Combat Mission: Afrika Korps

The following tables outline the basic ranks one would find in an infantry battalion belonging to the armies portrayed in Combat Mission: Afrika Korps. 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.

German Army Table of Ranks 1941 - 45 (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

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 - Stabsscharführer 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.

Size of Unit	Required leadership	Typically led by
Squad	Unteroffizier	All ranks from Unteroffizier down to Schütze could be found leading squads, depending on casualties suffered previously.
Platoon	One platoon per company was led by an officer (usually Leutnant), the other two platoons by a Feldwebel or Oberfeldwebel.	It was not unusual in action to see all three platoons led by NCOs - sometimes by the Hauptfeldwebel (see above)
Company	Generally commanded by an Oberleutnant or Hauptmann. An officer holding the requisite training and time in rank to command a company was called a "Kompanie Chef" (Company Chief).	An officer in temporary command of a company was known as a "Kompanie Führer." Men ranked Leutnant often commanded companies in the absence of "qualified" leadership.
Battalion	Major or Oberstleutnant	Generally a Major or Oberstleutnant, in badly shattered units even a Leutnant might be found commanding the remnants of a battalion, or battalion-sized battlegroup.

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)	Stabsoffiziere (Field Grade Officers)
Hauptgefreite*r	Stabsfeldwebel	Oberstleutnant
Obergefreiter	Oberfeldwebel	Major
Gefreiter	Unteroffiziere ohne Portepee (Junior NCOs)	Hauptleute (Captains)
	Feldwebel	Hauptmann
Flieger Kanonier Funker etc.	Unterfeldwebel	Leutnant (Lieutenants)
		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 - Obersturmbannführer
SS - Sturmann	SS - Hauptscharführer	SS - Sturmbannführer
SS - Staffelmann SS - Oberschütze (after Jul 41)	Unteroffiziere ohne Portepee (Junior NCOs)	SS - Hauptsturmführer
SS - Staffelmann SS - Oberschütze (after Jul 41)	SS - Oberscharführer	SS - Hauptsturmführer
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

Italian Army Table of Ranks 1941 - 43 (Ranks shown as for Royal Army 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

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. All grades of Sottufficiali , however, were generally volunteer, long-service professionals. The other Italian NCOs ranks were often filled with conscripted troops, leaving the army without a true professional NCO class as in other militaries. One source cites the highest rate of pay of sottuficiali as $25.71 a month (with Mussolini ordering pay allowances doubled in October 1942, though the actual increases were to be paid, with interest, after the conclusion of the war). Most ambitious Italian soldiers probably applied for admission to officer training schools rather than aspiring to the low pay of a career NCO.

US Army Table of Ranks 1942 - 1945 (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top) Insignia illustrations incorporate the changes specified in September 1942
Private Soldiers	Non-Commisioned Officers	Warrant Officers	Officers
Private First Class (E-6)	Master Sergeant (E-1)	Chief Warrant Officer (WO-1)	Field Grade Officers
			Lieutenant Colonel (O-5)
Private	Technical Sergeant (E-2)	Warrant Officer Junior Grade (WO-1)	Major (O-4)
	Staff Sergeant (E-3)	Technicians	Company Grade Officers
		Technician 3rd Grade	Captain (O-3)
	Sergeant (E-4)	Technician 4th Grade	Second Lieutenant (O-2)
	Corporal (E-5)	Technician 5th Grade	Second Lieutenant (O-1)

The senior NCO in an infantry company was the Company First Sergeant, whose duties were similar to the Company Sergeant Major in the Commonwealth or Hauptfeldwebel in the German Army

Apparently, a common practice was to designate one of the Platoon Sergeants (generally a staff sergeant) as "Field First Sergeant". The Field First would act as First Sergeant in his absence, or assist him with his duties as needed, with a squad leader taking over his Platoon Sergeant duties.. This Field First was generally the senior platoon sergeant in the company, but this unofficial appointment was at the discretion of the company commander and could go to any of the platoon sergeants.

The prewar insignia of a First Sergeant was three chevrons, with two "rockers" and a lozenge. This was changed in 1942 to three rockers and a lozenge, due to the fact that the pay for a First Sergeant was equal to a Master Sergeant, and also to remove any confusion as to who the most senior NCO in a company was. Some veteran soldiers continued to wear the older insignia into 1943.

Warrant Officers were a relatively rare animal in the United States Army. By war's end, a typical infantry battalion had two positions for warrant officers; one with the S-1 (operations) staff (as adjutant) and another with the S-2 (intelligence) staff (as interregator or intelligence analyst).

British Army Table of Ranks 1941 - 45 (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top) A *()** denotes an appointment rather than a rank.
Private Soldiers	Non-Commisioned Officers	Officers
Men	Warrant Officers	Field Grade Officers
Lance Corporal (*)	Warrant Officer Class I	Lieutenant Colonel
	Warrant Officer Class II
Private Gunner Trooper etc.	Warrant Officer Class III	Major
	Junior NCOs	Captain
	Staff Sergeant
	Sergeant	Subalterns
	Lance Sergeant (*)	Lieutenant
	Corporal	Second Lieutenant

There were a wide variety of Regimental exceptions to the above table. Rifle Regiments did not have Lance Corporals, for example, and Guards Regiments sometimes had exotic rank and appointment titles. The Warrant Officer III Class rank was abolished in 1940; most of these WO III's were eventually commissioned as junior officers. It had been felt that platoons could be commanded by NCOs, but the experiment proved unsatisfactory and was abandoned. Compare this practice to that of the Germans, above.

Size of Unit	Required leadership	Typically led by
Squad (called a "Section)	Corporal	Corporal, but lower ranks could lead a section. Typically, a Lance Corporal was second in command.
Platoon	WO III or Subaltern	After 1940, the WO III rank was abolished and most of these WO IIIs were commissioned as officers. An officer was referred to as "platoon commander" while a WO III in the same position was called a "Platoon Sergeant Major" or PSM.
Company	Captain or Major	Captains and Majors were generally found in charge of companies; acting company commanders were usually given temporary rank to match their appointment.
Battalion	Lieutenant Colonel	As with company commanders, lower ranking officers commanding battalions were usually promoted to acting rank fairly quickly in the British and Commonwealth armies.

Many of the ranks in the table above were associated with specific appointments - a Warrant Officer I Class, for example, was the rank held by a man appointed Regimental Sergeant Major of a battalion. The RSM was the senior enlisted man. Staff Sergeants were generally found in the position of Company Quartermaster Sergeant; no other staff sergeants were found in an infantry battalion. The WO II was most commonly found in an infantry battalion as either the Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant, or as the Company Sergeant Major of one of the companies.

A Lance Sergeant was a corporal wearing three stripes and performing a sergeant's duties; for example, some establishments called for a six-gun Anti Tank platoon to have three of the guns commanded by sergeants, with the other three commanded by lance sergeants.

Indian Army Table of Ranks 1941 - 45 (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top) A *()** denotes an appointment rather than a rank.
Private Soldiers		Non-Commisioned Officers	Officers
Men		Warrant Officers	Field Grade Officers
Lance Duffadar (cavalry) (*) Lance Naik (infantry)		Warrant Officer Class I	Lieutenant Colonel
		Warrant Officer Class II
Sowar (cavalry) Sepoy (infantry)	No insignia	Warrant Officer Class III	Major
		Junior NCOs	Subadar (Infantry) Risaldar (Cavalry)
		Staff Sergeant
		Havildar (Duffadar - Cavalry)	Subalterns
		Lance Sergeant (*)	Jemadar
		Naik	Second Lieutenant

Seniormost Risaldar in a cavalry regiment was referred to as Risaldar-Major.

Seniormost Subadar in an infantry regiment was referred to as Subadar Major.

The assistant to the Adjutant in an Indian Army Regiment was referred to as Wordi-Major.

Indian Army Appointment	Equivalent British Army Appointment	Usual rank in British Army
Regimental Duffadar-Major (cavalry)	Regimental Sergeant Major	WO I
Regimental Havildar Major (infantry)	Regimental Sergeant Major	WO I
Company Havildar Major (infantry)	Company Sergeant Major	WO II
Quartermaster Duffadar (cavalry)	Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant	WO II
Quartermaster Havildar (infantry)	Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant	WO II
Kot-Duffadar (cavalry)	Troop Sergeant Major	WO III

Polish Army Table of Ranks 1942 - 45 (Ranks shown in descending order, highest at the top)
Private Soldiers	Non-Commisioned Officers	Officers
Private	Warrant Officer	Lieutenant Colonel
	Staff Sergeant	Major
	Sergeant	Captain
	Lance Sergeant	Lieutenant
	Corporal	Second Lieutenant
	Lance Corporal