Transcript Slide 1
THE ORDER OF
THINGS
MILITARY COMMAND
STRUCTURE &
WORDS YOU NEED
TO SURVIVE THE
WAR
GERMAN WEHRMACHT
The ARMY=DAS HEER
The NAVY= KRIEGSMARINE
The AIR FORCE= LUFTWAFFE
• WAFFEN-SS ("armed SS")
and STURMABTEILUNG (SA)
units occasionally added
WEHRMACHT
THEIR
COMMAND
STRUCTURE
WAS A MAJOR
FACTOR IN
THEIR
SUCCESS
HITLERSUPREME
COMMANDER
MARSHALL VON
BRAUHITSCHCOMMANDER
AND CHIEF OF
THE ARMY HIGH
COMMAND
OKH
THREE ARMY
GROUPS:
• GROUP ARUNDSTEDT
• GROUP BBOCK
• GROUP C-LEEB
LUFTWAFFE
(OKL)
NAVY
(OKM)
BASCIALLY
THE SAME
SET UP
THE ALLIES LACKED
COORDINATED
COMMAND
STRUCTURE
EACH NATION EARLY
IN THE WAR ACTED
AS AN INDIVIDUAL
GERMAN MILITARY JARGON
Abteilung (Abt.) Armeekorps --- detachment,
infantry corps
section, battalion
Aufklärung -Alte Hasen -- Old
reconnaissance
hares; military
veterans who
Armeeoberkommando–
survived frontField Army Command
line hardships
Ami -- slang for
an American
Soldier
Blitzkrieg --
lightning war
• Erwin Rommel,
Heinz Guderian,
and Erich von
Manstein
name given to
Hitler's
mountain-top
home at
Berchtesgaden
in the Bavarian
Alps
Deutsches Afrika
Korps (DAK) -troops sent to
North Africa under
the command of
Erwin Rommel
Eagle's Nest --
Einheit --
detachment or
unit
Einsatz -- duty,
mission
Einsatzgruppen - battalion-sized,
mobile killing units
Enigma -- German
Staatspolizei, secret
state police
Fallschirmjäger -paratroopers;
German airborne
troops
FlaK
--air defense gun
Granatwerfer -grenade thrower;
mortar
message encryption
equipment.
Gestapo-- Geheime
Grenadier --
traditional term for
heavy infantry
Ivan -- German
slang for a Soviet
soldier
Kampfgeist -- fighting spirit
Krieg- -- wartime-, war
Mannschaften -- enlisted personnel
Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres (Ob.d.H.) -Commander-in-Chief of the Army.
Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) -Army High Command; Army General Staff.
Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine -Navy High Command
Oberkommando der Luftwaffe -- Supreme
Command of the Air Force
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht -- Armed
Forces High Command
Allied
WAR
terms
AA---Anti-Aircraft
AAC (Army Air
Corps)-- name of
the aviation
branch of the U.S.
Army until June
20, 1941 when it
was changed to
AAF
Abwehr-intelligence and
counter-espionage
service of the
German High
Command
Ace--a pilot who
has shot down five
aircraft
AFV--(Armored
Fighting Vehicle)
Anti-personnel-designed to
primarily
kill/wound people
Amphibious ships—
specialized ships
for amphibious
landings and
supporting troops
on hostile beaches
Anzac--Australian
and New Zealand
Army Corps
Bangalores -a
metal tube packed
with high
explosives, used by
the Allies for
cutting through
barbed wire,
blowing up railway
tracks, detonating
buried mines, and
as an element in
booby traps.
banzai attack-a
wild suicide charge
conducted by
Japanese troops
Barrage--Fire
which is designed
to fill a volume of
space or area
rather than aimed
specifically at a
given target.
Battery-the basic
unit of artillery: 4,
6 or 8 guns of the
same type grouped
together
BAR--Browning
Automatic Rifle.
CAP--(Combat Air
Patrol) - a
defensive screen of
fighters over a ship
or other asset
CBI--(ChinaBurma-India)
theater
Corvette--small
anti-submarine
vessel based on a
whale catcher
design
Cruiser--a fast ship
equipped with a
powerful
armament of 6 or 8
inch guns
Destroyer (DD)-the workhorse of
the Navy. Initially
tasked with
fending off attacks
by torpedo boats,
World War II saw
their role and
importance expand
greatly - they did
everything.
Division--A major
administrative and
tactical
unit/formation
which combines in
itself the necessary
arms and services
required for
sustained combat,
larger than a
regiment/brigade
and smaller than a
corps.
DUKW 'duck‘-(Duplex Universal
Carrier, Wheeled)
2½ ton amphibious
truck.
Flagship--the ship
in a fleet that the
highest ranking
commanding
officer chooses to
command from
accompanied by
his staff
GarandAmerican M1
0.30in cal rifle
‘Grease Gun‘-American
M3/M3A1
submachine gun
Half-track-armored fighting
vehicle that uses
a combination of
tracks and
wheels.
Howitzer-artillery
which lobes shells on
a parabolic trajectory
to plunge down on
targets. barrel length
between 23 and 39
calibers
Liberty ship--mass
produced cargo ship
LST--landing ship,
tank
LVT--landing vehicle,
tracked 'Buffalo'
amphibious tractor
(amtrac)
Machinengewehr
MG42--one of the
best machineguns
ever made.
Milk run--a relatively
safe combat mission
Napalm--mixture of
gasoline and a
thickening agent.
Aluminum salts of
napathenic acid and
palmitic acid used
for this purpose
gave us the term
napalm. The thick
jelly-like material
burns at up to 1830°
F. (1000° C.) and
clings to anything it
touches.
NKVD (Narodnyy
Komisariat
Vnutrennikh Del)-Soviet secret
police, predecessor
to the KGB.
Pillbox--a small low
concrete
emplacement for
machine guns and
antitank weapons
Seabees-nickname for naval
construction
battalions (CBs)
SNLF--Japanese
navy ground forces
(Japanese
marines)
GERMAN
MILITARY
RANKS WITH
AMERICAN
EQUIVALENTS
Generalfeldmarsc
hall – General of
the Army
Generaloberst –
General
General-Leutnant
– Major-General
Generalmajor –
Brigadier-General
Oberst – Colonel
Oberstleutnant –
Lieutenant
Colonel
Major – Major
Hauptmann – Captain
Oberleutnant – First
Lieutenant
Leutnant – Second
Lieutenant
Hauptfeldwebel –
Sergeant-Major
Feldwebel – Staff
Sergeant
Unteroffizier –
Sergeant
Obergefreiter –
Corporal
Gefreiter – Private
First Class
Grenadier/Schütze –
Private
MILITARY
COMMAND SET
UP START BIG
AND END
SMALL
US ARMY
COMPANY: typically the
smallest Army element to
be given a designation
and affiliation with higher
headquarters at battalion
and brigade level. This
alphanumeric and branch
designation causes an
"element" to become a
"unit."
Squad - 9 to 10 soldiers. Typically
commanded by a sergeant or staff
sergeant, a squad or section is the
smallest element in the Army structure,
and its size is dependent on its
function.
Platoon - 16 to 44 soldiers. A platoon is
led by a lieutenant with an NCO as
second in command, and consists of two
to four squads or sections.
Company - 62 to 190 soldiers.
Three to five platoons form a
company, which is commanded
by a captain with a first sergeant
as the commander's principle
NCO assistant. An artillery unit of
equivalent size is called a battery,
and a comparable armored or air
cavalry unit is called a troop.
Battalion - 300 to 1,000 soldiers.
Four to six companies make up a
battalion, which is normally
commanded by a lieutenant colonel
with a command sergeant major as
principle NCO assistant. A battalion is
capable of independent operations of
limited duration and scope. An armored
or air cavalry unit of equivalent size is
called a squadron.
Brigade - 3,000 to 5,000 solders. A
brigade headquarters commands the
tactical operation of two to five
organic or attached combat battalions.
Normally commanded by a colonel
with a command sergeant major as
senior NCO, brigades are employed on
independent or semi-independent
operations. Armored cavalry, ranger
and special forces units this size are
categorized as regiments or groups.
Division - 10,000 to 15,000
soldiers. Usually consisting of
three brigade-sized elements and
commanded by a major general,
divisions are numbered and
assigned missions based on their
structures. The division performs
major tactical operations for the
corps and can conduct sustained
battles and engagements.
Corps - 20,000 to 45,000
soldiers. Two to five
divisions constitute a
corps, which is typically
commanded by a lieutenant
general. As the deployable
level of command required
to synchronize and sustain
combat operations, the
corps provides the
framework for multinational operations.
Army - 50,000 + soldiers.
Typically commanded by a lieutenant
general or higher, an army combines
two or more corps. A theater army is
the ranking Army component in a
unified command, and it has
operational and support
responsibilities that are assigned by
the theater commander in chief. The
commander in chief and theater army
commander may order formation of a
field army to direct operations of
assigned corps and divisions. An army
group plans and directs campaigns in
a theater, and is composed of two or
more field armies under a designated
commander. Army groups have not
been employed by the Army since
World War II.
There is not set number of
troops for any element
Usually size is determined by
mission
Aviation Comp. would be larger
than infantry Comp.
US ARMY HAD TRIANGULAR
DIVISIONS—IT CUT OUT
REGIMENTAL LEVELS
CALVARY---IS AN EXCEPTION
THEY HAVE SQUARDRONS & TROOPS
Privatelowest rank of
enlisted men
Private First ClassGrade above
private.
CorporalLowest noncommissioned
officer, often
commands a squad.
SergeantNon Commissioned
Officer above a
Corporal.
Master Sergeant
-The lead noncommissioned
officer at the
battalion and
sometimes higher
levels.
Sergeant Major-The key enlisted
member of a
battalion.
Command Sergeant
--Carries out
standards,
performances,
training, and
conduct to soldiers.
Sergeant Major- of
the Army
Highest rank for a
soldier.
Second Lieutenant-Lowest ranking
commissioned
officer.
First LieutenantMay command
platoons or
companies.
CaptainA captain usually
commands a
company with a
battalion.
MajorServes as a staff
officer to a
regiment or
division
commander
Lieutenant ColonelUsually commands
a battalion made
up of 300 to 1,000
soldiers. A
battalion is within
a regiment.
Colonel-Usually
commands a
regiment within
a division.
Brigadier
GeneralCommands a
brigade within a
division.
Major GeneralCommands a
division which is
10,000 to 15,000
soldiers.
Three Star GeneralAn officer in the
Army, Air Force, or
Marines who is above
the rank of Major is a
Three Star General
Four Star GeneralOnly officers who
show great leadership
and loyalty become
four-star generals.
The Five Star General
rank was first created
on December 14,
1944. Only four Army
Generals have held
this position.
George C. Marshal
Douglas MacArthur
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Omar N. Bradley