Wehrmacht Classification Terms

[Tom Houlihan]

US Army Historical Division ETHINT Document MS #B-776
Written by: Hudel, Helmut
Civ Employee Hist Div
Translated by H. Heitman
Classification Terms used by the German Armed Forces

A. Combat Efficiency Rating (Kampfwert)
Combat Efficiency Rating I: Unit is composed of first rate personnel and has best equipment. Manpower at full strength and equipment new. Troops very well trained, battlewise and well rested.
Combat Efficiency Rating II: On the whole unit is in good condition, apart from minor defects. Thus, for instance, the equipment might be incomplete, armament not uniform, little combat experience, replacements may be young and only briefly trained.
Combat Efficiency Rating III: Unit shows marked deficiencies in respect to personnel, equipment and training.
Combat Efficiency Rating IV: Unit is only very restrictedly fit for action. Generally it has been badly mauled in battle and has been very much weakened by heavy losses in personnel and materiel.
Combat Efficiency Rating V: Both in respect to personnel and materiel, unit is not fit for action.
B. Speed or tempo of troops transport trains
The speed of transports depended on urgency and the capacity of the respective railroads.
The tempo number (Tempo-Zahl) given referred only to one definite unit. It stands for the number of transport trains allocated one unit within a period of 24 hours.
Thus, for instance: The 3.Inf.Div. was moved at Tempo 12 would mean that within twenty-four hours twelve transport trains moving 3.Inf.Div. left the point of departure.
(Trans. Note: In very many manuscripts the term Zugfolge i.e. train sequence, is used in the same sense as tempo number above.)
C. Rations.
Quality and quantity were graded as follows:
Ration Grade I for combat troops in action;
Ration Grade II for rear service personnel of the army in the field;
Ration Grade III for troops serving in the ZI agencies.
Further the designation Tagessatz, i.e. daily ration was used, meaning the entire ration for one day.
D. Ammunition
The units had the so-called initial issue, or Erste Ausstattung, with them. This was the quantity of ammunition the combat troops themselves took along. The quantities were precisely determined for each individual weapon. Calculations were based on the average ammunition expenditure in two days of combat.
E. Fuel
Fuel was calculated in consumption units (VS – Verbrauchssatz). One consumption unit equals that amount of fuel which is consumed to cover a distance of 100 kilometers.