinheit. An operational training unit.

  Feldgendarmerie. The military field police. Referred to within the Waffen-SS as SS-Feldgendarmerie.

  Feldgrau. Field grey. The word was also a colloquialism used to describe German soldiers.

  Feldheer. The active field Army, as opposed the Ersatzheer.

  Feldherrnhalle. An honor title inherited from the Nazi SA or Sturm Abteilung and originally bestowed on units recruited from SA personnel. As the war progressed other units, notably 13.Panzer-Division and schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503, also received the title.

  Feldjägerkorps. A military police organization formed in 1943 separate from the Feldgendarmerie and Geheime Feldpolizei and concerned mainly with apprehending deserters and preventing panic during a withdrawal, often by the harshest methods. After the surrender of Germany units of the Feldjägerkorps were rearmed and employed by the Western Allies as a police force to maintain discipline amongst German prisoners of war and civilians.

  Feldlazarett. A military field hospital.

  Festung. Literally a fortress. A number of depleted formations that were capable of defensive operations only were designated as Festungs-Divisionen or Festungs-Brigaden and certain locations were declared fortress cities, for example Festung Breslau.

  Fliegerabwehrkanone. An anti-aircraft gun, abbreviated to Flak. Most army divisions contained a Heeres-Flak-Artillerie-Abteilung.

  Flakpanzer. A tracked vehicle armed with an anti-aircraft weapon.

  Flakvierling. A mounting made up of four anti-aircraft guns.

  Flammenwerfer. A flamethrower.

  Flammpanzer. A tracked vehicle fitted with a flamethrower.

  Freiherr. A title of nobility roughly equivalent to a baron. In many regiments officers were addressed by their titles rather their rank. Major Bernd Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven, who served on the Russian front and as adjutant to General Guderian, recalled that almost all his fellow officers of Panzer-Regiment 2 were the sons of aristocratic families.

  Freiwillige. A volunteer. During the Second World War this term usually referred to a foreigner who had volunteered to serve with the German armed forces.

  Führer. Literally a leader. This term was used in a number of rank titles, particularly those of the Waffen-SS, but could also be used as a general term, such as Kompanieführer. When used in the form of a proper noun, Der Führer, it invariably meant Hitler.

  Funk. Radio, usually abbreviated to Fu. The term Funkgerät, of FuG, refers to a radio set.

  Funklenk. Radio controlled. Abbreviated to F.L. or, more often, Fkl.

  Fusilier. On 15 October 1942 infantry regiments were renamed Grenadier-Regiment except for the regiments numbered 22, 26, 27, 34, 68, 202, 230, and 334 which received the honor title Fusilier-regiment. There were also Panzer-Fusilier regiments. See also Grenadier.

  Graf. A title of nobility roughly equivalent to a count.

  Granatenwerfer. A mortar. Literally, a grenade thrower.

  Gebirgsjäger. Mountain troops or units specially trained to operate in mountainous regions.

  Geheime Feldpolizei. The German Army’s plain-clothes field police. Recruited from men who had been detectives in civilian life they were mainly employed against resistance and subversive organizations.

  Gemischte. Mixed. A tank company equipped with mix of tanks and assault guns was referred to as a Panzer-Kompanie (gemischte).

  Gepanzerte. Armored. Mechanized infantry battalions were referred to as Panzergrenadier-Bataillon (gepanzerte). Usually abbreviated to gep or gp.

  Geschütz. A gun.

  Gliederung. Organisation. The term Kreigsgliederung is also encountered.

  Grenadier. On 15 October 1942 infantry regiments were renamed Grenadier-Regiment. The change did not affect the title of the parent division, as is sometimes stated, which continued to be referred to as Infanterie-Division. A certain number of divisions were, however, raised as or rebuilt as Grenadier-Divisionen.

  Generalkommando. A general headquarters.

  Grossdeutschland. Literally Greater Germany. Most often encountered as the honor title of Panzergrenadier-Division Grossdeutschland.

  Hakenkreuz. Literally a hooked cross. An ancient symbol appropriated by the Nazis and almost universally known outside Germany as a swastika.

  Haubitze. Howitzer.

  Höherer Artillerie-Kommandeur. Literally the higher artillery commander. The officer holding this appointment was responsible for the coordination of all Armee command level artillery assets. It was term usually encountered late in the war.

  Heer. The regular German Army. Began formation in 1933, announced to the world in 1935, disbanded in August of 1946 by the Allies.

  Heeresgruppe. An Army Group was a formation made up of a number of Armies. This was a large and complex organisation and consisted of many support elements. For example in June 1944 Heeresgruppe B had control of 7.Armee, 15.Armee, Panzergruppe West and the Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Niederlande. An Army Group was usually commanded by a Generalfeldmarschall.

  Heeresmitteilung. An army general order. These were issued on a regular basis and covered all aspects of the army life from the award of decorations to the introduction of new camouflage paints. When organizational changes were introduced the order was accompanied by a Kriegsstärkenachweisungen.

  Heeres-Zeugamt. Army ordnance depot, abbreviated to H.Za.

 
Heimat. Homeland, Germany.

  Hilfswillige. Usually abbreviated to Hiwis, these were Soviet citizens, most often prisoners, who served the Wehrmacht in non-combat roles. They are rarely encountered in the west.

  Hoheitsabzeichen. The national emblem. The familiar eagle and swastika insignia worn on the right breast by Wehrmacht personnel. The units of the Waffen-SS employed a similar version which was worn on the upper left shoulder.

  Infanterie. Infantry.

  Inspekteur. Literally inspector. Each branch of the army was overseen by an Inspector-General, for example the Inspekteur der Panzertruppen.

  Instandsetzung. Repair

  Jäger. Literally a hunter. This term was traditionally used by the German military to describe a light infantryman or unit. As a rank it was the equivalent to private within Jäger, Gebirgsjäger, Skijäger Fallschirmjäger, and Luftwaffe ground formations. Anti-tank units were usually referred to as Panzerjäger battalions or companies.

  Jagd. Literally hunt or hunting. The word is often used in conjunction with another term to describe anti-tank units or weapons. For example, the Jagdtiger which was the self-propelled anti-tank gun variant of the Tiger II tank.

  Jagdpanzer. A tank destroyer.

  Kampfgruppe. A battle group, usually of an ad-hoc and temporary nature. They were often, but not always, named for the commander, for example Kampfgruppe Peiper.

  Kampfstaffel. A small mixed, combat unit.

  Kanonier. A private of an artillery unit. A senior private was an Oberkanonier.

  Kaserne. A barracks.

  Kavallerie. Cavalry.

  Kolonne. A column. In the military sense it was used for bridging or transport services.

  Kommando. Command, abbreviated to Kdo. Not to be confused with the English commando.

  Kompanie. A company. Usually 100-120 men organized into Züge or platoons.

  Kompanie-Trupp. A company headquarters.

  Korps. A corps. During the war the army raised a number of Armeekorps, Gebirgs- Armeekorps, Panzerkorps, Kavalleriekorps and Reservekorps. Usually made up of two or more divisions and support elements they were, however, highly flexible. Waffen -SS units were organized identically with the prefix SS.

  Korps-Truppen. Independent units directly under Corps control.

  Korps-Abteilung. A term used predominantly on the Eastern front where depleted divisions were into a detachment which, it was hoped, would be rebuilt into a full-strength Korps.

  Kradschützen. A motorcycle unit or motorcycle infantry.

  Kreigsgliederung. See Gliederung.

  Kriegsmarine. The German navy.

  Kriegsstärkenachweisungen. A wartime organisation table, usually abbreviated to K.St.N or simply KStN.

  Kriegstagebuch. A unit war diary. Many survived the war and are an invaluable source of information.

  Kübelwagen. Literally a bucket car. The familiar Volkswagen Type 82 car.

  Kurz. Short.

  KwK. Fully, Kampfwagenkanone. Any type of main gun mounted in an armored fighting vehicle. For example, 8.8cm KwK L/56, the gun used to arm the Tiger I.

  Landespolizei. The German state police.

  Lastkraftwagen. A truck.

  Lehr. Literally, teaching. Military training establishments were made up of Lehr-Abteilungen for example the Artillerie-Schiess -Schule at Thorn in Germany which contained Lehr-Abteilungen 1-5 and Lehrstäbe I and II. In December 1943 the Panzer-Lehr-Division was formed from personnel drafted from various schools and instructional establishments throughout Germany.

  Lehrgang. A training course.

  Leichte. Light. Can refer to either weight or a type of unit as in leichte Infanterie-Division.

  Legion. As in English, a legion. Often used by both the Heer and Waffen-SS to describe a unit made up of foreigners in German service. A Legion was of no fixed size and could vary from battalion to brigade strength. See also Osttruppen.

  Luftwaffe. The German air force. The Luftwaffe also controlled a number of paratroop and ground units as well as independent Sturmgeschütz battalions. The largest formation under its control were the Hermann Göring Panzer and Panzergrenadier divisions which served on the Eastern front.

  Marine-Infanterie-Division. In 1945, three divisions were raised from surplus Kriegsmarine personnel and two further divisions were in the process of formation when the war ended, although the latter may have been fictitious titles invented to camouflage the movements of other formations. They were commanded by a mixture of navy and army officers and fought as regular infantry formations.

  Maschinengewehr. Machinegun, abbreviated to MG.

  Minenraumen. Mine clearing.

  Mitte. The center, as in Heeresgruppe Mitte.

  Mittlere. Medium.

  Motorisiert. Motorized. Used to indicate a unit equipped with wheeled transport.

  Musketier. An honor title granted to a regiment of the Grossdeutschland division late in the war. It was probably formed personnel of the division’s Panzer-Fusilier regiment and tanks crews fighting as infantry. See also Fusilier.

  Nachricten. Signals.

  Nachschub. Supply service.

  Nahkampfwaffen. Close defense weapon.

  Nebel. Literally meaning fog, the word is used in the military context in connection with smoke or chemical weapons. For example, Nebelgranate or smoke shell.

  Nebelkerzen. Smoke candles. Early models of some German tanks, including the Tiger I, were fitted with smoke candle dischargers. It was found that stray rounds could ignite the candle inside the discharger and they were dropped from production during 1943 although some could be seen in combat for some time.

  Neu. New.

  Nebelwerfer. Usually used in reference to rocket artillery. To circumvent the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty, early versions of these weapons were name Nebelwerfer, literally smoke projector, to hide their true purpose.

  Oberbefehlshaber West. Abbreviated to OB West, the high command of the armed forces on the Western front was directly subordinated to Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. In June 1944 Feldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt held this position. By May 1945 OB West was reduced to the command of units fighting in Bavaria.

  Oberkommando des Heeres. The high command of the army. Abbreviated to OKH.

  Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. The high command of the armed forces. Abbreviated to OKW.

  Ostheeres. A general term for the German army on the Eastern front.

  Osttruppen. A generic term used to describe Soviet citizens who had volunteered to with the Germans. From early 1942 Armenians, Azeris, Georgians, North Caucasians, Turkestanis and Volga Tartars were formed into Ostlegionen while the battalions raised from Estonians, Russians, Byelorussians and Ukrainians were referred to as Osbataillonen. The many Hilfswillige, or volunteer helpers, recruited on a semi-official basis from Soviet prisoners of war were not considered part of the Ostruppen.

  Panzerabwehrkanone. An anti-tank gun. Abbreviated to Pak or PaK.

  Panzer. Literally armor, however, in the military context the word refers to German tanks and tank units. The term was incorporated into the titles of formations which had a similar function, for example Panzerjäger, or were organic elements of Panzer divisions, such as Panzer-Artillerie or Panzer-Pionier. Engineers attached to a Panzer division.

  Panzerbefehlswagen. A command tank.

  Panzerbeobachtungswagen. A tank converted for artillery observation. A total of 262 vehicles based on the Panzer III and a further 133 on the Panzer IV were built during the war. The proposed conversion based on the Panther tank was abandoned.

  Panzerfaust. A single shot rocket-propelled anti-tank weapon. The culmination of the Faustpatrone program. The Panzerfaust was produced in five versions with the last model, the Panzerfaust 150, going into service just weeks before the end of the war. Prototypes of the proposed Panzerfaust 250 influenced the development of the Soviet RPG.

  Panzergranate. An armor-piercing shell. Abbreviated to Pzgr. There were several different types produced during the war including
shells with a ballistic cap and also solid high-density core rounds.

  Panzergrenadier. Armored Infantry. Contrary to popular belief not all Panzergrenadiers travelled to the battlefield in armored halftracks and, by the late war period, many considered themselves fortunate to be equipped with trucks.

  Panzerjäger. Literally, a tank hunter. Most anti-tank units were referred to as Panzerjäger, for example schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 512 which was equipped with the Jagdtiger tank destroyer. Regardless of their equipment, Panzerjäger units were administered by the Inspekteur der Panzertruppen.

  Panzerschreck. The popular name for the Raketenpanzerbüchse, a man-portable anti-tank rocket launcher similar to the US Army’s Bazooka.

  Panzerzerstörer. Literally mean tank destroyer. Some late war units were given this title.

  Panzer-Jagd-Kommando. Formed almost at the end of the war, these units were made up primarily of boys from the Hitler Youth and Volkssturm men equipped with bicycles, if available, and armed with Panzerfausts. They were later renamed Panzer-Jagd-Verbände.

  Panzerkampfwagen. Literally an armored fighting vehicle, but specifically a tank.

  Panzer-Kompanie. A tank company, usually commanded by a Hauptmann.

  Panzer-Regiment. A tank regiment, usually made up of two Abteilungen and commanded by a Oberst or Oberstleutnant.

  Pionier. Engineer. The engineer battalion of a Panzer division was referred to as Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon.

  Pionierpanzerwagen. An armored engineer vehicle, specifically an SdKfz 251/7 halftrack equipped with the bridging sections.

  RAL. Formed in 1925, the Reichs-Ausschuss für Lieferbedingungen und Gütesicherung was the German national quality assurance organization which gave its name to the RAL color system which is still in operation today. Army and Kreigsmarine vehicles and ships were painted in colors based on the RAL classifications, for example RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb, while the Luftwaffe maintained its own system.

  Radfahr. A bicycle. Some infantry formations contained a mobile reconnaissance unit equipped with bicycles.

  Reiter. Literally a rider. In the military sense, a cavalryman. The rank was equivalent to private in mounted units.