|
Ia |
German chief of staff (at division), or chief of operations (corps and above), sometimes |
|
Ib |
German chief quartermaster/supply staff officer |
|
Ic |
German chief intelligence staff officer |
|
IIa |
German Adjutant for officers |
|
IIb |
German Adjutant for non-commissioned personnel |
|
I SS Panzer Corps |
Gruppenführer Hermann Priess’s 1st SS Panzerkorps |
|
II SS Panzer Corps |
Obergruppenführer Willi Bittrich’s 2nd SS Panzerkorps |
|
III Corps (US) |
Major-General John B. Millikin’s 3rd Corps (Third Army) |
|
4 × 4 |
US four-wheel-drive vehicle, usually a ¼-ton jeep or ¾-ton Dodge |
|
V Corps (US) |
Major-General Leonard T. Gerow’s 5th Army Corps (First Army), headquarters at Eupen |
|
6 × 6 |
US six-wheeled cargo truck, usually a 2½-ton ‘Jimmy’ |
|
VI Corps (US) |
Major-General Edward H. Brooks’ 6th Corps (Seventh Army) |
|
VII Corps (US) |
Major-General J. Lawton Collins’ 7th Corps (First Army) |
|
VIII Corps (US) |
Major-General Troy H. Middleton’s 8th Corps, (First, then Third Army), HQ originally Bastogne, then Neufchâteau |
|
88 |
The 88mm anti-tank/anti-aircraft gun, also widely used by GIs to mean German artillery, assuming that every enemy gun was an ‘88’ |
|
XII Corps (US) |
Major-General Manton S. Eddy’s 12th Corps (Third Army) |
|
XV Corps (US) |
Major-General Wade H. Haislip’s 15th Corps (Seventh Army) |
|
XVIII Airborne Corps (US) |
Major-General Matthew B. Ridgway’s 18th Airborne Corps |
|
XXX Corps (British) |
Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Horrocks’ British 30th Corps |
|
XXXIX Panzer Corps |
Generalleutnant Karl Decker’s 39. Armeekorps |
|
XLVII Panzer Corps |
General Heinrich von Lüttwitz’s 47. Panzerkorps |
|
LVIII Panzer Corps |
General Walther Krüger’s 58. Panzerkorps |
|
LXVI Corps |
General Walther Lucht’s 66. Armeekorps |
|
LXVII Corps |
General Otto Hitzfeld’s 67. Armeekorps |
|
LXXIV Corps |
General Karl Püchler’s 74. Armeekorps |
|
LXXX Corps |
General Franz Beyer’s 80. Armeekorps |
|
LXXXV Corps |
General Baptist Kneiss’ 85. Armeekorps |
|
150 Panzer Brigade |
Special Forces troops commanded by Otto Skorzeny |
|
AAA |
Anti-Aircraft Artillery |
|
AAR |
After Action Report |
|
Abteilung |
German battalion or detachment |
|
Adlerhorst |
Eagle’s Nest, codename for Hitler’s HQ at Ziegenberg |
|
AEF |
American Expeditionary Force, First World War US Army in France |
|
AIB |
US Armored Infantry Battalion |
|
‘All American’ |
James M. Gavin’s US 82nd Airborne Division |
|
Amel |
German name for Amblève |
|
AMGOT |
Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories |
|
Ami |
German slang (abbreviation) for American |
|
Army Group ‘B’ |
Field Marshal Walther Model’s Heeresgruppe B, with operational command of Herbstnebel |
|
Army Group ‘G’ |
Heeresgruppe G, south of Model’s ‘B’, led by Hermann Balck (until 24 December 1944), subsequently Johannes Blaskowitz |
|
Army Group ‘H’ |
Heeresgruppe H, north of Model’s ‘B’, led by Kurt Student |
|
Aufklärungs |
German military term meaning reconnaissance |
|
ASTP |
Army Specialised Training Program, GI scholarship programme at universities, terminated 1944 |
|
A/T |
Anti-Tank |
|
B-17 |
US four-engined Boeing ‘Flying Fortress’ bomber |
|
B-24 |
US four-engined Consolidated ‘Liberator’ bomber |
|
B-25 |
US twin-engined North American ‘Mitchell’ bomber |
|
B-26 |
US twin-engined Martin ‘Marauder’ bomber |
|
BAOR |
British Army of the Rhine, post-Second World War occupation army |
|
BAR |
US Browning Automatic Rifle, 0.30-inch magazine-fed light machine-gun |
|
Baraque/Baracke |
Belgian/German term for a crossroads with a military checkpoint (from the word for barrack, or military hut) |
|
Battalion, or Bn. |
Single-arm unit, usually 500 to 1,000 men in strength and commanded by a lieutenant colonel or a major |
|
battery |
Artillery unit of company size, of between four and eight guns |
|
BDM, Bund Deutscher Mädel |
Nazi youth movement, girls’ equivalent of Hitlerjugend |
|
‘Beetle’ |
Nickname for Walter Bedell Smith (1895–1961), SHAEF Chief of Staff |
|
Befehlspanzer |
Command tank, fitted with extra radios |
|
‘Big Red One’ |
Clarence R. Huebner’s US 1st Infantry Division |
|
Black Watch |
A kilted Highland regiment from Scotland in XXX Corps |
|
Bletchley Park |
Allied code-breaking centre in Buckinghamshire, England |
|
‘Bloody Bucket’/ ‘Keystone’ |
Norman D. ‘Dutch’ Cota’s US 28th Infantry Division |
|
Bodenplatte |
‘Baseplate’, German codename for 1 January 1945 air attack |
|
Bofors |
Allied 40mm anti-aircraft gun |
|
Bosche |
Old French name for German invaders |
|
‘Brad’ |
Nickname for General Omar Nelson Bradley (1893–1981) |
|
Brigadeführer (SS Rank) |
Brigadier-General (US one-star) |
|
Bronze Star |
US award for valour below Silver Star, established 1944 |
|
Browning machine gun |
As well as the BAR (q.v.), the US Army operated .30-inch and .50-inch belt-fed machine guns, both manufactured by the Browning Arms Company. The former were used on tripods by infantry units, the latter generally mounted on vehicles |
|
Bundeswehr |
Modern German Army, founded in 1955 |
|
Burp Gun |
US slang for German MP-40 Schmeisser machine pistol |
|
C-47 |
US twin-engined Douglas ‘Skytrain’ or ‘Dakota’ (RAF designation) transport aircraft, twenty-eight paratroopers / 6,000 lbs payload, became the post-war DC-3 civil airliner |
|
CCA, B, or R |
Combat Command ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘R’ (for Reserve), temporary combined arms combat groupings of a US armored division |
|
CCS |
Combined Chiefs of Staff, Anglo-US supreme military body for strategic direction of the Second World War, established 1942. |
|
‘Carpetbagger’ |
Airborne supply drops to resistance movements, hence specialist ‘Carpetbagger’ squadrons |
|
Caserne |
French/Belgian term for barracks |
|
Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron |
US Cavalry battalion |
|
‘Checkerboard’ |
Walter E. Lauer’s US 99th Infantry Division |
|
CG |
Commanding General (corresponding to UK term GOC) |
|
Chemical Mortar Battalion |
Operated 4.2-inch (107mm) mortars, which fired high explosive, white phosphorus (incendiary) and smoke marker shells up to 4,400 yards (US Army) |
|
Christrose |
Initial German codename for Herbstnebel |
|
CIC |
US Counter-Intelligence Corps, founded 1 January 1942 |
|
CIGS |
British Chief of the Imperial General Staff (Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke), senior military adviser to Churchill |
|
Clerf |
German name for Clervaux |
|
CO |
Commanding Officer |
|
Combined Arms |
Usually a combination of infantry, artillery, armour (and sometimes air) assets. |
|
Company, or Co. |
Single arm unit composed of two or three platoons, c. 200 men, commanded by a captain or major. US companies lettered ‘A’ to ‘D’ formed an infantry regiment’s 1st Battalion, ‘E’ to ‘H’ the 2nd, and ‘I’, ‘K’, ‘L’ and ‘M’ (there was no ‘J’), the 3rd battalion. German companies numbered 1–4 formed their I Battalion, 2–8 the II Battalion and 9–12 the III. |
|
COM-Z |
Communications Zone, US area behind front line to logistics ports, commanded by Lieutenant-General J. C. H. Lee |
|
CP |
Command Post |
|
C-rations |
Assortment of drab-green food tins and packets, plus accessories of gum, cigarettes, matches, toilet paper and tin opener |
|
Das Reich |
German 2nd SS Panzer Division |
|
Der Führer |
Regiment of Das Reich Division |
|
Distinguished Service Cross |
America’s second highest decoration for valour, established 1918 |
|
Division |
The smallest standard combined-arms formation, 10,000–15,000 men in strength and usually commanded by a major-general |
|
DR, Deutsche Reichsbahn |
German Railways |
|
Enigma |
German enciphering machine whose secrets were unlocked at Bletchley Park (q.v.) |
|
Ersatzheer |
German Replacement Army (Stauffenberg was originally its chief of staff, until 20 July 1944). Afterwards commanded by Heinrich Himmler |
|
ETHINT |
Post-Second World War US Army European Theater Historical Interrogations Program |
|
ETO |
European Theater of Operations |
|
FA |
US Army Field Artillery (FAB = FA Battalion), with twelve 105 or 155mm guns |
|
Fallschirm Division |
German parachute division |
|
Fallschirmjäger |
German paratrooper |
|
Fallschirmpionier |
German parachute engineer |
|
Fahnenjunker |
Officer cadet, all German officers had to serve in the ranks before commissioning |
|
Feldwebel |
German Army/Luftwaffe rank of Sergeant (senior to Unteroffizier) |
|
Fifteenth Army (US) |
US Army formation led in 1945 by Gerow, then Patton |
|
Fifth Panzer Army |
German formation commanded by General Hasso von Manteuffel |
|
Firefly |
Sherman tank mounting British 17-pounder gun |
|
First Army (US) |
Formation led by Lieutenant-General Courtney H. Hodges, based in Spa until 18 December, Chaudfontaine until 22 December, then Troyes, headquarters codename ‘Master’ |
|
Flak |
Fliegerabwehrkanone, German anti-aircraft gun, or unit |
|
Focke-Wulf |
Focke-Wulf 190 single-seat German fighter |
|
Fort Benning, Georgia |
US Army infantry school since 1918 |
|
Fort Knox, Kentucky |
US Army armour school 1918–2012 |
|
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas |
US Army Command and General Staff College since 1881 |
|
Freiherr |
German term of nobility, equivalent to Baron |
|
Fronthasen |
‘Front hare’, German slang for veteran soldier |
|
Führerbunker |
Hitler’s command bunker, latterly in Berlin where he died |
|
Führerbefehl |
Order emanating directly from Hitler |
|
Führer-Begleit-Brigade |
Hitler’s (literally leader’s) Escort, German mini-division, commanded by Oberst Otto Remer |
|
Führerhauptquartier |
Hitler’s personal headquarters |
|
FUSAG |
First US Army Group, fictional command, led by Patton |
|
G-1 |
Personnel officer or department (division level and above) |
|
G-2 |
Intelligence officer or department (division level and above) |
|
G-3 |
Operations officer or department (division level and above) |
|
G-4 |
Supply officer or department (division level and above) |
|
G-5 |
Civil affairs officer or department (division level and above) |
|
Garand |
US M-1 rifle, used .30-06-inch cartridges in an eight-round clip |
|
Gauleiter |
Senior Nazi official, presiding over each of the 43 Gaue (districts) of Nazi Germany, answerable only to Hitler |
|
Gefreiter |
German rank of Lance Corporal |
|
Generalfeldmarschall |
German Field Marshal (five-star rank) |
|
Generaloberst |
German General (four-star rank) |
|
General der Infanterie, der Panzer, etc. |
German Lieutenant-General (three-star rank) |
|
Generalleutnant |
German Major-General (two-star rank) |
|
Generalmajor |
German Brigadier-General (one-star rank) |
|
Gestapo |
Abbreviation of Geheime Staatspolizei, Secret State Police |
|
GI |
American soldier |
|
GOC |
General Officer Commanding (corresponding to US term CG) |
|
‘Golden Lions’ |
Alan W. Jones’s US 106th Infantry Division |
|
Graf |
German term of nobility, equivalent to Count |
|
Granatwerfer |
German mortar (literally ‘grenade-thrower’) |
|
Grease Gun |
US copy of Schmeisser machine pistol, .45-inch calibre |
|
Greif |
Griffin, German codename for Skorzeny commando operation |
|
Grenade |
Allied operation launched with Operation Veritable |
|
Grenadier |
German infantryman |
|
GrossDeutschland |
Greater Germany/name of elite German division |
|
Gruppe |
Group (usually German air force) |
|
Gruppenführer |
SS rank equivalent to Major-General |
|
Halifax |
RAF four-engined bomber, manufactured by Handley-Page |
|
Hauptquartier |
Headquarters |
|
Hauptmann |
German army/Luftwaffe Captain |
|
Hauptscharführer |
SS rank equivalent to Battalion Sergeant Major |
|
Hauptsturmführer |
SS Captain |
|
Heinie |
Allied slang for a German (also Jerry, Bosche, Kraut, Hun) |
|
Herbstnebel |
‘Autumn Mist’ (or Fog), final German codename for Ardennes offensive |
|
Hetzer |
Small, turretless, 15-ton German tank destroyer, 75mm gun |
|
HIAG |
Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit der Angehörigen der ehemaligen Waffen-SS (Mutual Help Association of Former Waffen-SS Members), founded in 1951 by former Waffen-SS officers |
|
HJ, Hitlerjugend |
Hitler Youth, modelled on Boy Scouts, also the 12th SS Panzer Division |
|
I & R |
(US Army) Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon |
|
IDF |
Israeli Defense Forces |
|
Ike |
Universal nickname for Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) |
|
‘Indianhead’ |
Walter M. Robertson’s US 2nd Infantry Division |
|
Infatuate |
Allied operation to capture Walcheren, November 1944 |
|
IPW |
Interrogation of Prisoner of War team, attached to each US division |
|
‘Ivy’ |
Raymond O. ‘Tubby’ Barton’s US 4th Infantry Division |
|
Jabo |
German abbreviation for Jagdbomber (Allied fighter-bomber) |
|
Jagdpanther |
German turretless tank destroyer, 88mm gun on Panther (q.v.) suspension |
|
Jagdpanzer IV |
German twenty-five-ton tank destroyer with 75mm gun, built onto a Panzer Mark IV suspension |
|
Jagdtiger |
Turretless seventy-ton tank destroyer on Tiger II (q.v.) suspension with 128mm gun |
|
Jägeraufmarsch |
German fighter plane concentration |
|
JCS |
US Joint Chiefs of Staff, military chiefs’ committee to coordinate army and naval activities, established 1942 |
|
Jeep |
US GP (General Purpose, hence Jeep) 4 × 4 vehicle (also known as a Peep in US armour and cavalry units) |
|
Jerry |
Allied slang for a German (also Heinie, Bosche, Kraut, Hun) |
|
Jerrycan |
Military twenty-litre/five-gallon fuel can, modelled on the German invention |
|
Jimmy |
US 6 × 6 cargo truck, mostly manufactured by GMC (hence ‘Jimmy’) and mainstay of the ‘Redball Express’ |
|
Junkers-52 |
German tri-motor transport aircraft, seventeen paratroopers/4,000 lbs payload |
|
Kampfgruppe |
(Plural Kampfgruppen) German combat group of variable size often a combined arms task force, typically named after its leader |
|
Kampfwert |
German military term meaning combat readiness state |
|
Kanonier |
German artillery private |
|
King Tiger |
Also Royal Tiger, sixty-nine-ton German Tiger II tank, 88mm main gun |
|
K-rations |
US individual packaged meal units for breakfast, lunch and supper |
|
Kraut |
Allied slang for German soldier |
|
Kriegsakademie |
German military staff college in Berlin, two-year course |
|
Kriegsberichter |
German war correspondent |
|
Kriegsschule |
German army schools for officer and NCO instruction in infantry, artillery, armour, etc. tactics |
|
Kriegsmarine |
German war navy |
|
Kriegstagebuch |
German war diary |
|
Kübelwagen |
German four-wheeled military Jeep made by Volkswagen |
|
Lancaster |
RAF four-engined bomber, manufactured by Avro |
|
Landser |
German slang for German soldier |
|
Lehr |
Panzer Lehr, armoured division formed from instructors at panzer schools, led by Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein |
|
Leibstandarte |
Hitler’s Life Guard, later the 1st SS Panzer Division |
|
Leutnant |
German army/Luftwaffe Second Lieutenant |
|
LST |
Allied Landing Ship Tank naval vessel |
|
Luftwaffe |
German air force, established 26 February 1935 |
|
Lüttich |
German name for Liège |
|
M-1 |
Standard US semi-automatic .30-inch calibre Garand rifle Also M-1 carbine, lightweight weapon, chambering special 0.30-inch (short) cartridge from a fifteen-round magazine |
|
M-3 |
US 0.45-inch light machine-gun, dubbed the ‘Grease Gun’ from its appearance and copied from the MP-40 Schmeisser |
|
M-4 |
US Sherman medium tank, many variants |
|
M-5 |
US Stuart high-speed light tank, turreted 37mm main gun |
|
M-7 |
US Priest, 105mm self-propelled gun |
|
M-8 |
US Greyhound six-wheeled armoured car, turreted 37mm main gun |
|
M-10 |
US tank destroyer, three-inch (76.2 mm) gun |
|
M-18 |
US Hellcat tank destroyer, 76mm gun, used a unique Buick-designed suspension |
|
M-36 |
US Jackson tank destroyer, 90mm main gun |
|
Magic |
Japanese code deciphered at Bletchley Park (q.v.) |
|
Market Garden |
Allied airborne operation, 17–25 September 1944 |
|
Mauser |
German 7.92mm bolt-action five-round rifle, first issued in 1898 |
|
Medal of Honor |
America’s highest award for valour |
|
Messerschmitt |
The Messerschmitt 109 and 262 were single-seat German fighter aircraft, the latter a jet |
|
MG-34 or 42 |
German belt-fed 7.92mm machine-gun, often known as the Spandau or ‘Hitler’s band-saw’ |
|
MIA |
Missing in Action |
|
Michelin |
French tyre and map-making company |
|
MLR |
Main Line of Resistance (US Army term) |
|
Monty |
Nickname for Sir Bernard Montgomery (1887–1976) |
|
Mosquito |
RAF high-speed, twin-engined aircraft made by De Havilland |
|
MP-40 |
German Schmeisser 9mm machine pistol, the ‘Burp Gun’ |
|
MP-44 |
Sturmgewehr, German assault rifle, with signature curved magazine, containing thirty 7.92mm (short) rounds |
|
MSR |
Main Supply Route (US military logistical term) |
|
NATO |
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, founded 1949 |
|
NCO |
Non Commissioned Officer |
|
Nebelwerfer |
German six-barrelled mortar on two-wheeled trailer |
|
Ninth Army (US) |
American formation led by Lieutenant-General William H. Simpson, located at Maastricht, headquarters codename ‘Conquer’ |
|
Ninth Army (German) |
German formation led by Walther Model in Russia |
|
Nordwind |
‘North Wind’, German 1 January 1945 operation south of Ardennes |
|
Null-Tag |
Sometimes O-Tag (Zero Day), German equivalent of D-Day |
|
OB West |
Oberbefehlshaber West; Supreme Command of German forces in the West – von Rundstedt or his headquarters |
|
Oberfeldwebel |
German Army/Luftwaffe rank of Master Sergeant/WO2 |
|
Oberführer |
SS rank of Senior Colonel, no exact Allied equivalent |
|
Obergefreiter |
German Army/Luftwaffe Corporal |
|
Obergruppenführer |
SS rank equivalent to Lieutenant-General |
|
Oberleutnant |
German Army/Luftwaffe First Lieutenant |
|
Oberscharführer |
SS rank equivalent to Company Sergeant Major |
|
Oberst |
German Army/Luftwaffe Colonel |
|
Oberstgruppenführer |
SS rank equivalent to Colonel General (‘Sepp’ Dietrich) |
|
Oberstleutnant |
German Army/Luftwaffe Lieutenant-Colonel |
|
Obersturmbannführer |
SS rank equivalent to Lieutenant-Colonel |
|
OCMH |
Office of the Chief of Military History (US Army) |
|
ODESSA |
Organisation der Ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen, post-Second World War Nazi bureau that ran secret escape routes out of Europe |
|
Oflag |
German Offizierlager, officers’ POW camp |
|
OKH |
Oberkommando des Heeres (High Command of the German Army, Chief of OKW Staff, was Guderian in December 1944) |
|
OKL |
Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (Air Force High Command, established 5 February 1944) |
|
OKW |
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces High Command, Keitel was Chief in December 1944) |
|
OP |
Observation Post |
|
OSS |
Office of Strategic Services, modelled on British SOE, established 13 June 1942, later became the CIA |
|
Ostfront |
Eastern Front |
|
OT, Organisation Todt |
Nazi Civil Engineering Service, headed by Albert Speer |
|
Overlord |
Allied operation to invade Normandy, beginning 6 June 1944 |
|
P-38 |
US twin-engined Lockheed ‘Lightning’ multi-role fighter |
|
P-47 |
US single-engined Republic ‘Thunderbolt’ fighter, usually used in ground attack role |
|
P-51 |
US singled-engined North American ‘Mustang’ fighter, used to escort bombers and intercept opposing aircraft |
|
Panther |
German Mark V battle tank, forty-five tons, 75mm main gun |
|
panzer |
German for armour or tank |
|
Panzer Mark IV |
Standard twenty-five-ton German tank of 1943–4, with 75mm main gun |
|
Panzerfaust |
‘Tank Fist’, German throw-away anti-tank weapon |
|
Panzergrenadier |
German mechanised infantry soldier or unit |
|
Panzerjager |
German anti-tank gun or unit |
|
Panzerschreck |
‘Tank Terror’, German bazooka-like anti-tank weapon |
|
Panzerwaffe |
Armoured branch of German armed forces |
|
PFC |
Private, First Class |
|
Phantom |
British GHQ Liaison Regiment under Montgomery’s personal command |
|
PI |
Photo Intelligence |
|
Pionier |
German military engineer |
|
PIR |
Parachute Infantry Regiment |
|
Platoon |
infantry unit of 30–50 troops or armour unit of four tanks |
|
POW or PW |
Abbreviation for Prisoner of War |
|
Plunder |
Anglo-US-Canadian Rhine crossings of 23–24 March 1945 |
|
Priest |
M-7 self-propelled 105mm artillery piece on tracked Sherman suspension |
|
PTSD |
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder |
|
Purple Heart |
US medal awarded to those wounded or killed, established 1932, with awards backdated to 1917 |
|
RAD, Reichsarbeitsdienst |
German Labour Service, compulsory for young men prior to military conscription |
|
RAF |
Royal Air Force |
|
RB |
Rifle Brigade, a British Army battalion |
|
‘Railsplitters’ |
Alexander R. Bolling’s US 84th Infantry Division |
|
‘Red Ball Express’ |
US trucking operation from Normandy to the front lines, August–November 1944 |
|
REFORGER |
Post-Second World War REturn of FORces to GERmany NATO military exercises |
|
Regiment, or Regt. |
US or German term for a single-arm unit, consisting of two or three battalions; a typical infantry regiment was 3,000 men and usually commanded by a colonel |
|
Reichsbahn |
German state railway network |
|
Reichsführer-SS |
Leader of the SS, Heinrich Himmler |
|
Reichskanzlei |
Hitler’s Reich Chancellery building in central Berlin |
|
Reichsmarschall |
Rank above Generalfeldmarschall, only used by Göring |
|
Reichswehr |
German Army 1921–35 |
|
Ritter |
German title of nobility, equivalent to Knight (‘Sir’) |
|
Ritterkreuz |
German Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, worn at the neck |
|
Rollbahn |
German march route, assigned to panzer units |
|
Rottenführer |
SS rank of Corporal |
|
R and R |
Rest and Recuperation, time away from the front |
|
RSO |
Raupenschlepper Ost, German military truck on caterpillar tracks |
|
RTR |
Royal Tank Regiment, British armoured formation |
|
S-1 |
Personnel officer or section (regiment and below) |
|
S-2 |
Intelligence officer or section (regiment and below) |
|
S-3 |
Operations officer or section (regiment and below) |
|
S-4 |
Supply officer or section (regiment and below) |
|
SA, Sturmabteilung |
Storm Detachment, pre-Second World War Nazi ‘brownshirt’ paramilitaries |
|
SACEUR |
Supreme Allied Commander Europe, established 2 April 1951, first holder of post was Eisenhower |
|
SAM |
Surface to Air Missile |
|
SAS |
Special Air Service, British special forces regiment |
|
SCR |
US Signal Corps Radio |
|
‘Screaming Eagles’ |
Maxwell D. Taylor’s US 101st Airborne Division |
|
Scharführer |
SS rank of Staff Sergeant |
|
Schütze |
SS rank of Private |
|
Schwere |
Heavy, as in Schwere-Panzer-Abteilung (heavy tank battalion) |
|
Schwimmwagen |
German amphibious jeep, manufactured by VW |
|
Second Army |
British formation commanded by General Sir Miles Dempsey |
|
Seventh Army (German) |
Formation led by General Erich Brandenberger |
|
Seventh Army (US) |
Formation led by General Alexander M. ‘Sandy’ Patch |
|
SHAEF |
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, in Versailles, codename ‘Shellburst’ |
|
Sherman |
The M-4 standard Allied tank of 1943–5 |
|
Siegfried Line |
Western frontier defence lines, of dragon’s teeth, bunkers and minefields (German Westwall) |
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SIGINT |
Signals Intelligence |
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Silver Star |
US award for valour above Bronze Star, below Distinguished Service Cross, established 1918 |
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Sippenhaft |
Guilt and punishment extended by the Nazis to families of those accused of treason after 20 July 1944 |
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Sixth Army Group (US) |
Formation commanded by General Jacob ‘Jake’ L. Devers |
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Sixth Panzer Army |
Formation led by Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich containing mostly SS troops |
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‘Skyline Drive’ |
GI name for road that ran from St Vith to Diekirch, on high ground west of and parallel to River Our |
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SLU |
Special Liaison Unit, Ultra-cleared liaison officers |
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SNAFU |
Situation Normal, All F***ed Up; in Bastogne, Team SNAFU was formed from stragglers to repel German penetrations |
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SOE |
British Special Operations Executive, special forces organisation which aided partisans and resistance units, established 22 July 1940 |
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SP |
Self-propelled (armoured vehicle) |
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SPECOU |
Special Coverage Unit of the US Army Signal Corps |
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Spitfire |
RAF single-engined fighter, made by Supermarine |
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Spitze |
‘Point’ or vanguard of German Kampfgruppe |
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Squad |
smallest military unit of eight to twelve soldiers (corresponds to British army section) |
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SS, Schutzstaffel |
Protection Squad, Hitler’s original ‘blackshirt’ bodyguards |
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Stahlhelm |
German steel helmet |
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Stalag |
German Stammlager, prisoner of war camp for all ranks |
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Standartenführer |
SS rank equivalent to Colonel |
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Stars and Stripes |
US daily military newspaper, founded 1861 |
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Stösser |
German parachute drop behind US lines |
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StuG, Sturmgeschütz |
German twenty-five-ton turret-less mini-tank, with 75mm main gun |
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Sturmbannführer |
SS rank equivalent to Major |
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Sturmgewehr |
German MP-44 assault rifle |
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Sturmmann |
SS rank of Lance Corporal, or PFC |
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T/4 |
US rank of Technician Fourth Grade with status of Sergeant |
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TD |
US tank destroyer, either a towed 57mm gun or an M-10, M-18 or M-36 tracked armoured vehicle |
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TF |
US Army Task Force |
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Third Army (US) |
George S. Patton’s command, based in Nancy, headquarters codename ‘Lucky’ |
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Tiger |
German tank, the sixty-nine-ton Tiger II was used in the Ardennes. Term was widely used by GIs to denote German tanks, though very few were actually Tiger IIs |
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Totenkopf |
Death’s head insignia worn by tank and SS personnel |
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Tracer |
Illuminating ammunition to help correct aim |
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Twelfth Army Group (US) |
Commanded by General Omar Bradley, based in Luxembourg, headquarters codename ‘Eagle’ |
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Twenty-First Army Group |
Commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, based at Zonhoven, Belgium, headquarters codename ‘Lion’ |
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Typhoon |
RAF single-seat, ground-attack fighter, manufactured by Hawker |
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Ultra |
Codename for process of deciphering German Enigma traffic, hence ‘Ultra-classified’ documents and ‘Ultra-cleared’ officers |
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Unteroffizier |
German Army/ Luftwaffe rank of Sergeant |
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Unterscharführer |
SS rank of Sergeant |
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USAAF |
United States Army Air Force, succeeded in 1947 by the USAF |
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USAEUR |
United States Army Europe |
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USO |
United Service Organization, provided live entertainment shows to US troops overseas, established 1941 |
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V-1 |
‘Doodlebug’ flying bomb, Vergeltungswaffe-1 (Vengeance Weapon) |
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V-2 |
Rocket Vergeltungswaffe-2 (Vengeance Weapon) |
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Varsity |
Allied airborne operation supporting the Rhine Crossings, 24 March 1945 |
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Vaterland |
Fatherland |
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Veritable |
Allied operation to clear the Reichswald, February–March 1945 |
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VMI |
Virginia Military Institute, US military school attended by Patton, founded 1839 |
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Völkischer Beobachter |
Nazi Party daily newspaper widely circulated throughout Germany |
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VolksArtillerie |
Artillery units working with Volksgrenadier divisions |
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Volksdeutsche |
Citizens of a non-German country considered by the Nazis to be ethnically German |
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Volksgerichtshof |
People’s Court |
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Volksgrenadier |
German People’s infantry division organized in late 1944 |
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Volkssturm |
People’s Militia Home Guard, established 18 October 1944 |
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VolksWerfer |
Nebelwerfer units working with Volksgrenadier divisions |
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WAC |
(US) Women’s Army Corps, established 1 July 1943 |
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Wacht am Rhein |
Penultimate codename for Ardennes offensive, after the popular nineteenth- century German song (see also Christrose and Herbstnebel) |
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Waffen-SS |
The ‘Fighting SS’ (as opposed to other branches) |
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Wald |
Wood or forest, as in Hürtgenwald, Krinkelterwald, Reichswald |
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Wehrmacht |
German Armed Forces (excluding SS) |
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West Point |
US Military Academy for officers, established 1802 |
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Westwall |
German Siegfried Line (q.v.) |
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‘Windhund’ |
Greyhound, nickname of 116th Panzer Division (Waldenburg) |
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Wirbelwind |
‘Whirlwind’, German four-barrelled 20mm anti-aircraft tank |
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Wolfsschanze |
Hitler’s headquarters, near Rastenburg in East Prussia |
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XO |
Executive Officer, US term for second in command |
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Ziegenberg |
Location of Hitler’s headquarters near the Schloss Kransberg |
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Zug |
German Platoon, hence Zugführer – platoon commander |