I recently became interested in the German army, and in particular its ranks. Information on this subject is relatively difficult to find, and having come across your video has greatly educated me on the subject. I thank you.
And still more: Quite a few years ago, I met a still serving officer at the local legion hall. It turned out, that I used to know him as a lowly, just promoted, Corporal. During the following years he became a Chief Warrant Officer and was ultimately promoted to Major. That is somewhat how I had viewed my own military career, which was not to be. Also, I am still in contact with my good American Airforce friend from Germany. He had become a Top Sergeant and, because of his long and distinguished service, his son was able to attend the Airforce Academy, and is now a major. I guess that is entirely sufficient for talk about the military.
I am really sorry they cut your military career short, and based on what seems to me like a technicality. Either accept someone into the military or don't, and then treat everyone the same. That's what I think.
Something else: My wife is the widow of s Chinese Airforce Officer. One day, I said to her: "China has lots of female soldiers, but the seem to be separated from the men." She told me that that women have their own units and she couldn't understand that in the Western Countries they serve with the men.
Ah! I almost forgot another thing I noticed. The term "portepee" appears to be a cognate of the French term "porte-epée" (carry-an-epée), which would make perfect sense if the sword you were carrying/wearing was in fact an epée, and an indication that you had special authority or responsibility. Thanks!
@@HAIckesExactly! A finely crafted saber would also not have inexpensive, unlike the relatively affordable long pikes carried by hordes of infantrymen during the late Middle Ages well into the 17th century.
Now that is something, I actually didn't expect. Pionier Schaffrath.... I too was with the engineers and for three years. But the Canadian Army. The lying recruiting officer had told me that, being a carpenter journeyman, I could become an officer. As it turned out, being a German citizen, put a full stop to any advancement at all. So I was a full fledged field engineer and no other ranking when I left the service. Now that was all considerably longer ago than your service. Namely from 1957 to 1960. On the whole, I enjoyed the time in the service, but I had a need of advancement, which I later satisfied by becoming a quadruple engineer, and working in management. A loss for the Canadian Army I would say, as I can now say, from experience, I would have been a good officer. And the unexpected was, I returned to Germany for my engineering degrees. Civil, structural, welding, engineering, and later, in California, engineering management. Why in Germany? Because in Canada they would not allow my to even attend a community college, to get Canadian journeyman qualifications. German schooling was not at all accepted. Had I been from Great Britain, everything would have been different. As I understand it, in the USA it would have been different too. Of course that was all long ago, and ought to be forgotten. There is, however, one way the Canadian Army has not forgotten about field engineer Al......, during my service, I injured my back and I have lived in pain since then, and I had a serious hearing loss. Both are still costing the government a bit of money. When I was about 80, I was talked into contacting the Department Of Veterans Affairs, and to my surprise received some help for both disabilities. So, my three years as a soldier had some positive result. In the Canadian Armed Services the ranks changed as well since my time. More ranks. About commands, what I had learned, stuck as well. Once when I was working for Ruhrgas, as a pipeline engineer, I had a construction site in the Lüneburger Heide. On day driving to my Hotel and office, I came to a spot where the road was closed by a platoon of German Infantry and an Unteroffizier told that I couldn't drive there to my Hotel. So I ordered him to remove the obstacle. He wouldn't and I got louder. So he called for Herr Leutnant. Herr Leutnant came, and he too wanted to stop me to continue. So, with my loudest command voice I ordered him to let me through. Which he then did. That was my only contact with the German Military of the time. A younger brother of mine went to Australia before being called up. Returning to Germany after a few years, he was called up and had to serve, I think, one year. During those years in Germany, I had lots of contact with American servicemen and women.
Wow, so the Canadian Army accepted you as a recruit, kept you for three years in their ranks, but did not allow you to get promoted due to your citizenship?! That's just wrong and Kafkaesque! I can see how they wanted you as an engineer being a skilled carpenter. We had a lot of those in my battalion as well. In the German military you need Abitur or equivalent to be on the commission officer track. I guess I could have applied myself and tried for that. My head was not in the right place at the time, so I decided to self-sabotage instead. Thanks for sharing!
@@loquidity4973 In the Canadian Army, the officers generally have a college degree, the Engineering Officers an Engineering degree. The basic training for the military engineers, was about a year and a half back in my time. I don't agree with you about male and female equality in an engineering battalion. There is a lot of hard physical labour to be done, that females generally cannot do, and they are just in the way. However, Canada too changed in favour of the female of the species. Talking with some younger field engineers, supports my position. By the way, in civilian life too, female engineers ---- in voller Kriegsbemalung, mit Stoeckelschuhen und dergleichen, were a common joke on construction sites. In the office I found that the females lost far too much time for very typical females problems. That, of course may have changed since my time. Medicine on the whole is far better now and it may have eliminated most or all of the time loss I experienced, and which was a very expensive problem. Come to think of it, my American Airforce friends in Germany always complained about the female members when it came to hard physical exercise. Every once in a while, they had to go on strenuous marches with heavy packs. The men told me that they had to carry the women's loads to allow them to keep up.
@@Fritz999 I just know that there are plenty of women who are stronger and definitely in better shape than I am. I think it really depends on the individual. Not all specializations in the military and not all professions are for everyone. I know plenty of men who are also not physically strong.
@@loquidity4973 I too have met plenty of weak men that are barely good enough to sit in an office. On the other hand, since most of the work I did, was in construction and the building trades, and in my spare time I was heavily engaged in sports, most of the men I knew, were strong and capable. As soon as women are involved, there are weight limits etc. established. Which, in some cases is good and makes sense, in others, like the military, make no sense at all, as there often is no time to fool around with any limitations, as the job on hand must be done regardless of just about anything.
@@loquidity4973 They did not only keep me, but during basic engineering training, they had me teach the other recruits, how to do concrete forming. Makes you wonder about the mental state of your superiors.
1. Does the Bundeswehr have any "shortcuts" per se when it comes to verbally speaking to or addressing certain ranks? For example, in the US Army you would say things such as "Yes/no Sergeant" for all SGTs under 1st SGT, or "General ....wants ....." regardless if they are a brigadier General, Lt General, etc. There is a similar thing for warrant officers, LTs, and Colonels in the US Army too. 2. Additionally, are lower enlisted in the Bundeswehr addressed only by their last name rather than rank? As another example, in the US Army, anyone E-4 and below is usually only addressed by their last name (except corporals), whereas everyone above that is usually addressed by their rank only or rank + last name. If the Bundeswehr has something similar, what rank/pay grade do ranks start to get used when addressing someone?
Thanks for your great questions! I'll have to work from memory here. Yes, there are tons of abbreviations in German military jargon. As in other countries, there is a German military "dialect" that can be incomprehensible to outsiders. For instance, Stabsunteroffizier is StUffz, pronounced close to "stooftz." Most ranks are more easily pronounced in whole than as an abbreviation, such as all the different kinds of Feldwebel. Yes, that's another thing where non-commissioned officer ranks are different in the Bundeswehr: the distinction between Unteroffizier/Stabsunteroffizier and all the Feldwebel ranks. You would use the specific Feldwebel rank, too, unlike in the U.S. Army, where seargant is generic. An Oberfeldwebel would not like to be addressed as just Feldwebel. Whether or not you use the rank you address someone depends mostly on how familiar and comfortable you are around that person. In my experience, you would not use the abbreviations for commissioned officers when you address someone. For instance OLt for Oberleutnant (Lt 1st class) would always be addressed as Oberleutnant. I am not sure how German generals like to be addressed, but I would think they prefer their complete rank when a person of significantly lower rank addresses them. Yes, the lower the rank and the closer the rank to your own, the less likely you would include the rank when addressing someone. As a general rule, you would say Herr/Frau+rank+last_name, as in Frau Major Schmidt, unless you feel comfortable enough to simply say "Schmidt.". Since everyone's last name is on their uniform, that's the name people are generally referred to. Using first names is almost an intimate (non-romantic) thing, that people who work closely together over time may or may not do. The German military culture has also evolved quite a bit since the mandatory military service was put on moratorium, so things may have changed a bit and probably have become more collegial. Among draftees like myself there was often a general disdain toward those who voluntarily signed up, since they were perceived as part of the system that "imprisoned" innocent citizens. I have to admit that I hated most of my time in the military for the same reason, but I am glad I had the experience, and I wish I had signed up for a few years, working my way to at least Leutnant, which I could have done with my Abitur-high school diploma. Does that answer your question? Sorry for the long rant!
Today, in average Camp life, soldiers, who work closely together (Tank Crews etc., but often many soldiers of the same group or Platoon too) AND only differ minor in rank, mostly their use first Names when Stalking to each other... Even when an Unteroffizier Gives order to a Private first class. Since most of the lower ranks meet each other very often in the Camp, or in exercises, or in Service abroad, first name use is quite normal in every day Service life. . Exception 1: When soldiers call via Radio... Then rank and last Name would be used (But only if if necesseray, normally in the field every unit uses of course Code names) Exception 2: Speaking directly to higher Unteroffizier and Offizier rank (Ober/Haupt Feldwebel upwards, and of course all officers from Lieutenant upwards) you normally use their rank only when talking to them If you talk to someone about a third Person higher ranked Unteroffizier or Offizier, you normally use the rank and last names of this third person. ("Frau/Herr Leutnant Müller") All General degrees will always be called "Herr/Frau General" when taming to them.
Hi there, one question I had, especially about the NCO/Uffz ranks. What unit or subunit levels would different ranks have leadership roles at? Take the US army for example. (Note: info might not be 100% accurate. I'm not from the US. I could compare the British army, but you may not be familiar with it.) A sergeant leads a fireteam of like 5 people, a staff-sergeant leads a squad which is like 2-3 of those. A Sergeant 1st class then is the senior NCO of a platoon of like 40 people total, where a 2nd or 1st lieutenant is the actual commander. A First Sergeant then is the senior NCO of a company, of which a captain is the commanding officer. A Command Sergeant-Major then is the senior NCO of any unit of battalion size or greater. Although with the German Army this doesnt seem very clear. Even the Bundeswehr website doesn't really clarify this.
@@_sindre_8658 Things have probably changed a bit since the Bundeswehr became professional and it ceased to get a stream of fresh recruits every three months. I can tell you that in my basic training company we had a Stuffz or Uffz for every Gruppe (squad of 12 recruits) and a Hauptfeldwebel or Leutnant for every Zug (platoon) of roughly 40 personnel. The company was led by a Hauptmann who also had a staff of a few NCOs and COs. There were also a small number of seasoned enlisted personnel (Obergefreite/Hauptgefreite) who helped out with training and who might lead a fire team. The more specialized the unit the smaller theocratic between COs, NCOs, and enlisted. I would imagine that to be more and more the case with the modern Bundeswehr. I hope I am remembering correctly.
The way you displayed the words at 16:00 makes me wonder: Is the first part of the word Leutnante a cognate of the word leute? If so, it would be interesting to know how that word evolved to its present form. I've already learned from some comments, possibly on another channel, that the German word leute is a cognate with the Russian word люди (lyudi) and that those words are derived from a common proto Indo-European word.
The internet tells me that this is the etymology for the English word lieutenant: "The word comes from the French lieu (place) and tenant (holder)." I suppose German could have got its word from French, too. But putting the word alongside hauptleute still makes me wonder. (What's the German word for etymology? I guess I can look that up, too.)
I think the „Leut“ in Leutnant is simply a bastardization of the French word „lieutenant,“ which originally meant „stand in person“ or „replacement,“ basically a representative.
@@loquidity4973 Yeah, another comment I posted which seems to have disappeared says it's a folk-etymology formation. It was borrowed from the French, and then it was modified to give it a sound and imagined source in German. Folk-etymology is a new term for me! Good to know.
My only knowledge of military ranks came from both of my grandfathers who fought in WWI in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). On both sides, my grandparents/great grandparents fled to Canada late 19th century/early 20th century. One grandfather, 17 years old, was a sniper but wounded and left for 3 days in nomandsland and about to be thrown into a mass grave, but someone saw he was still twitching. This was still early 20th century, and so religious prejudice was still more than rampant, until the '60s maybe. Between the trenches, in his ranks he could converse with the German soldiers or even officers who spoke his "German dialect". This was WWI, not WWII. Those Germans were not in the Wehrmacht in WWII. My father could have joined the army but was in medical school in WWII. He said he wanted to, but my grandfather convinced him not to.I was very close to this grandfather. A great grand father, was a silversmith before WWI, but was hit in the head by schrapnel .He had 50 epeletic fits a day aftewards. He hired a lawyer against Veteran Affairs in Ottawa. They contended this was a prewar condition. After 15 years, he got 2 years pension but died after that. This amongst other things, led me to leave Canada in the late '70s. I was already too old (by one year) for my military service in France except as a réserviste. I am more familiar with French military ranking than Canadian which was/is based on the British one. France and Germany must have abolished the draft around the same time. This was a very interesting topic even though there is no mandatory military service right now. And, we are not in another world war. Yet. Thank you, Stephan, for another thought provoking lesson.
Not another world war. Yet. One can only hope it stays that way! Hoping and praying doesn't work, but we are weird animals and can't give up hope or prayer. I too have often thought of leaving Canada, but having spent a lot of time in the USA, the percentage of religious fanatics was always too high for my physical and mental wellbeing.
Thank you for sharing your family history. I think it is important that people talk openly about all aspects of the military as well as war, without neither glorifying or vilifying anything or anyone unnecessarily.
@@Fritz999 Yes, it seems that the "Canadian Armed Forces" have made great effort to "modernize" itself in so many ways over the past several decades. I met a few enlisted people in the late '80s in Belgium. Since the end of the Cold War, the C.A.F. have undergone major changes or so I have been told by people who have recently served.
Thanks very much, Stephan/vielen Dank! I was in the US Army, stationed in the Rheinland-Pfalz from 1965 to 1967, and occasionally came in contact with folks from the Bundeswehr while I was there. I never had to learn what their ranks were, but I understood that they were generally equivalent to the US Army's, both being based on agreed-on NATO conventions. From your descriptions, I would have begun as Gefreiter/Funker (aiming toward a communications specialty) and left after 3 years as a "Specialist" at enlisted paygrade 4, which I guess would be something like a Hauptgefreiter? (Nach ein paar Biere waren sie überhaupt dasselbe ... ) Where are you living now? Hank Ickes, Blairstown, NJ
@@HAIckes I am glad you enjoyed my video. Thank you for your comment and your own service history. I have lived in Western Pennsylvania about a good hour from Pittsburgh since 1998.
@@loquidity4973 A-ha! I'm a bit further East of Pittsburgh - on the other side of the Delaware River, in fact (he's grinning). Als ich im Amerikanischen Armee war, studierte ich Deutsch bei Nacht, und ein wenig mehr nachdem, in Uni. Aber es ist so lang gewesen ... Ich brauche üben ...
Hi Susan, I am glad you watched my video. It did include at least some comparisons. I am not how much more I can add without getting too technical and perhaps also be inaccurate or too general. Are you interested in a specific group of ranks, such as the non-commissioned officers?
Very interesting Stephan. I have one question, if you were referring to a specific person (but not directly) who happened to be female, would you say: Die Oberst kommt bald an (or) Der Oberst kommt bald an. (I'm guessing the latter).
@@EuroDai You were NOT totally wrong. :P It really depends on the person talking, too. And, you'd best ask someone who is a current or recent member of the German military, since military organizations have a tendency to create their own ways of saying things, kind of in between a jargon and a dialect. If you ever listened to two professional soldiers from the same unit talking shop you'll know what I mean. Thanks for your kind words! 🙂
"General inspekteur" is a Service order... Not a rank!!!! This Person is always a (4 Star) General... But there is only ONE 4 Star General in the national german Bundeswehr command structure. But there are more german 4 Star Generals in the NATO command structure. (if there is a german General responsible for this Job, because they rotate often between the member Nation)
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I recently became interested in the German army, and in particular its ranks. Information on this subject is relatively difficult to find, and having come across your video has greatly educated me on the subject. I thank you.
I am very happy to hear that my video was useful to you. Thank you for watching and for your kind words!
And still more:
Quite a few years ago, I met a still serving officer at the local legion hall.
It turned out, that I used to know him as a lowly, just promoted, Corporal.
During the following years he became a Chief Warrant Officer and was ultimately promoted to Major.
That is somewhat how I had viewed my own military career, which was not to be.
Also, I am still in contact with my good American Airforce friend from Germany.
He had become a Top Sergeant and, because of his long and distinguished service, his son was able to attend the Airforce Academy, and is now a major.
I guess that is entirely sufficient for talk about the military.
I am really sorry they cut your military career short, and based on what seems to me like a technicality. Either accept someone into the military or don't, and then treat everyone the same. That's what I think.
Something else:
My wife is the widow of s Chinese Airforce Officer.
One day, I said to her: "China has lots of female soldiers, but the seem to be separated from the men."
She told me that that women have their own units and she couldn't understand that in the Western Countries they serve with the men.
Interesting!
These types of videos that pop into my feed are why I have a love/hate relationship with Alphabet.
Gut erklärt
Vielen Dank!
Very interesting. Learned some great new information!
@@richardmiles5394 Glad to hear!
Ah! I almost forgot another thing I noticed. The term "portepee" appears to be a cognate of the French term "porte-epée" (carry-an-epée), which would make perfect sense if the sword you were carrying/wearing was in fact an epée, and an indication that you had special authority or responsibility. Thanks!
@@HAIckesExactly! A finely crafted saber would also not have inexpensive, unlike the relatively affordable long pikes carried by hordes of infantrymen during the late Middle Ages well into the 17th century.
Now that is something, I actually didn't expect.
Pionier Schaffrath....
I too was with the engineers and for three years. But the Canadian Army.
The lying recruiting officer had told me that, being a carpenter journeyman, I could become an officer.
As it turned out, being a German citizen, put a full stop to any advancement at all.
So I was a full fledged field engineer and no other ranking when I left the service.
Now that was all considerably longer ago than your service.
Namely from 1957 to 1960.
On the whole, I enjoyed the time in the service, but I had a need of advancement, which I later satisfied by becoming a quadruple engineer, and working in management.
A loss for the Canadian Army I would say, as I can now say, from experience, I would have been a good officer.
And the unexpected was, I returned to Germany for my engineering degrees.
Civil, structural, welding, engineering, and later, in California, engineering management.
Why in Germany? Because in Canada they would not allow my to even attend a community college, to get Canadian journeyman qualifications. German schooling was not at all accepted.
Had I been from Great Britain, everything would have been different. As I understand it, in the USA it would have been different too.
Of course that was all long ago, and ought to be forgotten. There is, however, one way the Canadian Army has not forgotten about field engineer Al......, during my service, I injured my back and I have lived in pain since then, and I had a serious hearing loss.
Both are still costing the government a bit of money.
When I was about 80, I was talked into contacting the Department Of Veterans Affairs, and to my surprise received some help for both disabilities.
So, my three years as a soldier had some positive result.
In the Canadian Armed Services the ranks changed as well since my time. More ranks.
About commands, what I had learned, stuck as well.
Once when I was working for
Ruhrgas, as a pipeline engineer, I had a construction site in the Lüneburger Heide.
On day driving to my Hotel and office, I came to a spot where the road was closed by a platoon of German Infantry and an Unteroffizier told that I couldn't drive there to my Hotel.
So I ordered him to remove the obstacle.
He wouldn't and I got louder. So he called for Herr Leutnant.
Herr Leutnant came, and he too wanted to stop me to continue.
So, with my loudest command voice I ordered him to let me through.
Which he then did.
That was my only contact with the German Military of the time.
A younger brother of mine went to Australia before being called up.
Returning to
Germany after a few years, he was called up and had to serve, I think, one year.
During those years in Germany,
I had lots of contact with American servicemen and women.
Wow, so the Canadian Army accepted you as a recruit, kept you for three years in their ranks, but did not allow you to get promoted due to your citizenship?! That's just wrong and Kafkaesque! I can see how they wanted you as an engineer being a skilled carpenter. We had a lot of those in my battalion as well.
In the German military you need Abitur or equivalent to be on the commission officer track. I guess I could have applied myself and tried for that. My head was not in the right place at the time, so I decided to self-sabotage instead.
Thanks for sharing!
@@loquidity4973
In the Canadian Army, the officers generally have a college degree, the Engineering Officers an Engineering degree.
The basic training for the military engineers, was about a year and a half back in my time.
I don't agree with you about male and female equality in an engineering battalion.
There is a lot of hard physical labour to be done, that females generally cannot do, and they are just in the way.
However, Canada too changed in favour of the female of the species.
Talking with some younger field engineers, supports my position.
By the way, in civilian life too, female engineers ---- in voller Kriegsbemalung, mit Stoeckelschuhen und dergleichen, were a common joke on construction sites.
In the office I found that the females lost far too much time for very typical females problems.
That, of course may have changed since my time. Medicine on the whole is far better now and it may have eliminated most or all of the time loss I experienced, and which was a very expensive problem.
Come to think of it,
my American Airforce friends in Germany always complained about the female members when it came to hard physical exercise.
Every once in a while, they had to go on strenuous marches with heavy packs.
The men told me that they had to carry the women's loads to allow them to keep up.
@@Fritz999 I just know that there are plenty of women who are stronger and definitely in better shape than I am. I think it really depends on the individual. Not all specializations in the military and not all professions are for everyone. I know plenty of men who are also not physically strong.
@@loquidity4973
I too have met plenty of weak men that are barely good enough to sit in an office.
On the other hand, since most of the work I did, was in construction and the building trades, and in my spare time I was heavily engaged in sports, most of the men I knew, were strong and capable.
As soon as women are involved, there are weight limits etc. established.
Which, in some cases is good and makes sense, in others, like the military, make no sense at all, as there often is no time to fool around with any limitations, as the job on hand must be done regardless of just about anything.
@@loquidity4973
They did not only keep me, but during basic engineering training, they had me teach the other recruits, how to do concrete forming.
Makes you wonder about the mental state of your superiors.
1. Does the Bundeswehr have any "shortcuts" per se when it comes to verbally speaking to or addressing certain ranks? For example, in the US Army you would say things such as "Yes/no Sergeant" for all SGTs under 1st SGT, or "General ....wants ....." regardless if they are a brigadier General, Lt General, etc. There is a similar thing for warrant officers, LTs, and Colonels in the US Army too.
2. Additionally, are lower enlisted in the Bundeswehr addressed only by their last name rather than rank? As another example, in the US Army, anyone E-4 and below is usually only addressed by their last name (except corporals), whereas everyone above that is usually addressed by their rank only or rank + last name. If the Bundeswehr has something similar, what rank/pay grade do ranks start to get used when addressing someone?
Thanks for your great questions! I'll have to work from memory here.
Yes, there are tons of abbreviations in German military jargon. As in other countries, there is a German military "dialect" that can be incomprehensible to outsiders. For instance, Stabsunteroffizier is StUffz, pronounced close to "stooftz." Most ranks are more easily pronounced in whole than as an abbreviation, such as all the different kinds of Feldwebel. Yes, that's another thing where non-commissioned officer ranks are different in the Bundeswehr: the distinction between Unteroffizier/Stabsunteroffizier and all the Feldwebel ranks. You would use the specific Feldwebel rank, too, unlike in the U.S. Army, where seargant is generic. An Oberfeldwebel would not like to be addressed as just Feldwebel.
Whether or not you use the rank you address someone depends mostly on how familiar and comfortable you are around that person. In my experience, you would not use the abbreviations for commissioned officers when you address someone. For instance OLt for Oberleutnant (Lt 1st class) would always be addressed as Oberleutnant. I am not sure how German generals like to be addressed, but I would think they prefer their complete rank when a person of significantly lower rank addresses them.
Yes, the lower the rank and the closer the rank to your own, the less likely you would include the rank when addressing someone. As a general rule, you would say Herr/Frau+rank+last_name, as in Frau Major Schmidt, unless you feel comfortable enough to simply say "Schmidt.". Since everyone's last name is on their uniform, that's the name people are generally referred to. Using first names is almost an intimate (non-romantic) thing, that people who work closely together over time may or may not do.
The German military culture has also evolved quite a bit since the mandatory military service was put on moratorium, so things may have changed a bit and probably have become more collegial. Among draftees like myself there was often a general disdain toward those who voluntarily signed up, since they were perceived as part of the system that "imprisoned" innocent citizens. I have to admit that I hated most of my time in the military for the same reason, but I am glad I had the experience, and I wish I had signed up for a few years, working my way to at least Leutnant, which I could have done with my Abitur-high school diploma.
Does that answer your question? Sorry for the long rant!
Today, in average Camp life, soldiers, who work closely together (Tank Crews etc., but often many soldiers of the same group or Platoon too)
AND only differ minor in rank, mostly their use first Names when Stalking to each other... Even when an Unteroffizier Gives order to a Private first class.
Since most of the lower ranks meet each other very often in the Camp, or in exercises, or in Service abroad, first name use is quite normal in every day Service life. .
Exception 1:
When soldiers call via Radio... Then rank and last Name would be used (But only if if necesseray, normally in the field every unit uses of course Code names)
Exception 2:
Speaking directly to higher Unteroffizier and Offizier rank (Ober/Haupt Feldwebel upwards, and of course all officers from Lieutenant upwards) you normally use their rank only when talking to them
If you talk to someone about a third Person higher ranked Unteroffizier or Offizier, you normally use the rank and last names of this third person. ("Frau/Herr Leutnant Müller")
All General degrees will always be called "Herr/Frau General" when taming to them.
Hi there, one question I had, especially about the NCO/Uffz ranks.
What unit or subunit levels would different ranks have leadership roles at?
Take the US army for example. (Note: info might not be 100% accurate. I'm not from the US. I could compare the British army, but you may not be familiar with it.)
A sergeant leads a fireteam of like 5 people, a staff-sergeant leads a squad which is like 2-3 of those.
A Sergeant 1st class then is the senior NCO of a platoon of like 40 people total, where a 2nd or 1st lieutenant is the actual commander.
A First Sergeant then is the senior NCO of a company, of which a captain is the commanding officer.
A Command Sergeant-Major then is the senior NCO of any unit of battalion size or greater.
Although with the German Army this doesnt seem very clear. Even the Bundeswehr website doesn't really clarify this.
@@_sindre_8658 Things have probably changed a bit since the Bundeswehr became professional and it ceased to get a stream of fresh recruits every three months. I can tell you that in my basic training company we had a Stuffz or Uffz for every Gruppe (squad of 12 recruits) and a Hauptfeldwebel or Leutnant for every Zug (platoon) of roughly 40 personnel. The company was led by a Hauptmann who also had a staff of a few NCOs and COs. There were also a small number of seasoned enlisted personnel (Obergefreite/Hauptgefreite) who helped out with training and who might lead a fire team.
The more specialized the unit the smaller theocratic between COs, NCOs, and enlisted. I would imagine that to be more and more the case with the modern Bundeswehr.
I hope I am remembering correctly.
The way you displayed the words at 16:00 makes me wonder: Is the first part of the word Leutnante a cognate of the word leute? If so, it would be interesting to know how that word evolved to its present form. I've already learned from some comments, possibly on another channel, that the German word leute is a cognate with the Russian word люди (lyudi) and that those words are derived from a common proto Indo-European word.
The internet tells me that this is the etymology for the English word lieutenant: "The word comes from the French lieu (place) and tenant (holder)." I suppose German could have got its word from French, too. But putting the word alongside hauptleute still makes me wonder. (What's the German word for etymology? I guess I can look that up, too.)
I think the „Leut“ in Leutnant is simply a bastardization of the French word „lieutenant,“ which originally meant „stand in person“ or „replacement,“ basically a representative.
@@loquidity4973 Yeah, another comment I posted which seems to have disappeared says it's a folk-etymology formation. It was borrowed from the French, and then it was modified to give it a sound and imagined source in German. Folk-etymology is a new term for me! Good to know.
@@johngorentz6409 It is for me as well. Thanks for sharing!
My only knowledge of military ranks came from both of my grandfathers who fought in WWI in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). On both sides, my grandparents/great grandparents fled to Canada late 19th century/early 20th century. One grandfather, 17 years old, was a sniper but wounded and left for 3 days in nomandsland and about to be thrown into a mass grave, but someone saw he was still twitching. This was still early 20th century, and so religious prejudice was still more than rampant, until the '60s maybe. Between the trenches, in his ranks he could converse with the German soldiers or even officers who spoke his "German dialect". This was WWI, not WWII. Those Germans were not in the Wehrmacht in WWII. My father could have joined the army but was in medical school in WWII. He said he wanted to, but my grandfather convinced him not to.I was very close to this grandfather. A great grand father, was a silversmith before WWI, but was hit in the head by schrapnel .He had 50 epeletic fits a day aftewards. He hired a lawyer against Veteran Affairs in Ottawa. They contended this was a prewar condition. After 15 years, he got 2 years pension but died after that. This amongst other things, led me to leave Canada in the late '70s. I was already too old (by one year) for my military service in France except as a réserviste. I am more familiar with French military ranking than Canadian which was/is based on the British one. France and Germany must have abolished the draft around the same time. This was a very interesting topic even though there is no mandatory military service right now. And, we are not in another world war. Yet. Thank you, Stephan, for another thought provoking lesson.
Not another world war. Yet. One can only hope it stays that way!
Hoping and praying doesn't work, but we are weird animals and can't give up hope or prayer.
I too have often thought of leaving Canada, but having spent a lot of time in the USA, the percentage of religious fanatics was always too high for my physical and mental wellbeing.
Thank you for sharing your family history. I think it is important that people talk openly about all aspects of the military as well as war, without neither glorifying or vilifying anything or anyone unnecessarily.
I served in the Canadian Army, in the 1950's but don't know the Canadian ranks, since they have been changed since my time.
@@Fritz999 Yes, it seems that the "Canadian Armed Forces" have made great effort to "modernize" itself in so many ways over the past several decades. I met a few enlisted people in the late '80s in Belgium. Since the end of the Cold War, the C.A.F. have undergone major changes or so I have been told by people who have recently served.
@@Fritz999 Did they adjust them from the British to the U.S. ranks?
Thanks very much, Stephan/vielen Dank! I was in the US Army, stationed in the Rheinland-Pfalz from 1965 to 1967, and occasionally came in contact with folks from the Bundeswehr while I was there. I never had to learn what their ranks were, but I understood that they were generally equivalent to the US Army's, both being based on agreed-on NATO conventions. From your descriptions, I would have begun as Gefreiter/Funker (aiming toward a communications specialty) and left after 3 years as a "Specialist" at enlisted paygrade 4, which I guess would be something like a Hauptgefreiter? (Nach ein paar Biere waren sie überhaupt dasselbe ... ) Where are you living now? Hank Ickes, Blairstown, NJ
@@HAIckes I am glad you enjoyed my video. Thank you for your comment and your own service history. I have lived in Western Pennsylvania about a good hour from Pittsburgh since 1998.
@@loquidity4973 A-ha! I'm a bit further East of Pittsburgh - on the other side of the Delaware River, in fact (he's grinning). Als ich im Amerikanischen Armee war, studierte ich Deutsch bei Nacht, und ein wenig mehr nachdem, in Uni. Aber es ist so lang gewesen ... Ich brauche üben ...
@@HAIckes I figured that you must have studied some German. Ausgezeichnet! Lernen macht jung.
great video, i was looking for this info.😁
Glad it was useful to you! :-)
Hello I am from the US. I wonder if you could do a comparison US Army ranks and Germany Army ranks?
Hi Susan, I am glad you watched my video. It did include at least some comparisons. I am not how much more I can add without getting too technical and perhaps also be inaccurate or too general. Are you interested in a specific group of ranks, such as the non-commissioned officers?
@@loquidity4973 Stephan, if you have a look at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranks_and_insignia_of_NATO there's a pretty complete discussion there.
@@HAIckes Thanks! I will have to check that out.
Very interesting Stephan. I have one question, if you were referring to a specific person (but not directly) who happened to be female, would you say: Die Oberst kommt bald an (or) Der Oberst kommt bald an. (I'm guessing the latter).
You would likely say „die Frau Oberst …“ or simply „Oberst Schmidt kommt bald an.“
@@loquidity4973 haha, I was totally wrong, thank you Stephan. I'm really enjoying your videos and following them all.
@@EuroDai You were NOT totally wrong. :P It really depends on the person talking, too. And, you'd best ask someone who is a current or recent member of the German military, since military organizations have a tendency to create their own ways of saying things, kind of in between a jargon and a dialect. If you ever listened to two professional soldiers from the same unit talking shop you'll know what I mean.
Thanks for your kind words! 🙂
Der ranghöchste deutsche Soldat ist der generalinspekteur-derzeit Carsten Breuer
An den habe ich garnicht gedacht. Danke schön für die Ergänzung!
Gern geschehen
"General inspekteur" is a Service order... Not a rank!!!!
This Person is always a (4 Star) General... But there is only ONE 4 Star General in the national german Bundeswehr command structure.
But there are more german 4 Star Generals in the NATO command structure. (if there is a german General responsible for this Job, because they rotate often between the member Nation)
@@der_picard3370 Thanks for your comment and elaboration!