Rookie Questions

[dmitbear]

Hello,

Could someone translate the following words and phrases for me, in general terms:

Oberleutnant d. R.
Fuselier
Zugfuhrer
Grenadier
Richtschutze
Chef


Thanks in advance,

Darin

[stab131]

Oberleutnant d. R. = 1st Lieutenant of the Reserves
Fuselier = Light Infantryman (rough translation)
Zugfuhrer = platoon leader
Grenadier = infantryman
Richtschutze = cavalry soldier
Chef = commander of a unit as in "Kompanie Chef"

[Arne]

Richtschütze = Gunner (i.e. Tank-Gunner)

[dmitbear]

Thanks Stab131 and Arne,

It is much appreciated and it helps tremendously.


Darin

[Richard Hargreaves]

Grenadier is generally a motorised infantryman, normally with the prefix panzer from later in the war.
Be very careful with the word "Chef" as it is used indiscriminately by the German Army, anything from commander/leader to chief-of-staff, so context is vital.

[Baltasar]

@Chef:
A soldier might call everyone of his commanders "Chef", including the Führer himself, who was generally referred as "der Gefreite".
But normally the Chef is a company commander, normally a captain or experienced Hauptfeldwebel (or higher).

@Grenadier: I thought a Grenadier is generally a mobile soldier, mobilized or mechanized, but I moght be wrong there.

[derGespenst]

By late war every infantryman was a Grenadier, e.g., Volksgrenadier - certainly not mobile or motorized!

While the original meaning of Füsilier was something like Light Infantryman (in 1742 - though not really), in the context of WW II it referred to a specific Infantry Battalion within the 1944-45 Infantry Division. They had a bicycle company, therefore relatively mobile, and a higher proportion of automatic weapons.

[dmitbear]

Not to get off the thread, but 1 quick question.......why were the names Grenadier and Fusilier used, or even created for the Divisions, Regiments, and Battalions late in the war?

Thanks,

Darin

[derGespenst]

The distinction harkens back to German (and other) military history. In the armies of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Grenadiers were the elite of the infantry - hand-picked men noted for their steadfastness and high morale. Calling an infantryman a Grenadier, therefore, was a high compliment to his military ability.

When Frederick the Great came to the throne, he inherited an army whose backbone were the Musketeers. He raised new regiments which were supposed to be lighter and quicker and were intended to carry a fusil instead of a musket - a shorter, lighter firearm, hence Fusilier. In reality, there was no difference between the two and the regiments of Fusiliers were used interchangeably with the Musketeers throughout the period of the Silesian wars and the Seven Years War.

[dmitbear]

Thanks so much derGespenst, that helps tremendously......boy do i have a long way to go...lol

Thanks so much,

Darin

[dmitbear]

Could someone translate the word Fuhrer, does it mean Leader?

Also, could you explain how a Major could be a Fuhrer of a Regiment?

Thanks,

Darin

[Baltasar]

Yes, Führer means Leader. More precisely, it means the guy who leads the way.

A major could of course be the commanding officer (~führer) of a regiment. Especially in the late stages of the war, the germans had not enough higher ranking officers, so they used Majors or Captains. This wasn't a too big problem since every soldier was taught to akt in the position of his superior if he was killed.

[dmitbear]

Thanks so much Baltasar, it is greatly appreciated.

Darin