Militärgeschichte: Dienstgrade und ihre Entstehung | Bundeswehr

From riflemen, pilots and sailors to generals: we know 85 ranking names in the Bundeswehr in 2020. But where do they come from? And why do rank insignia look the way they do? We asked at the Bundeswehr Military History Museum. The focus today: the ground forces. “So a lot of things when it comes to the use of language, that is, the distinction between officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers, basically goes back to the time of the Landsknecht. Such are these free mercenaries, who have already formed something like a certain professional group, in which a hierarchy was established from the beginning.

And many of the terms that we still know today as ranges were already introduced then. As far as I was concerned, the sergeant was simply the one who took care of his subordinates. However, he was also the link between soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers." Nowadays, sergeants are also known as portepee non-commissioned officers. The reason for this can also be found in history. "Portepee non-commissioned officers They are therefore, so to speak, closer to officers than to soldiers and that is why they have "Portepee actually means nothing more than help in carrying the sword, translated a little clumsily, and actually goes back to a strap that was tied to the officers' weapons.

In contrast, long pikes were very abstractly awarded as a primary weapon to especially deserving soldiers who were promoted to private. “Yes, that goes back to the Landknecht era. The common soldiers were simply especially brave and very experienced. enlisted men who were entrusted with a special trust, for example, they were entrusted with the guard elevator. And this “exemption” probably also has to do with the fact that they themselves were then exempt from direct guard. Although they were commanders of the guard, they did not have to conduct the rounds themselves, for example. It later became the lowest enlisted rank, which was identified, for example, in the German armies of the Empire era by the so-called corporal button on the collar.

What is now the French fry bar was the cape's button until 1918. In many ways, the Landsknechts were role models for the later structure of European armies. Ranks and positions were also linked to function, or even appointments.” The term captain initially referred to the leader of the around 400 members of “Fahnlein”, the precursor of today's companies. For a long time there was no one above him but the warlord, until the expansion of the armies finally required a supreme captain, who was later called a colonel. How do we know what rank a soldier has? Of course, we read it on the shoulder flaps. “The shoulder pad is actually a regression from the so-called epaulettes.

And the epaulettes, on the other hand, were sometimes very large shoulder pads with metal and fabric backing and, depending on the rank, with increasingly larger fringes or cantillas that arched over the shoulders. They, in turn, were something like the last remains of the knight's armor. They also had a certain protective function in the 19th century, but this function quickly took a backseat to the decorative function and, of course, to the desire to reflect the rank of the wearer in this way." "Everything changed during the First War World People made sure that the rank insignia became simpler and simpler because they realized that officers like to be attacked by enemy snipers and so they tried to change the insignia so that they could no longer be recognized from a distance. has continued to this day.

Especially when it comes to field clothing, the ranges can only be seen upon closer inspection. “So the rank insignia that became common during World War I or after World War I have basically been preserved in many respects to this day. It was just discovered that this system of braids, angles and stars was quite practical and this system of insignia has basically survived to this day.” Sometimes the marks of certain functions or ranks also have a very sobering origin. Like the company sergeant, who is also called a spy. “If you stick with the spit: these days he wears a yellow string.

When you ask where this comes from, you simply have to answer: this is a typical case of

milit

ary determination. Completely soulless and without traditions. That's how it is, because that's how it is." The oak leaves, which, for example, are intertwined around the stars on the shoulders of officers and generals, look more traditional. “This also goes back to the liberation wars. At that time it became a symbol of the German army, although until then it had been in international use. And that's probably why they adopted it when the Bundeswehr uniforms were invented or adapted to previous forms." Speaking of General Staff officers, what kind of General Staff is that? "Basically, we have to go back almost to ancient times.

The The symbol of the commander-in-chief of an armed force was initially the command staff, which remained until the 20th century in the form of a marshal's baton. And from this concept, from this

milit

ary leadership function, this form of organization first emerged. of the general staff. Thus, a utensil from which the name of a form of organization emerged." If you want to know more about military history, including the air force and navy, visit the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden!