Ia, German operations officer.
Ic, German intelligence officer.
2nd Tactical Air Force, British tactical air corps, comprised of around 1,500 aircraft.
2nd TAF, abbreviation of 2nd Tactical Air Force.
3èmé Regiments de Chasseurs Parachutistes, French 3rd Paratroop Regiment.
4e Bataillon d’Infanterie de l’Air de l’Armee de l’Air, French 4th Airborne Battalion.
9th Air Force, U.S. tactical air corps comprised of around 2,000 aircraft.
IX Troop Carrier Command, U.S. airborne troop transport command on the Western Front.
A 4 (Aggregat 4), German ballistic flying bomb, also called V 2.
A-20 Havoc, U.S. twin-engine Douglas attack bomber.
A-26 Invader, U.S. twin-engine Douglas attack bomber.
Abteilung, battalion in German cavalry, armored troops, antitank troops, artillery and signal units.
Adlerhorst, (Eagle’s Nest), Hitler’s headquarters on the Western Front, in Schloss Ziegenberg near Bad Nauheim.
Air Chief Marshal, military rank in the Royal Air Force, the equivalence of the German Generaloberst.
Air Division, unit in the US Air Force, comprised of several Groups.
Air Vice Marshal, military rank in the Royal Air Force, the equivalence of the German Generalleutnant.
APCBC (Armour Piercing, Capped, Ballistic Capped), British armor-piercing shell.
APDS (Armour-piercing discarding sabot), British armorpiercing shell.
Ar 234, German twin-engine jet-propelled Arado bomber and reconnaissance aircraft.
Armé, military unit comprised of two or more corps.
Armee, army (German).
Armeegruppe, army group (German).
Armeekorps, army corps (German).
Armeeoberkommando, the headquarters of a German numbered army.
Armored Cavalry Squadron, the reconnaissance battalion of a U.S. armored division.
Armoured Brigade (British), usually comprised of three British Tank Regiments with an assigned strength of 49 tanks apiece.
Armoured Division, (British), in December 1944 with an assigned strength of 343 tanks.
Army group, military formation, comprised of two or more armies.
Artillerie, artillery (German).
Assault gun, armored tracked combat vehicle, tasked to support the infantry with a cannon firing explosive shells. The German StuG III was a combined assault gun and tank destroyer.
Aufklärungs-Abteilung, German reconnaissance battalion.
Ausf. (Ausführung), model (German).
B-17 Flying Fortress (Bomber-17), U.S. Boeing four-engine heavy bomber.
B-24 Liberator (Bomber-24), U.S. Consolidated four-engine heavy bomber.
B-26 Marauder (Bomber-26), U.S., Martin twin-engine medium bomber.
BArch, Bundesarchiv.
Bataillon, battalion (German).
Battalion, military unit, sub-unit to a brigade or a regiment, with an assigned strength of 860 men in both the German and the U.S. armed forces.
Bazooka, American anti-tank weapon.
Bf (Bayerische Flugzeugwerke), alternative designation of certain German Messerschmitt aircraft.
Bf 109, German Messerschmitt single-engine fighter.
Bletchley Park, the place outside of London where the British decrypted German Enigma coded messages,
Bomber Command, the strategic bomber force of the Royal Air Force.
Bomb Group, also Bombardment Group, U.S. air unit with an assigned strength of (regarding Heavy Bomb Group) 72 bombers, or) regarding Medium Bomb Groups or Light Bomb Groups) 96 bombers.
Bomb Squadron, U.S. aviation unit; three Bomb Squadrons formed a Bomb Group.
Brigade, (brigade) German military unit of varied size, between a company’s size and that of a half division.
C-47 (Carrier-47), U.S. Douglas twin-engine transport plane.
Cavalry Group, American mechanized and armored regiment.
Cavalry (Reconnaissance) Squadron, U.S. equivalence of an armored reconnaissance battalion.
CCA (Combat Command A), see Combat Command.
CCB (Combat Command B), see Combat Command.
CCR (Combat Command Reserve), see Combat Command.
CCS (Combined Chiefs of Staff) Allied top military command.
Chaffee M24, U.S. light tank.
Combat Command, a sub-unit of an American armored division, comprised of one tank battalion, an armored infantry battalion, an artillery battalion, and a platoon of antitank guns or tank destroyers.
Combat Command Reserve, see Combat Command.
Company, military unit, sub-unit to a battalion, with an assigned strength of around 200 men in both the German and the American armies.
Consumption unit (Verbrauchseinheit), German military term for in principle full fuel tank for all vehicles in a military unit.
Corps, military unit, comprised of two or more divisions.
Division, military unit, usually comprised of three regiments and support units with a total of between 10,000 and 20,000 men.
Fallschirmjäger, paratroopers (German).
FBB (Führer Begleit Brigade), (Leader-Escort-Brigade) German armored brigade.
Feldjägerkommando, (Field hunter command) German field gendarmes.
FGB (Führer Grenadier Brigade), (Leader-Grenadier Brigade) German armored brigade.
Field gun, field artillery piece able to fire at an angle of less than 45°.
Field howitzer, an artillery piece able to fire at an angle both larger and smaller than 45°.
Fieseler, German aircraft and rocket designer.
Fighter-bomber, fighter plane attacking target son the ground with automatic weapons, bombs or rocket-projectiles.
Fighter Group, U.S. aviation unit comprised of three Fighter Squadrons with a total of 111-126 fighters/fighter-bombers.
Fighter Squadron, see Fighter Group.
FK, (Feldkanone), field gun (German).
Flak (Fliegerabwehrkanone), antiaircraft gun (German).
Flak-Regiment 155 (W) (Flak-Regiment 155 Werfer), German regiment in charge of the launching of V 1 flying bombs.
Flieger-Division, (aviation division), German aviation unit comprised of several Geschwader.
Flight Lieutenant, military rank in the Royal Air Force, the equivalence of the German Hauptmann (captain).
Focke Wulf 190, German Focke-Wulf single-engine fighter.
Führer Begleit Brigade, see FBB.
Führer Grenadier Brigade, see FGB.
Fw, abbreviation of Focke Wulf.
General der Artillerie, German general in the artillery.
General der Infanterie, German general in the infantry.
General der Jagdflieger, a German position (not a military rank) as top responsible for the German fighter aviation.
General der Kampfflieger, a German position (not a military rank) as top responsible for the German bomber aviation.
General der Panzertruppen, German general in the armored forces.
Gepanzerte, armored (German).
G.I. Joe, slang for the ‘ordinary’ U.S. soldier.
Greif, (griffon) the codename of the German operation with German soldiers in U.S. uniforms behind Allied lines.
Grenadier-Regiment, see Volksgrenadier-Regiment.
Gruppe, (group) German aviation unit comprised of (in December 1944) four Staffel of each 16 aircraft plus a staff Schwarm of 4 aircraft in the fighter aviation and three Staffel of each 12 aircraft plus a staff Kette of 3 aircraft in the bomber aviation.
Halifax, British Handley-Page four-engine heavy bomber.
Half-track, vehicle that combines wheels and tracks.
Hanomag, German half-track Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251 armored troop carrier.
Heeres-Flak-Abteilung, army-antiaircraft battalion (German).
Heeresgruppe, army group (German).
Hellcat M18, American 76mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 tracked tank destroyer.
Herbstnebel, (autumn fog) the code name of the German Ardennes Offensive.
Hetzer, German Panzerjäger 38(t) tracked tank destroyer.
Intelligence officer, an officer in a military headquarters, responsible for intelligence information concerning the enemy.
Jabo (Jagdbomber), fighter-bomber (German).
Jackson M36, American 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 tracked tank destroyer.
Jagd-Division, (fighter division) German aviation unit comprised of a number of Geschwader, however smaller in size than a Luftflotte.
Jagdfliegerführer Mittelrhein, (fighter leader Mittelrhein) German commander of the fighter aviation in the Mittelrhein area.
Jagdgeschwader, (fighter wing) German fighter unit comprised of (in December 1944) four Gruppe of each 66 fighters and a staff Staffel of 16 fighters.
Jagdkorps, (fighter corps) German fighter aviation unit comprised of a number of Geschwader, however smaller in size than a Luftflotte.
Jagdpanther, German tracked tank destroyer.
Jagdpanzer, tracked tank destroyer (German).
Jagdpanzer IV, German tracked tank destroyer.
Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer, German tracked tank destroyer.
JG (Jagdgeschwader), see Jagdgeschwader.
Ju, abbreviation of Junkers.
Junkers Ju 88, German Junkers twin-engine bomber or night-fighter.
Junkers Ju 188, German Junkers twin-engine bomber.
Kampfgeschwader, (fighting wing) German bomber unit comprised of in general three Gruppe of each 40 bombers plus a staff Staffel of 12 bombers.
Kampfgruppe, (fighting group) in the German ground forces an ad-hoc unit of a size between that of a regiment and that of a battalion; in the German bomber aviation, an aviation unit comprised of three Staffel of each 12 bombers plus a staff Kette of three bombers.
KG (Kampfgeschwader), see Kampfgeschwader.
Knights Cross, see Ritterkreuz.
Kompanie, company (German).
Korps, corps (German).
Kübelwagen, Volkswagen car, the German equivalence of the jeep.
KwK (Kampfwagen-Kanone), tank cannon (German).
Königstiger (Tiger II), German Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. B heavy tank.
Lancaster, British Avro four-engine heavy bomber.
Lehrgeschwader, (training wing) in practice (December 1944) a German bomber wing, synonymous with a Kampfgeschwader.
LFH 18/40 (leichte Feldhaubitze 18/40), German light field howitzer.
L-4 Grasshopper, American Piper single-engine artillery observation aircraft.
Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, (Life Guard Adolf Hitler) the name of the 1. SS-Panzer-Division.
Lightning, American Lockheed P-38 twin-engine fighter/ fighter bomber.
Long Tom, U.S. 155mm field gun M1.
Luftflotte, (air fleet) the largest German aviation grouping, comprised of two or more Korps or Division.
Luftflotte Reich, (Reich Air Fleet), the German Air Force’s command organization for the air defense of the homeland.
Luftwaffe, (air arms) the German Air Force.
Luftwaffen-Feld-Division, (aviation-field division) ground unit formed from personnel of the German Air Fore.
Luftwaffenkommando West, the German Air Force’s command organization in the West.
M4 Sherman, U.S. medium tank.
M5 Stuart, U.S. light tank.
M8, U.S. armored car.
M10, U.S. 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10 tracked tank destroyer.
M18 Hellcat, U.S. 76mm Gun Motor Carriage (GMC) M18 tracked tank destroyer.
M20, U.S. armored car.
M24 Chaffee, U.S. light tank.
M36 Jackson, U.S. 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 tracked tank destroyer.
Marauder, U.S. Martin B-26 twin-engine medium bomber.
Marschbataillon, (march battalion) German replacement battalion.
Me 262, see Messerschmitt 262.
Mechanized, mechanized infantry is infantry equipped with armored fighting vehicles.
Messerschmitt Me 262, German Messerschmitt twin-engine jet-propelled fighter and fighter-bomber.
MG 42 (Maschinengewehr 42), German machine gun.
Mortar, simple infantry support weapon able to fire grenades at an angle of above 45°.
Mosquito, British de Havilland twin-engine bomber, reconnaissance aircraft and night fighter.
Mustang, U.S. North American P-51 single-engine fighter.
Nachtjagdgeschwader, (night fighter wing) German night fighter unit comprised of two to four Gruppe with 40 night fighters apiece.
Nachtrichten-, German signals (-unit).
Nebelwerfer, (fog launcher) German rocket artillery.
Night Fighter Squadron, U.S. night fighter aviation unit comprised of 18 night fighters.
NJG, (Nachtjagdgeschwader), see Nachtjagdgeschwader.
Null-Tag, (Zero-Day), German code for the attack day in the Ardennes Offensive.
Oberbefehlshaber West, (supreme commander west) German supreme commander on the Western Front.
Oberleutnant zur See, military rank in the German Navy, the equivalence of the Army’s Oberleutnant.
OB West, abbreviation of Oberbefehlshaber West.
OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), (Armed Forces High Command) the German Armed Forces High Command.
Operations officer, a staff officer responsible for the planning of a certain unit’s military operations and trainings, as well as the development of tactics.
P (Pursuit), U.S. designation for fighter aircraft.
P-38 Lightning, U.S. Lockheed twin-engine fighter/fighter-bomber.
P-47 Thunderbolt, U.S. Republic single-engine fighter/ fighter-bomber.
P-51 Mustang, U.S. North American engine fighter.
P-61 Black Widow, U.S. Northrop twin-engine night fighter.
PaK (Panzerabwehr-Kanone), antitank gun (German).
Panther, German Panzerkampwagen V medium tank.
Panzer IV, German Panzerkampwagen IV medium tank.
Panzer IV/70, the development of the German tracked tank destroyer Jagdpanzer IV.
Panzerarmee, tank army (German).
Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment, (armored artillery regiment) the artillery regiment of a German armored division.
Panzer-Aufklarungs-Abteilung, armored reconnaissance battalion (German).
Panzer Brigade, armored brigade (German).
Panzer-Division, armored division (German).
Panzerfaust, (armored fist) German hand-held antitank weapon.
Panzer-Füsilier, (armor-rifle) German armored reconnaissance troop.
Panzer Grenadier, German mechanized infantry.
Panzer-Grenadier-Division, German division comprised of mechanized infantry and often also tanks.
Panzerjäger-Abteilung, antitank battalion (German).
Panzerkorps, armored corps (German).
Panzer Lehr, (armor-training) the designation if the German armored division 130. Panzer-Lehr-Division.
Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon, the engineer battalion of the German armored units.
Panzer-Regiment, armored regiment (German).
Panzerschreck, (armor horror) German Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 antitank weapon.
Pionier-Bataillon, German engineer battalion.
PIR, abbreviation of Parachute Infantry Regiment.
Platoon, military unit, sub-unit to a company. A German infantry company comprised of three platoons, the American infantry company of four platoons. The assigned strength of a platoon was 48-50 men in the German infantry and 41 men in the American infantry.
POZIT (abbreviation of Proximity Fuse), a fuse that detonates an explosive device automatically when the distance to the target becomes smaller than a predetermined value, used for air burst shells in the U.S. artillery.
Quad Fifty, U.S. weapon, four parallel mounted 12.7mm M51 .50-Cal. anti-aircraft machine guns.
RAF (Royal Air Force), see Royal Air Force.
RCT (Regimental Combat Team), se Regimental Combat Team.
Regiment, military unit, sub-unit to a division, with an assigned strength of around 3,000 men in both the German and the U.S. armies in December 1944.
Regimental Combat Team, an American infantry regiment reinforces with, e.g., a tank battalion.
Ritterkreuz, (Knight’s Cross) the German highest award for valor in combat during World War II. The Knight’s Cross had three additions: with oak leaves (Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub), with oak leaves and swords (Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern), and with oak leaves, swords and diamonds (Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten).
Royal Air Force, British Air Force.
Red Army, (krasnaya armiya) the Soviet Army in WW II.
SAS (Special Air Service), British special forces during WW II.
Schlachtgeschwader, (strike wing) German ground-attack aviation wing.
Schwere Panzer-Abteilung, heavy tank battalion (German).
Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung, heavy tank destroyer battalion (German).
Sd.Kfz. (Sonderkraftfahrzeug), se Sonderkraftfahrzeug.
sFH 18, (schwere Feldhaubitze 18) German heavy field howitzer.
SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) see Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force.
Sherman, U.S. M4 medium tank.
Silver Star, the third highest U.S. award for valor in combat.
Spitfire, British Vickers Supermarine single-engine fighter.
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, the headquarters for the supreme commander of the Allied forces in Western Europe, General Eisenhower.
Sonderkraftfahrzeug, (special vehicle) designation of German armored vehicles.
SS (Schutzstaffel), (defense group) the German Nazi Party’s paramilitary and also purely military force.
SS-Reichsführer, (SS Reich leader) the title of the leader of the SS, Heinrich Himmler.
Staffel, (squadron) the German aviation’s squadron, with a strength of 12-16 aircraft.
Stalag (Stammlager), German POW camp.
StG 44 (Sturmgewehr 44), see Sturmgewehr 44.
Stuart, U.S. M5 light tank.
StuG III (Sturmgeschütz III), see Sturmgeschütz III.
StuK, (Sturmkanone), see Sturmkanone.
Sturmgeschütz III, German tracked assault gun.
Sturmgeschütz-Brigade, assault gun brigade (German).
Sturmgewehr 44, (assault rifle 44) German automatic carbine.
Sturmkanone, the gun of a German assault gun.
Sturm-Zug, the advance platoon of a German infantry or paratroop battalion.
TAC (Tactical Air Command), see Tactical Air Command.
Tactical Air Command, the command of the tactical air support of a certain U.S. numbered army. Each Tactical Air Command of the U.S. 9th Air Force in December 1944 was comprised of four to six Fighter Groups and a Squadron each of reconnaissance aircraft (24 aircraft) and night fighters (18 aircraft).
Tank destroyer, most commonly the designation of a tracked armored vehicle with the purpose of destroying the enemy’s tanks with an anti-tank gun. However, in the U.S. Army, a tank destroyer battalion was comprised of either 36 towed antitank guns or 36 tracked (self-propelled) tank destroyers.
Thunderbolt, U.S. Republic P-47 single-engine fighter/ fighter-bomber.
Tiger I, German Panzerkampfwagen VI heavy tank.
Tiger II, German Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. B Königstiger heavy tank.
Time on Target, an American artillery firing method where the firing was calculated so that all fired shells hit the target at the same time.
TOT (Time on Target), see Time on Target.
Troop, the approximate equivalence of a company in the U.S. (mechanized) Cavalry.
Troop Carrier Group, U.S. troop transport aviation unit, comprised of 80-110 troop transport aircraft.
Troop Carrier squadron, U.S. troop transport aviation unit; each Troop Carrier Group comprised of Troop Carrier Squadrons.
Troop Carrier Wing, U.S. troop transport aviation unit, comprised of two to five Troop Carrier Groups.
TUSA Third U.S. Army.
Typhoon, British Hawker single-engine fighter-bomber.
Ultra, code of the British decrypting of the German Enigma-coded messages.
USAAF, United States Army Air Force.
V 1 (Vergeltungswaffe 1), (Vengeance Weapon 1) German Fieseler 103 rocket-propelled flying bomb.
V 2 (Vergeltungswaffe 2), (Vengeance Weapon 2) German ballistic bomb, also designed as A 4.
V 3 (Vergeltungswaffe 3), (Vengeance Weapon 3) German (extremely) long-range artillery piece.
Volksartilleriekorps, (People’s Artillery Corps) German artillery corps.
Volksgrenadier-Division, (People’s Grenadier Division) designation from the fall of 1944 of German infantry divisions.
Volksgrenadier-Regiment, (People’s Grenadier Regiment) designation from the fall of 1944 of German infantry regiments.
Volkswerfer Brigade, (People’s Launcher Brigade) designation from the fall of 1944 of German rocket-artillery brigade
Wacht am Rhein, (Rhine guard) the code-name of the German plan for the Ardennes Offensive, later changed into ’Herbstnebel.’
Waffen-SS, (Arms-SS) the purely military forces of the German SS.
Wehrmacht, (Defense Force) the German Armed Forces.
Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Niederlande, (Armed Forces Commander Netherlands) the supreme commander of the German armed forces in the occupied Netherlands.
Wehrmachtsbericht, (Defense forces report) the German Armed Forces’ daily news broadcast.
West Wall, line of fortifications along Germany’s western border.
Wing, American Wing: a U.S. aviation unit comprised of two or more Groups; two wings usually formed a U.S. Air Force Division. British Wing: the equivalence of the U.S. Air Force’s Group. Here also used as a designation of a Luftwaffe Geschwader.
z.b.V. (zur besonderen Verwendung), for special purpose (German).
Zug, German platoon.
MILITARY RANKS DURING WORLD WAR II—AN APPROXIMATE COMPARISON
* Only one man held this the highest rank, the Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring.
In addition, the U.S. Army had so-called technical specialist ranks, with the following equivalences:
First Sergeant – Master Sergeant
Technical Sergeant – (no equivalence)
Technician Third Grade (T/3) – Staff Sergeant
Technician Fourth Grade (T/4) – Sergeant
Technician Fifth Grade (T/5) – Corporal