Impasse (The Red Gambit Series)
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Operation Sumerechny
Soviet plan to remove German leadership elements from their prisoners. All officer ranks from captain upwards were to be executed.
Operation Unthinkable
Study ordered by Churchill to examine the feasibility of an Allied assault on Soviet held Northern Germany.
Operation Varsity
The largest single airborne operation of WW2, undertaken in in March 1945, Varsity involved dropping over 16,000 paratroopers to the east of the Rhine.
OSS
US Intelligence agency formed during 2, The Office of Strategic Services was the predecessor of the CIA, and was set up to coordinate espionage activities in occupied areas.
P.O.L.
Petrol, oil and lubricants.
Panther
German medium tank, considered by many to be the finest tank design of WW2. Armed with a high-velocity 75mm, it could stand its ground against anything in the Allied arsenal.
Pantomine
Operation Pantomine was part of the Spectrum original planning but was allocated its own codename when the scope of the operation expanded.
Panzer IV
German tank, which served throughout the war in many guises, mainly with a 75mm gun.
Panzer V
See Panther Tank
Panzer VI
See Tiger Tank
Panzerfaust
German single use anti-tank weapon. Highly effective but short ranged.
Panzerjager
Antitank troop[s] [German]
Panzerkanonier
Tank gunner
Panzertruppen
The German tank crews.
PanzerVIb
See King Tiger Tank
PE-2
The Soviet Petlyakov PE-2 was a twin-engine multi-purpose aircraft considered by the Luftwaffe to be a fine opponent.
PEM scope
Soviet sniper scope for Mosin and SVT rifles.
PIAT
Acronym for Projector, Infantry, Anti-tank, the PIAT used a large spring to hurl its hollow charge shell at an enemy.
Plan Chelyabinsk
Soviet assault plan utilising lend-lease equipment in Western Allies markings.
Plan Diaspora
Soviet overall plan for assaulting in the East and for supporting the new Japanese Allies.
Plan Kathleen
IRA plan for the German invasion of Ireland combined with an Irish uprising. Sometimes referred to as the Artus Plan, Stephen Hayes, the IRA Chief of Staff, arranged for it to be drawn up in 1940. It was military unfeasible.
Plan Kurgan
Soviet joint-operation to employ paratroopers, Naval Marines, NKVD agents and collaborators to attack and neutralise airfields, radar, communications and logistic bases throughout Europe. Subsequently enlarged to include assassinations of Allied senior officers.
Plan Zilant
The Soviet paratrooper operations against the four symposiums, detailed as Zilant-1 through Zilant-4.
PLUTO
Acronym for ‘Pipeline-under-the-ocean’, which was a fuel supply pipe that ran from Britain to France, laid for D-Day operations and still in use at the end of the war.
PPD
Soviet submachine gun capable of phenomenal rate of fire. Mostly equipped with a 72 round drum magazine but 65 rounds were normally fitted to avoid jamming. It was too complicated and was replaced by the PPSH.
PPS
Simple Soviet submachine gun with a 35 round magazine.
PPSH
Soviet submachine gun capable of phenomenal rate of fire. Mostly equipped with a 72 round drum magazine but 65 rounds were normally fitted to avoid jamming.
Pravda
Leading newspaper of the Soviet Union, Pravda is translated as ‘Truth’.
PS84
Passenger Aircraft built at factory 84, the initial designation of the Li-2 transport aircraft.
PT-34
Soviet T34/76 with mine clearing Mugalev attachment.
PTAB
Each Shturmovik could carry four pods containing 48 bomblets, or up to 280 internally. Each bomblet could penetrate up to 70mm of armour, enough for the main battle tanks at the time.
PTRD
Protivo Tankovoye Ruzhyo Degtyaryova, or simply put, the Degtyaryov anti-tank rifle, which fired a 14.5mm AP bullet. Amazingly, they were still being produced in 1945.
PU scope
Soviet sniper scope for Mosin and SVT rifles.
Puma
German eight-wheel armoured car with a 50mm and enclosed turret.
Pumpkin Bomb
Replica of the Fat Man bomb, produced with the same handling and ballistic characteristics, to permit aircrews and ground crews to practice without using actual atomic devices. They were produced in both inert and HE versions.
Pyat
In Russian, the number five.
RAC
Royal Armoured Corps
RAG
Rumanian Armoured Group
RAMC
Royal Army Medical Corps
RCT
Regimental Combat Team. US formation which normally consisted of elements drawn from all combatant units within the parent division, making it a smaller but reasonably self-sufficient unit. RCT’s tended to be numbered according the Infantry regiment that supplied its fighting core.[See CC for US Armored force equivalent.]
Red Devils
Nickname for the British Airborne troops, the Red berets.
Red Star
Standard issue Soviet military cigarettes.
Rodina
The Soviet Motherland.
RPG-6
Soviet anti-tank grenade with a HEAT warhead, a shaped explosive charge. Could penetrate 100mm of armour
SAAF
South African Air Force
Schmuck
A Jewish insult meaning a fool of one who is stupid. It also can literally mean the foreskin that is removed during circumcision.
Schnorkel
Equipment on a submarine that enables it to ‘breathe’ underwater, performing things like battery charging without exposing itself to danger.
Schürzen
Side armour, most often solid sheet metal but occasionally mesh, designed to prevent HEAT shells from striking the main tank, instead making them detonate against the stand-off barrier.
Schutzstaffel
The SS.
Schwalbe
German for Swallow, it was the name of the ME 262.
Schwere Panzer Abteilung
Heavy tank battalion [German]
SDKFZ 234
German eight-wheel armoured car equipped with a range of weapons, the most powerful of which was a 75mm HV weapon. Of the four variants, the Puma with its 50mm and enclosed turret is probably the most well known.
Seagulls
Affectionate nickname for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy.
Sexton
A Sherman chassis based SP gun equipped with a 25pdr piece.
Shaska
A Cossack’s curved sword.
Sherman [M4 Sherman]
American tank turned out in huge numbers with many variants, also supplied under lend-lease to Russia.
Shtrafbat
Soviet penal battalion.
Shturmovik
The Ilyushin-2 Shturmovik, Soviet mass-produced ground attack aircraft that was highly successful.
ShVAK
Soviet 20mm auto cannon that equipped aircraft, armoured cars, and light tanks.
Skat
German card game using 32 cards.
SMLE
Often referred to s the ‘Smelly’, this was the proper name of the Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield rifle.
SOE
British organisation, Special Operations Executive, which conducted espionage and sabotage missions throughout Europe.
Spectrum Black
The Black plan was a diversion originating in Alsace, designed to draw down units from the Armies around the Ruhr, where a subseq
uent ground offensive would be staged.
Spectrum Blue
The Blue plan was the main ground offensive’s first stage, in which Patton’s Third Army and Guderian’s 101st Korps would launch a pincer attack, intended to take Cologne and isolate large enemy forces to the west, where another phase of Spectrum Green had been designed to recreate the 1944 Falaise extinction.
Spectrum Green
The Green plan dealt with the responsibilities of the Air Forces, from the Baltic Trap [conjoined with Spectrum Red] to the overall heavy bomber plan to denude the red Army of its resources and infrastructure.
Spectrum Red
The Red plan dealt with the Baltic Foray in December and planning for subsequent operations there. It also encompassed the use of the Carrier force in other operations in support of the European War
Spectrum White
During the D-Day preparations, the Allies had fooled the Germans with a fictitious Army, known as FUSAG, Spectrum White was an attempt to recreate that confusion by indicating the existence of ASAG, the Allied Second Army Group.
Spitfire, Supermarine.
British single-engine fighter aircraft.
SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer
SS equivalent of captain.
ST44 [MP43/44]
German assault rifle with a 30 round magazine, first of its generation and forerunner to the AK47.
Standard HDM .22 calibre pistol
Originally used by OSS, this effective .22 with a ten round magazine is still in use by Special Forces throughout the world.
Starshina
Soviet rank roughly equivalent to Warrant Officer first Class.
Station ‘X’
See Bletchley Park entry.
STAVKA
At this time this represents the ‘Stavka of the Supreme Main Command’, comprising high-ranked military and civilian members. Subordinate to the GKO, it was responsible for military oversight, and as such, held its own military reserves which it released in support of operations.
Sten
Basic British submachine gun with a 32 round magazine. Produced in huge numbers throughout the 40’s.
Straipach
An Irish whore or prostitute
Studebaker
US heavy lorry supplied to the Soviets under lend-lease, or built in the USSR under licence, often used as the platform for the Katyusha.
Stuka [Junkers 87]
Famous dive-bomber employed by the Luftwaffe.
SU-100
Self propelled gun on the T34 chassis equipped with the lethal 100mm. Its armour left it vulnerable but the gun had excellent penetrative qualities.
SU-76
76mm self-propelled gun used as artillery and for close support.
SU-85
85mm self-propelled gun that was quickly discontinued once the T34/85 came out, thee being no point in having the disadvantages of having an SP mount whilst carrying the same gun as the main tank.
Suka
Russian word for bitch. Also the nickname for the SU76.
Sunderland
British four-engine flying boat, used mainly in maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine roles.
SVT40
Soviet automatic rifle with a 10 round magazine.
Symposium Biarritz
Utilisation of German expertise to prepare wargame exercises for allied unit commanders to demonstrate Soviet tactics and methods to defeat them.
T.O.E.
Table of Organisation and Equipment, which represents what a unit should consist of.
T/34
Soviet medium tank armed with a 76.2mm gun and 2 mg’s.
T/34-85 [T34m44]
Soviet medium tank armed with an 85mm gun and 2 mg’s.
T-44 [100]
Soviet medium tank, produced at the end of WW2, which went on to become the basis for the famous T54/55. Armed mainly with the same 85mm as in the T3485, a few were fitted with the devastating 100mm D-10 gun.
T54
Medium battle tank that became the mainstay of the Red Army and the most produced tank in history. Equipped with the 100mm D-10T gun and fender mounted machine guns, analysts believe it would have made a fearsome opponent. The first prototype was built in March 1945, so I have advanced its progress as I felt the war would encourage progress.
T-70
Soviet light tank with two crew and a 45mm gun.
Ta-152
Focke-Wulf Ta 152 was a high-altitude fighter interceptor. Too few were made to impact on WW2.
Tacam R2
Rumanian SP anti-tank gun on the R2 tank chassis equipped with a captured Zis-3 76.2mm gun.
Tallboy
British designed earthquake bomb, containing 12,000lbs of high explosive. It weighed five tons and proved effective against the most hardened of targets.
Thompson
.45 calibre US submachine gun, normally issued with a 20 or 30 round magazine [although a drum was available.]
Tiger I
German heavy battle tank armed with the first 88mm gun, capable of ruling any battlefield when it was introduced in 1942.
TOE
Table of Organisation and Equipment.
Tokarev
Soviet 7.62mm automatic handgun [also known as TT30] with an 8 round magazine.
Trimbach
Quality Alsatian wine.
Trunnion
Heavy metal mounts either side of a gun barrel.
TU-2, Tupolev
Soviet twin-engine medium bomber. Extremely successful design that performed well in a variety of roles, the TU-2 is considered one of the best combat aircraft of WW2.
Type XXI submarine
The most technologically advanced submarine of the era, produced in small numbers by the Germans and unable to affect the outcome of the war.
Typhoon, Hawker.
RAF’s most successful single seater ground attack aircraft of World War Two, which could carry anything from bombs through to rockets.
U-Boat Type XX
30 such U-Boats were planned, but none produced during WW2. They were intended as pure supply boats, shorter than the Type XB but with a wider beam.
U-Boat Type XXI
Advanced U-Boat design capable of extended underwater cruising at high speed.
UHU
German 251 halftrack mounting an infra-red searchlight, designed for close use with infra-red equipped Panther units.
USAAF
United States Army Air Force.
Ushanka
Fur hat with adjustable sides.
Vampir
German term for the ST44 equipped with an infra-red sight, also used to refer to the operators of such weapons.
Venona Project
Joint US-UK operation to analyse Soviet message traffic
Vichy
Name of the collaborationist government of defeated France.
Vickers Machine-Gun
British designed machine-gun of WW1 vintage. Extremely reliable .303 calibre weapon, standard issue as a heavy machine-gun.
Wacht am Rhein
Literally, ‘Watch on the Rhine’, a codename used to mask the real purpose of the German build-up that became the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944.
Walther P38
German 9mm semi-automatic pistol with an eight round magazine.
Wanderer W23 Cabriolet
German vehicle designed for civilian use, sometimes pressed into military service, particularly as a staff car.
Wehrmacht
The German Army
Welrod
British silenced pistol that was magazine fed and primed by a bolt action. Used by SOE, OSS and resistance groups throughout Europe. The weapon remains in service to this day.
Winnie
Slang term for a British Churchill Tank.
Yak-6
Twin engine aircraft that could be either a light bomber or light transport.
Yakolev-9
Soviet single-seater fighter aircraft that was highly r
espected by the Luftwaffe.
Yakolev-9U
Soviet single-engine fighter aircraft, probably the best Soviet high-altitude fighter.
Zakusochny
Russian soft blue cheese
Zilant
Legendary creature in Russian folklore somewhat like a dragon
Zimmerit
Anti-magnetic paste applied to the side of German vehicles.
ZIS3
76.2mm anti-tank gun in Soviet use.
Zrinyi II
Hungarian assault gun equipped with either a 75mm or 105mm gun.
ZSU-37
Soviet light self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle, mounting a 37mm gun.