AA |
anti-aircraft |
AA & QMG |
Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General |
AAI |
Allied Armies in
Italy |
A Branch (Office) |
staff of division or higher formation or command
devoted to administration |
ACV |
Armoured Command Vehicle |
acqua |
water |
ADC |
aide-de-camp |
Adm, Admin |
Administration |
ADMS |
Assistant Director of
Medical Services |
ADOS |
Assistant Director of Ordnance Services |
ADS |
Advanced Dressing Station |
adv |
advance(d) |
AFHQ |
Allied Forces Headquarters |
AFV |
Armoured Fighting Vehicle (tank or armoured car) |
AGRA |
Army Group,
Royal Artillery |
Air OP |
|
AOP |
Air Observation Post |
alpe; alpi |
high mountain, summer pasture |
amn |
ammunition |
anvil (later
dragoon) |
code-name for Allied landing in southern
France |
AP |
armour-piercing |
AQMG |
Assistant Quartermaster-General |
arco; archi |
arch |
Ark |
turretless Sherman or Churchill tank with hinged
ramps for the bridging of canals, etc. |
armd |
armoured |
armoured brigade |
formation of fast cruiser tanks, etc. |
army tank brigade |
formation of slow infantry tanks, etc. |
arty |
artillery |
ASC |
Army Service Corps
|
aslt |
assault |
A-Tk |
|
a-tk |
anti-tank |
autostrada;
autostrade |
State motor-road
|
AVRE |
Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (a Churchill
tank with a large calibre mortar for demolition
work, also carrier of fascine) |
Bde |
brigade (British or Allied formation, normally
three tank or infantry battalions) |
B Ech(elon) |
non-fighting elements of unit or formation which
can temporarily be dispensed with in battle; or
transport for same |
bel or
bello, bella;
bei or
hegli, belle |
beautiful |
BEM |
British Empire Medal |
BGS |
Brigadier, General Staff (chief staff officer at Corps
or Army HQ) |
bianc-o, -a;
bianch-i, -e |
white |
BM |
Brigade Major (chief staff officer at Bde HQ) |
Bn |
battalion (a unit of tanks or reconnaissance troops,
normaliy three squadrons plus HQ; of infantry, four rifle companies plus HQ company;
of machine-gunners, four companies of Vickers guns) |
Bn |
Battalion (German unit of tanks, anti-tank or anti-aricraft guns, engineers, infantry, machine-gunners, or motor-cyclists) |
bocca; bocche |
mouth, estuary; pass; volcanic vent |
Bofors |
40-millimetre light anti-arircraft gun of Swedish
design |
bonifica |
reclaimed land |
borgo; borghi |
market-town; suburb |
borro |
ravine, watercourse |
Breda
|
Italian heavy machine gun or light automatic
cannon |
Bren |
standard British light machine gun |
Bren-carrier |
light armoured tracked vehicle intended to carry
Bren gun, but also used for reconnaissance,
carrying ammunition or wounded under fire, etc. |
brhead |
bridgehead |
Brig |
Brigadier |
Bty |
battery (two, three or four troops of guns) |
buckland |
code-name for
Eighth Army's attack across the
Senio River, April 1945 |
campanile |
bell-tower, belfry |
campo; campi |
field |
canale; canali |
canal, channel |
Capt |
Captain |
carrier |
see Bren-carrier
|
carabiniere;
carabinieri |
policeman, gendarme |
casa; case |
house |
casale; casali |
hamlet, outlying houses |
cascina; cascine |
farm-building |
casella, caselle |
small house |
casetta |
diminutive of
casa |
casino; casini |
small house; casino |
casone; casoni |
hut, blockhouse |
casotto |
cottage, hut |
castel or
castello |
castle, keep; fortified village |
Cav |
Cavalry (light tanks, armoured cars, carriers) |
cavalcade |
code-name for operation for advance to
Ravenna |
CB |
Companion of the Order of the Bath; counter-battery (fire), locating and silencing of hostile
guns |
CBE |
Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
CCRA |
Corps Commander,
Royal Artillery |
CCS |
Casualty Clearing Station (large medical establishment between MDS and fiedl hospital) |
Cdn |
Canadian |
CE |
Chief Engineer (Corps or Army) |
cerro; cerri |
Turkey (southern European) oak |
CGS |
Chief of the General Staff |
chiat-o, -a; -i, -e |
clear |
chiesa; chiese |
church |
CIGS |
Chief of the Imperial General Staff |
C-in-C |
Commander-in-Chief |
CM |
counter-mortar (fire) |
CMF |
Central Mediterranean Force |
CMG |
Companion of the Order of St. Michael and
St. George |
CO |
Commanding Officer (usually of a unit) |
Col |
Colonel |
colle; colli (col) |
rising ground, hill |
Coln |
Column |
Comd |
Commander; Commanding |
comn |
communication(s) |
company |
|
coy |
(own) sub-unit of engineers, infantry or ASC
troops (in infantry, three paltoons; in other
units, three or four sections); (enemy) sub-unit
of tanks (=squadron), anti-tank or anti-aircraft
guns, engineers, signals, infantry, service or
medical troops |
corduroy |
a method of covering unmetalled road with
timber for the passge of wheeled vehicles |
corno; corni |
horn, peak |
COS |
|
C of S |
Chief of Staff
|
Cpl |
Corporal |
CRA |
Commander,
Royal Artillery (of a division) |
CRASC |
Commander, Royal Army Service Corps (of a
division; became CNZASC in
2 NZEF) |
CRE |
Commander, Royal Engineers (of a division) |
CREME |
Commander, Royal Electrical and Mechanical
Engineers |
croce; croci |
cross |
Crocodile |
flame-throwing tank |
CSM |
Company Sergeant-Major |
CSO |
Chief Signal Officer |
DAF |
Desert Air Force
|
DAQMG |
Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General |
DCGS |
Deputy Chief of the General Staff |
DCIGS |
Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff |
DCM |
Distinguished Conduct Medal |
del or
dello, della;
die or
degli, delle |
of the |
di |
of |
dickens |
code-name for the operation by NZ Corps to
capture
Cassino |
Div |
|
Division |
formation above brigade or
Regiment, below corps |
Div Arty |
Divisional Artillery (or NZA) |
Divisional
Workshops |
Ordnance unit for maintaining guns, vehicles and
other equipment |
DR |
despatch rider (usually motor-cyclist) |
dragoon
(formerly
anvil) |
code-name for Allied landing in southern
France |
DSO |
Distinguished Service Order |
DUKW |
buoyant lorry driven over land on six wheels and
through water by propeller |
Dvr |
Driver |
Echelon (First,
Second, Third) |
First, Second and Third Contingents of
2 NZEF
to go overseas |
ED |
Efficiency Decoration |
engr(s) |
engineer(s) |
en portée |
(of two-pounder gun) carried on special lorry,
ready to fire |
ENSA |
Entertainments National Services Association |
ERS |
Education and Rehabilitation Services |
fabbrica; fabbriche |
factory |
faggio; faggi |
beech |
Fantail |
amphibious tracked vehicle |
fascine |
bundle of logs used for filling ditches, etc.
|
FC/CTH |
First City/The Cape Town Highlanders |
fd |
field |
Fd Amb |
Field Ambulance (medical unit) |
Fd Coy |
Field Company (of engineers) |
FDL(s) |
forward defended locality (localities) |
Fd Pk Coy |
Field Park Company (of engineers) |
Fd Regt |
Field Regiment (unit of artillery) |
fiume; fiumi |
river |
fondo |
bottom; farm, estate |
fontana; fontane |
fountain; regulated spring |
fonte; fonti |
spring, source |
FOO |
Forward Observation Officer (field or medium
artillery) |
formation |
any group higher than unit |
fossa; fosse |
pit, ditch; watercourse |
fosso; fossi |
large pit or ditch |
fwd |
forward |
GAF |
German Air Force
|
G Branch (Office) |
staff of division or higher formation or command
devoted to operations |
GCB |
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
GCMG |
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael
and St. George |
Gds |
Guards |
Gen |
General |
Gen Tpt Coy |
General Transport Company,
RASC |
GHQ |
General Headquarters |
Gk |
Greek |
GOC(-in-C) |
General Officer Commanding (-in-Chief) |
gora |
conduit, irrigation channel, stream |
Goumiers |
North African tribesmen organised in
Tabors
(approximately battalions) of
Goums (or companies) in the
French Expeditionary Corps |
Gp |
|
Group |
(battalion or brigade) force of all arms; (
RAF)
major formation, above Wing |
grand-e; -i |
great |
Gren |
Grenadier |
Grid (line) |
numbered map ruling, part of pattern usually of
one or ten kilometre squares |
gross-o, -a; -i, -e |
big, thick, coarse |
grousers |
metal plates bolted on to Sherman tank tracks to
increase the area of the bearing surface and thus
improve the performance of the tank over soft
ground |
GSO (I, II, III) |
General Staff Officer (Class 1, 2, 3) |
H |
Hussars |
HE |
high explosive
|
Herbstnebel |
autumn mist – German code-name for plan of
withdrawal |
HF |
harassing fire |
HMG |
heavy machine gun |
HMS |
His Majesty's Ship |
Honey tank |
nickname for General Stuart tank (American
Mark III) |
HQ |
headquarters |
hy mor |
heavy mortar |
I |
|
Int |
Intelligence (of the enemy) |
2 i/c |
second-in-command |
il; i |
the |
Ind |
Indian |
inf |
infantry |
inferiore; inferiori |
lower |
IO |
Intelligence Officer |
isola; isole |
island |
Kangaroo |
turretless tank used to carry infantry or stores |
KBE |
Knight Commander of the Order of the British
Empire |
KCB |
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
KDG |
King's Dragoon Guards |
KG |
Knight of the Order of the Garter |
la |
the |
LAD |
Light Aid Detachment (Ordnance establishment
for repairing guns, transport, etc., within
brigade or unit) |
lago; laghi |
lake |
laguna; lagune |
lagoon |
L-Cpl |
Lance-Corporal |
lido |
shore (at
Venice, long low islands bounding the
lagoon) |
line (transport) |
|
1st |
unit |
2nd |
divisional (carrying between field maintenance
centre and division) |
3rd |
rear (carrying between railhead and field maintenance centre) |
Littlejohn |
two-pounder anti-tank gun with a tapered-bore
muzzle attachment |
LMG |
light machine gun |
LO |
liaison officer |
LOB |
left out of battle |
L of C |
Line(s) of Communication |
LRDG |
Long Range Desert Group
|
Lt |
Lieutenant; light |
Luftwaffe
|
German Air Force
|
M10 |
self-propelled anti-tank gun |
MAAF |
Mediterranean Allied Air Forces |
maggiore; maggiori |
greater |
Maj |
Major |
mare |
sea |
marina |
surface of the sea; sea coast; port of an inland
village |
Mark (I, II, etc.) |
designation of production type, especially of tanks |
masseria; masserie |
tenancy including a number of farms |
MBE |
Member of the Order of the British Empire |
MC |
Military Cross |
MDS |
Medical Dressing Station (divisional medical
establishment usually situated between ADS
and CCS) |
Med |
medium |
ME(F) |
Middle East (Forces) |
mezz-o, -a; i, -e |
half, medium, middle |
m.i.d. |
mentioned in despatches |
(M) MG |
(medium) machine gun |
MM |
Military Medal |
MO |
Medical Officer |
montagna; montagne |
mountain |
monte; monti |
mound, height, mountain; spring and autumn
pastures |
MT |
mechanical transport |
mtn |
mountain |
NAAFI
|
Navy, Army, Air Force Institutes |
naviglio |
navigable canal, ship canal |
NCO |
non-commissioned officer |
Nebelwerfer |
German six-barrelled rocket-projector |
ner-o, -a; -i, -e |
black |
nuov-o, -a; -i, -e |
new |
NZA |
New Zealand Artillery |
NZE |
New Zealand Engineers |
NZEF |
New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
NZEME |
New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
NZOC |
New Zealand Ordnance Corps |
OBE |
Officer of the Order of the British Empire |
OC |
Officer Commanding (squadron, battery, company) |
Ofenrohr |
German rocket launcher similar to the American
bazooka |
offrs |
officers |
OKH |
Oberkommando des Heeres (Army General Headquarters, War Ministry) |
OKW |
Oberkommando des
Wehrmacht (Supreme Command
of the Armed Forces, Defence Ministry)
|
OP |
observation post |
Ops |
operations; staff branch dealing with operations |
Ord (Fd Pk) |
Ordnance (Field Park, unit for supplying and
maintaining equipment issued through Ordnance) |
ORs |
other ranks (not officers) |
ospedale |
hospital |
osteria; osterie |
inn, tavern |
OVERLORD |
code-name for Allied cross-Channel invasion of
western
Europe |
PA |
Personal Assistant (to GOC) |
palazzo |
palace, palatial house |
Panzer |
|
PZ |
armour; armour plate |
Panzerfaust |
recoilless anti-tank grenade launcher |
Panzerkampfwagen |
German tank |
para |
parachute |
passo |
pass, passage, strait |
pdr |
|
pr |
pounder |
piana (pian) |
plain, small plain |
piano (pian) |
plain, plateau |
Piat |
projector, infantry, anti-tank |
piazza |
public square, market place |
piccol-o, -a; -i, -e |
small, little |
pino; pini |
pine |
PLDG |
Princess Louise Dragoon Guards |
podere; poderi |
peasant-farm or holding |
poggio; poggi |
height, hill |
Point |
height marked on map, usually in metres above
sea level |
Pt |
|
ponte; ponti |
bridge |
portée |
see
en portée |
porto |
port, harbour; ferry-boat |
posn |
position |
posta |
post, post office |
pozzo, pozzi |
well |
prato; prati |
meadow |
Pte |
Private |
PW(s) |
prisoner(s) of war |
Q |
Quartermaster; (broadly) administration |
QM(G) |
Quartermaster(-General) |
quad |
lorry for towing British field gun or 18-pounder
anti-tank gun |
querce or
quercia;
querci or
querce |
oak
|
RA |
Royal Artillery
|
RAC |
Royal Armoured Corps |
RAF
|
Royal Air Force
|
RASC
|
Royal Army Service Corps |
RCD |
Royal Canadian Dragoons (1 Armoured Car
Regiment) |
RCR |
Royal Canadian Regiment |
rd(s) |
round(s) |
RE |
Royal Engineers |
Recce |
Reconnaissance |
Regt |
regiment (unit of tanks, reconnaissance troops, or
artillery; in British Army also groups of tank,
artillery or infantry units, e.g., RTR, RHA,
King's Dragoon Guards) |
Regt |
(enemy)
Regiment (formation of armoured troops
or infantry, roughly equivalent to a brigade;
also unit of field or medium artillery) |
Reinforcements |
successive contingents of
2 NZEF which went |
(4th, 5th, etc.) |
overseas after
Third Echelon |
REME |
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
Res |
reserve |
RHA |
Royal Horse Artillery |
RHQ |
Regimental Headquarters |
rio |
stream |
ripa |
bank, shore |
riviera |
strip of land between the hills and the sea; river |
RMO |
Regimental Medical Officer (of a unit) |
RMT |
Reserve Mechanical Transport (general carrier
when not taking infantry into or out of action) |
Res MT |
|
RN |
Royal Navy
|
RNZA |
Royal New Zealand Artillery (Regular Force
only) |
rocca; rocche |
rock; crag; tower, keep |
ross-o, -a; -i, -e |
red |
rotond-o, -a; -i, -e |
round |
Royals |
The Royal Dragoons |
RSM |
Regimental Sergeant-Major |
R/T |
radio-telephony (wireless transmission of speech) |
RTR |
Royal Tank Regiment
|
R Tks |
|
‘Ruatoria’
(‘
Charing Cross’) |
a road junction near
Faenza |
SA |
South African(s) |
SAA |
small-arms ammunition |
San or
Santo,
Santa, Sant' |
Saint, Holy |
sangar |
rocks piled up for protection in lieu of slit trench
where ground too hard to dig
|
sasso; sassi (
sass) |
stone, crag |
SC |
Staff Captain (administrative staff officer at Bde
HQ) |
Schmeisser |
German machine carbine |
scolo; scoli |
drain |
scuola; scuole |
school |
sec |
section (2–3 guns; detachment of Signals; third of
infantry platoon; third of ASC company, etc) |
secc-o, -a;
secch-i, -e |
dry |
selva; selve |
wood (usually of cultivated trees) |
serra |
ravine, defile; barricade; cross-range of mountains;
height |
Sgt |
Sergeant |
Sigs |
Signals (responsible for R/T, W/T, Dr, telephone
and other communications) |
sitrep |
situation report |
slit trench |
one- or two-man trench for fire position or
protection |
sopra |
above |
sotto |
below |
SP |
self-propelled (guns); starting point |
spandau |
nickname for standard German light and medium
machine gun |
Spr |
Sapper |
sqn |
squadron (of tanks, reconnaissance troops, or
aircraft) |
SS (
Schutzstaffel) |
corps d'èlite of Nazi Party, security force with
embodied military formations |
ST |
starting time |
stazione; stazioni |
station |
strada; strade |
road |
Stuart (General) |
American Mark III light cruiser tank |
sul or
sullo, sulla;
sui or
sugli, sulle |
on the |
superior-e; -i |
upper |
Svy |
Survey |
Tac HQ |
Tactical Headquarters |
Tac/R |
(aerial) Tactical Reconnaissance |
taverna |
tavern, inn |
Tedes-co, chi |
German |
Tentacle |
wireless detachment, usually of Air Support
Control |
Tk |
tank |
Tommy gun |
Thompson sub-machine gun |
torre; torri (
tor) |
tower; summit |
torrente; torrenti |
mountain torrent |
Tpr |
Trooper
|
tp(s) |
troop(s); part of squadron (usually four tanks or
armoured cars); part of battery (4–6 guns) |
tribunale |
law-court |
ufficio or
uffizio |
office |
UNRRA |
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration |
USAAF
|
United States Army Air Force |
valle; valli (
val) |
valley; lagoon, broadwater |
VC |
Victoria Cross |
VD |
Volunteer Officers' Decoration |
vecch-io, -ia;-i, -ie |
old |
via; vie |
way |
villa; ville |
house with gardens |
Voralpenstellung |
Prealpine Defence Position |
Wasp |
flame-throwing Bren carrier |
wastage |
reduction in manpower |
WE, war
establishment |
authorised full allotment (of men, weapons, etc.) |
Wehrmacht
|
German Armed Forces |
WO |
Warrant Officer |
W/T |
wireless telegraphy |