Tables of Rank and Responsibility

The following tables outline the basic ranks one would find in an infantry battalion belonging to the armies portrayed in Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin.  Colonels and General Officers have been omitted from the discussion below for the sake of brevity, as have civilian administrators, officials, etc., which may have been attached to the various military forces.

The discussion of responsibility is in general terms and refers to textbook practices; in reality, field units of any army rarely saw action at full strength, and junior ranking soldiers and officers were often placed in positions not normally permitted in peacetime or normal circumstances. 

These tables, then, are merely a guide to intended practice, but may still serve to illuminate basic questions of command.

Germany

Rank Tables

German Army Table of Ranks 1941 - 45 (Insignia for "Großdeutschland" shown) (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top)
Private Soldiers		Non-Commisioned Officers		Officers
Mannschaften (Men)		Unteroffiziere mit Portepee (Senior NCOs)		Stabsoffiziere (Field Grade Officers)
Stabsgefreiter	Worn on left sleeve	Stabsfeldwebel		Oberstleutnant
Obergefreiter	Worn on left sleeve	Oberfeldwebel		Major
Gefreiter	Worn on left sleeve	Unteroffiziere ohne Portepee (Junior NCOs)		Hauptleute (Captains)
		Feldwebel		Hauptmann
Oberschütze Obergrenadier etc.	Worn on left sleeve	Unterfeldwebel		Leutnant (Lieutenants)
				Oberleutnant
Schütze Grenadier Kanonier etc.		Unteroffizier		Leutnant

Up until 1942/43, an Obergefreiter with more than 6 years service wore a single chevron with a pip added.

Responsibility Table

In the German Army, all Mannschaften were considered private soldiers, not non-commissioned officers, and as such had no command responsibilities, generally speaking.  Promotion to Gefreiter or Obergefreiter was based on time served and not associated with appointment to leadership duties, though merit did still play a role.  Promotion to Oberschützen appears to have been tied to service also, and usually was awarded to soldiers who prospects of a career in the military were dim - the time requirement for promotion to Gefreiter was less than that for Oberschütze.  Those who showed merit became Gefreiten, those who did not, apparently, were promoted to "ober-"

The rank title for a private in the infantry was Schütze; in late 1942 this was changed to Grenadier by order of Hitler, who wanted to associate the Army with the forces commanded by Frederick the Great, a personal hero of his.  Other rank titles included Kanonier (artillery), Reiter (cavalryman), etc.

In general, German infantry squads were led by an Unteroffizier (or equivalent in the Waffen SS).

The rank of Oberfeldwebel (or equivalent in the Waffen SS) was usually associated with support trades, and the highest appointment in a German infantry company for an NCO was that of Hauptfeldwebel.  The Hauptfeldwebel (SS - Sturmscharführer in the Waffen SS) was the equivalent of a British Company Sergeant Major or American Company First Sergeant, and handled the administrative workings of the company.  He was also expected to take over leadership of one of the infantry platoons when necessary due to enemy action.

The rank of Stabsfeldwebel was reserved as a reward for regular army NCOs who had signed on for long enlistments prior to WW II.

Luftwaffe Table of Ranks 1941 - 45 (Collar insignia (Jan 1943 pattern) for a Field Division is shown) (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top)
Private Soldiers	Non-Commisioned Officers	Officers
Mannschaften (Men)	Unteroffiziere mit Portepee (Senior NCOs)	Oberstleutnant
Hauptgefreiter*	Stabsfeldwebel
Obergefreiter	Oberfeldwebel	Major
Gefreiter	Unteroffiziere ohne Portepee (Junior NCOs)	Hauptmann
	Feldwebel
Flieger Kanonier Funker etc.	Unterfeldwebel	Oberleutnant
	Unteroffizier	Leutnant

Waffen SS Table of Ranks 1941 - 45 (Collar insignia shown) (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top)
Private Soldiers	Non-Commisioned Officers	Officers
Mannschaften (Men)	Unteroffiziere mit Portepee (Senior NCOs)	SS - Obersturmbannführer
SS - Rottenführer	SS - Sturmscharführer
SS - Sturmann	SS - Hauptscharführer	SS - Sturmbannführer
SS - Staffelmann SS - Oberschütze (after Jul 41)	Unteroffiziere ohne Portepee (Junior NCOs)	SS - Hauptsturmführer
	SS - Oberscharführer
SS - Staffelanwärter SS - Schütze (after Jul 41)	SS - Scharführer	SS - Obersturmführer
As with the Army, the two lowest rank titles were dependent on the soldier's arm of service.  Artillery men were SS-Kanonier and SS-Oberkanonier, etc.	SS - Unterscharführer	SS - Untersturmführer

Finland

Rank Table

Finnish Army Table of Ranks 1940 - 45 (Collar patches for Infantry shown) (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top)
Private Soldiers	Non-Commisioned Officers	Officers
Korpraali	Vääpeli	Everstiluutnantti
Sotamies	Ylikersantti	Majuri
	Kersantti	Kapteeni
	Alikersantti	Luutnantti
		Vänrikki

Responsibility Table (Thanks to the Battlefront.com forum for the assistance with this section)

Platoons were usually led by vänrikkis of reserve (so called maito-vänrikit) and companies by "professional" vänrikkis or higher.   A Korpraali was usually the second in command of a squad, but as in all armies, casualties often meant soldiers performing jobs whose responsibilities were intended for troops of higher rank.

Italy

Rank Table

Italian Army Table of Ranks 1941 - 43 (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top)
Private Soldiers	Non-Commisioned Officers	Warrant Officers	Officers
Truppa (Men)	sergenti e graduati (Junior NCOs and senior other ranks)	sottufficiali (Warrant Officers)	ufficiali inferiori (Subaltern Officers)	ufficiali superiori (Field Grade Officers)
Soldato	Sergente maggiore	Aiutante di battaglia	Primo Capitano	Tenente colonnello igs
	Sergente	Maresciallo maggiore	Capitano igs	Tenente colonnello
	Caporale maggiore	Maresciallo capo	Capitano	Maggiore
	Caporale	Maresciallo ordinario	Primo Tenente
	Soldato scelto		Tenente igs
			Tenente
			Sotto Tenente
			Aspirante Ufficiale

Responsibility Table

The abbreviation "igs" means "incaricato con grado superiore" and designated someone holding a command higher than his present rank would normally permit.  For example, a battalion would normally be commanded by a Tenente Colonello, but in cases of a Capitano commanding a battalion, he was designated Capitano igs.  The same was true for a Tenente commanding a company - he would be designated Tenente igs and wore differing rank insignia.

"Primo" ranks were reserved for long term/career officers.  A Primo Capitano was a captain with 12 years seniority in the rank of Capitano or a total of 20 years commissioned service.  A Primo Tenente was a lieutenant with 12 years seniority in the rank of Tenente or a total of 20 years commissioned service.

The highest Warrant Officer rank, Aiutante di battaglia, was reintroduced on 21 Nov 1940 for soldiers whose lack of education prevented promotion to commissioned rank; it was considered a reward for bravery.

Italian NCOs ranks were often filled with conscripted troops, leaving the army without a true professional NCO class as in other militaries.

Romania

Rank Table

Romanian Army Table of Ranks 1941 - 44 (1941 pattern wartime subdued shoulder straps shown) (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top)
Private Soldiers	Non-Commisioned Officers	Officers
Caporal	Plutonier Adjutant	Locotenent-colonel
Fruntas	Plutonier Major	Major
Soldat	Plutonier	Capitan
	Sergent Major	Locotenent
	Sergent	Sublocotenent

Responsibility Table

Hungary

Rank Table

Hungarian Army Table of Ranks 1941 - 44 (Full dress collar insignia for Infantry shown) (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top)
Private Soldiers	Non-Commisioned Officers	Officers
Honvéd	Senior NCOs	Alezredes
	Alhadnagy
	Fötörzsörmester	Örnagy
	Törzsömester	Százados
	Örmester	Föhadnagy
	Junior NCOs	Hadnagy
	Skakasvezetö
	Tizedes	Zászlós
	Örvezetö

Responsibility Table

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Rank Tables

Red Army Table of Ranks 1940 - January 1943 (1941 pattern subdued collar insignia shown) (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top) Private Soldiers Non-Commisioned Officers Officers Krasnoarmeyets Starshina Podpolkovnik (Rank created in 1940)   Starshiy Serzhant Major   Serzhant Kapitan   Mladshiy Serzhant Starshiy Leytenant   Yefreytor Leytenant     Mladshiy Leytenant

Red Army Table of Ranks January 1943 - 1945 (Shoulder insignia for Rifles (infantry) shown) (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top) Private Soldiers Non-Commisioned Officers Officers Ryadovoi Starshina Podpolkovnik   Starshiy Serzhant Major   Serzhant Kapitan   Mladshiy Serzhant Starshiy Leytenant   Yefreytor Leytenant     Mladshiy Leytenant