SS troops: ranks and insignia. Standartenfuehrer SS
Insignia of rank of the Wehrmacht
(Die Wehrmacht) 1935-1945
SS troops (Waffen SS)
Insignia of rank of junior and middle managers
(Untere Fuehrer, Mittlere Fuehrer)
Recall that the SS troops were part of the SS organization. Service in the SS troops was not a public service, but was legally equated to such.
During their initial formation, the SS troops were created from members of the SS organization (Allgemeine-SS) and since this organization had a militarized structure and its own system of ranks, the SS troops (Waffen SS), when they were created, adopted the general SS system of ranks (for more details, see the article "Troops SS "subsection" Ranks of Germany "section" Military ranks"of the same site) with minor changes. Naturally, the division into categories in the SS troops was not quite the same as in the Wehrmacht. If in the Wehrmacht, military personnel were divided into privates, non-commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers with shoulder straps, chief officers, staff officers and generals, then in the SS troops, as well as in the SS organization in general, the term "officer" was absent. SS soldiers were divided into members, sub-leaders, junior leaders, middle leaders and senior leaders. Well, if you like, you can say " ... the leaders "or" ... the Fuhrer ".
However, these names were purely official, so to speak, legal terms. In everyday life and, to a large extent, in official correspondence, the phrase "SS officer" was still used, and quite widely. This was caused, firstly, by the fact that the SS men, mainly from the lowest strata of German society, were very flattered to consider themselves officers. Secondly, as the number of SS divisions increased, it was no longer possible to equip them with officers only from among the SS members, and some of the Wehrmacht officers were transferred to the SS troops by order. And they really didn’t want to lose the honorary title “officer”.
The well-known SS black uniform was the uniform of the SS organization (Allgemeine-SS), but it was never worn by the SS troops, since it was canceled in 1934, and the SS troops were finally formed by 1939.However, SS troops as members of the SS organization had the right to wear uniform of general SS. The servicemen of the SS troops transferred from the Wehrmacht were not members of the SS organization and did not have the right to it.
To be clear, in 1934, the black Allgemeine-SS uniform was replaced with a light gray uniform in cut. She no longer wore the red armband with the black swastika. Instead, an eagle with outstretched wings, sitting on a wreath with a swastika, was embroidered in this place. One shoulder strap of a special model was replaced by two Wehrmacht types. White shirt with black tie.
In the photo on the left (reconstruction): uniform of the general SS arr. 1934 On the shoulders there are two shoulder straps with a pink lining (tanker). On the shoulder straps, in addition to the asterisk, one can discern the golden monogram of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler division. The SS insignia on the collar is Obersturmbannführer. An eagle is visible on the left sleeve and at the cuff there is a black ribbon on which the name of the division should have been written. On the right sleeve there is a patch for the destroyed enemy tank and below the chevron of an SS veteran (too large).
It follows that this is the SS-Obersturmbannführer's jacket of the SS troops, who is a member of the SS organization.
From the author. It turned out to be extremely difficult to find an image of the gray tunic of the general SS. There are plenty of black jackets. I can only explain this by the fact that the SS organization, which played such a significant role in the twenties and early thirties in bringing the Nazis to power, by the mid-thirties began to gradually acquire a nominal role. After all, the state in the ranks of the general SS was, so to speak, social activity along with the main work of a person. And with the coming of the Nazis to power, active members of the SS quickly began to occupy positions in the police, other state institutions, in the protection of concentration camps, where they usually wore other types of uniforms. And with the beginning of the creation of the SS troops, the rest were sent there for service. So few wore this uniform by the end of the thirties. Although, if you look at the photographs of G. Himmler and his closest entourage, made in the second half of the thirties and later, then they are all in this gray uniform of the general SS.
The replacement of the black uniform of the general SS with a gray one continued until mid-1938, after which its wearing was prohibited. The remains of a black uniform with spattered badges and sewn green cuffs and collars during the war were issued to policemen in the occupied territory of the USSR.
The main uniform of the officers of the SS troops was a uniform similar to the uniform of the Wehrmacht officers with the same insignia in the form of shoulder straps, but on the collars instead of Wehrmacht buttonholes, SS officers wore insignia similar to the insignia on the collars of open uniforms of the general SS. Thus, the SS officers had rank insignia on their uniforms both in their collar tabs and on shoulder straps. Moreover, these insignia (and the same rank) were worn by officers of the SS troops, both members of the SS organization and not.
In the photo on the left (reconstruction): SS-Hauptsturmführer in the uniform of the SS troops. Edging on the cap in color according to the type of troops. Here white is the infantry. The stars on the shoulder straps are erroneously golden. In the SS troops, they were silver in color. On the right sleeve there is a patch for a damaged tank, on the left there is an SS eagle and a ribbon with the name of the division above the cuff.
Note that this is generally the form of the SS troops. Depending on the quality in which this uniform is used, the headdress with it could be a cap of the shown sample, a steel helmet with attributes of the SS troops, or a field cap (cap, cap).
The steel helmet was both a ceremonial headdress and as 
a utilitarian item at the front. The pilot for the SS troops was introduced in 1942. and differed from the soldier's in that a silver flagellum passed along the edge of the lapel and along the top. Black garrison cap, sample 1942. was worn only with a black tank uniform.
In 1943, a cap was introduced for all, which until then was worn only in the mountain troops. This headgear was considered the most suitable for field conditions, especially in cold weather and winter, as the cuffs could be unbuttoned and pulled down, thus protecting the ears and lower face from the cold. an officer's cap swept a silvery flagellum along the edge of the lapel and along the top.
From the author. One evil memoirist from the SS troops in his book claims that the officers of their regiment in full dress did not wear real heavy steel helmets (which the soldiers were forced to wear), but made of papier-mâché. They were made of such high quality that the soldiers did not know about it for a long time and were surprised at the staunchness and endurance of their officers.
The officers of the so-called "divisions at the SS" (Division der SS) had the same uniform and the same insignia. divisions formed from persons of other nationalities (Latvian, Estonian, Norwegian, etc.) and other volunteer formations ..
In general, these collaborators did not have the right to call themselves SS titles. Their ranks were called, for example, "Waffen-U ntersturmfuehrer. Or" Legions-Obersturmfuehrer.
From the author. So gentlemen from the Latvian and Estonian divisions, you are not SS men, but henchmen, cannon fodder for Hitler. And you fought not for Latvia and Estonia, free from the Bolsheviks, but for the right to be "Germanized" as this was defined by the "Ost" plan, while your other compatriots were supposed to be evicted to distant Siberia or simply destroyed.
But the commander of the so-called "assault brigade RONA" BV Kaminsky, when this brigade was included in the SS troops, was awarded the rank of SS brigadeführer and major general of the SS troops. The commander of the SS volunteer regiment "Varyag", the former captain of the Red Army (according to other sources, the former senior political instructor) MA Semenov had the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer.
From the author. This is according to Soviet and modern Russian sources. I have not yet found confirmation in German sources.
The color of the uniform of the officers of the SS troops basically coincided with the color of the Wehrmacht uniform, but was somewhat lighter, gray and green tint was almost invisible. However, in the course of the war, the attitude towards the color of the uniform became more and more indifferent. They sewed from the fabric that was available (from almost green to almost pure brown). And yet, in the SS troops, the process of simplifying the form and deteriorating its quality took place more slowly and later than in the Wehrmacht.
The tank uniforms and self-propelled artillery uniforms of the SS troops were also basically similar to the Wehrmacht tank uniform. The tankers wore black, field-grau-colored self-propelled guns. The collar has buttonholes similar to those on a regular gray field uniform. The lining of the collar, in contrast to the soldier's, is made of a silvery flagellum.
On the left (reconstruction): SS-Hauptsturmführer in a black tank uniform. The stars on the shoulder straps are erroneously golden.
Junior managers and middle managers in ranks up to SS-Obersturmbannführer inclusively wore rank insignia in the left buttonhole, and two 
runes "zig" or have other signs (see article on insignia of SS soldiers).
In particular, in the 3rd Panzer Division "Death's Head" (SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf") instead of runes, the SS emblem in the form of a skull was embroidered with aluminum thread.
SS officers with the ranks SS-Standartenführer and SS-Oberführer had rank insignia in both collar tabs. There are endless disputes about the title of SS-Oberfuehrer - is it an officer or general rank. In the SS troops, this is an officer rank above the Oberst, but below the Major General of the Wehrmacht.
The buttonholes of the SS officers were edged with a silver twisted cord. On black tank uniforms and gray self-propelled artillery uniforms, SS officers often wore buttonholes with pink (tankmen) or scarlet (gunners) piping instead of a silver cord.
In the picture on the right: SS-Untersturmführer's buttonholes.
The officers of the 3rd Panzer Division "Death's Head" (3.SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf") wore in the right buttonhole not two "zig" runes, but an emblem in the form of a skull (similar to the emblems of Wehrmacht tankers). This exhausts the variety of signs in the right buttonhole. All other insignia were worn only by officers of the "SS" divisions.
By the way, this division should not be confused with the so-called "Death's Head" units (SS-Totenkopfrerbaende), which had nothing to do with the SS troops, but were part of the concentration camp guards.
The shoulder straps of the SS officers were similar to the shoulder straps of the Wehrmacht officers, but the lower lining was black, the upper one, forming a kind of edging, according to the color of the type of troops. The senior officers had a double backing. The bottom is black, the top is in the color of the military branch.
The colors of the type of troops in the SS troops were somewhat different from the Wehrmacht
*White-. Infantry. The same color is for combined arms.
* Light gray -. The central apparatus of the SS troops.
* Black and white striped -. Engineering units and subdivisions (sappers).
*Blue -. Supply and support services.
* Scarlet -. Artillery.
* Brownish green -. Reserve service.
* Burgundy -. Legal service.
* Dark red - Veterinary service.
* Yellow golden -. Cavalry, motorized reconnaissance units.
*Green -. Infantry regiments of police divisions (4th and 35th SS divisions).
* Yellow lemon -. Communication service and propaganda service.
* Light green - Mountain parts.
* Orange - Technical and replenishment services.
*Pink-. Tankers, anti-tank artillery.
* Cornflower blue -. Medical service.
* Rose reddish -. Geological Survey.
* Light blue -. Administrative service.
* Raspberry -. Sniper in all branches of the military.
* Copper Brown - Exploration.
On the shoulder straps, until the summer of 1943, signs of belonging to certain parts were to be placed. These signs could be metal or embroidered with silver or gray silk thread. However, the SS officers simply ignored this requirement and, as a rule, did not wear any letters on the shoulder straps until 43, when they were canceled. Perhaps only the officers of the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler", proud of their belonging to the most elite SS division, wore a special monogram. The following signs were installed:
A - artillery regiment;
And the Gothic is a reconnaissance battalion;
AS / I - 1st Artillery School;
AS / II - 2nd Artillery School;
Gear - technical part (repair parts);
D - Regiment "Deutschland";
DF - Fuehrer regiment;
E / Gothic Numeral - Recruiting Point Number ...;
FI - Anti-aircraft machine gun battalion;
JS / B - Officer School in Braunschweig;
JS / T - officers' school in Toltsa;
L - training parts;
Lyra - bandmasters and musicians;
MS-School of Military Musicians in Braunschweig;
N - Nordland regiment;
Gothic P - anti-tank;
Snake - Veterinary Service;
A snake entwining a wand - medics;
US / L - non-commissioned officer school in Lauenburg;
US / R non-officer school in Radolfzell;
W - Westland Regiment.
The stars could have dimensions with a square side of 1.5, 2.0 or 2.4 cm. And if the stars in the buttonholes were always 1.5 cm in size, the officer chose the size of the stars on the shoulder straps himself, based on the convenience of their placement. For example, on the pursuit of the SS-Obersturmführer, the asterisk is shifted down to make room for the monogram. And if there is no monogram or other emblem on the chase, then the asterisk is usually in the center of the shoulder strap.
So, the rank of an SS officer could be determined simultaneously by shoulder straps and buttonholes:
Untere Fuehrer (junior managers):
1.SS Untersturmfuehrer [administrative office];
2.SS Obersturmfuehrer [tank units]. The monogram of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler division is on the chase.
3. SS-Hauptsturmfuehrer [communication parts].
Mittlere Fuehrer;
4.SS Sturmbannfuehrer [infantry];
5.SS Obersturmbannfuehrer [artillery];
6.SS Standartenfuehrer [Medical Service];
7.SS Oberfuehrer [tank units].
The insignia in the collar tabs of the SS-Standartenführer and SS-Oberführer changed somewhat in May 1942. Please note that on the old buttonholes there are three acorns on the buttonhole of the Oberführer, while the Standartenführer has two. In addition, the branches on old buttonholes are curved and later straight.
This is essential if you want to determine the period when a particular picture was taken.
A few words about the insignia of the 4th SS Division.
It was formed in October 1939 from among the police officers under the designation "Police Division" (Polizei-D ivision) as an ordinary infantry division, and was not ranked among the SS divisions, although it was part of the SS troops. Therefore, her servicemen had police ranks and wore police insignia.
In February 1942. the division was officially ranked among the SS forces and received the name SS-Polizei-Division. From that time on, the servicemen of this division began to wear the general SS uniform and SS insignia. At the same time, the upper substrate of the officer's shoulder straps in the division was identified as grassy green.
In early 1943, the division was renamed the SS-Polizei-Grenadier-Ddivision.
And only in October 1943 the division received the final name "4th SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division" (4.SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division).
So, from the moment of formation in October 1939 and until February 1942, the insignia of the division:
Paired buttonholes of the Wehrmacht pattern on the valve of grassy green color. The collar is brown with grassy green piping. In general, this is a form of the German police.
Shoulder straps on a green backing.
From right to left:
1. Leutnant der Polizei
(Leutnant der policeay)
2. Oberleutnant der Polizei
(Oberleutnant der policeay)
3.Hauptmann der Polizei
(Hauptmann der policeay)
4. Major der Polizei
5. Oberstleutnant der Polizei
6. Oberst der Polizei
It is worth noting that from the very beginning this division was commanded by a member of the SS SS-Gruppenführer and Police Lieutenant General Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch
On camouflage clothing, it was necessary to wear green stripes on a black flap on both sleeves above the elbow. One row of oak leaves with acorns meant a junior officer, two rows of a senior officer. The number of stripes under the leaves indicated the title. The picture shows the SS-Obersturmführer patch. However, as a rule, SS officers ignored these stripes and preferred to indicate their rank by releasing a collar with rank insignia over camouflage clothing.
An interesting remark of one of the Soviet veteran officers of the counterintelligence SMERSH: "... since the end of autumn 1944, I have repeatedly found carefully wrapped collar tabs and shoulder straps of the Wehrmacht in the pockets of killed or captured SS men. During interrogation, these SS men unanimously stated that they had previously served in The Wehrmacht and the SS were transferred by order by force, and the old insignia are preserved as a memory of their honest soldier service. "
In conclusion, it should be noted that there was no category of military officials in the SS troops. as in the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. All positions were carried out by SS soldiers. Also, there were no priests in the SS troops, tk. members of the SS were forbidden to profess any religion.
Literature and sources.
1.P. Lipatov. Uniforms of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht. Publishing house "Technology-youth". Moscow. 1996
2. Magazine "Sergeant". Chevron series. # 1.
3. Nimmergut J. Das Eiserne Kreuz. Bonn. 1976.
4.Littlejohn D. Foreign legions of the III Reich. Volume 4. San Jose. 1994.
5.Buchner A. Das Handbuch der Waffen SS 1938-1945. Friedeberg. 1996
6. Brian L. Davis. German Army Uniforms and Insignia 1933-1945. London 1973
7 SA soldiers. Assault detachments of the NSDAP 1921-45. Ed. "Tornado". 1997
8.Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. Ed. Lockheed Myth. Moscow. 1996
9 Brian Lee Davis Uniforms of the Third Reich. AST. Moscow 2000
10. Website "Wehrmacht Rank Insignia" (http://www.kneler.com/ Wehrmacht /).
11. Site "Arsenal" (http://www.ipclub.ru/arsenal/platz).
12.V. Shunkov. Soldiers of destruction. Organization, training, weapons, uniforms of the Waffen SS. Moscow. Minsk, AST Harvest. 2001
13. A.A. Kurylev. German Army 1933-1945. Astrel. AST. Moscow. 2009
14. W. Boehler. Unoform-Effekten 1939-1945. Motorbuch Verlag. Karlsruhe. 2009
Tables of ranks of the German Wehrmacht (Die Wehrmacht) 1935-45.
SS troops
Waffen SS
In Germany from autumn 1936 to May 1945. As part of the Wehrmacht, there was a completely unique military organization - the SS Troops (Waffen SS), which were part of the Wehrmacht only operatively. The fact is that the SS troops were not the military apparatus of the German state, but were the armed organization of the Nazi party. But since the German state since 1933 has turned into an instrument for achieving the political goals of the Nazi party, then the German armed forces carried out the tasks of the Nazis. That is why the SS troops were quickly part of the Wehrmacht.
To understand the SS rank system, it is necessary to understand the essence of this organization. Many believe that the SS Troops are the entire SS organization. However, the SS Forces were only part of it (albeit the most visible). Therefore, the title table will be preceded by a brief historical background. In order to understand the SS, I recommend that you first familiarize yourself with the historical information on the CA.
In April 1925, Hitler, worried about the growing influence of the leaders of the assault squadrons (CA) and the aggravation of contradictions with them, instructed one of the CA commanders, Julius Schreck, to create the Schutzstaffel (literal translation of "protection squad") in abbreviated form - SS. For this purpose, it was supposed to allocate in each SA Hundert (SA hundred) one SS Gruppe (SS branch) in the amount of 10-20 people. The newly created CC units within CA were assigned a small and insignificant role - the physical protection of the top leaders of the party (a kind of bodyguard service). On September 21, 1925, Shrek issued a circular on the creation of SS units. At this time, there was no need to talk about any structure of the SS. However, the system of SS ranks was immediately born, however, these were not yet titles, but the names of positions. At this time, the SS was one of the many structural divisions of the SA.
General SS ranks from IX-1925 to XI-1926
* Read more about rank encoding.
From the author. Please note that during this period the word Gruppe means a small subdivision of the SS. In the Wehrmacht, this word was used to designate a rifle squad (10 people). Accordingly, the rank of SS Gruppenfuehrer simply means a squad leader. In army terms, this is the lowest rank of sergeant. This is already somewhat later, as the SS develops, the rank of SS-Gruppenfuehrer will be equal to the army rank of General Leutnant.
In November 1926, Hitler begins the covert separation of SS units from the SA. For this, the position of SS Obergruppenfuehrer (SS Obergruppenfuehrer) is introduced, i.e. senior leader of the SS groups. Thus, the SS received double control (through the CA and directly along its own line). Josef Berthtold becomes the first Obergruppenfuehrer. In the spring of 1927, Erhard Heiden replaced him.
Ranks of general SS from XI-1926 to I-1929.
In January 1929, Heinrich Himmler was appointed head of the SS. SS begins to grow rapidly. If in January 1929 there were only 280 SS men, by December 1930 there were already 2,727 of them.
At the same time, an independent structure of SS units emerged.
Hierarchy of general SS units from I-1929 to 1932
Note: Speaking about the equivalence of SS units (SS organizations (!), And not SS Troops) to army units, the author means the similarity in number, but not in the tasks solved, tactical purpose and combat capabilities.
But in general, Scharen was an SS cell in a village, an urban quarter, Truppen unites several cells in a rural area, an area of the city. Stuerme is already an SS organization in a small town, area of a large city, several rural areas. Sturmbanne is an SS organization that unites several Stuerme and covers the entire large city, rural area. Standarte is an SS organization covering a capital city, a large area. The largest association of the SS Abschnitt is already, speaking in our opinion, a republican organization, and taking into account the administrative division of Germany at that time, an organization covering Gau (region of Germany).
The rank system changes accordingly. However, these are not titles, but positions.
General SS rank system from I-1929 to 1932.
| Code* | |
| 1 | SS Mann (CC Mann) |
| 2 | |
| 3 | SS Sharfuehrer |
| 7 | |
| 9 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | |
| 14 | |
| 17 | |
| 18 |
The last title was awarded to himself by A. Hitler. It meant something like the following "SS Supreme Leader".
This table clearly shows the influence of the SA rank system. In the SS at this moment there are no large organizations like Gruppe or Obergruppe, but there are titles. They are worn by top SS leaders.
In mid-1930, Hitler prohibited the SA from interfering with the SS by an order that said "... no SA commander has the right to issue orders to the SS." Although the SS was still within the SA, it was actually independent.
In 1932, the largest association Oberabschnitte (Oberabschnitt), which includes two or three Abschnitte (Abschnitt), was introduced into the SS structure, and the SS structure acquires its completeness. NS
Please note that this is not about the SS troops (they are not yet in sight), but about public organization, which is part of the Nazi Party, and all SS men are engaged in this activity on a voluntary basis in parallel with their main labor activity (workers, shopkeepers, artisans, unemployed, peasants, small employees, etc.).
Hierarchy of common SS organizations since 1932
The rank table takes on the following form (although it is still more job titles than titles):
General SS rank system from 1932 to V-1933
| Code* | Titles (positions) |
| 1 | SS Mann (CC Mann) |
| 2 | SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer) |
| 3 | SS Sharfuehrer |
| 7 | SS Truppfuehrer |
| 9 | SS Sturmfuehrer (SS Sturmfuehrer) |
| 11 | SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer) |
| 12 | SS Standartenfuehrer |
| 13 | |
| 14 | SS Gruppenfuehrer |
| 17 | SS Obergruppenfuehrer (SS Obergruppenfuehrer) |
| 18 | Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel. (Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel) |
The last rank was held only by A. Hitler. It meant something like the following "SS Supreme Leader".
On January 30, 1933, German President Field Marshal Hindenburg appoints A. Hitler as Reich Chancellor, i.e. power in the country passes into the hands of the Nazis.
In March 1933, Hitler ordered the formation of the first armed SS formation, the Leibstandarte-SS "Adolf Hitler" (LSSAH). It was Hitler's bodyguard company (120 people). From now on SS is split into two components:
1.Allgemeine-SS - General SS.
2.Leibstandarte-SS - an armed formation of the SS.
The difference was that membership in the CC was voluntary, and the SS men were engaged in SS affairs in parallel with their main activities (workers, peasants, shopkeepers, etc.).
And those in the Leibstandarte-SS, being also members of the CC, were already in the service (not in the state, but in the service of the Nazi party), received uniforms and salaries at the expense of NSDAP. Members of the CC, being people personally loyal to Hitler (Himmler took care of the selection of such people in the CC), after the Nazis came to power, began to be appointed to key positions in the state apparatus, starting with the heads of the district post, police, telegraph, railway stations etc. up to the highest government posts. Thus, Allgemeine-SS began to gradually turn into a source of state administrative personnel, simultaneously including a number of state institutions. Thus, the original role of the CC as a purely security unit was emasculated, and the CC quickly turned into the political and administrative basis of the Nazi regime, becoming a supranational organization, an organization that supervises the activities of state institutions in the interests of the Nazis. With the beginning of creation by Himmler concentration camps from the rapidly growing Leibstandarte-SS, concentration camp security units were spun off. The SS organization now consists of three components:
1.Allgemeine-SS - General SS.
2.Leibstandarte-SS - CC armed formation.
From the author. Literally SS-Totenkopfrerbaende means "the formation of the SS Death's Head". This is where the confusion comes in.
SS-Totenkopfrerbaende is a concentration camp guard. They wear a common Esos uniform with brown piping. In the right buttonhole, where the SS runes (two lightning bolts) are usually worn, they wear the emblem of the skull with crossed bones (the same one that all SS men wear on their headdresses).
But there was also a division of the SS troops - the 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" (3.SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf"), whose servicemen also wore the same emblem in the right buttonhole. But the edging of the buttonholes was white or pink on the tank uniform. This division fought at the front (including the Soviet-German) and had nothing to do with the protection of concentration camps.
However, to consider the soldiers and officers of the SS troops not involved in the crimes of the Nazi regime, as K. Semenov does in his book "Troops SS - soldiers like everyone else, "still not worth it. Not to mention the fact that the SS men in the occupied territories of the USSR showed particular cruelty towards the prisoners and the local population, it is worth noting that the so-called SS Einsatz command to carry out mass executions primarily attracted units of SS troops. Being what is called "one field of berries", the commanders of SS units without the slightest objection sent their soldiers to carry out mass executions, from which the Wehrmacht commanders often tried to evade, especially when they began to understand that German soldiers were sometimes captured and what kind of military crimes may have to be answered sometime.
General SS rank system from 19.V.1933 to 15.X.1934.
| Code* | Titles (positions) |
| 1 | SS Mann (CC Mann) |
| 2a | SS Sturmann (SS Sturmann) |
| 2b | SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer) |
| 3a | SS Sharfuehrer |
| 3b | |
| 4a | SS Truppfuehrer |
| 4b | SS Obertruppfuehrer (SS Obertruppfuehrer) |
| 7 | SS Sturmfuehrer (SS Sturmfuehrer) |
| 8 | |
| 9 | SS Sturmhauptfuehrer (SS Sturmhauptfuehrer) |
| 10 | SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer) |
| 11 | |
| 12 | SS Standartenfuehrer |
| 13 | SS Oberfuehrer (SS Oberfuehrer) |
| 14 | |
| 15 | SS Gruppenfuehrer |
| 17 | SS Obergruppenfuehrer (SS Obergruppenfuehrer) |
| 18 | Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel. (Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel) |
On the night of June 30, 1934, the SS, on the orders of Hitler, destroy the top of the SA. After this night, the role of the SA in political life the country was reduced to zero, and the role of the SS increased many times over.
On July 20, 1934, Hitler finally withdraws the SS from the SA structure and gives it the status of an independent organization within the NSDAP.
The role of the SS in the life of the country continued to grow, there were many who wanted to join this now powerful organization, and on October 15, 1934, Himmler again changed the SS rank scale. The new titles SS-Bewerber and SS-Anwarter are being introduced, the first for the SS applicant and the second for the candidate. The names of some titles are changed. The title is introduced specifically for Himmler SS Reichsfuehrer (SS Reichsfuehrer).
This scale lasted until 1942. There was no official division into privates, non-commissioned officers, officers, generals in the Allgemeine-SS. This, as it were, emphasized the SS partnership and equality. The same rank scale was used until 1936 in the Leibstandart "Adolf Hitler" and in the concentration camp guards.
General ranks of general SS from October 15, 1934 to 1942.
| Code* | Titles (positions) |
| 0a | SS Bewerber |
| 0b | SS Anwarter |
| 1 | SS Mann (CC Mann) |
| 2a | SS Sturmann (SS Sturmann) |
| 2b | SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer) |
| 3a | |
| 3b | SS Sharfuehrer |
| 4a | SS Obersharfuehrer (CC Obersharfuehrer) |
| 4b | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | SS Obersturmfuehrer |
| 9 | |
| 10 | SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer) |
| 11 | SS Oberturmbannfuehrer (SS Obersturmbannfuehrer) |
| 12 | SS Standartenfuehrer |
| 13 | SS Oberfuehrer (SS Oberfuehrer) |
| 14 | SS Brigadenfuehrer (SS Brigadenfuehrer) |
| 15 | SS Gruppenfuehrer |
| 16 | SS Obergruppenfuehrer (SS Obergruppenfuehrer) |
| 17 | |
| 18 |
From October 1936, on the basis of the Leibstandarte-SS, the creation of the SS troops (Waffen SS) begins. Since that time, the SS has finally acquired its three main components:
1.Allgemeine-SS - General CC.
2. Waffen SS - CC troops.
3.SS-Totenkopfrerbaende - concentration camp guard units.
Moreover, Allgemeine-SS actually merges with the state apparatus, some state institutions become Allgemeine-SS departments and departments, and the SS troops and concentration camp guards, in the minds of many modern readers, merge into a single whole. Hence the fallacy of the idea that the SS is the SS Troops, especially since since 1936 they and the guards of the concentration camps receive their own system of ranks, which differs from the general SS. The idea that the SS troops were engaged in the protection of concentration camps is also mistaken. The camps were guarded by specially created units called SS-Totenkopfrerbaende, which were not part of the SS Forces. The very structure of the Waffen SS units was not a general SS, but an army model (squad, platoon, company, battalion, regiment, division). There were no permanent formations larger than the division in the Waffen SS.
Ranks Waffen SS and SS-Totenkopfrerbaende from X-1936 to 1942
| Code* | Category | Titles |
| 1a | Mannschaften | SS Schutze (SS Schutze) |
| 1b | ||
| 2a | SS Sturmann (SS Sturmann) | |
| 2b | SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer) | |
| 3a | Unterfuehrer | SS Unterscharfuehrer |
| 3b | SS Sharfuehrer | |
| 4a | SS Obersharfuehrer (CC Obersharfuehrer) | |
| 4b | SS Hauptscharfuehrer (SS Hauptscharfuehrer) | |
| 7 | Untere Fuehrer | SS Untersturmfuehrer (SS Untersturmfuehrer) |
| 8 | ||
| 9 | SS Hauptsturmfuehrer (SS Hauptsturmfuehrer) | |
| 10 | Mittlere fuehrer | SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer) |
| 11 | ||
| 12 | SS Standartenfuehrer | |
| 13 | SS Oberfuehrer (SS Oberfuehrer) | |
| 14 | Hoehere fuehrer | SS Brigadenfuehrer und der General-maior der Waffen SS (SS Brigadenfuehrer und der Major General der Waffen SS) |
| 15 | ||
| 16 | SS Obergruppenfuehrer und der General der der Waffen SS (SS Obergruppenfuehrer und der General der Waffen SS) |
Note.
From the author. By the way, the translation of the word "Reich" generally accepted in Russian literature as "empire" (hence "Third Empire, imperial, ...) is fundamentally incorrect. Correct" Reich "-" State. "Empire in German -" Kaiserreich "(literally - "imperial state" or "state of the emperor")
In 1937, four officer schools were created in the SS troops, the students of which had the following ranks:
In May 1942, the titles SS-Sturmscharfuehrer and SS-Oberstgruppenfuehrer were added to the SS rank scale. These were the last changes to the SS rank scale. Until the end of the existence of the millennial Reich, there were three years left.
General SS ranks from 1942 to 1945
| Code* | Titles (positions) |
| 0a | SS Bewerber |
| 0b | SS Anwarter |
| 1 | SS Mann (CC Mann) |
| 2a | SS Sturmann (SS Sturmann) |
| 2b | SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer) |
| 3a | SS Unterscharfuehrer |
| 3b | SS Sharfuehrer |
| 4a | SS Obersharfuehrer (CC Obersharfuehrer) |
| 4b | SS Hauptscharfuehrer (SS Hauptscharfuehrer) |
| 5 | SS Sturmscharfuehrer (SS Sturmscharfuehrer) |
| 7 | SS Untersturmfuehrer (SS Untersturmfuehrer) |
| 8 | SS Obersturmfuehrer |
| 9 | SS Hauptsturmfuehrer (SS Hauptsturmfuehrer) |
| 10 | SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer) |
| 11 | SS Oberturmbannfuehrer (SS Obersturmbannfuehrer) |
| 12 | SS Standartenfuehrer |
| 13 | SS Oberfuehrer (SS Oberfuehrer) |
| 14 | SS Brigadenfuehrer (SS Brigadenfuehrer) |
| 15 | SS Gruppenfuehrer |
| 16a | SS Obergruppenfuehrer (SS Obergruppenfuehrer) |
| 16b | SS-Oberstgruppenfuehrer (SS Oberstgruppenfuehrer) |
| 17 | SS Reichsfuehrer (SS Reichsfuehrer) This title was held only by G. Himmler |
| 18 | Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel. (Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel) This title was held only by A. Hitler |
Ranks Waffen SS and SS-Totenkopfrerbaende from V-1942 to 1945.
| Code* | Category | Titles |
| 1a | Mannschaften | SS Schutze (SS Schutze) |
| 1b | SS Oberschutze (SS Oberschutze) | |
| 2a | SS Sturmann (SS Sturmann) | |
| 2b | SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer) | |
| 3a | Unterfuehrer | SS-Unterscharfuehrer (SS Unterscharfuehrer) |
| 3b | SS Sharfuehrer | |
| 4a | SS Obersharfuehrer (CC Obersharfuehrer) | |
| 4b | SS Hauptscharfuehrer (SS Hauptscharfuehrer) | |
| 5 | SS-Sturmscharfuehrer (SS Sturmscharfuehrer) | |
| 7 | Untere Fuehrer | SS Untersturmfuehrer (SS Untersturmfuehrer) |
| 8 | SS Obersturmfuehrer (CC Obersturmfuehrer) | |
| 9 | SS Hauptsturmfuehrer (SS Hauptsturmfuehrer) | |
| 10 | Mittlere fuehrer | SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer) |
| 11 | SS Obersturmbannfuehrer (SS Obersturmbannfuehrer) | |
| 12 | SS Standartenfuehrer | |
| 13 | SS Oberfuehrer (SS Oberfuehrer) | |
| 14 | Hoehere fuehrer | SS Brigadenfuehrer und der General-maior Waffen SS |
| 15 | SS Gruppenfuehrer und der General-leutnant der Waffen SS | |
| 16a | SS Obergruppenfuehrer und der General der Waffen SS (SS Obergruppenfuehrer und der General der Waffen SS) | |
| 16b | SS-Oberstgruppenfuehrer und der General-oberst der Waffen SS (SS Oberstgruppenfuehrer und der General-oberst der Waffen SS) |
Note. For generals of the SS troops, the words "... and general .... der Wafen SS" were added to the general SS rank, but in those in service in the RSHA (General Directorate of State Security), the general SS rank was added "... and general .... der polizei "(" ... und General ... der Polizei). In the protection of concentration camps, there were no general positions, and, accordingly, no general ranks. At the same time, the SS men who remained in the Allgemeine-SS did not have this supplement.
At the final stage of the war, the activities of SS organizations ceased with the occupation of this territory by the Red Army or by the Allied forces.
Formally, the activities of the SS were terminated, and the organization itself was disbanded in the fall of 1945 on the basis of the decisions of the Potsdam Allied Conference on the denazification of Germany.
By the verdict of the international tribunal in Nuremberg in the fall of 1946. The SS was declared a criminal organization, and membership in it was a crime. However, only the top leaders and part of the middle SS personnel, as well as soldiers and officers of the SS troops and concentration camp guards, were subjected to real criminal prosecution.
During the war, the Soviet Union took SS soldiers and officers prisoner on a par with the Wehrmacht soldiers. However, at the end of the war, on the basis of the verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal, all the SS men in our country were classified as criminals and, on this basis, were held in places of detention until the end of 1955.
Sources and Literature
1.K. Semenov. SS troops. The soldiers are like everyone else. Yauza.EXMO. Moscow. 2004
2.V. Shunkov. Soldiers of destruction. Harvest. AST. Moscow. Minsk. 2001
3.K. Zalesky. SS. Security detachments of the NSDAP. EXMO.YAUZA. Moscow. 2004
4 B. Lee Davis Uniforms of the Third Reich. AST, Moscow. 2000
5.S von Eelking. Die Uniformen von der Braunhemden. Zentrakverlag der N.S.D.A.P. Muenchen. 1934.
6. F. Altrichter. Der Rezerveoffizier. Verlag von E.S. Mittler & Sohn. Berlin. 1943
SS insignia
The insignia on the uniforms of SS members indicated the personal ranks of the SS, belonging to the branch of the SS troops, services, departments, etc. The system of buttonholes with the designation of ranks - so well known from the film - was introduced in 1926. Moreover, the signs themselves were similar to those that existed in the Assault Detachments (SA) - at that time, the SS was an integral part of the SA. The buttonholes themselves were black, and the insignia were white, silver, or gray. Privates, non-commissioned officers, as well as officers up to and including the SS Obersturmbannfuehrer, wore insignia only in the left buttonhole (in the right buttonhole they wore the number of their standard, with the exception of the 87th standard, whose members wore the image of the edelweiss, and the 105th standard, where since 1939 the image of moose horns was worn), and officers from the Standartenführer - in both collar tabs. For SD and security police officers up to Obersturmbannführer, the right buttonholes were clean - the well-known double sig runes that became business card The SS, were introduced in 1933, initially exclusively for the "Leibstandart SS Adolf Hitler", and then extended to all other German SS units. The "belonging" of the lapel runes to the SS troops was taken into account. And so it happened that they began to be worn also on any SS field uniform and those who had no relation to the SS troops. In "Moments", without exception, all employees of the RSHA, in black, gray, and field uniforms wear double zig runes, although the overwhelming majority do not have the right to do so.
Starting in May 1933, the SS men wore one shoulder strap with a black uniform on the right shoulder.
Shoulder straps were of six types, five of which indicated that their owner belonged to a certain category of ranks: SS-manns (privates), scarführer (non-commissioned officers), junior, middle and higher command personnel. At the same time, the specific rank on the pursuit was not indicated. The epaulette of the sixth type was worn only by the Reichsfuehrer SS. Ranks were designated by insignia on buttonholes in the form of a combination of soutache strips and cones (four-pointed stars) - not smooth cubes, like in a movie. On the left sleeve, the SD officers wore an armband in the form of a black diamond (for officers with a silver piping) and the letters "SD" - such are clearly visible in the film.
On the collar tabs, the SS ranks initially wore the following insignia:
Ordinary SS-mans had an empty buttonhole;
Stormmann - two soutache strips;
Rottenfuehrer - four soutache strips;
Unterscharführer - one lump;
Charführer - one lump and two soutache strips;
Oberscharführer - two bumps diagonally;
Hauptscharführer - two bumps and two soutache strips;
Sturmscharführer - two bumps and four soutache strips;
Untersturmführer - three bumps on the diagonal;
Obersturmführer - three bumps and two soutache strips;
Hauptsturmführer - three bumps on the diagonal and four soutache strips;
Sturmbannführer - four knobs in the corners;
Obersturmbannführer - four bumps and two soutache strips;
Standartenführer - straight oak leaves diagonally with acorns at the cutting;
Oberführer - double curved oak leaves;
Brigadeführer - double curved oak leaves and a knob;
Gruppenführer - triple curved oak leaves;
Obergruppenführer - triple curved oak leaves and a knob;
Reichsfuehrer SS Heinrich Himmler wore a triple bunch of oak leaves on his collar tabs, surrounded by an open wreath of oak branches.
But not all of these insignia remained unchanged until 1945. On April 7, 1942, a small reform was carried out, and their design at the highest command personnel, starting with the SS Oberführer, changed somewhat. In this form, they already existed until the end of the war. Thus, ranks up to and including Standartenführer retained the old insignia, and senior officers received the following:
Oberführer - double straight oak leaves;
Brigadeführer - triple straight oak leaves with acorns in the gaps and at the junction;
Gruppenführer - triple straight oak leaves and a knob;
Obergruppenführer - triple straight oak leaves and two cones;
Oberstgruppenführer (this title was introduced just at this time) - three straight oak leaves and three cones.
In the film "Seventeen Moments of Spring" the authors could not do without mistakes in the insignia, and in some cases it is simply impossible to explain why they were made. Most of the higher ranks ("generals") in the film wear the collar tabs of the 1942 model that are quite appropriate for the moment. The only exception for completely unknown reasons was the chief of Stirlitz - Walter Schellenberg. Already in episode 1, in the scene of a meeting with Hitler, he appears in black uniform with the insignia of the SS brigadeführer, canceled in April 1942. At the same time, one cannot even assume that he retained the old insignia on a whim - Schellenberg never wear such buttonholes at all, since he received his title of SS Brigadeführer more than two years after the reform, namely on June 23, 1944!
Also, the wrong buttonholes are worn in the film by all Obersturmbannführer - including Eismann and Holtoff - although they have four knobs on their buttonholes, as it should be, but only one soutache strip(in general, this strip is somewhat strange, it seems that it is just a raised lower edge of the buttonhole). Such buttonholes did not exist at all - with four knobs, either there were no stripes at all (for the Sturmbannführer), or there were two stripes (for the Obersturmbannführer). Rolf in the film the buttonholes are the same as those of Holtoff, but in his description he is called Sturmbannführer(this is the 6th episode of the film).
SS-Mann / Schutze-SS- Private, marksman, grenadier, gunner
SS-mann (German SS-Mann) - the lowest military rank in the SS, SA and in some other paramilitary organizations Nazi Germany that existed from 1925 to 1945. Corresponded to the rank of private in the Wehrmacht.
In 1938, in connection with the increase in the SS troops, the rank of mann was changed to the military rank of schütze (shooter), but the rank of mann remained in the general SS.
Schutze (German SS-Schütze, shooter) - the military rank of the SS, which existed in the formations of the SS troops from 1939 to 1945, and corresponded to the rank of mann in the general SS.
The title of jester has existed in the German armed forces since the First World War. Translated from German, it means "shooter". By 1918, this rank was awarded to machine gunners and some elite units (for example, 108 Saxon Schutze Regiment). This rank was the lowest in the infantry. In other branches of the military, such titles as cannoneer, pioneer, etc. corresponded to him.
Obermann- Oberschutze (German SS-Oberschütze) - the military rank of the SS, used in the Waffen-SS formations from 1942 to 1945. Corresponded to the rank of Obermann in the general SS.
The title of obershutze was first used in the Bavarian army at the end of the 19th century. After World War I, this rank appeared in the Reichswehr and in 1920 became an intermediate rank between the ranks of soldier and corporal. This rank was awarded to servicemen with significant military experience and skills, but it was too early to give them the rank of corporal.
In the US Army, this rank corresponds to a private first class.
In the Waffen-SS, this rank was awarded to servicemen with the rank of a jester after 6 months of service. 
Sturmmann- Sturmmann - rank in the SS and SA. Corresponded to the rank of corporal in the Wehrmacht.
In translation, the word sturmmann means "assault soldier". The title dates back to the First World War, when assault groups were created in the forward assault units (also called "shock troops") to break through enemy fortifications.
After the defeat of Germany in 1918, members of the paramilitary revanchist formations of the so-called "free corps", created from former military personnel who were dissatisfied with the results of the Versailles Peace, began to be called navigators.
Since 1921, paramilitary organizations (the future SA) have been created from the navigators to protect the Nazi party and fight the left-wing parties of the post-war period.
The title of Sturmmann was awarded after serving in the ranks of the SA from 6 months to 1 year with basic knowledge and abilities. Sturmmann is the senior over the rank of Mann, with the exception of the SS, where the rank of Obermann was introduced separately in 1941, and the rank of Obermann in the SS forces. 
Rottenführer- Rottenführer (German Rottenführer, head of the detachment) - a rank in the SS and SA, which existed from 1932 to 1945. Rottenfuehrer in the SS troops corresponded in rank to the chief corporal in the Wehrmacht.
Rottenführer commanded a detachment (Rotte) of 5-7 people and was subordinate to the Scharführer (SA) or Unterscharführer (SS). The Rottenführer's buttonholes consisted of two silver stripes on a black background.
The Hitler Youth also had the title of Rottenfuehrer. 
Unterscharführer- Unterscharführer - a rank in the SS, which existed from 1934 to 1945. Corresponded to the rank of non-commissioned officer in the Wehrmacht. The title of Unterscharführer was created during the SS reorganization that followed Night of the Long Knives, during which several new titles were created to separate the SS from the SA.
The title of SS Unterscharführer was created from the old title of SA Scharführer. After 1934, the title of SS Unterscharführer became equal to the title of SA scarführer.
The rank of Unterscharführer was the first non-commissioned officer rank in the SS. This title was the most common in the SS.
In the General SS, the Unterscharführer usually commanded a squad of seven to fifteen men. The title was also widely used in all Nazi security services such as the Gestapo, SD and Einsatzgruppen.
In concentration camps, the Unterscharführer usually held the post of blockführer, whose duty was to keep order in the barracks. The position of blockfuehrer is a symbol of the Holocaust, since it was the blockfuehrer, together with various Sonderkommandos, who carried out actions to strangle Jews and other "undesirable" elements for the Third Reich with gas.
In the SS troops, the rank of Unterscharführer was one of the ranks of the junior command staff at the company and platoon level. The rank was also equal to the first candidate rank in the officer of the SS troops - SS Junker.
Since the requirements for combat non-commissioned officers were higher than for non-commissioned officers of the general SS, applicants for this rank were subject to observation and selection in the SS troops. During this time, the applicant was considered a candidate for Unterfuehrer and received this title after an appropriate assessment, training and examination. 
Scharführer- Scharführer - a rank in the SS and SA, which existed from 1925 to 1945. Corresponded to the rank of Unterfeldwebel in the Wehrmacht. The use of the rank of Scharführer can be traced back to the First World War, when a non-commissioned officer who commanded an assault group in special operations was often called a Scharführer. As a position it was used in the SA for the first time in 1921, and the rank became in 1928. The rank of Scharführer was the first non-commissioned officer rank in the SA. In 1930, the new title of Oberscharfuehrer SA was created for senior Scharführer.
The SS Scharführer insignia was initially the same as in the SA, but was changed in 1934 with the reorganization of the SS rank structure following the Night of the Long Knives. At the same time, the old title SS scarführer began to be called SS Unterscharführer, and SS scarführer began to correspond to the title of SA oberscharführer. The title of SS Truppführer was changed to SS Oberscharführer and the new title of SS Haupscharführer. An even higher rank was introduced in the Waffen-SS - Sturmscharführer SS. In the SS troops, the Scharführer usually held the position of squad commander (crew, tank), or deputy platoon commander (headquarters commander).
The title of Scharführer was also used in lesser known Nazi organizations; among others NSFK, NSMK and Hitler Youth. 
Oberscharführer- Oberscharführer - a rank in the SS and SA, which existed from 1932 to 1945. Corresponded to the rank of sergeant major in the Wehrmacht.
Initially, the ranks in the SS were identical to those of the SA and the rank of Oberscharführer was introduced into the SS at the same time as the SA. The title of SS Oberscharführer was equal to that of the SA. However, after the Night of the Long Knives, this ratio was changed.
The SS rank system was reorganized and several new ranks were introduced that had no analogues in the SA. The title of SS Oberscharführer "rose" and became equal to the title of SA Troupeführer. The buttonhole for the SS rank was changed, and there were two silver squares on it, as opposed to one square with a silver stripe, as in the SA.
In the SA, oberscharführer were usually the commanders of auxiliary platoons, in which the position of commander belonged to the regular category of non-commissioned officers.
After 1938, when the SS began to use the gray field uniform, the SS oberscharführer wore the epaulettes of the Wehrmacht sergeant major. In the SS troops, oberscharführer performed the duties of commanders of third (and sometimes second) platoons of infantry, sapper and other companies, company foremen. In tank units, the Oberscharführer was often tank commanders. 
Hauptscharführer- Haupscharführer - a rank in the SS, which existed from 1934 to 1945. Corresponded to the rank of Oberfeldwebel in the Wehrmacht and was the highest non-commissioned officer rank in the SS organization, with the exception of the SS troops, where there was a special rank of Sturmscharführer. The rank of Hauptscharführer became a rank in the SS after the SS reorganization that followed the Night of the Long Knives. This title was first awarded in June 1934, when it replaced the old title of Obertruppführer, which was used in the SA.
In the SS, the rank of Haupscharführer was usually assigned to the acting foreman in an SS company, the commander of the third (sometimes second) platoon in the company, or was a rank used for non-commissioned officers who served in SS headquarters or security services (such as the Gestapo and SD ).
The title Haupscharführer was also often used for concentration camp personnel and Einsatzgruppen personnel. SS Haupscharführer was older than SS Oberscharführer and younger than SS Sturmscharführer, with the exception of General SS, where Haupscharführer was a junior rank immediately after SS Untersturführer.
In the SS troops, the Haupscharführer was the second-highest rank of non-commissioned officers after the stormsharführer. There was also a post of staff chief, corresponding in terms of its scope of duties to the post of a company or battalion foreman of the Soviet army. 
Sturmscharführer- Sturmscharführer - a rank in the SS troops, which existed from 1934 to 1945. Corresponded to the rank of stafffeldwebel in the Wehrmacht and was the highest rank of non-commissioned officers of the SS. The title of Sturmscharführer existed only in the SS troops, in the General SS the highest rank in this category was the Haupscharführer.
The title of Sturmscharführer was established in June 1934, after the Night of the Long Knives. During the reorganization of the SS, the rank of Sturmscharführer was created as the highest rank of non-commissioned officers in the "Forces at the disposal of the SS" instead of the rank of Hauptruppführer used in the SA.
In 1941, on the basis of the "Troops at the disposal of the SS", the organization of the SS troops arose, which inherited the title of Sturmscharführer from its predecessor.
The title of Sturmscharführer should not be confused with the name of the position of Staffarführer, which corresponded to the position of a company foreman in the Soviet army. 
Untersturmführer- Untersturmführer - rank in the SS, corresponded to the rank of lieutenant in the Wehrmacht.
The title arose in 1934 from the position of the head of the SS Truppen unit (SS Truppen). Truppen (SS Truppen) covered an urban area, a rural district, numbered about an army platoon from 18 to 45 people and consisted of three sections (SS Sharen). This unit was headed by SS Truppfuehrer or SS Untersturmfuehrer, depending on the size. In the SS troops, the Untersturmführer, as a rule, served as a platoon commander. 
Obersturmführer- Obersturmführer - rank in the SA and SS, corresponded to the rank of Oberleutenant in the Wehrmacht.
The title arose from the title of the position of the deputy head of the SS Stuerme (SS Stuerme). The structural unit of the SS Sturme organization, which can be equated in number with an army company, consisted of three or four SS Truppen, about a platoon in size. This subdivision geographically covered a small town, rural area. In Sturm, there were from 54 to 180 people. In the SS troops, the Obersturmführer, as a rule, served as a platoon commander. Also, servicemen with this rank occupied a wide range of staff positions in the SS troops - officers for assignments, adjutants, chiefs of technical services, etc.
Hauptsturmführer- Hauptsturmführer (German Hauptsturmführer) - a special rank in the SS.
From three or four Troupes (SS Truppe), the Sturm (SS Sturm) was formed, which can be equated in number to an army company. This subdivision geographically covered a small town, rural area. In Sturm, there were between 54 and 180 people. Until 1934, that is, until the Night of the Long Knives, the head of the SS Sturm territorial unit was called SS Sturmführer. After 1934, the rank was changed to Hauptsturmführer, which meant the same, and the insignia remained the same.
After the creation of the SS troops in 1936, the rank corresponded to the captain (Hauptmann) of the Wehrmacht.
Accordingly, the Hauptsturmführer in the SS troops, as a rule, held the positions of company commander, as well as a number of administrative and staff positions, such as regimental adjutant, etc. This title was held by the famous Nazi doctors August Hirt and Josef Mengele. 
Sturmbannführer- Sturmbannführer - rank in the SA and SS.
The title of Sturmbannführer was introduced into the SS structure in 1929 as the title of leaders. Then, from 1933, he was used as the rank of deputy heads of the territorial divisions of the SS - Sturmbann (SS Sturmbann). The Sturmbann consisted of four small units - an assault (SS Sturme), approximately equal in size to an army company (from 54 to 180 people), one medical unit equal in size to an army platoon (Sanitätsstaffel) and an orchestra (Spielmannzug). The number of Sturmbann reached 500-800 people. Later, from October 1936, when creating the SS troops, he corresponded to the position of battalion commander and the rank of major of the Wehrmacht, as well as a wide range of staff and administrative positions, such as adjutant to the corps commander. 
Obersturmbannführer- Obersturmbannführer - rank in the SS and SA., Corresponded to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
On May 19, 1933, he was introduced into the SS structure, as the rank of leaders of the territorial divisions of the SS-Sturmbann (SS Sturmbann). The shturmbann (battalion) consisted of four assaults (companies), small units, approximately equal in size to an army company (from 54 to 180 people), one platoon of orderlies and a military band group. The number of Sturmbann was 500-800 people. Since 1936, after the creation of the Waffen SS, he held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the Wehrmacht and the position of battalion commander, as well as a wide range of staff and administrative positions, such as chief of staff of a division.
The most famous historical figures who had this title
Otto Skorzeny is a famous saboteur who freed Mussolini. 
Standartenführer- Standartenführer (German Standartenführer) - rank in the SS and SA, corresponded to the rank of colonel.
In 1929, this rank was introduced into the SS structure as the rank of the leaders of the territorial divisions of the SS Standarte. Typically, Standarte was recruited from the SS members of a large city or two or three smaller cities. The Standard consisted of three SS Sturmbann, one reserve Sturmbann (from among the senior members of the SS aged 35-45) and Spielmantzug (orchestra). The number of the standard (SS Standarte) reached 3500 people.
Since 1936, after the creation of the SS troops, the rank of Standartenfuehrer corresponded to the rank of colonel and the position of regiment commander. 
Oberführer- Oberführer - a title introduced in the Nazi party back in 1921. It was introduced into the structure of the SS organization (the so-called General SS) in 1932, as the title of the head of the structural unit of the SS Abschnit (German: Abschnitt). Abshnit was named after the territory in which it was located. Rather it can be called a garrison than a brigade or division. Abshnit in its composition usually had three Standards (SS Standarte) and a number of special units (automobile, sapper, medical, etc.). In the SS troops and police structures, SS Oberführer, in all types of uniform, except for the party, wore shoulder straps of Oberst (German Oberst, colonel) as well as SS standartenführer, but, contrary to popular misconception, this rank could not be conditionally compared to the military rank of colonel. In reality, this rank was intermediate between the ranks of senior officers and generals and, in theory, corresponded to the position of commander of an SS brigade, but in practice, as a rule, SS Oberführer commanded Einsatzgruppen and "native" SS divisions, staffed by local nationalists and Nazis. In personal communication, the SS Standartenführer was usually referred to as “colonels” by other soldiers and police officers, while the Oberführer was referred to exclusively by SS rank.
The special rank of Oberführer as a staff officer was used in some paramilitary formations, for example, in the raid warning service (German Luftschutz-Warndienst) in the Reich air defense, the help service (German Sicherheits- und Hilfsdienst), etc.
Brigadeführer- Brigadeführer (German Brigadeführer) - a special title of senior officials of the SS and SA.
History
On May 19, 1933, he was introduced into the SS structure as the rank of leaders of the main territorial divisions of the SS Oberabschnitt (SS-Oberabschnitt). It is the highest structural unit of the SS organization. There were 17 of them. It can be equated to an army district, especially since the territorial boundaries of each obrabshnit coincided with the boundaries of the army districts. The Oberabshnit did not have a clearly defined number of Abshnits in its composition. This depended on the size of the territory, the number of SS formations deployed on it, and the size of the population. Most often, there were three units and several special formations in the operation: one communications battalion (SS Nachrichtensturmbann), one sapper battalion (SS Pioniersturmbann), one sanitary company (SS Sanitätssturm), an auxiliary reserve squad of members over 45 years old, or a female auxiliary squad ( SS Helferinnen). Since 1936, in the SS troops, he corresponded to the rank of major general and the position of division commander.
The change in insignia of the highest SS Führer (generals) in April 1942 was caused by the introduction of the title Oberstgruppenführer and the desire to unify the number of stars on the collar tabs and shoulder straps that were worn on all other types of uniforms, except for the party, since with the increase in the number of units of the SS troops, there were more and more problems with the correct recognition of SS ranks by ordinary Wehrmacht soldiers.
Starting from this SS rank, in the event of its owner being appointed to the position of military (from 1936) or police (from 1933) service, he received a duplicate rank in accordance with the nature of the service:
SS Brigadeführer and Police Major General - German. SS Brigadeführer und der Generalmajor der Polizei
Brigadeführer SS and Major General of the SS troops - German. SS Brigadeführer und der Generalmajor der Waffen-SS 
Gruppenführer- Gruppenfuehrer - rank in the SS and SA, since 1933 corresponded to the rank of lieutenant general. Also - a special rank in a number of paramilitary formations.
It was introduced in September 1925 as the title (at first - the only one) of the head of the main division of the SS organization - the group (German SS-Gruppe). In the period from 1926 to 1936, she was the rank of the highest leaders of the territorial divisions of the SS organization - Abshnit (German SS-Abschnitte), Oberabschnit (German SS-Oberabschnitte). From the moment of the creation of the SS troops, he corresponded to the rank of lieutenant general and the position of deputy army commander, corps commander. In the central office of the SS, this rank corresponded to the position of the head of one of the departments (German SS-Hauptamt). For example, the RSHA was led until his death in 1942 by SS Gruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, and then SS Obergruppenführer Ernst Kaltenbrunner. The change in insignia of the highest SS Führer (generals) in April 1942 was caused by the introduction of the title of Oberstgruppenführer and the desire to unify the number of stars on the collar tabs and shoulder straps that were worn on all other types of uniforms, except for the party, since with the increase in the number of units of the SS troops, there were more and more problems with the correct recognition of SS ranks by ordinary Wehrmacht soldiers.
In the case of the appointment of the holder of this rank to the position of the military (since 1936) or police (since 1933) service, he received a duplicate rank in accordance with the nature of the service:
SS Gruppenfuehrer and Police Lieutenant General - German. SS Gruppenführer und der Generalleutnant der Polizei
SS Gruppenfuehrer and Lieutenant General of the SS forces - it. SS Gruppenführer und der Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS
In particular, the aforementioned R. Heydrich bore the duplicate rank of Lieutenant General of Police. 
Obergruppenführer- Obergruppenführer (German Obergruppenführer) - rank in the SS and SA. In fact (conditionally) corresponds to the rank of General der in the Wehrmacht.
Introduced in November 1926, originally - as the highest rank in the structure of the SS organization. The first to receive the title of Obergruppenführer was Joseph Berchtold. In the period from 1926 to 1936, it was used as the title of the highest leaders of the SS.
In the SA, this rank was held by the "oberg groups" (hence the name) - the largest formations, in terms of numbers approaching the "army groups" in wartime. Each "obergroup" consisted of several "groups" (according to the number of those who approached the armies). The first to receive this title in the SA were Adolf Hünlein, Edmund Heines (deputy of E. Röhm), Fritz von Krausser, Karl Litzmann and Viktor Lutze. In 1934 August Schneidhuber and Hermann Reshni received the title. During the "night of long knives" many members of the SA top leadership (except for A. Hünlein, V. Lutze and K. Litzman) were executed, and the title was not awarded in the SA for several years, a new wave of conferring the title followed in the years of the 2nd world war.
With the appearance of the SS troops, this rank can only be conditionally equated to the later Soviet rank of colonel general, since in the Red Army this military rank corresponds to the position of army commander, and there are no intermediate ranks between lieutenant general and colonel general. However, the SS troops did not have formations larger than the division [source not specified 65 days]. Therefore, this rank was borne either by division commanders or by the highest leaders of the SS central apparatus. For example, the SS Obergruppenfuehrer was Ernst Kaltenbrunner.
The change in the insignia of the highest SS Führer (generals) in April 1942 was caused by the introduction of the title Oberstgruppenführer and the desire to unify the number of stars on the collar tabs and shoulder straps that were worn on all other types of uniforms, except for the party, since with the increase in the number of units of the SS troops, there were more and more problems with the correct recognition of SS ranks by ordinary Wehrmacht soldiers.
In the case of the appointment of the holder of this rank to the position of the military (since 1939) or police (since 1933) service, he received a duplicate rank in accordance with the nature of the service:
SS Obergruppenfuehrer and Police General - it. SS Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei
SS obergruppenfuehrer and general of the SS troops - German. SS Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS
In particular, the aforementioned E. Kaltenbrunner wore the duplicate rank of police general. Due to the sharp expansion of the SS troops in 1941-1942, some Gruppenfuehrer and Obergruppenfuehrer moved to the structure of the SS troops with duplicate police ranks.
109 people received the title of Obergruppenfuehrer, including 2 Hungarians (Feketehalmi and Ruskai). Helldorf was demoted and executed for participating in a conspiracy against Hitler, 5 people (Schwarz, Dahluge, Dietrich, Hausser and Wolf) were promoted to Oberstgruppenführer. 
Oberstgruppenführer- Oberstgruppenführer - the highest rank in the SS since April 1942, with the exception of the title of Reichsführer SS (which was held by Heinrich Himmler) and the title of “Supreme SS Führer” (German: Der Oberste Führer der Schutzstaffel), which was held by Adolf Hitler from January 1929. Corresponded to the rank of Colonel-General of the Wehrmacht. This title was held by only four members of the SS:
April 20, 1942 - Franz Xaver Schwarz (1875-1947), SS Oberstgruppenführer.
April 20, 1942 - Kurt Dahluge (1897-1946), SS Oberstgruppenführer and Police Colonel General.
August 1, 1944 - Joseph Dietrich (1892-1966), SS Oberstgruppenführer and Colonel General tank troops SS.
August 1, 1944 - Paul Hausser (1880-1972), SS Oberstgruppenführer and Colonel General of the SS forces.
According to unconfirmed reports (there was no written order, there was an oral instruction from A. Hitler), on April 20, 1945, the rank of SS Oberstgruppenfuehrer and SS Colonel General was also awarded to Karl Wolf (1900-1984).
The title was introduced due to dramatic increase the staffing of the Waffen-SS in 1941-1942. During the production of this CC rank, its owner, in accordance with the procedure adopted for other general SS ranks, received a duplicate rank in accordance with the already existing rank:
SS Oberstgruppenführer and Police Colonel General - German. SS Oberstgruppenführer und Generaloberst der Polizei
SS Oberstgruppenfuehrer and Colonel General of the Waffen SS - German. SS Oberstgruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS 
Reichsführer-SS- The Reichsführer SS (German Reichsführer-SS: "imperial leader of the security detachments") - a special rank in the SS that existed from 1926 to 1945 (in 1925-1926 - Oberleiter SS). Until 1933, this was a position, and since 1934 it becomes the highest rank in the SS.
Definition
"Reichsfuehrer SS" was a title and a position at the same time. The position of Reichsfuehrer was created in 1926 by Josef Berchtold. Berchtold's predecessor, Julius Schreck, never called himself "Reichsfuehrer" (the position was called "Oberleiter", that is, "chief executive"), but this position was assigned to him retroactively in later years. In 1929, after becoming Reichsfuehrer SS, Heinrich Himmler began to call himself that way, instead of his usual SS rank. This became a precedent.
In 1934, after the Night of the Long Knives, Himmler's position became an official title. From that moment on, the rank of Reichsfuehrer SS became the highest rank in the SS and was matched to the rank of Field Marshal General in the German army.
Reichsfuehrer SS (1925-1926 - SS Oberleiter)
Julius Schreck (died 1936) - from 1925 to 1926, then in minor positions, posthumously promoted to SS Brigadeführer
Josef Berchtold (died 1962) - from 1926 to 1927
Erhard Hayden (killed 1933) - from 1927 to 1929
Heinrich Himmler (committed suicide in 1945) - from 1929 to 29 April 1945
Karl Hanke (killed in captivity in 1945) - from April 29, 1945 to May 8, 1945
Rank table
armies of the German Empire
(Deutsches Reichsheer)
1901
This article examines the system of military ranks of the so-called. Second German Empire (zweite Deutsches Reich), which existed from 1871 to 1918. The first German Empire was formed during the disintegration of the Holy Roman Empire and perished during the era of the Napoleonic wars in 1806. There was no single German state between 1806 and 1871.
The Second German Empire was not a unitary state, but a union of German states that had a certain degree of independence, including in the military field. This left its mark on the organization of the German army. In the field of military ranks in some army structures, depending on which of the German Lands this structure belongs to, there could be differences in the names of ranks and their number. These differences will be discussed in the text.
It is possible that before 1914 this system of ranks underwent some changes, but in general the article makes it possible to navigate the system of ranks of the German army during the First World War.
All who in one way or another belonged to the German army were divided into sharply different groups:
1.Militaerpersonen,
2.Military officials (Militaerbeamte),
3. Civilian officials in the military department (Zivilbeamte der Militarverwaltung).
The military consisted of those who performed the duties of a combatant army service in infantry, cavalry, artillery, sapper units, as well as doctors and musicians.
All support personnel, except for medics, musicians, artillery and technical service specialists, and ammunition specialists, were military officials. These are employees of clothing, food, veterinary, transport services, construction specialists, priests, lawyers, pharmacists, weapons repairmen.
All clerical workers of large headquarters, service (non-medical) personnel of hospitals, service personnel of the barracks fund, technical personnel of military factories, personnel of equestrian repair factories, etc. belonged to civilian officials of the military department.
The servicemen, in turn, were divided into:
*. Lower ranks (Mannschaften)
a. Soldiers (Gemeinen)
b. Gefreiters
*. Non-commissioned officers (Unteroffizieren).
* .Officers (Offiziere)
a. Subaltern officers (Subaltern-Offiziere).
b. Captains and captains (Hauptleute und Rittmeister).
v. Staff officers (Stabsoffiziere).
*. Generals (Generale).
Military officials fell into two categories:
1. Junior Military Officers (untere Militaer-Beamte)
2. Senior military officials (obere Militaer-Beamte).
The former, in their official position, were equated with the non-commissioned officer corps, the latter with the officer corps. However, military officials occupied a humiliated position in the hierarchy of ranks. Thus, senior military officials stood above soldiers and non-commissioned officers, but below officers. Junior military officials, although they were equated with non-commissioned officers, did not dominate the soldiers.
Civilian officials of the military department were generally outside the hierarchy of ranks.
The army was recruited with soldiers on the basis of the law on general conscription of 1871. During the period of compulsory service, a soldier could only rise one step in rank. those. become a gefreiter.
The army was recruited by non-commissioned officers from the number of soldiers who had served compulsory service and underwent appropriate training, or from civilian youth who had graduated from high-school officer schools. Non-commissioned officers served 4 years or more.
The army was recruited from among the graduates of the cadet corps who had completed additional training at a military school, as well as young people who had the appropriate education and were trained in military schools and passed the officer's exam.
There were no class restrictions, and at the same time, for any promotion in rank or transfer to a higher category, it was required by their service to confirm their suitability and pass the appropriate exam.
From the author. Obviously, the high professional and combat qualities of the non-commissioned officers and officers of the German army are explained both by a complex multi-stage system of career growth, and by the fact that, in general, in Germany, unlike Russia, an ordinary soldier was not considered as a person standing at the lowest rung of social status. but as "a citizen entrusted with the high honor of wearing the uniform of the German army."
The non-commissioned officer was already a man standing very high on the social ladder. Upon dismissal from the army, he was guaranteed a high pension and prestigious positions in the local administration. We can say that the non-commissioned officer was valued in Germany in society more than the chief officer in Russia.
The social position of a German officer can be conditionally equated with the position of Russian generals.
Infanterie
In the German army, the infantry was divided into line infantry and light infantry. The soldiers of the line infantry were named according to their specialty:
Grenadier is a grenadier.
Musketier is a musketeer.
Fusilier - fuselier.
Schuetze - Schuetze.
From the author. It is difficult to explain such different names for the same specialty - infantryman. Obviously, this is due to the traditional names of infantry soldiers in the various Lands of Germany, coming from the past centuries.
In the light infantry, ordinary soldiers were called:
Jaeger is a gamekeeper.
In the Guards Infantry, the soldiers were called:
Garde du Korps - garde du corps.
In addition, in the infantry units there were ordinary soldiers who had the ranks:
Trainsoldat - trainsoldat or Traingemeiner - traingemeiner. This is a convoy soldier.
Sanitaetssoldat -sanitetszoldat. This is an orderly.
The last two are not musicians, but signalmen. In the regimental bands there were soldiers with the same titles, but those trumpeters and drummers are musicians.
In the divisions in the respective units, there were ordinary soldiers with the following ranks:
Telegraphist - telegraphist.
Krankenwarter - krankenwerter (medicine assistant).
Oekonomiehandwerker - economirhandwerke (soldier of the rear units). Handwerker is a person who knows some kind of craft and works in this area.
Militaerbaeсker - militaerbaker (military baker)
Line infantry
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | by specialty (see above) |
| 2 | Gefreite (gefwriters) | Gefreiter |
| 3 | ||
| 4 | Sergeanten (sergeant) | |
| 5a | ||
| 5 B | Feldwebel - Feldwebel | |
| 8a | Leutnant | |
| 8b | Obereutnant | |
| 9 | Hauptleute und Rittmeister (captains and captains) |
Hauptmann (Hauptmann) |
| 10 | Stabsoffiziere (staff officers) |
Major (major) |
| 11 | ||
| 12 | Oberst | |
| 14 | Generale (generals) |
Generalmajor (major general) |
| 15 | ||
| 16 | General der Infanterie | |
| 17 | Generaloberst (Generalloberst) | |
| 18 | Generalfeldmarschall (Generalfeldmarschall) |
* Read more about rank encoding.
Light infantry
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | Jaeger (gamekeeper) |
| 2 | Gefreite (gefwriters) | Gefreiter |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Oberjaeger (amulet) |
| 4 | Sergeanten (sergeant) | |
| 5a | Vize-Feldwebel (Vice Feldwebel) | |
| 5 B | Feldwebel - Feldwebel | |
| 8a | Subaltern-Offiziere (subaltern officers) | Leutnant |
| 8b | Obereutnant | |
| 9 | Hauptleute und Rittmeister (captains and captains) |
Hauptmann (Hauptmann) |
| 10 | Stabsoffiziere (staff officers) |
Major (major) |
| 11 | Oberstleutnant | |
| 12 | Oberst |
Cavalry (Kavallerie)
Cavalry soldiers, depending on the type of cavalry, were named according to their specialty:
Kuerassier - kirassier.
Ulan - lancer
Dragoner -Dragoner (i.e. dragoons).
Husar is a hussar.
schwerer Reiter - schwerer reiter (cavalry of the heavy cavalry).
Karabinier - carabinier,
Gardereiter - Guards Cavalier
Jaeger zu Pferde - horse ranger
Grenadier zu Pferde
In addition, there were ordinary soldiers in the cavalry with the ranks:
Trainsoldat - trainsoldat or Traingemeiner - traingemeiner. This is a convoy soldier.
Sanitaetssoldat -sanitetzoldat. This is an orderly.
Trommler -trommler. This is the drummer
Hornisten - horny. This is a trumpet player.
Krankenwarter - krankenwarter (medicinal assistant).
Oekonomiehandwerker - economirhandwerker (soldier of rear units).
Cavalry other than horse rangers
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | by specialty (see above) |
| 2 | Gefreite (gefwriters) | Gefreiter |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Unteroffiziere |
| 4 | Sergeanten (sergeant) | |
| 5a | ||
| 5 B | Wachtmiester - (Wachtmiester) | |
| 8a | Subaltern-Offiziere (subaltern officers) | Leutnant |
| 8b | Obereutnant | |
| 9 | Hauptleute und Rittmeister (captains and captains) |
Rittmeister |
| 10 | Stabsoffiziere (staff officers) |
Major (major) |
| 11 | Oberstleutnant | |
| 12 | Oberst | |
| 14 | Generale (generals) |
Generalmajor (major general) |
| 15 | Generalleutnant (Generalleutnant) | |
| 16 | General der Kavallerie |
Horse ranger
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | Jaeger zu Pferde - Jaeger zu Pferde |
| 2 | Gefreite (gefwriters) | Gefreiter |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Oberjaeger zu Pferde - Oberjaeger zu Pferde |
| 4 | Sergeanten (sergeant) | |
| 5a | Vize-Wachtmiester (Vice-Wachtmiester) | |
| 5 B | Wachtmiester - (Wachtmiester) | |
| 8a | Subaltern-Offiziere (subaltern officers) | Leutnant |
| 8b | Obereutnant | |
| 9 | Hauptleute und Rittmeister (captains and captains) |
Rittmeister |
| 10 | Stabsoffiziere (staff officers) |
Major (major) |
| 11 | Oberstleutnant | |
| 12 | Oberst |
Foot artillery (Fussartillerie)
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | Kanonier (gunner) |
| 2a | Gefreite (gefwriters) | Gefreiter |
| 2b | Obergefreiter | |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Unteroffiziere |
| 4 | Sergeanten (sergeant) | |
| 5a | Vize-Feldwebel (Vice Feldwebel) | |
| 5 B | Feldwebel - Feldwebel | |
| 8a | Subaltern-Offiziere (subaltern officers) | Leutnant |
| 8b | Obereutnant | |
| 9 | Hauptleute und Rittmeister (captains and captains) |
Hauptmann (Hauptmann) |
| 10 | Stabsoffiziere (staff officers) |
Major (major) |
| 11 | Oberstleutnant | |
| 12 | Oberst |
Horse artillery (Reitenden Artillerie)
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | Kanonier (gunner) |
| 2 | Gefreite (gefwriters) | Gefreiter |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Unteroffiziere |
| 4 | Sergeanten (sergeant) | |
| 5a | Vize-Wachtmiester (Vice-Wachtmiester) | |
| 5 B | Wachtmiester - (Wachtmiester) | |
| 8a | Subaltern-Offiziere (subaltern officers) | Leutnant |
| 8b | Obereutnant | |
| 9 | Hauptleute und Rittmeister (captains and captains) |
Rittmeister |
| 10 | Stabsoffiziere (staff officers) |
Major (major) |
| 11 | Oberstleutnant | |
| 12 | Oberst |
Field artillery (Feldartillerie)
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | Kanonier (gunner) |
| 2 | Gefreite (gefwriters) | Gefreiter |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Unteroffiziere |
| 4 | Sergeanten (sergeant) | |
| 5a | Vize-Feldwebel (Vice Feldwebel) | |
| 5 B | Feldwebel - Feldwebel | |
| 8a | Leutnant | |
| 8b | Obereutnant | |
| 9 | Hauptleute und Rittmeister (captains and captains) |
Hauptmann (Hauptmann) |
| 10 | Stabsoffiziere (staff officers) |
Major (major) |
| 11 | Oberstleutnant | |
| 12 | Oberst | |
| 14 | Generale (generals) |
Generalmajor (major general) |
| 15 | Generalleutnant (Generalleutnant) | |
| 16 | General der Artillerie |
Sappers (Pionieren)
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | Pionier |
| 2 | Gefreite (gefwriters) | Gefreiter |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Unteroffiziere |
| 4 | Sergeanten (sergeant) | |
| 5a | Vize-Feldwebel (Vice Feldwebel) | |
| 5 B | Schirrmeister der Pioniere | |
| 8a | Subaltern-Offiziere (subaltern officers) | Leutnant |
| 8b | Obereutnant | |
| 9 | Hauptleute und Rittmeister (captains and captains) |
Hauptmann (Hauptmann) |
| 10 | Stabsoffiziere (staff officers) |
Major (major) |
| 11 | Oberstleutnant | |
| 12 | Oberst | |
| 14 | Generale (generals) |
Generalmajor (major general) |
| 15 | Generalleutnant (Generalleutnant) |
Replenishment Bodies (Ersatzbehorde)
This is an analogue of our modern military registration and enlistment offices. Actually, in order to organize conscription in local administrations (Bezirkskommando), according to our military registration and enlistment offices, draft commissions (Ersatzkommissionen) are being assembled, to which senior officers, representatives of local civilian authorities, and doctors are seconded. Non-commissioned officers and lower ranks are constantly working in the military registration and enlistment offices. The lower ranks are sent to the military registration and enlistment offices, unsuitable for service in the ranks for health reasons, but not subject to transfer to the reserve. For non-commissioned officer positions in the military registration and enlistment offices, servicemen of the appropriate ranks are sent, who have experience in conducting office work and are familiar with keeping records.
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | in the specialty available in the combat unit |
| 2 | Gefreite (gefwriters) | Gefreiter |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Unteroffiziere |
| 4 | Sergeanten (sergeant) | |
| 5 B | Bezirksfeldwebel |
Army Medical Service (Sanitaetskorps der Armee)
In the German army, military doctors, in addition to specialists in the pharmaceutical service, belonged to the military. The difference between officers of the main branches of the armed forces (infantry, cavalry, artillery and engineering troops) and medical officers (military doctors) was only in the methods of recruitment. The army was staffed with military doctors both from military medical schools and from civilian doctors who wished to go into military service, as well as from among students who graduated from the university with a medical specialty.
For military service as the lower ranks of the medical service, recruitment went from young people of military age (20 years old), who before service worked as orderlies, medical assistants, and employees of medical institutions. With a shortage of such people, it was possible to recruit from among those who declared their desire to serve in the medical industry and showed their propensity for such activities.
The non-commissioned officers of the medical service were recruited exclusively from sanitary freighters who had completed active service (2 years) and expressed a desire to continue serving in the non-commissioned officer corps. The title of sanitetssergent could be awarded no earlier than 7 years after the title of sanitetsunterofitsir was awarded.
* The title "Unterart" can be rather equated with the rank of Fenrich (candidate for an officer rank) in the main branches of the armed forces. It is assigned to persons who have completed the initial 6-month military training, have a doctor's diploma, have passed all the required exams and are sent to a military unit to perform the duties of a doctor. Not earlier than 3 months later, with a satisfactory performance of duties and the availability of vacancies, the unterarct can be submitted for the assignment of an officer rank.
From the author. In general, in Germany there has always been a simple, but very true rule - whoever you were before the army, and no matter what position in the army you apply for, you must serve as a simple soldier for 6 months. Without this segment of military service, obtaining any military rank is impossible.
One example is the German pilots of the "Condor Legion" who fought in Spain in 1937-39, were awarded German orders and held high enough positions there, before being accepted into the Luftwaffe and assigned officer and general ranks, were put in the infantry formation as ordinary soldiers for six months. And an infantry non-commissioned officer shouted at tomorrow's Luftwaffe general today, the eternal gefreiter forced the floor in the barracks to scrub.
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | Sanitaetssoldat |
| 2 | Gefreite (gefwriters) | Sanitaetsgefreiter |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Sanitaetsunteroffiziere |
| 4 | Sanitaetssergeanten | |
| 5 | Sanitaetsfeldwebel | |
| 6 | Unterartz (unterartz) | |
| 7 | Subaltern-Offiziere (subaltern officers) | Assistenzarzt |
| 8 | Oberarzt | |
| 9 | Hauptleute und Rittmeister (captains and captains) |
Stabsarzt |
| 10 | Stabsoffiziere (staff officers) |
Oberstabsarzt I. Klasse (Oberstabsarzt I class) |
| 11 | Generaloberarzt (Generalloberarzt) | |
| 12a | Generalarzt II. Klasse (General II. Class) | |
| 12b | Generalarzt I. Klasse (Generalarzt I class) * | |
| 14 | Generale (generals) |
Generalarzt I. Klasse (Generalarzt I class) ** |
| 15 | General-Stabsarzt der Armee *** |
* In the Land of Württemberg, this title is called General- Stabsarzt der Armee.
** Generalarct I class, i.e. chief physician of the first class, who is given a general's level. In Bavaria, this rank is called General-Stabsarzt der Armee.
*** So this rank is called in Prussia, and therefore in other lands except Württemberg and Bavaria.
From the author. So, it turns out that the title of General-Stabsarzt der Armee:
in Württemberg is equal to the rank of colonel,
in Bavaria is equal to the rank of major general,
in Prussia equal to the rank of lieutenant general.
It is not entirely logical that a generalloberatt is a lieutenant colonel, and a generalarct is a colonel and above. But so in the source - the German edition of 1901. Obviously, this mishmash with the highest medical titles is an echo of the not so long-standing independence of the German states. Obviously, in Württemberg they believed that the colonel's level for the most important medical officer of the Württemberg army was quite enough. But in Bavaria, they found it useful to equalize the chief physician to major general. The Prussians made their highest medic a lieutenant general. After the unification of the German lands into the empire, they obviously could not come to a consensus and left everything as it was before.
Artillery and technical personnel (Zeugpersonal)
Artillery and technical personnel are intended for management service in artillery parks, technical institutes of artillery, management of the park artillery control commission, as well as for managing artillery devices in shooting schools and at artillery shooting ranges. In addition, this personnel is used in the Directorate of the Chief of Artillery and the Directorate of Artillery Parks.
The junior personnel of the artillery and technical service refers to military officials, but in terms of their service and legal status they are equated to non-commissioned officers, i.e. to the military.
Officers of the artillery and technical service are considered military personnel, but according to their official and legal status they are not equated to military officers, but to officers of the Landwehr.
It is possible to get into this service after the soldier's service. Zeughausbuchenmashern, i.e. masters of the art technical service are recruited from among those who have served in the soldier's service as military weapons masters (Truppenbuechsenmachern) and are not further promoted in rank.
Zeigserzhanten are replenished from non-commissioned officers of the artillery, partly also from the infantry. It is required that they prove themselves well in their unit, that the artillery applicants have a good knowledge of the artillery materiel, the infantrymen have a good command of small arms. Those. there is a transition from military non-commissioned officers to military officials. After 9 years of service, the Zeugsergeantten can receive the title of Depot Vice-Feldwebel.
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 3 | Zeugunterpersonal (junior staff of the art technical service) |
Zeughausbuechsenmachern |
| 4 | Zeugsergeanten (Zeugsergeanten) | |
| 5a | Depot-Vizefeldwebel (depot-vicefeldwebel) | |
| 5 B | Zeugfeldwebel | |
| 7 | Zeugoffizieren (officers of the artillery service) |
Zeug-Leutnant |
| 8 | Zeug-Oberleutnant | |
| 9 | Zeug-Hauptleuten (Zeug-Hauptleuten) |
Pyrotechnic staff (Feuerwerks-Personal)
Pyrotechnic personnel are intended for management service in artillery arsenals, ammunition and explosives depots.
There are no soldiers or gefreighters in this service.
The junior staff of the pyrotechnic service refers to military officials, but is equated in their official and legal status with non-commissioned officers, i.e. to the military.
The officers of the pyrotechnic service are considered military personnel, but according to their official and legal status they are not equated to military officers, but to officers of the Landwehr.
It is possible to get into this service after military service after the appropriate training and passing exams.
The officers of the artillery-technical service are exclusively Zeigfeldwebel, who have passed the exam for the rank of Zeig-Leutnant.
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 4 | Feuerwerkunterpersonal (junior staff of the pyrotechnic service) |
Feuerwerker |
| 5 | Oberfeuerwerker | |
| 7 | Feuerwerkoffizieren (officers of the pyrotechnic service) |
Feuerwerkers -Leutnant |
| 8 | Feuerwerkers-Oberleutnant | |
| 9 | Feuerwerkers-Hauptmann |
Military Musicians (Militaermusiker)
Each regiment or separate battalion has an orchestra (Muesikkorps). In the cavalry regiments, this unit is referred to as the Trompeterkorps. Young people capable of music were enrolled in this unit, who entered the 2, 3 or 4-year voluntary service after compulsory six-month service in the ranks. At the same time, they were required to undergo training at a music institute. The study lasted 3 years. They had to make a commitment to serve actively for each year of study for another 2 years.
Upon entering the service, they were enrolled in the orchestra as supernumerary musicians and they were awarded the rank:
* in the line infantry - Hilfshoboisten,
* in the cavalry - Hilftrompeter (Hilftrompeter),
* in light infantry and sappers - Hilfshornisten.
This rank is equal to the rank of an ordinary soldier. If the quality of the musician was high, then with the same name of the rank, his level could rise to an unterofficer.
When vacant places in the orchestra were vacated, the musician was transferred to full-time musicians and, accordingly, he was assigned the rank:
in the line infantry - Hoboisten,
* in cavalry - Trompeter,
* in light infantry and sappers - Hornisten.
This rank was equal to the rank of non-commissioned officer. If the quality of the musician was high, then with the same title of rank, his level could rise to the level of a sergeant.
The leader of the orchestra wore the rank of staff gooysten (respectively, staff strompeter, staff horn). The same rank could be obtained by a musician of the orchestra, who possessed a remarkable musical talent, had a general education, devoted himself to military service, and graduated from the musical institute with success.
The honored leader of the orchestra could receive the title of his rank Militar-Musikdirigent, and the especially honored title of Koniglicher Musikdirektor. However, this did not change his level equal to that of the sergeant.
The entire orchestral service of the army was no longer led by a soldier, but by a military officer of an officer level.
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Hilfshoboisten (hilfgoboisten), or Hilftrompeter (hilftrompeter), or Hilfshornisten |
| 3 | Hoboisten (oboysten), or Trompeter trompeter), or Hornisten |
|
| 4 | Hoboisten (oboysten), or Trompeter trompeter), or Hornisten |
|
| 5 | Stabshoboisten (ishtabsgoboisten), or Stabstrompeter, or Stabshornisten, or Militar-Musikdirigent, or (Koniglicher Musikdirektor (Koniglicher-music director) |
|
| 7 | Oberen Militarbeamten |
Armee-Musik-Inspizienten |
From the author. As you can see, in the German army the officer's and even more so the general's rank was not profaned or depreciated, as is the case in our army. An officer and even more so a general in the German army is the commander of only a combat subunit, unit, formation. Anyone who does not stand in a combat formation, they are not considered military personnel and are not entitled to wear an officer or, moreover, a general's rank.
If in our army the head of the orchestral service is already a lieutenant general ("general from the piano"), then in the German army the same duties were assigned to a military official who was only equated to the officer corps (but was not considered an officer!). And nothing, quite coped. And at the head of the regimental orchestra was not a major, like ours, but a belwebel. And also nothing, I did it.
Perhaps this is the case when it is worth borrowing something from enemies. Remove shoulder straps from conductors, heads of military repair factories, design bureaus, military registration and enlistment offices, military builders, military house managers, chiefs of officers' houses, and from clerical workers of large headquarters. And list them in military officials. And for the military budget it is cheaper, and the authority of the officer's rank will increase.
Well, really, which of the designer Kalashnikov is Lieutenant General? He will not be able to cope with the company, not that with the army corps (the rank of lieutenant-general can only be received by the corps commander). It's time to understand to everyone that a military rank is a reflection of the level of military qualifications, and not an honorary title. A captain means he can command a company, a colonel can command a regiment.
Will "Colonel" Zhirinovsky be able to lead a tank regiment into battle? Of course not. Well, there is no need for him to sculpt colonel's stars on his shoulder straps. If you want to mark him with an honorary title, then give him the title of People's Artist of Russia, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, diploma winner of the Rachmaninov competition, laureate of the competition of circus artists, master of medicine, master machine milking, an honored inventor and rationalizer, a chess grandmaster, or, at worst, a master of sports of international class. Would you say that he has not won a single international sports competition and giving him a master of sports is simply stupid? Agree! Well, is it not stupid to give him the rank of colonel?
The famous German tank designer "Tiger" Heinz Knimpkamp did not have an officer or general rank, but had the rank of a military official "ministerial advisor". And nothing, did not suffer from an inferiority complex. He understood perfectly well that he could not stand on a par with General Oberst Heinz Guderian.
Army officer training (Ergaenzung der Offiziere der Armee)
The German army was staffed primarily by graduates of the Royal Cadet Corps in Berlin (Koniglichen Kadettenkorps). Boys were admitted to this corps at the age of 10-15 years. They exchanged cadets (Kadetten), but unlike the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, German cadets were not military personnel and the name "cadet" did not mean a military rank.
In the cadet corps, future officers received a complete secondary education (13 classes). At the end of the 13th grade, the best cadets remained to study in the corps for one more year. At the end of this year of training, they passed the officer's exam and were sent to the troops with the rank of fenrich at the level of vice sergeant-webel. They received the rank of Leutnant (with the consent of the meeting of the officers of the regiment) as soon as a vacant place of Leutnant was opened in the regiment.
The rest of the cadets took the Faehnriche exam. After that, they entered military service in military units with the rank of Fenrich sergeant level. Simultaneously with the service, the fenrichs are required to complete a one-year course of study at a military school. After 5 months, the level of fenrichs rises to vice-feldwebel. After 6 months, these fenrichs received the right to pass the officer's exam, after the successful passing of which the officers' meeting of the regiment made its conclusion on whether the fenrich was worthy of being awarded an officer's rank or not. Worthy ones received the rank of Leutnant as soon as a vacant Leutnant position was opened in the regiment. The unworthy were transferred to the reserve.
Young people who did not graduate from the cadet corps could become officers. To do this, it was necessary to have an age of 17 to 23 years, submit a certificate of secondary education (12-13 grades) and pass the Fenrich exam. After that, the young man enlisted in the service in the rank of Fahnenjunker. This rank is equivalent to the rank of an ordinary soldier. After 6 months of service, the fannunker is awarded the rank of sergeant-level fenrich. Simultaneously with the service, the fenrichs are required to complete a one-year course of study at a military school. Fenrichs were exempted from the course of study at the military school, who had studied for at least a year at a German university, a technical institute, a mining academy or a forestry academy before entering military service. After 5 months, the level of fenrichs rises to the vice-feldwebel. After 6 months, these fenrichs received the right to pass the officer's exam, after the successful passing of which the officers' meeting of the regiment made its conclusion on whether the fenrich was worthy of being awarded an officer's rank or not. Worthy ones received the rank of Leutnant as soon as a vacant Leutnant position was opened in the regiment. The unworthy were transferred to the reserve.
From the author. There were no class restrictions on the possibility of becoming an officer in Germany. At the same time, there were norms that excluded representatives of the lower strata of society from entering the ranks of the officer corps. The rules for enrollment in fannunkers required that parents guarantee an additional payment of the difference between the minimum income level of a serviceman and the monetary allowance that the treasury gave him. And these norms were such that the German soldier got rid of the need to milk his parents only by reaching the rank of Hauptmann.
It should be noted that the officer training system was based on training directly in military units. In the workplace, so to speak. The military school only systematized knowledge and gave that part of it that could not be obtained in the regiment.
It is also worth noting that regiment officers decided whether to become a fenrich officer or not. Without their consent, the order to confer the rank of Leutnant could not take place. No fathers and mothers, "furry paws", titles and merits of ancestors could mean nothing here.
Obviously, all these factors were provided by a very high level the officer corps, and therefore the entire German army. In the Austro-Hungarian army, the officer training system was different, and the First World War showed that the fighting qualities of the Austrian army were a cut below the German one.
It is hardly worth recognizing the system of training officers of the Russian Army as successful. After all, our graduate of a military school first saw a living soldier only when he came to the regiment as a young second lieutenant. Whether at least the theoretical knowledge of the Russian second lieutenants was higher than the knowledge of the German Leutnants is difficult to say. This is hardly noticeable in the battles of the First World War.
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 1 | Gemeine (lower ranks) | Fahnenjunker |
| 4 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Faehnriche (fenrich) |
| 5 | Faehnriche (fenrich) |
It should be noted that the officers of the medical service (military doctors), artillery-technical and pyrotechnic services were trained in a completely different way.
Notes on the ranks of the military
1. To obtain the right to be awarded a non-commissioned officer rank, a young man entered a non-commissioned officer school, where he studied for 2 or 3 years. During this period, he bore the title of Unteroffizierschueler (Unteroffizierschueler). Upon its completion, he received, depending on his success, the title of Unteroffizier or Gefreiter (gefreiter) with the right to be further awarded the title (unterofficir).
From the author. Note that in the Russian Army of the same period, to obtain the rank of first officer rank, second lieutenant, it was enough to finish a two-year military school. Non-commissioned officers were trained from among the soldiers during the period of the soldier's service for six months. The German non-commissioned officer served for 12 years, and the Russian non-commissioned officer left at the end of his military service or could remain on long-term service (there were no more than 10% of the total number of non-commissioned officers). It is easy to understand that the quality of the German non-commissioned officers was a cut above the Russian ones, and in fact they were not inferior to the Russian junior officers.
2. Civilian food service officials (Proviantaemtern) are engaged in the food supply of the troops, but a non-commissioned officer level (usually a non-commissioned officer to a fieldwebel level) is directly involved in food service affairs in military units. He holds the title of Proviantamts-Aspiranten.
3.The barracks fund and other structures used by the troops in the garrisons are in charge of civilian officials of the garrison administration (Garnison-Verwaltungen), but the issues related to the servicemen in the garrison are in charge of a non-commissioned officer level (usually the level of a non-commissioned officer) to a field webel. He carries the rank of Garnisonverwaltungs-Aspiranten (Garrisonverwaltung-graduate student).
4. There is the title of Feldwebel-Leutnant. This rank is awarded to non-commissioned officers who, by age or disability, are no longer liable for military service, but serve in the Landwehr, reserve and Landsturm units in officer positions. They belong to the officer corps, but are considered below the rank of Leutnant. This rank does not exist in the active army.
Military Officers (Militaerbeamte)
All members of the army described below were military officials (Militaerbeamte). They also wore uniforms, but were divided into only two categories - junior military officials (equated to non-commissioned officers) and senior military officials (equated to officers).
Army Treasurers (Zahlmeister der Armee)
These military officials belonged to the quartermaster service, but served in military units (infantry, cavalry regiments, artillery and sapper battalions) or in garrison institutions (garrison administrations, hospitals), where they performed duties to provide personnel with cash, clothing, food rations, and also carried out office work.
One treasurer and one assistant treasurer relied on every infantry, artillery, sapper battalion and every cavalry regiment.
Zalmeister is a graduate student, i.e. Assistant treasurers, after passing the exams for the treasurer, are equal in their level to sergeants (according to the author's coding -4) and are enlisted as supreme assistant treasurers (ausseretatsmassigen Zahlmeister-Aspiranten). After 9 years of service as a supreme assistant to the treasurer, his level can be raised to a vice-sergeant-webel (according to the author's coding - 5a).
If during the supernumerary service a vacant position is vacated, the supreme assistant treasurer becomes a full-time assistant treasurer (etatsmassigen Zahlmeister-Aspiranten). However, its level remains the same. After 8 years of service as a full-time assistant to the treasurer, he receives the level of Feldwebel (according to the author's coding - 5b).
Provisions to the rank of treasurer (Zahlmeister) are subject to a vacant position. All treasurers are only regular ones. This is already an officer's level. This is usually the last promotion of treasurers to the rank
Few of them who are fortunate enough to become treasurer of a garrison, a large hospital, or go to serve in the quartermaster receive the rank of oberzalmeister.
The staff of the fortress building. (Festunsbau-Personal)
These military officials were engaged in overseeing fortification works, the construction of fortresses, were members of engineering commissions, taught at the school of fortification, carried out cash operations, carried out surveys, supervised construction, and laid an army telegraph. In addition, they were entrusted with the duties of organizing pigeon mail.
Among them there was one rank of non-commissioned officer level and two ranks of officer level. Non-commissioned officers of the engineering troops were accepted as wallmeister, who had undergone training before this and passed the exam for a serf specialist. After passing the officer's exam, the walmeister could receive the rank of festung-bauwart.
Equestrian medical personnel (rossarztliche Personal)
These are veterinarians. However, highly specialized - only for horses. Moreover, this service included both non-commissioned officers and military officials.
Fanenschmeide and Oberfanenschmeide were mainly involved in shoeing horses, but were also trained in the treatment of horse hoof diseases. These positions were assigned to those who had served in the soldier's service and had the specialty of a rural blacksmith, and additionally trained in an army forge. After 12 years of service, the Oberfanenschmeida was given the level of a watchmaker. He could not advance higher in ranks.
Military officials of the equestrian medical service, as a rule, were graduates of the army equestrian medical school. Also, qualified civilian veterinarians doing military service could, after six months of combat service, move to the position of volunteers and receive the rank of unterrossarzten and later receive the rank of rossarzte.
For each cavalry squadron, horse artillery battery, transport battalion relied on one unterrossarzten or rossarzten. Oberrossarzten was the regimental commander for Unterrossarzten and Rossarzten, but at the same time he was in charge of one of the squadrons.
Korsarzten was the chief chief for all the equestrian medical personnel of the corps. There were no chiefs of this service in the higher headquarters.
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Fahnensehmiede |
| 4 | ||
| 5a | Oberfahnensehmiede | |
| 5 B | Unteren Militarbeamten |
Unterrossarzten |
| 7 | Oberen Militarbeamten (senior military officials) |
Rossarzten |
| 8 | Oberrossarzten | |
| 9 | Korpsrossarzten |
In Bavaria, equestrian medical personnel belonging to military officials wore other titles:
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Fahnensehmiede |
| 4 | Oberfahnensehmiede | |
| 5a | Oberfahnensehmiede | |
| 5 B | Unteren Militarbeamten (junior military officials) |
Veterinare II. Klasse (class II veterinarian) |
| 7 | Oberen Militarbeamten (senior military officials) |
Veterinare I. Klasse (class I veterinarian) |
| 8 | Stabsveterinare (headquarters veterinarian) | |
| 9 | Korpsveterinare |
Militar-Indendantur
This military organization deals with all issues of providing and supplying troops with all types of material and technical means, as well as replenishing troops with personnel. The commissary includes both military personnel of the level of soldiers and non-commissioned officers, who directly in military units perform the relevant duties of supply and support, and military officials who deal with these issues in the military authorities (headquarters from the headquarters of the division, corps and above).
Military officials of the quartermaster offices.
Subaltern quartermaster officials are equated to non-commissioned officers. The highest quartermaster officials are equated to the officer corps. But there is no equating specific ranks of officials with specific ranks of non-commissioned officers and officers.
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| . | Intendantur-Subalternbeamte (quartermaster subaltern officials) |
Kanzlisten (kantslisten) |
| . | Registratur-Assistenten | |
| . | Registratoren (registered) | |
| . | Intendantur-Diaetare | |
| . | Intendantur-Sekretare | |
| . | Hohere intendantur-beamte (senior quartermaster officials) |
Indendantur-Referendare |
| . | Indendantur-Assesoren | |
| . | Indendantur-Rate | |
| . | Indendanten |
From the author. Obviously, on the one hand, the importance of military officials of the quartermaster service is very high, since they work in high military headquarters and solve very important and complex, one might say key tasks, and therefore it is necessary to consider them high ranks. On the other hand, in the German state and the army, no one could be considered superior to the military by social status. Therefore, the quartermaster officials were equated with non-commissioned officers and officers, but they did not begin to determine the equivalence of the ranks of officers and officials.
Servicemen dealing with quartermaster issues in the troops and quartermaster directorates.
Schreiber is a clerk, and a Zeicher is a draftsman. Those. these are servicemen at the level of sergeants and vice-feldwebel, who keep records, keep records and draw up topographic maps.
Military personnel, bakery specialists
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| 2a | Gefreite (gefwriters) | Schiesser (shaser) |
| 2b | Baeсker (backer) | |
| 3 | Unteroffiziere (non-commissioned officers) | Obebaeсker |
| 4 | Obebaeсker I. Klasse (Obebaeсker 1st class) |
Military priests (Militargeistliche)
This is a special category of military officials designed for the religious service of military personnel. All of them belong to senior military officers at the officer level (oberen Militar-Beamten im Offiziersrange). At the same time, the ranks of military priests are not equated to specific officer ranks. In the German army, only priests of the Catholic and Evangelical (Protestant) churches could carry out their activities.
Accordingly, in the army structures (garrisons, divisions, corps) there were simultaneously two priests of the corresponding level - one evangelical, the other Catholic.
A priest with the rank of Anstaltsgeistliche (antstaltsgeistlishe) is a confessor in the garrisons of a small number. Often, his duties were performed by the civil priest of the nearest parish.
A full-time military priest relied alone on a division or a fairly large garrison. He carried the rank of Divisionspfarrer or Garnisonpfarrer.
At the headquarters of the army corps there was a Militaer-Oberpfarrer. He supervised the activities of the divisional and garrison priests, and was also the confessor of the personnel of the corps headquarters and corps units.
The highest religious leader of the German army was Feldpropst der Armee. There were also two of them - Catholic and Evangelical. He was in charge of all the army priests. In the church hierarchy, he had the rank of bishop.
Unlike all other military officials, priests did not obey the military commanders of the corresponding levels, but only coordinated their activities with them.
Military Lawyers (Militar-Justizbeamte)
This is a category of military officials who prosecuted personnel who violated the law, as well as supervised the observance of the rule of law in the troops. They were equated with officers, but specifically the ranks of military lawyers were not equated with specific officer ranks. In addition, the most junior rank of a military lawyer, although it was considered an officer, was not obliged by non-commissioned officers and soldiers to greet him the way officers are welcomed.
Military pharmacists (Militaer-Apotheker)
These medical specialists are recruited from among those lower ranks dismissed at the end of active service who served in military pharmacies and signed a commitment to one-year voluntary military service. However, they are not enrolled in military personnel, but in military officials. Pharmacists of the first two ranks are junior military officials (equated to non-commissioned officers), and the three senior ranks are senior military officials (equated to officers). However, there is no specific correspondence between the ranks of pharmacists and military ranks.
| Code* | Category | Rank name |
| . | Unteren Militarbeamten (junior military officials) |
Einjahrig-Freiwillige Militar-Apoteker |
| . | Unter-Apoteker | |
| . | Oberen Militarbeamten (junior military officials) |
Ober-Apoteker |
| . | Garnison-Apoteker | |
| Korps-Stabsapoteker |
Gunsmiths (Buchsenmachern)
In general, specialists in the production and repair of weapons are classified as civilian officials, but of them one gunsmith (Buchsenmacher) is allocated to each infantry battalion and cavalry regiment. Since civilian officials are not allowed to serve in military units, gunsmiths sent to military units are transferred to the category of military officials and are reassigned to battalion and regiment commanders. These officials are provided with military uniforms, which are required to wear on certain occasions. The rest of the time they perform their duties in civilian clothes.
Civilian military officials
(Zivilbeamte der Militar-Verwaltung)
This category of officials performs military-administrative and military-technical functions of an auxiliary nature, as a rule, in high military headquarters (from the headquarters of the corps and above), garrison departments, hospitals, military factories, cadet corps, and military schools. As a rule, civilian officials are subordinate to generals and staff officers, military officials and are auxiliary personnel for them.
Civilian officials wear uniform or civilian clothing. They have no ranks and titles as such.
Civilian officials should, if they appear in uniform, be greeted in a military manner by non-commissioned officers and lower ranks, on the other hand, they are also not obliged themselves to generally greet people of the level of lower ranks or junior military officials other than their immediate superiors.
Below are the names of their positions in German with an indication of the duties performed in relation to Russian names:
| Place of service | Job title | Explanation |
| Kriegsministerium (Ministry of War) |
standige Hilfsarbeiter | permanent ancillary workers |
| Unterbeamte | lower officials | |
| Kanzleibeamte | clerical officials | |
| Registratoren | registrars | |
| Kalkulatoren | calculators, calculators | |
| Sekretare | secretaries | |
| Raete | advisers, clerks | |
| Generalstabe der Armee (General Staff of the Army) |
Unterbeamte | lower officials |
| Kanzleibeamte | clerical officials | |
| Registratoren | registrars | |
| Kalkulatoren | calculators, calculators | |
| Sekretare | secretaries | |
| Raete | advisers, clerks | |
| grossere Generalstabe (large general staff) |
Trigonometer, Topographen, Kartographen, Lithographen | specialists in geodesy, cartography, cartography equipment |
| Bauwessen (construction department) |
Bauschreiber | construction clerk |
| Bauwarte | building supervisor | |
| Bauinspektore | building inspector | |
| Bauraete | construction advisors | |
| Proviantaemtern * (food service) |
Magazinaufseher | storekeeper |
| Backmeister, | baker | |
| Muhlenmeister, | miller | |
| Proviantamts-Assistenten | assistant food supervisor | |
| Proviantamtskontrolleure | food inspector | |
| Proviantamtsrendanten | food service provider | |
| Proviantmeister | food service master | |
| Proviantsdirektoren, | head of food service | |
| Lazaretten ** (military hospitals) |
Heizer | stoker |
| Hausdiener | service staff | |
| Zivilkrankenwarter | civil servant for the sick | |
| Inspektoren | inspector | |
| Verwaltungsinspektor | department inspector | |
| Oberlazarett-Inspektoren | chief inspector of the hospital | |
| Garnison-Verwaltungen *** (garrison management) |
Heizer. | stoker |
| Maschinenmeister | plumber | |
| Wachmeister | watchman | |
| Kasernenwarter | barracks keeper | |
| Kasernen-Inspektoren | barracks inspector | |
| Verwaltungs-Inspektoren | control inspector | |
| Ober-Inspektoren | senior inspector | |
| Garnison-Verwaltungsdirektoren | garrison chief | |
| Korpsbekleidungsamtern (corps department of uniforms) |
Packmeister | packer |
| Maschinisten | driver | |
| Assistenten | assistant performer | |
| Rendanten | executor | |
| Remontendepo (horse training depot) |
Futtermeister | cattleman |
| Rossaerzte | veterinarian | |
| Wirtschaftsinspektoren | economic inspector | |
| Rechnungsfuhrer | accountant | |
| Administatoren | administrator | |
| Kadettenanstalten und sonstigen Schulen (cadet institutions and other schools) |
Kompagnie-Verwalter | company overseer |
| Hausinspektoren | premises inspector | |
| Rendanten | executor | |
| Lehrer | teacher | |
| Gewehr- und Munitionsfabriken **** (factories for weapons and equipment) |
Revisionbeamte | controller |
| Buchsenmacher | gunsmith | |
| Oberbuchsenmacher | senior gunsmith | |
| Betriebinspektoren | regime inspector | |
| Fabriken-Komissare | factory commissioner | |
| Geschutzgiesserei, Geschossfabriken; Feuerwerkslaboratorien, Artilleriewerkestatten, Pulverfabriken (gun, shell factories, pyrotechnic laboratories, artillery arsenals, powder factories) |
Meister | master |
| Obermeister | head master | |
| Revisionsbeamte | auditor | |
| Ingenieure | engineer | |
| Chemiker | chemist-technologist | |
| Ober-Ingenieure | senior engineer. |
* Directly in the troops, a serviceman with the rank of Proviantamts-Aspiranten (provisions-graduate student) of the level from a non-commissioned officer to a field webel is engaged in food supply.
** The medical activities in the hospitals were carried out by military personnel, while civilian officials were involved in ensuring the functioning of the hospital.
*** The Office of the Garrison is an institution dealing with the administrative regulation of general garrison activities. Those. they were engaged in the maintenance of barracks and other objects in the garrison used by the troops. To some extent, this is similar to the IES service (housing maintenance service) in our modern army. In the management of the garrison there was one soldier of the level from a non-military officer to a felwebel in the rank of Garnisonverwaltungs-Aspiranten (garrisonferwaltung-graduate student), who resolved issues related to the military personnel in the garrison.
**** From this category of civilian officials, one armorer (Buchsenmacher) is allocated to each infantry battalion and cavalry regiment. Since civilian officials are not allowed to serve in military units, riflemen sent to military units are transferred to the category of military officials and are reassigned to battalion and regiment commanders.
From the author. In general, the German system of military ranks seems overly complex and obscure, but it should be remembered that the systems of military ranks of all armies grew out of the names of specific positions.
At the same time, it should be recognized that the division of everyone who is related to the army into servicemen and officials is very expedient.
Only those who perform their duties in the ranks are classified as servicemen, i.e. directly in battalions and regiments. All support and maintenance personnel are not endowed with the status of military personnel. This increases the social status of servicemen as defenders of the Motherland, the importance of non-commissioned officer and officer ranks is not diminished or undermined. Only those who directly endanger their lives on the battlefield have the right to the honorary title of a soldier.
Sources and Literature
1.Das kleine Buch vom Deutsche Heere. Verlag von Lipsins & Tischer. Kiel und Leipzig 1901.
2. Military encyclopedic dictionary. Great Russian Encyclopedia. Ripol-Classic. Moscow. 2001
3.R. Hermann, J. Nguyen, R. Bernet. Uniformen der deutshen Infanterie 1888 bis 1915 in Farbe. Motot Buch Verlag. 2003.
4.K.U. Keubke. Uniformen der preussiscen Armee 1858/59. Miliraerverlag der DDR. 1989.
5. G. Ortenburg, I. Proemper. Preussisch-deutsche Uniformen von 1640-1918. Orbis Verlag. 1991
