18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel
The 18th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division "Horst Wessel" (german: 18. SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Division "Horst Wessel")Official designation in German language as to „Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv“ in Freiburg im Breisgau, stores of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS. was formed in 1944 around a cadre from the 1st SS Infantry Brigade and included mainly ethnic Germans (''Volksdeutsche'') from Hungary. The 1st battalion of about 1000 men was attached to SS Division Horst Wessel and sent to Galicia. It was used for "rear-security" duties until it was sent to the Eastern front, with the exception of one regiment that fought the Slovak National Uprising in August 1944. It later fought as a single unit in Hungary and in Czechoslovakia where it was destroyed. The Division was named after SA member Horst Wessel, known for being the author of the lyrics to the Nazi Party anthem, the ''Horst-Wessel-Lied'', and glorified by the Nazi regime as a martyr of the party's early years. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flag Schutzstaffel
A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging (such as the Maritime flag, maritime environment, where Flag semaphore, semaphore is used). Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families. The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin , meaning "flag" or "banner". National flags are patriotic symbols with widely varied interpretations that often include strong military associations because of their original and ongoing use for that purpose. Flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for decorative purposes. Some military units are called "flags" after their use of flags. A ''flag'' ( ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Horst-Wessel-Lied
The "" ("Horst Wessel Song"; ), also known by its opening words "" ("Raise the Flag", ), was the anthem of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 1930 to 1945. From 1933 to 1945, the Nazis made it the co-national anthem of Germany, along with the first stanza of the "". The "" has been banned in Germany and Austria since the end of World War II. History The lyrics to "Horst-Wessel-Lied" were written in 1929 by ''Sturmführer'' Horst Wessel, the commander of the Nazi paramilitary "Brownshirts" (''Sturmabteilung'' or "SA") in the Friedrichshain district of Berlin. Wessel wrote songs for the SA in conscious imitation of the Communist paramilitary, the Red Front Fighters' League, to provoke them into attacking his troops, and to keep up the spirits of his men. Horst Wessel Wessel was the son of a pastor and educated at degree level, but was employed as a construction worker. He became notorious among the Communists when he led a number of SA attacks into the Fischerkiez, an extremely p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Feldgendarmerie
The ''Feldgendarmerie'' (, "field gendarmerie") were a type of military police units of the armies of the Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ... (from 1810), the German Empire and Nazi Germany until the conclusion of World War II in Europe. Early history From 1810 to 1812 Saxony, Kingdom of Württemberg, Württemberg, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia and Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavaria founded a rural police force after the model of the Napoleonic National Gendarmerie, French Gendarmerie. The Prussian Gendarmerie staff (''Königlich Preußische Landgendarmerie''; Royal Prussian State Gendarmerie) were well-proven infantry and cavalry NCOs after serving their standard service time at the army and some COs. Officially they were still military personnel, equipp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Combat Engineering
A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare tasks as well as construction and demolition duties in and out of combat zones. Combat engineers facilitate the mobility of friendly forces while impeding that of the enemy. They also work to assure the survivability of friendly forces, building fighting positions, fortifications, and roads. They conduct demolitions missions and clear minefields manually or through use of specialized vehicles. Common combat engineer missions include construction and breaching of trenches, tank traps and other obstacles and fortifications; obstacle emplacement and bunker construction; route clearance and reconnaissance; bridge and road construction or destruction; emplacement and clearance of land mines; and combined arms breaching. Typically, combat engineers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flak
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, subsurface ( submarine launched), and air-based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements, and passive measures (e.g. barrage balloons). It may be used to protect naval, ground, and air forces in any location. However, for most countries, the main effort has tended to be homeland defence. NATO refers to airborne air defence as counter-air and naval air defence as anti-aircraft warfare. Missile defence is an extension of air defence, as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight. In some countries, such as Britain and Germany during the Second World War, the Soviet Union, and modern NATO and the United States, ground-based air defence and air defence aircraf ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sturmgeschütz
''Sturmgeschütz'' (abbreviated StuG) meaning " assault gun" was a series of armored fighting vehicles used by both the German ''Wehrmacht'' and the ''Waffen-SS'' formations during the Second World War (1939-1945). The main StuGs were the StuG III and StuG IV based on the Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tank chassis respectively. The more common of the two, the StuG III was developed in the late 1930s on the chassis of the Panzer III. It was initially designated "StuG" but with the development in 1943 of the StuG IV to make up for lost StuG III production, it was re-designated as "StuG III" to distinguish the two. Initially, the ''Wehrmacht'' intended to use StuGs as armored self-propelled infantry support guns, providing close fire-support to infantry by destroying bunkers, pillboxes and other entrenched positions. A secondary capability as an anti-tank weapon became more important as the war progressed. Following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, a signific ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Panzerjäger
''Panzerjäger'' (German language, German "armour-hunters" or "tank-hunters", abbreviated to ''Pz.Jg.'' in German) was a branch of service of the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht during the World War II, Second World War. It was an Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank arm-of-service that operated Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled anti-tank artillery, also named ''Panzerjäger''. Soldiers assigned to tank hunting units wore ordinary Feldgrau, field-gray uniforms rather than the black of the Panzer troops, while ''Panzerjäger'' vehicle crews wore the Panzer jacket in field gray. Development From 1940, the ''Panzerjäger'' troops were equipped with vehicles produced by mounting an existing anti-tank gun complete with the gun shield on a tracked chassis to allow higher mobility. The development of ''Panzerjägers'' into the fully protected ''Jagdpanzer'' armored vehicle designs began before the war with the ''Sturmgeschütz''-designated armored Self-propelled artillery, artillery ve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Panzer Grenadier
''Panzergrenadier'' (), abbreviated as ''PzG'' (WWII) or ''PzGren'' (modern), meaning '' "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle " Grenadier"'', is a German term for mechanized infantry units of armoured forces who specialize in fighting from and in conjunction with infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) – that is, armoured troop carriers designed to carry a mechanized squad of six to eight soldiers into combat while providing direct fire support for those troops. Panzergrenadier combat is conducted in close cooperation with IFVs. Each Panzergrenadier squad has its own designated IFV during battle. Combat can be conducted either from within the vehicle (so-called ''"mounted combat"'') using portholes in the walls or hatches on the roof, etc, or from outside the vehicle in its vicinity (so-called ''"dismounted combat"'') using dismount-hatches at the back of the vehicle. Combat missions consist of ambushing, fire support, reconnaissance, spearhead attacks, etc. Depending on the armament, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heinrich Petersen (SS Officer)
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, links=no) and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ... during World War II. The decoration was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks, from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low-ranking soldier for a single act of extreme gallantry. A total of 7,321 awards were made between its first presentation on 30 September 1939 and its last bestowal on 17 June 1945. This number is based on the acceptance by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR). Presentations were made to members of the three military branches of the Wehrmacht—the German Army ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |