Glossary


A-2 Intelligence section of air staff
AAF Army Air Forces
AAR After action report
ABDA area American-British-Dutch-Australian theater of war covering area from Bay of Bengal to Australasia
Abn Airborne
AC Air Corps
ACofAS Assistant Chief of Air Staff
Admiral Kanalkueste Admiral commanding Channel coast naval district
AF Air Force
AEAF Allied Expeditionary Air Force
AFHQ Allied Force Headquarters
AGWAR Adjutant General, War Department
A Gp Army group
AKA Cargo Ship, Attack
Amph Amphibious
ANCXF Allied Naval Commander Expeditionary Force
ANFA Hotel at Casablanca at which plenary meetings were held in January 1943
Anlage Appendix or annex
APA Transport Ship, Attack
l'Armée Secrète Secret army formed by officers and men of the French Regular Army
ASW Assistant Secretary of War
BAR Browning Automatic Rifle
Bazooka Rocket launcher, hand-carried
BCRA Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action (Central Intelligence and Operations Bureau)
Belgian Gate Barricade-like gates used as underwater obstacles
Bn Battalion
bodenstaendig Static (division)
Br British; branch
Bull Bulletin
CC Combined Commanders
CCA Combat Command A
CCS Combined Chiefs of Staff
CG Commanding General
CinC Commander in Chief
CO Commanding Officer
COA Committee of Operations Analysis
CofS Chief of Staff
COHQ Combined Operations Headquarters
Comdr Commander
Commandos Specially trained British assualt troops
Concertina wire Cylindrical portable barbed wire entanglement
le Conseil National de la Résistance National Council of Resistance
Corncobs Blockships
COS British Chiefs of Staff
Cosintrep Combined situation and intelligence report
COSSAC Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (Designate)
CPS Combined Planning Staff
DBST Double British Summer Time
DD Duplex Drive amphibious tank
D Day The first day of any military operation, specifically the day OVERLORD was launched
DSC Distinguished Service Cross
DSO Distinguished Service Order
DUKW 2 1/2-ton, 6x6 amphibious truck
E-boat Small German torpedo boat (German S-Boot)
Ersatzheer German Replacement Army
ETO European Theater of Operations
ETOUSA European Theater of Operations, United States Army
FA Field Artillery
FFI Forces Françaises de l'lntérieur (French Forces of the Interior)
Flak Antiaircraft
FO Field Order
Francs Tireurs et Partisans French communist resistance group
Freiwillige Volunteers
Fuesilier battalion Separate infantry and reconnaissance battalion in the German 1944-type division
FUSA First United States Army
FUSAG First United States Army Group
G-l Personnel section of divisional or higher staff
G-2 Intelligence section
G-3 Operations section
G-4 Supply section
Geschwader Luftwaffe wing
GHQ General headquarters
Gkdo. Generalkommando (German corps-type headquarters)
GO General Order
Grossadmiral Grand-Admiral
Hedgehog Portable obstacle, made of three crossed angle irons
Hilfswillige Volunteer Auxiliaries (non-German)
Hornets 88-mm. self-propelled antitank guns
Int sum Intelligence summary
Jaeger (division or other unit) Light infantry (division or other unit)
JB Joint Board
JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff
Jedburgh teams Three-man inter-Allied teams, parachuted into French territory to act as liaison between the maquis groups and SHAEF
JIC Joint Intelligence Committee
JPS Joint Planning Staff
JSM Joint Staff Mission
JSSC Joint Strategic Survey Committee
JWPC Joint War Plans Committee
Kampffuehrung Conduct of operations
Kampfgruppe A term loosely assigned to improvised combat units of various sizes, named usually after their commanders
KMA German coastal mine
KTB Kriegstagebuch (war diary)
Landesschuetzen battalion Home Guard battalion sometimes employed outside Germany
Landfront Landward fortifications of Cherbourg
Landwirt submarines Submarines of "Group Landwirt," a special anti-invasion force of thirty-six small U-boats
LCA Landing Craft, Assault
LCG Landing Craft, Gun
LCI Landing Craft, Infantry
LCM Landing Craft, Mechanized
LCT Landing Craft, Tank
LCT (R) Landing Craft, Tank (Rocket)
LCVP Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel
LSH Landing Ship, Headquarters
LST Landing Ship, Tank
Luftflotte Reich German Home Air Command
Luftgaukommando Westfrankreich Headquarters of the Luftwaffe administrative and supply organization in western France
Luftwaffe German Air Force
Maquisards Men of the maquis
Mark III, IV German medium tanks
Mark V German medium tank with heavy armor and high-velocity gun
Merkbuch Notebook
Militaerbefehlshaber Military governor
MLR Main Line of Resistance
MRU Machine Records Unit
MS-Flotilla German mine sweepers
Nebelwerfer Rocket projector or chemical mortar
OB SUED Oberbefehlshaber Sued, German theater headquarters in Italy
OB WEST Oberbefehlshaber West, Highest German ground headquarters of the Western Front
OKH Oberkommando des Heeres (Army High Command)
OKL Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (Luftwaffe High command)
OKM Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine (Navy High Command)
OKW Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Armed Forces High Command)
ONI Office of Naval Intelligence
OPD Operations Division, War Department General Staff
Opns

Operations

Org. Abt. Organisations Abteilung (Staff subdivision in charge of organization)
Organization Todt Paramilitary construction organization of the Nazi party, auxiliary to the Wehrmacht. Named after its founder, Dr. Todt.
OSS Office of Strategic Services
Ost East
Osttruppen Non-German volunteer troops from east-European countries
Panther German Mark V tank
Per Rpt Periodic report
Plan Tortue Resistance plan to block road traffic
Plan Vert Resistance plan to cut railroads
POD Plans and Operations Division
RAF Royal Air Force
Rangers Specially trained American assault troops
Rhino ferry Barge constructed of ponton units
RN Royal Navy
S-1 Personnel section of regimental or lower staff
SAC Supreme Allied Commander
SAS Special Air Service
S-Boot E-boat
SCAEF Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force
SF Special Force
SFHQ Special Force Headquarters
SGS Secretary General Staff
SHAEF Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force
SIS Special Intelligence Service
Sitrep Situation report
SNCF Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer (National French railroad system)
SO Special Operations
SOE Special Operations Executive
SPOBS Special Observers
SS Schutzstaffel (EliteGuard)
Stuetzpunkt Strong point
Teller mines German antitank mines
Tetrahedra Pyramid-shaped steel antitank obstacles
TF Task Force
Tiger German Mark VI tank
Tk Bn Tank Battalion
TM Technical Manual
T/O Table of Organization
UK United Kingdom
USA United States Army
USAFBI United States Army Forces in the British Isles
USN United States Navy
USSAFE United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe
USSTAF United States Strategic Air Forces
Vergeltung Vengeance
Verteidigungsbereich Defensive areas
Volksdeutsche Citizens of a country other than Germany who were considered Germans racially
Volkswagen German jeep
Waffen-SS Combat arm of the SS, in effect a partial duplication of the German Army
WD War Department
WDCSA War Department Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Niederlande Armed Forces Commander Netherlands
Wehrmachtfuehrungsstab Armed Forces Operations Staff
Werfer Mortars; rocket launchers
WFSt Wehrmachtfuehrungsstab (Armed Forces Operations Staff)
Widerstandsnest Resistance nest
WP War Plans
XAP Merchant cargo ship
Y Day Target date for any military operation, specifically target date for OVERLORD
Zweite Stellung German secondary defense position

[479-484]


Return to Table of Contents


Search CMH Online
Last updated 2 March 2006