by Tom Zola
Zampolit: Political commissar; an officer responsible for political indoctrination in the Red Army
Wehrmacht ranks
Rank
US equivalent
Anwärter
Candidate (NCO or officer)
Soldat (or Schütze, Kanonier, Pionier, Funker, Reiter, Jäger, Grenadier … depends on the branch of service)
Private
Obersoldat (Oberschütze, Oberkanonier …)
Private First Class
Gefreiter
Lance Corporal
Obergefreiter
Senior
Lance Corporal
Stabsgefreiter
Corporal
Unteroffizier
Sergeant
Fahnenjunker
Ensign
Unterfeldwebel/Unterwachtmeister (Wachtmeister only in cavalry and artillery)
Staff Sergeant
Feldwebel/Wachtmeister
Staff Sergeant
Oberfeldwebel/Oberwachtmeister
Master Sergeant
Oberfähnrich
Ensign First Class
Stabsfeldwebel/Stabswachtmeister
Sergeant Major
Hauptfeldwebel
This is not a rank, but an NCO function responsible for personnel and order within a company
Leutnant
2nd Lieutenant
Oberleutnant
1st Lieutenant
Hauptmann/Rittmeister
(Rittmeister only in cavalry and artillery)
Captain
Major
Major
Oberstleutnant
Lieutenant Colonel
Oberst
Colonel
Generalmajor
Major General
Generalleutnant
Lieutenant General
General der … (depends on the branch of service:
- Infanterie (Infantry)
- Kavallerie (Cavalry)
- Artillerie (Artillery)
- Panzertruppe (Tank troops)
- Pioniere (Engineers)
- Gebirgstruppe (Mountain Troops)
- Nachrichtentruppe (Signal Troops)
General (four-star)
Generaloberst
Colonel General
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal
Overview of military units in the Wehrmacht
Fire team: Smallest military unit in the Wehrmacht
Squad: (Or section, for our British readers) – consists of ten to twenty soldiers
Platoon: Three to five squads
Company: Varies greatly; usually three platoons plus support and HQ elements
Abteilung: Some Wehrmacht battalions were called Abteilung because of traditional origins of the unit; e.g. some panzer battalions due to their roots in the cavalry
Battalion: HQ plus two to five companies plus support elements
Regiment: Two to four battalions
Brigade: Varies greatly; a total of up to 5 000 soldiers
Division: Varies greatly; 5 000 to 30 000 soldiers
Corps: Two to five divisions
Army: Three to six corps
Army Group: Consists of more than one army
Characters
Rank, unit and position as of the situation when the character makes his or her first appearance in the novel. The sequence is: Surname, name, rank in its original language, function.
Bauer, Heinz Gerd, Obergrenadier, machine gunner of Squad Pappendorf
Baum, Herbert*, Jewish member of the German resistance against the Nazis; was tortured to death in 1942
Beck, Ludwig*, Generaloberst a.D. (i.e., “Außer Dienst”, meaning he is on the Retired list), former chief of general staff of the German Armed Forces
Becker, Carl*, Generalmajor, commander of the 253rd Infantry Division
Berning, Franz, Unteroffizier, squad leader of 3rd Squad / 2nd Platoon / 1st Reconnaissance Squadron / Schnelle Abteilung 253 / 253rd Infantry Division / XXIII Army Corps / 9th Army / Army Group Center / Commander-in-Chief East
Bongartz, Rudi, Gefreiter, machine gunner of Squad Berning
Born, Eduard, Stabsgefreiter, loader of Engelmann’s tank
Canaris, Wilhelm*, Admiral, chief of Military Intelligence Service “Abwehr”
Churchill, Winston*, Prime Minister of Great Britain
Claassen, Mauritius, Oberfeldwebel, platoon leader of 2nd Platoon / 1st Reconnaissance Squadron / Schnelle Abteilung 253 / 253rd Infantry Division / XXIII Army Corps / 9th Army / Army Group South / Commander-in-Chief East
Engelmann, Else, Leutnant Josef Engelmann’s wife
Engelmann, Gudrun, daughter of Josef and Else Engelmann
Engelmann, Josef “Sepp“, Leutnant, platoon leader 1st Platoon / 9th Company / III Abteilung / Panzer Regiment 2 / 16th Panzer Division / XI Army Korps / 6th Army / Army Group South / Commander-in-Chief East
Feitenhansel, Udo, Obergrenadier, soldier of Squad Berning
Fellgiebel, Fritz*, Chief Signal Officer of High Command, therefore chief of Wehrmacht communication lines at the Führer’s headquarters
Fromm, Friedrich*, Generaloberst, Commander of the Replacement Army
Göring, Hermann*, Generalfeldmarschall, mainly: commander-in chief of the Luftwaffe under Hitler
Haus, Theodor, Oberleutnant, company commander of the “black company“ / Schnelle Abteilung 253 / 253rd Infantry Division / XXIII Army Corps / 9th Army / Army Group South / Commander-in-Chief East
Himmler, Heinrich*, Reichsführer SS and leading Nazi party member under Hitler
Hitler, Adolf*, “Führer“ and Reichskanzler (Chancellor) of the German Reich
Hoth, Hermann*, Generalfeldmarschall, chief of staff of the Commander-in-Chief East
Junghans, Gretel, Franz Berning’s girlfriend
Kelekian, Sesede, girl from Arthur Petrosjan’s hometown
Klodt, Bernhard*, soccer player with Schalke 04
Kolter, Steffen, Obergefreiter, soldier of company Haus
Konev, Ivan Stepanowitsch*, General Polkovnik (Colonel General), commander-in-chief of the Steppe Front
Kreisel, Helmut*, Stabsfeldwebel, NCO of II Abteilung / Panzer Regiment 2 / 16th Panzer Division / XI Army Korps / 6th Army / Army Group South / Commander-in-Chief East
Laschke, Henning, Unteroffizier, tank commander in Engelmann’s platoon
Ludwig, Theo, Obergefreiter, gunner in Engelmann’s tank
Marseille, Fritz, Oberfeldwebel, tank commander in Engelmann’s platoon
Meinert, Fridolin, Unterfeldwebel, gunner of Müller’s tank
Meyer, Norbert, Oberfeldwebel, tank commander in Engelmann’s platoon
Milch, Erhard*, Generalfeldmarschall, Chief of Aircraft Procurement and Suppy
Müller, Gottfried, Oberfeldwebel, tank commander in Engelmann’s platoon
Münster, Hans, Unterfeldwebel, driver in Engelmann’s tank
Nitz, Eberhardt, Feldwebel, radio operator in Engelmann’s tank
Pappendorf, Adolf, Unterfeldwebel, squad leader of 2nd Squad / 2nd Platoon / 1st Reconnaissance Squadron / Schnelle Abteilung 253 / 253rd Infantry Division / XXIII Army Corps / 9th Army / Army Group Center / Commander-in-Chief East
Paulus, Friedrich*, General der Panzertruppe, commander-in-chief of Army Group South
Petrosjan, Arthur, Rjadovoi (soldier), Armenian soldier of the Red Army, 2nd Squad / 1st Platoon / 2nd Company / 1st Rifle Battalion / 1072nd Rifle Regiment / 102nd Rifle Division / 67th Rifle Corps / 70th Army / Central Front
Raumann, Jürgen, Feldwebel, platoon leader of 1st Platoon of company Haus
Rommel, Erwin*, Generalfeldmarschall, commander-in-chief of the Africa Korps
Roth, Luise, employee of the British Consulate in Bern
Roth, Stella, Luise’s younger sister
Rößler, Rudolf*, proprietor of Vita Novi publishing house in Switzerland, and head of the “Lucy” spy ring
Rupp, Karl, Grenadier, soldier of Squad Schredinsky
Schröder, Günther, Obergrenadier, soldier of Squad Berning
Sieckenius, Rudolf*, Oberst, commander of Panzer Regiment 2 / 16th Panzer Division / XI Army Korps / 6th Army / Army Group South / Commander-in-Chief East
Sidorenko, Nikolay, General Polkovnik (Colonel General), commander of the 5th Guards Tank Army, Steppe Front
Stalin, Josef*, Soviet Chief of State and Party Leader, Generalissimo of the Red Army
Taylor, Thomas, Unteroffizier, soldier of Sonderverband Brandenburg
von Angern, Günther*, Generalmajor, commander of the 16th Panzer Division / XI Army Korps / 6th Army / Army Group South / Commander-in-Chief East
von Blomberg, Werner*, Generalfeldmarschall, former Reich Ministry of Defense
von Bock, Fedor*, Generalfeldmarschall, Leader's Reserve (that was a pool for all high-ranking officers, who got in conflict with Hitler – they were put in a backwater there)
von Brauchitsch, Walther*, Generalfeldmarschall, Leader's Reserve
von Kluge, Günther*, Generalfeldmarschall, commander-in-chief of Heeresgruppe Mitte
von Lahousen, Erwin*, Oberst i.G. (i.e., “im Generalstab” - meaning he has attended the General Staff College, and is tracked to become an actual general), commander of II Department of the Division Ausland (= foreign countries) / Abwehr
von Leeb, Wilhelm*, Generalfeldmarschall, Leader's Reserve
von Manstein, Erich*, Generalfeldmarschall, Commander-in-Chief East
von Witzleben, Erwin*, Generalfeldmarschall, Leader's Reserve
Werner, Rolf, Obergrenadier, radio operator of Squad Pappendorf
Weiß, Otto, Obergefreiter, soldier of Squad Schredinsky
*historical person
Map of the salient of Kursk
The dashed line indicates the front line as of May 3rd 1943
Stay tuned … the PANZERS series will continue in 2019!
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[1] For information about the meaning of German words, a map of the salient of Kursk, Wehrmacht ranks, and more check out the appendix
