PanzerjägerPanzerjäger (German "armour-hunters" or "anti-tank troop", abbreviated to Pz.Jg. in German) was a branch of service of the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War. It was an anti-tank arm-of-service that operated self-propelled anti-tank artillery, also named Panzerjäger. Soldiers assigned to tank hunting units wore ordinary field-gray uniforms rather than the black of the Panzer troops, while Panzerjäger vehicle crews wore the Panzer jacket in field gray.
Führer(ˈfjʊərər ; ˈfyːʁɐ, spelled Fuehrer or Fuhrer when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi politician Adolf Hitler, who officially styled himself der Führer und Reichskanzler (the Führer and Chancellor of the Reich) after the death of President Paul von Hindenburg and the subsequent merger of the offices of Reichspräsident and Reichskanzler. Nazi Germany cultivated the Führerprinzip ("leader principle"), and Hitler was generally known as just der Führer ("the Leader").
PanzerwaffePanzerwaffe, later also Panzertruppe (German for "Armoured Force", "Armoured Arm" or "Tank Force". Waffe: [combat] "arm") refers to a command within the Heer of the German Wehrmacht, responsible for the affairs of panzer (tank) and motorized forces shortly before and during the Second World War. It was originally known as Schnelltruppen ("Fast Troops"); a motorized command established in the Reichswehr following the First World War, redesignated as Panzerwaffe in 1936 by Generalleutnant Heinz Guderian.
GebirgsjägerGebirgsjäger (ɡəˈbɪʁksˌjɛːɡɐ) are the light infantry part of the alpine or mountain troops (Gebirgstruppe) of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The word Jäger (meaning "hunter" or "huntsman") is a characteristic term used for light infantry in German speaking countries. The mountain infantry of Austria have their roots in the three Landesschützen regiments of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The mountain infantry of modern Germany carry on certain traditions of the German Alpenkorps (Alpine corps) of World War I.
RuhrThe Ruhr ('rʊər ; Ruhrgebiet ˈʁuːɐ̯ɡəˌbiːt, also Ruhrpott ˈʁuːɐ̯pɔt), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km2 and a population of over 5 million (2017), it is the largest urban area in Germany. It consists of several large cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. In the southwest it borders the Bergisches Land.
CorporalCorporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corresponds to commanding a section or squad of soldiers. The word is a contraction from the medieval Italian phrase capo corporale ( [of soldiers]). While most Indo-European languages use the contraction, West Iberian languages use cabo.
Enigma machineThe Enigma machine is a cipher device developed and used in the early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic, and military communication. It was employed extensively by Nazi Germany during World War II, in all branches of the German military. The Enigma machine was considered so secure that it was used to encipher the most top-secret messages. The Enigma has an electromechanical rotor mechanism that scrambles the 26 letters of the alphabet.
Missing in actionMissing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, executed, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave have been positively identified. Becoming MIA has been an occupational risk for as long as there has been warfare. Until around 1912, service personnel in most countries were not routinely issued with ID tags.
Fedor von BockMoritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock (3 December 1880 – 4 May 1945) was a German Generalfeldmarschall who served in the German Army during the Second World War. Bock served as the commander of Army Group North during the Invasion of Poland in 1939, commander of Army Group B during the Invasion of France in 1940, and later as the commander of Army Group Center during the attack on the Soviet Union in 1941; his final command was that of Army Group South in 1942.
Weimar ConstitutionThe Constitution of the German Reich (Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (Weimarer Verfassung), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The constitution declared Germany to be a democratic parliamentary republic with a legislature elected under proportional representation. Universal suffrage was established, with a minimum voting age of 20.
