The German army of the Second World War
was a complex organization which is
reflected by their often misunderstood
rank structure.
While similar in most
respects to the system used by the other
major combatants there are enough major differences to make a table of
equivalent ranks as found in most
references inaccurate.
This video will attempt to provide some clarity.
The Army had four broad categories of personnel.
Soldiers populated the combat and
support units of the army. Each soldier
belonged to a specific branch and each
branch was distinguished by a specific
branch of service color known as waffenfarbe. Officers of the general staff
populated the command staffs of various
headquarters. They were distinguished by
their own waffenfarbe, red stripes on
their trousers, and higher quality
uniforms and insignia. Specialist leaders
were men with specialized technical
skills but without military training.
They were put in supervisory positions
equivalent to non commissioned officers
and officers. In 1940 the army began
encouraging these men to undergo military training and after December 1942
the specialists became officers. They were identified by special collar patches and shoulder straps.
Officials were civil servants in uniform. Like the specialists
they had unique shoulder straps and
collar patches. They were divided into
four career paths and about 80 different
branches. Branches most commonly
represented in the infantry divisions were the paymasters,  chaplains
field security police and field post
office. Soldiers were divided into four
main categories. From lowest to highest
they were Men, Non-commissioned officers,
Officers and Generals. The lowest rank was known as Schütze in the infantry.
The title for the lowest rank changed
depending on the soldiers branch.
In the autumn of 1942 the term
Grenadier was bestowed by Hitler on
infantry and motorized infantry.  the
title replaced Schütze and was
intended as a tribute to the armies of
Frederick the Great, whose soldiers had
also been known as grenadiers.
After one year in the army German
soldiers were eligible to add the prefix
"Ober-" to their rank. Insignia for oberschütze,
Obergrenadier, etc. was a star sewn to the
left sleeve. It was not a sought-after
promotion as promising soldiers could be
promoted to Gefreiter, the next higher
rank, after just six months. One must
conclude that the "Ober-"s were not
promising soldiers. In light infantry and
mountain troop units a Jäger became an
Oberschütze not an Oberjäger. The rank
of Gefreiter is often compared to the
English ranks of Corporal or Lance
Corporal but such comparisons are false. This was not a non-commissioned officer
rank but rather represented a private
soldier with some time in rank and a
modest raise in pay. The rank of Obergefreiter
similarly represented a raise in pay
without the official authority of a
non-commissioned officer, though
experience and necessity might see men
in this rank given junior leadership
tasks. Until the mid war period an Obergefreiter
with more than 6 years of
service wore a single chevron with a
rank star added. The rank of Stabsgefreiter was created in the mid war
period to recognize an Obergefreiter
with more than 6 years of service.
Aspiring non-commissioned officers served in the ranks and were identified by
a single loop of NCO braid on their
shoulder straps. Their official
designation changed during the war.
Non-commissioned officers were divided
into two further categories: junior and
senior. The decorative sword not had been a dress affectation of officers in the
Prussian army which was later extended
to senior NCOs.
The most junior NCO rank, Unteroffizier, 
was commonly held by squad leaders in
the infantry. In the light infantry and
mountain troops this rank was termed
Oberjäger. The next highest rank was
Unterfeldwebel.  Branch-specific
titles included Unterwachtmeister in units
equipped with horses, including cavalry
reconnaissance, artillery, signals, and
horse-drawn supply units.
A Feldwebel typically led a platoon sized
unit. Unlike the US and British armies
which primarily used officers in this
role, most German platoon size units were
led by NCOs. The rank of Oberfeldwebel is
commonly compared to the British
regimental sergeant major but again this
comparison is false. This rank is most
commonly associated with the Hauptfeldwebel.
Hauptfeldwebel was not a rank but an appointment normally held by an Oberfeldwebel,
but could be held by any NCO. A Hauptfeldwebel performed the same function as an
American Company First Sergeant or a
British company Sergeant Major and as
evidence of his importance, German
soldiers referred to him by a number of
nicknames. He was identified by two rings of rank braid on his sleeves and a leather
reporting book worn inside his tunic
front.
the rank of Stabsfeldwebel was
created specifically for pre-war career
NCOs.  NCOs and men of the medical branch were distinguished by the
cornflower-blue waffenfarbe, the red
cross, and a prefix to the rank titles.
Likewise men and NCOs of the military
police had unique insignia and rank
designations as well. Officer candidates
served in the ranks while undergoing
training. The designations and insignia
change during the course of the war and
in some cases were dependent on the
soldier's branch of service. A soldier
selected for officer training started out
in the ranks and did his basic training.
When the recruit graduated basic
training he moved on to advanced
training. Early in the war this was done
with the Replacement Army and later with the
Field Army. After advanced training the candidate
moved on to a two-month course at a
military school. In 1939, after graduating
military school, an aspiring officer went to
a four month course of training specific
to his branch and on graduation did two
months probationary service in a field
unit before promotion to officer. Beginning in 1940 aspirant officers who
completed Officer Candidate training
were ranked equivalent to Feldwebel.
Soldiers who commissioned from the ranks as an Oberfeldwebel or Stabsfeldwebel
wore that rank while attending an
Officer Candidate course. After
graduation the aspirant officers served
a probationary period in a field unit before
promotion to officer. Officers were
divided into two categories: company
officers and field grade officers. The
rank sequence was very similar to that
used in the Western armies including
junior and senior grades of lieutenant,
captain, major, lieutenant colonel and
colonel.
While the ranks were very similar, the
duties and responsibilities were often
different from the US or British Army. A German Oberst commanded a regiment for example.
In the Commonwealth this command
was called a brigade and was led by a
Brigadier. The medical branch had unique
rank titles for officers.
General officer ranks loosely coincided
with those of the Western armies.
There was no Brigadier rank as Brigade or
regimental sized units in the German
army were commanded by an Oberst. Generalmajor was the lowest general rank
usually held by division commanders. Some divisions were commanded by officers in
the rank of Generalleutnant, though corps
commanders generally held this rank.
Generals of the German army maintained a branch affiliation, thus General-of-the-Infantry,
of the cavalry, of the Panzer
troops, etc. The waffenfarbe for all
general officers remained bright-red. A Generaloberst would generally
command an army group. The word Oberst means uppermost so a literal translation
of this rank would be "uppermost" or
"highest ranking general" but is often
translated into English as Colonel-General
due to Oberst also describing
the highest-ranking officer which in the
West was a colonel.
Field Marshal was the highest rank in
the German Army. Promotion to this rank
was subject to Hitler's approval and was
often done as a reward for exemplary
service. After the Battle of France nine
Army generals were promoted to Field
Marshal. Most were eventually relieved of
duty by Hitler as the war went on. Hitler
also famously promoted General Paulus to the rank of Field Marshal just before
Stalingrad fell in the hope he would
then either die fighting or commit
suicide, as Hitler believed no Prussian
marshal had ever been captured alive.
Taking into account the four major
categories of army personnel: Soldiers,
General Staff, Specialist Officers and
Officials, there were hundreds of unique
rank titles and insignia combinations
specific to individual branches, and only
a small sample can be possible in a
brief overview such as this. Anecdotal
evidence suggests even the average
German soldier may have had a difficult time
keeping it all straight. For those who
wish to learn more, a list of references
is in the video description.
 
