Glossary
Armeeabteilung A German command intermediate between a corps and an army, usually under an enlarged corps headquarters Armeegruppe A group of armies, a German command arrangement under which one army headquarters was subordinated to another Berghof Hitler's Bavarian retreat East Wall The projected German fortified line across the Soviet Union from Narva on the Baltic Sea to Melitopol on the Black Sea and on which work was begun in August 1943 Ferdinand A German tank first produced in early 1943. It mounted an 88-mm. long-barreled antitank gun in a fixed turret on a Tiger tank chassis. The Ferdinand weighed 73 tons, carried 200-mm. front armor, and had a top speed of 12.5 miles per hour. front A Soviet army group Fuehrer Hitler's title as German chief of state Gruppe A German ad hoc military formation, usually composed of more divisions than a normal corps but utilizing a corps command apparatus Guards An honorific designation given to Soviet units which had distinguished themselves in combat Hero of the Soviet Union The highest Soviet military decoration Hiwi, Hilfswillige Russian auxiliaries serving with German units on the Eastern Front in various noncombatant capacities Iron Gate The 2-mile-long gorge and rapids on the Danube River above Turnu Severin Jaeger Term used to designate German light infantry JU-52 The German Junkers 52 trimotor transport airplane Kampfgruppe A means of designating German divisions which had been seriously reduced in strength through combat losses Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The highest class of the Iron Cross and the most prized of the German World War II military decorations
Maybachlager The OKH command and communications center at Zossen south of Berlin NKVD Narodnyi Komissariat Venutrennikh Del (Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs, the Soviet internal security organization) OKH Oberkommando des Herres (The German Army High Command) OKL Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (The German Air Force High Command) OKM Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine (The German Navy High Command) OKW Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (The German Armed Forces High Command) Panje German World War I army slang for Poles and Russians. Used in World War II to describe the Soviet peasant wagons. Panther A German tank, originally designated Panzer V, that first went into quantity production in early 1943. It mounted a long-barreled 75-mm. gun, and in its sloping armor and low silhouette it was patterned after the Soviet T34. The Panther weighed 50 tons, carried 110-mm. armor on the turret front, and had a top speed of 35 miles per hour. Panzer III A German prewar-model tank, mounting in its latest version (1942) a long-barreled 50-mm. antitank gun. The Panzer III weighed 24.6 tons, carried 50-mm. front armor, and had a top speed of 35 miles per hour. Although the Panzer III disappeared from combat in the last years of the war, its chassis continued to be used in several models of self-propelled assault guns. Panzer IV The latest of the prewar German tanks, and mounting in its final version (1942) a long-barreled, high-velocity 75-mm. gun, it replaced a short, 75-mm. low-velocity gun. The Panzer IV weighed 26 tons, carried 60-mm. front armor, and had a top speed of 25 miles per hour. Panzergrenadier Armored infantry Panzerjaeger Literally, tank hunters. Bicycle-mounted German troops armed with antitank grenades and rockets and organized in early 1945. Reichsfuehrer-SS Himmler's title as chief of the SS
Reichsstrasse 50 German-built road in northern Norway from Narvik to Kirkenes Szekler Strip A piece of territory in eastern Transylvania which had been in dispute between Hungary and Rumania during the interwar period and was awarded to Hungary through German mediation under the Treaty of Vienna, 30 August 1940 Schild und Schwert A German theory of active defense Self-propelled assault gun A lightly armored, tracked vehicle mounting a relatively heavy gun and intended to be used as close-support artillery SS Schutzstaffel (Elite guard of the Nazi Party) Stavka Stavka Verkhovnovo, Glavnokommandovaniya (the Soviet Supreme Command) Stuka Sturtzkampffugzeug (Dive bomber) T34 The tank that was the mainstay of the Soviet armored forces throughout World War II. Put into quantity production in early 1941, it mounted a 76.2-mm. gun (after early 1944 an 85-mm. gun), carried 45-mm. front armor, and had a top speed of about 30 miles per hour. Sloping armor on the turret and glacis plate gave it particularly good protection against antitank gun fire. Tiger A German tank, originally designated Panzer IV, that first appeared in action in late 1942. Mounting an adaptation of the German 88-mm. antiaircraft gun, the Tiger weighed 63 tons, carried 100-mm. armor on the turret front, and had a top speed of 25 miles per hour. Trek A refugee column Totenkopf Death's head Volksgrenadier Designation given to a number of German divisions hastily formed after July 1944 by filling up burned-out divisions from the Eastern Front with new recruits Volkssturm The German home guard composed of overage and draft-deferred men. Waffen-SS The combat units of the SS Winter War The Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-40 Wehrmacht The German Armed Forces Wiking Viking
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