Talk:Ranks and insignia of the German Army (1935–1945)

Senior non-commissioned specialist officers
"There was no direct Anglosphere equivalent; perhaps the closest examples of the time would be the British Royal Navy's and United States Navy's ranks of Warrant Officer." It occurs to me that the old Specialist 7 or 8 from the 70s might be a reasonable comparison -- although they were not technically NCOs they were treated with similar respect. I don't think US Navy Warrant Officers are a good comparison, since they are not NCOs. 155.213.224.59 (talk) 17:35, 13 July 2015 (UTC)


 * The old WW2 Navy Warrants were close; they were not NCOs but they weren't commissioned officers either.Solicitr (talk) 14:18, 20 August 2015 (UTC)

Title change: inaccurate.
The old page title was cumbersome but accurate. The new one is inaccurate; the article is about the Army (Heer) ranks and insignia and does not cover the rest of the Wehrmacht, the Air Force (Luftwaffe) and Navy (Kriegsmarine). The title also tends to perpetuate the common misperception that Wehrmacht = German Army, which is entirely wrong. Solicitr (talk) 14:21, 20 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Done.--Uldra (talk) 23:32, 20 August 2015 (UTC)

Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls
According to this small booklet, the heer had the rank of Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls, which according to this was removed in 1940. I know it is not very historically correct sources, but is there any truth to this? Skjoldbro (talk) 19:40, 22 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Possibly as a leftover from the Imperial times, even if they did as far as I know never use it. The whole point of that rank was to promote men during peacetime as traditionally a Generafeldmarschall could only be promoted during wartime (or for wartime service). However Werner von Blomberg was promoted from Generaloberst to Generalfeldmarschall during peacetime in 1936. In the end the safest way to know would be the original regulations, which in this case I think is the H.Dv. 82/9 from 1940 (or H.Dv. 3/11 from earlier years). However I don´t have them. ...GELongstreet (talk) 21:01, 22 October 2018 (UTC)


 * it's really more the answer to a trivia question than a piece of useful information here; to the best of my knowledge the Wehrmacht never used it.Solicitr (talk) 21:00, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

Translation: not rank-equivalents
The column labeled "Translation" is for just that: translation of the rank, not for an (approximate) equivalent rank in a different army. There is already a separate column for that Solicitr (talk) 20:58, 18 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Do you have a better source than the US War Department? Because, as you might have noticed, there is a More citations needed tag on this page. So removing sources without replacing them with something else does not improve the page. Skjoldbro (talk) 21:10, 18 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Added a "literal translation" column as a compromise for now. Cdjp1 (talk) 22:44, 18 April 2020 (UTC)


 * Yes, the War Department put out a handbook, the pragmatic purpose of which was to convey to GIs the equivalent ranks of any Germans they might encounter. That doesn't make them "translations." And I don't see why we  need a column of US equivalents when we already have the UK equivalents. Solicitr (talk) 21:50, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

Strip at front
This page may need a section to clearly explain the meaning and purpose of those straps that high ranking officers often wear at the front and middle of their uniforms. It looked like a strip of ribbon placed between 2nd and 3rd (from the top) buttons, shaped like a backslash / and looked like it folds around the edge of their tunic and looked like it goes around the opening (as if you were wearing a tie and tuck the bottom part of the tie into your shirt).

It is a struggle to scroll up and down the page, trying to find that piece of information. May also need a photo/image that would quickly catch the eye, so readers will stop scrolling in the right area of the page, to find the information.

2A00:23C4:4896:FB01:14F9:69DE:C4A7:E613 (talk) 09:32, 5 March 2021 (UTC)


 * Maybe it's not in this article because that isn't an insignia of rank, but the ribbon for the Iron Cross first or second class, or the ribbon for the War Merit Cross. Check those articles and search for "ribbon" for details. HTH, Jim_Lockhart (talk) 11:46, 5 March 2021 (UTC)

SVG Kapelle illustration horribly inaccurate
In opposition to the original samples and guides (Litzen end parts (Kapelle) must be triangular/trapezoidal, depending on view), the litzen depicted is inaccurate, with the kapelle is depicted in a pentagon shape. Litzen illustration in question: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranks_and_insignia_of_the_German_Army_(1935%E2%80%931945)#/media/File:Mannschaft_Litzen_1938.svg Source: http://www.dererstezug.com/insigniaguide.htm — Preceding unsigned comment added by 49.146.14.209 (talk) 08:56, 8 December 2021 (UTC)