Useful Terms for Espionage

Abwehr: German military intelligence agency that operated before and during WWII—until early 1944, when Hitler turned all Secret Service activities over to the SS

Feldwebel: Noncommissioned officer in the German Army; rank similar to a sergeant in the US Army

G-2: Intelligence staff in the US Army

Gefreiter: Soldier in the German Army; rank similar to a private in the US Army

Hauptmann: Officer in the German Army; rank similar to a captain in the US Army

Hauptsturmführer: Officer in the Gestapo; rank similar to a captain in the US Army

Milice: French police. Their main task was to find and arrest the French Resistance. They generally cooperated with the Gestapo

Oberleutnant: Officer in the German Army; rank similar to a first lieutenant in the US Army

Oberst: Officer in the German Army; rank similar to a colonel in the US Army

Obersturmführer: Officer in the Gestapo; rank similar to a first lieutenant in the US Army

OSS: Office of Strategic Services. US intelligence and sabotage agency that operated from June 1942–January 1946

RAF: Royal Air Force (British)

SHAEF: Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force. Headed by General Eisenhower, this group planned the Normandy invasion

SOE: Special Operations Executive. British intelligence and sabotage agency that operated from July 1940–January 1946

Standartenführer: Officer in the Gestapo; rank similar to a colonel in the US Army

Sturmmann: Stormtrooper in the Gestapo