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Abwehr |
German counterintelligence service |
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Attentat |
The July 20, 1944 assassination attempt against Hitler by German military leaders |
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Auftragstaktik |
The German doctrine of giving subordinates broad “mission type” guidance rather than specific orders, figuratively a doubled-edged sword |
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Axis |
The alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan, sealed by the Tripartite Pact of September 1940, numerous smaller nations joined later |
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Bersaglieri |
Italian fast light infantry |
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BSMD |
Baltic Special Military District |
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Barbarossatag |
Barbarossa Day, the day of the German invasion of the USRR, June 22, 1941 |
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Boyd Loop |
USAF Colonel John Boyd’s decision-making model used to evaluate leadership, especially in stressful situations like those found in war. Also known as the OODA Loop, the key components are Orientation, Observation, Decision, and Action. The side that cycles through this loop faster will usually be successful |
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CAS |
Close air support |
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CSIR |
Italian Expedition Corps in Russia |
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DP 41 (Soviet) |
State Defensive Plan 1941 |
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Einsatzgruppen |
Special Task Forces; SS- and SD-manned mobile death quads that operated in German-occupied Eastern Europe |
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FHO |
Fremde Heere Ost; Foreign Armies East, section of the General Staff responsible for intelligence on the Red Army |
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Freikorps |
Non-official military organizations raised by right-wing former German Army officers after World War I, active in Germany and points east, i.e., the Baltic States |
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frontovik |
Soviet frontline soldier |
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Führerprinzip |
Lit. “leader principle,” the German doctrine that the Führer’s word was absolute and that ultimate responsibility lay with him. Later included other party and military leaders |
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Gebirgsjäger |
German mountain infantry |
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Heer |
German Army |
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Igel |
Lit. “hedgehog,” German all-round defensive position |
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Kessel |
Lit. “cauldron,” German encirclement battle or pocket |
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Kriegsmarine |
German Navy |
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KSMD |
Kiev Special Military District |
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Landser |
Lit. “man of the land,” German infantryman |
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LOG |
Luga Operational Group (Soviet) |
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LSSAH |
Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler; SS unit originating as Hitler’s personal bodyguard |
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Luftwaffe |
German Air Force |
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MP 41 (Soviet) |
Mobilization Plan 1941 |
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NCO |
Non-commissioned officer |
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NKVD |
Soviet People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, responsible mainly for internal security |
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OKH |
Oberkommando des Heeres; German Army High Command |
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OKW |
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht; Supreme High Command of the German Armed Forces |
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Ostheer |
Lit. “Eastern Army,” German forces fighting against the USSR |
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panje |
panje horses, native to Poland and Russia, can also refer to the carts they pulled |
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POW |
prisoner of war |
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rasputitsa |
Russian spring and autumn rainy season |
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Reichsbahn |
German national railway |
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Schwerpunkt |
The main, overriding objective of a mission, offensive or defensive. All other efforts are secondary to it. As Paul von Hindenburg said, “An operation without a Schwerpunkt is like a man without character.” |
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Stavka |
Headquarters of the Soviet High Command |
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Strosstrupp |
Lit. “Storm troop,” German infiltration technique used by highly-trained, independent units developed late in World War I to break stalemate in the trenches on the Western Front |
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Sturmabteilung |
The original paramilitary wing of the Nazi party, the SA |
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Volk |
German people |
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Wehrkreis |
Lit. “Military District,” one of 17 army administrative divisions of Germany, responsible for mobilization, recruiting, etc |
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Wehrmacht |
German Armed Forces, comprising the Heer, Kriegsmarine, and Luftwaffe. The SS, while technically a Nazi Party organ, fell under the operational control of the Wehrmacht |
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Wolfsschanze |
Wolf’s Lair; Hitler’s military headquarters for the Eastern Front near Rastenburg, Prussia (today Poland), built for Operation Barbarossa |
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WSMD |
Western Special Military District (USSR) |