Italy Volume II : From Cassino to Trieste
Glossary
page 611
page 622
Glossary
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-roadpage 612 |
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-carrierpage 613 |
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 Staffpage 614 |
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.page 615 |
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 explosivepage 616 |
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 page 617 |
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)page 618 |
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 | oakpage 619 |
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 digpage 620 |
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 | Trooperpage 621 |
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 |