Stalemate (The Red Gambit Series)
Page 61
Merville Battery
German gun battery assaulted by the British 9th Para Battalion on D-Day.
Meteor F3, Gloster
British twin-engine jet fighter, which first flew in 1943.
Metgethen
Scene of a successful German counter-attack in 1945, where evidence of Soviet atrocities against the civilian population was uncovered.
MG.08
German WW1 machine gun. Many survivors were employed during WW2.
MG34
German standard MG often referred to as a Spandau.
MG42
Superb German machine gun, capable of 1200rpm, designed to defeat the Soviet human wave attacks. Still in use to this day.
Mills Bomb
British fragmentation hand grenade.
Minox
Gained notoriety as the first 'miniature' spy camera.
Mitsubishi Ki-46
Japanese twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft.
Mlad
Codename of Theodore Hall, Nuclear Physicist, and Soviet Agent.
Molotov Cocktail
Simple anti-tank/vehicle weapon, consisting of a bottle, a filling of petrol, and a flaming rag. Thrown at its target the bottle shattered on impact and the rag did the rest.
Moscow Crystal Vodka
Highest quality triple distilled vodka.
Moselle
Mainly white wine originating from areas around the River of the same name.
Mosin-Nagant
Russian infantry rifle.
Mosquito
DH98 De Havilland Mosquito was a multi-purpose wooden aircraft, much envied by the Luftwaffe.
Mosquito Mk NF30, De Havilland
British twin-engine night fighter.
Mosquito Mk VI, De Havilland
British twin-engine fighter-bomber.
Mosquito Mk XXV, De Havilland
British twin-engine light bomber.
MP18
A WW1 design sub-machine gun, often known as the Bergmann.
MP-40
German standard issue submachine-gun.
Mugalev
Soviet heavy mine roller gear, normally attached to T34 tanks.
Mustang
P51 Mustang, US single seat long-range fighter armed with 6 x .50cal machine-guns.
Nagant pistol
Standard Soviet revolver, very rugged and powerful using long case 7.62mm ammunition.
Natzwiller-Struhof
Concentration camp in Alsace.
Nebelwerfer
German six-barrelled mortar weapon, literally translated as 'Smoke Thrower' and known to the Allies as the Moaning Minnie, ranging up to 32cms in diameter.
NKGB
Narodny Komissariat Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti, the Soviet Secret Police, separated from the NKVD in 1942 and absorbed once more in 1946.
NKVD
Narodny Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del, the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs.
Normandie Squadron [Normandie-Niemen Regiment]
French Air force group that grew to three squadrons and served on the Russian Front throughout WW2.
OFLAG XVIIa
Offizierslager or OfLag No 17A, prisoner of war camp run by the Germans for officer detainees.
Operation Anvil
August 1944 landing in Southern France.
Operation Apple Pie
US project to capture German officers with specific knowledge about the Soviet Union’s industry and economy.
Operation Berkut
Soviet land operation designed to push through the Alsatian plain and break into France via Colmar.
Operation 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.
Operation Paperclip
OSS project to recruit German Scientist to the Allied cause post May 1945.
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 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.
Panther Tank
German heavy-medium tank carrying a high-powered 75mm gun and 2-3 machine-guns, considered by many to be the finest all-round tank of World War 2.
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 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.
Pointe-du-Hoc
Cliff face and bunker position near Omaha beach, Normandy, assaulted by US 2nd Ranger Battalion on D-Day.
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 bomble
ts, or up to 280 internally. Each bomblet could penetrate up to 70mm of armour, enough for the main battle tanks at the time.
PU scope
Soviet sniper scope for Mosin and SVT rifles.
Puma
German eight-wheel armoured car with a 50mm and enclosed turret.
Pyat
In Russian, the number five.
Ranger, USS
US Aircraft carrier [CV-4], Survived WW2 and was scrapped in 1947.
RCT
Regimental Combat Team. US formation that 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.
Schmuck
A Jewish insult meaning a fool of one who is stupid. It also can literally mean the foreskin that is removed during circumcision.
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.
Senninbari
Japanese good luck charm given to soldiers, rooted within the Shinto religion. Each one carried 1000 stitches, each from a different woman. Typically, they were waist belts but could also be headbands, vests, and flags.
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.
Shinhoto Chi-Ha
Upgraded Japanese battle tank, based on the Chi-Ha. The Shinhoto had a 47mm gun superior to the 57mm in its forebear.
Shinto
Japanese religion [Shintoism].
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.
Spitfire, Supermarine.
British single-engine fighter aircraft.
SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer
SS equivalent of captain.
St Florian
Patron saint of Upper Austria, Linz, chimney sweeps, and firefighters.
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 that it released in support of operations.
Sten
Basic British sub-machine gun with a 32 round magazine. Produced in huge numbers throughout the 40's.
Stroh rum
Austrian spiced rum.
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-76
76mm self-propelled gun used as artillery and for close support.
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.
T-70
Soviet light tank with two crew and a 45mm 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.
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 97 Chi-Ha
Japanese main battle tank, armed with a 57mm gun.
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 infrared searchlight, designed for close use with infrared equipped Panther units.
Unicorn, HMS
British light aircraft carrier and aircraft repair ship, seeing service throughout WW2. Scrapped in 1959.
USAAF
United States Army Air Force.
Ushanka
Fur hat with adjustable sides.
Vampir
German term for the ST44 equipped with an infrared 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.
Vitruvian man
Da Vinci's sketch of a man with legs and arms splayed.
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
Yakolev-9
Soviet single-seater fighter aircraft that was highly respected by the Luftwaffe.
Yakolev-9U
Soviet single-engine fighter aircraft, probably the best Soviet high-altitude fighter.