Matrosengefreiter

Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural ''Gefreite'') is a military rank used in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria since the 16th century. It is typically the second rank or grade to which an enlisted soldier, airman, or sailor can be promoted.Duden; Definition of Gefreiter, in German

/ref>Official Website (Bundeswehr): Dienstgrade und Uniformen der Bundeswehr (Service Ranks and Uniforms of the German Federal Defence Forces), in German

/ref>

The word has also been lent into the Russian language as () and is in use in several Russian and post-Soviet militaries.

History

Historically, the military rank of (female and plural form: ) emerged in 16th-century Europe for the German foot soldiers. These soldiers were predominantly composed of German and Swiss mercenary pikemen and supporting infantry foot soldiers. Soldiers who proved especially reliable and experienced were appointed to (exempted/freed servants/soldiers, a cognate to 'knight'). They were positioned in critical battlefield roles and, along with their extra rank privileges, they were generally exempted from sentry duties.

From the 18th century, were the frontline members of a military company, with every leading and commanding a section or squad of (ordinary-rank soldiers). The rank existed in the cavalry, infantry, pioneers, and artillery, where rank held a higher rank-class status.

was the only enlisted rank within the Royal Prussian Army and the imperial army of the German Empire until 1918, to which an exceptional enlisted soldier could be promoted on the recommendation of the (Captain) or (Cavalry-Master), and ultimately endorsed by the (Regimental Colonel). An exception to this was the rank of (since 1859) in the foot artillery, which later replaced the artillery (Corporal) rank.

The rank was also considered a transition rank for promotion to and from which replacements were selected to the (Corporal) rank. Within the Royal Prussian Army and the imperial army of the German Empire, the rank served as a deputy to the (Corporal) and was distinguished by the wearing of an (rank distinction button) known as the ( button) on each side of their uniform collar, similar to the slightly larger rank collar side-buttons worn by both the and ranks.

In the Royal Prussian Army until its reorganization after 1806, there existed, along with the rank of , the rank of , who wore a silver (sword lanyard). These officer cadets were specifically selected for higher advancement and stood equal with their officer cadet counterpart, the . The rank of also existed alongside in the Austrian Army during the Thirty Years' War.

Since the 1920s, the German rank of has expanded into several additional ranks and duties:
* (Senior Lance Corporal, otherwise Second Corporal in the Prussian Army since 1859)
* (Leading Lance Corporal in the from 1935 to 1944, the from 1938 to 1945, and the from 1955)
* (Staff Lance Corporal in the since 1927, the until 1945, and the from 1944, temporarily replacing the rank)
* (Senior Staff Lance Corporal in the ''Kriegsmarine'' since 1940, not in the ''Heer'' or ''Luftwaffe'' until 1996)

All ranks are currently in use with the German army, air force, and navy.

The female form, , is not used by the military; the formal address is .

Austria

''Gefreiter'' (abbr. Gfr) is a military rank of the Austrian Bundesheer. It is officially translated as lance corporal.

Austro-Hungarian Army

In the Austro-Hungarian Army (1867–1918), () corresponded to and . It was used by the as well as the , troops, cavalry, medical corps, and infantry.

Then rank insignia was a single white celluloid star on the stand-up collar of the so-called (tunic) on gorget patch (). The stand-up collar and background of the gorget patch displayed a particular egalisation colour.

Gefreiter in the context of infantry

Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 7.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 25.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 33.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 37.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 41.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 50.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 62.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 69.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 77.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 87.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 92.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 99.png,
Gefreiter im k.u.k. InfRgt 101.png,

Germany

Bundeswehr

(abbr. ''Gefr.'' or ''G.'') is the second enlisted rank grade within the modern-day Army (), Air Force (), and Navy () of the Bundeswehr. Following the NATO ranking system, equates to OR-2 on the NATO-standard rank scale, making the rank equivalent to either private, private first class, vice corporal, lance corporal, or corporal, depending on the chosen NATO-allied force used for the comparison. It is grade A4 in the pay scale of the Federal Ministry of Defence.

The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in this particular group is as follows:
*OR-4a:
*OR-4b:
*OR-3a:
*OR-3b:
*OR-2:
*OR-1: (Army), (Air Force), (Navy)

In line with Bundeswehr rank advancement conditions, enlisted personnel at the OR-1 level may be promoted to the OR-2 level after passing primary recruit training (usually after three months) to the rank of .

1935–1945

Throughout the periods of the Royal Prussian Army, the Imperial Army of the German Empire, the , the , and the , the rank of was considered equivalent to that of a lance corporal.

The was regarded as senior lance corporal or rather second corporal in the artillery, and the full corporal rank known as (subordinate non-commissioned officer) replaced the rank from 1856.

Within the army branch (''Heer'') of the , a rank of (senior rifleman) once existed between the ranks of and (" nlistedordinary-rank rifleman/soldier").

A was considered an "exempted man", who was not typically assigned more menial duties, such as guard detail. A soldier promoted to was seen as showing some promise of leadership capability, while those who did not were promoted to .

Since the unmasking of the Luftwaffe on 1 March 1935, the ''Gefreiter'' was also part of their ranks. Prior to this, the Luftwaffe operated secretly under the guise of the German Air Sports Association (DLV). The ''Gefreiter'' emerged from the ''Flieger-Gefreiter'' (Airman Lance Corporal) of the DLV flying corps, where this rank served as an assistant aircraft pilot (''DLV-Hilfsflugzeugführer''), assistant radio operator (''DLV-Hilfsbordfunker''), or assistant supervisor (''DLV-Unterwart'').

The Luftwaffe ''Gefreiter'' ranked immediately above the lowest rank, ''Flieger'' (Airman, Aviator); there was no equivalent to the army rank of ''Oberschütze''. Instead of the rank insignia of its DLV counterpart, which was three aluminum-colored wings on both collar patches, the Luftwaffe ''Gefreiter'' wore only two collar wings. The collar patches were in one of the respective Luftwaffe branch colours. Additionally, the ''Gefreiter'' wore a chevron on the left upper arm according to the army pattern, but on a base made of blue-grey fabric. The chevrons were made of aluminium-coloured braid (for service tunic, flight blouse, coat), grey-blue braid (for drill blouse, work protection suit), or dark brown braid (for tropical shirt).

"Bohemian corporal"

The best-known holder of the rank of was Adolf Hitler, who held the rank in the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 of the Royal Bavarian Army during World War I.

"Bohemian corporal" was a derogatory term used privately in World War II for Adolf Hitler by German generals (many of whom were Prussian aristocrats) dissatisfied with Hitler's military leadership and detailed control. Among the generals were Gerd von Rundstedt, Erich von Manstein, and Friedrich Paulus.

Rundstedt often remarked during and after the war, "Without Hitler's consent, I can't even move my own sentry from my front door around to the back!" Wilhelm Keitel once asked Hitler, "Do you realise that Rundstedt called you a Bohemian corporal?" Hitler replied, "Yes, but he is the best field marshal I have".

Von Rundstedt used the term , which Hitler had acquired in the 1930s from World War I hero, German President Paul von Hindenburg. Hindenburg, who took an instant mutual dislike to Hitler on their first meeting, mistook Hitler's hometown of Braunau in Austria (Braunau am Inn) for another town of the same name (Broumov, German: ) in Bohemia. Initially, he said "Austrian corporal", but later used "Bohemian corporal", which was a pejorative term, as he regarded Bohemians as "essentially gypsies", unlike the more cultured Prussians or even Austrians.

Russia

''Yefreytor'' () is a German loanword in Russian and denotes a similar rank in the Russian army.

In Russia, the rank of ''yefreytor'' was introduced by Peter I in 1716 to the infantry, cavalry, and engineer forces. The rank was not used after 1722. During the reign of Paul I, it was made an equivalent rank to private which, after the reign of Alexander I, was used only for the Imperial Guard. ''Yefreytor'' was re-introduced in the course of the military reforms of 1826.

In the armed forces of the Soviet Union (and later the Russian Federation), ''yefreytor'' is the highest rank of enlisted personnel. According to NATO-rank system, the rank might be comparable to OR-4 in Anglophone armed forces.

Rank insignia

Imperial Russian Army

1908ur03-e02.png,
1911-ir001-p02-1.png,
1914 Gefreiter of Russian Life Guards Uhlan Regiment of Her Majesty p02 (re-enlistee 2nd category in Guard).png,

Red Army (RA) and Soviet Armed Forces (SA)

RA A R2PVT col 1943.PNG,
1943avia-p19-1.png,
Rank insignia of ефрейтор of the Soviet Army.svg,
Rank insignia of ефрейтор of the Soviet Air Force.svg,

Russian Armed Forces

RAF AF-ABTr R2Kursant 2010.png,
Rus efreitor.png,
Rus efreitor field.svg,
Russia-Army-OR-2-2010.svg,
Russia-Airforce-OR-2-2010.svg,
2efr.png,

Other uses of ''Yefreytor''

File:Armenia-Army-OR-2.svg,

(Armenian Ground Forces)
File:Russia-Army-OR-2-1994-field.svg,

(Belarusian Ground Forces)
File:Bulgaria-Army-OR-4.svg,

( Bulgarian Land Forces)
File:02-RKGF-SPV.svg,

(Kazakh Ground Forces)
File:02.Kyrgyzstan Army-PFC.svg,

(Kyrgyz Army)
File:Tajikistan-Army-OR-4.png,

(Tajik Ground Forces)

Switzerland

See also

* Military ranks of the German Empire
* World War II German Army ranks and insignia
* Rank insignia of the German armed forces
* Ranks and insignia of NATO armies enlisted
* History of Russian military ranks

References

{{Authority control

Military ranks of Germany
Military ranks of Switzerland
Military ranks of Austria
Military ranks of the Soviet Union
Military ranks of Russia