''Schütze'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

means "rifleman" or "shooter", or in older terms originally connoted "archer" before the advent of the rifle. It also occasionally occurs as a surname, or as Schütz, as in the opera ''

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 1810 ...

''. The word itself is derived from the German word ''schützen'', meaning to protect, or to guard. It was originally used for archers as they protected castle walls, and is the German equivalent to Sagittarius, the mythical form which held bow and arrow.

Overview

As a rank of the Armed Forces of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

until 1918, ''Schütze'' was used for the lowest enlisted ranks in

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...

units and some elite troops like Saxon ''Schützen''-Regiment 108 exclusively. Usually translated as "

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

", from 1920 on it names the lowest enlisted rank of the ''

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

. The equivalent of ''Schütze'' in the other branches of the German military was ''Jäger'', ''Kanonier'', ''Pionier'', ''Kraftfahrer'' or ''Grenadier'' in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

; ''Flieger'' in the ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

'', ''Matrose'' in the ''

Reichsmarine The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the '' Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the ...

'' and ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'', respectively. ; Rank insignia of a ''Schütze'' of the Heer until 1942 (the rank of Schütze became Grenadier after 1942):

Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, it also became a

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

in the ''

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

'', ''SS-Schütze''. Other branches of the SS referred to the rank as ''

Mann Mann may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Mann (chess), a variant chess piece which moves as a king * ''Mann'' (film), a 1999 Bollywood motion picture * ''Mann'' (magazine), a Norwegian magazine * Mann Theatres, a theatre chain corp ...

''. ; Insignia of rank ''Schütze'' of the Waffen-SS: File:SS-Mannschaft.svg, Shoulder strap in Feldgrau
(all other enlisted ranks OR-1 to OR-3 of the Waffen-SS) File: SS-Mann, SS-Schuetze, SS-Oberschuetze collar.svg , Gorget patches

Modern-day Schütze

The present-day German military maintains ''Schütze'' as the lowest enlisted grade, with a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

rank code of OR-1. A ''Schütze'' ranks below ''

Gefreiter Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural ''Gefreite'') is a German, Swiss and Austrian military rank that has existed since the 16th century. It is usually the second rank or grade to which an enlisted soldier, airman or sailor could be promoted.Duden; D ...

'' which is the equivalent of a private (OR-2); the equivalent of a

private first class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ...

being an ''

Obergefreiter Obergefreiter (''abbr.'' OGefr.) is an enlisted rank of the German and Swiss militaries which dates from the 19th century. In today's Bundeswehr, every ''Gefreiter'' is normally promoted ''Obergefreiter'' after six months. The NATO-Code is OR-3 ...

'' or ''

Hauptgefreiter Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural ''Gefreite'') is a German, Swiss and Austrian military rank that has existed since the 16th century. It is usually the second rank or grade to which an enlisted soldier, airman or sailor could be promoted. Duden ...

''. During various periods in German military history, a senior private rank known as ''

Oberschütze Oberschütze (, ) was a German military rank first used in the Bavarian Army of the late 19th century. Usage The rank and its equivalents (''Oberkanonier, Oberpionier'' etc.) was in generally introduced into the German ''Reichswehr'' from ci ...

'' existed between the grades of ''Schütze'' and ''Gefreiter''. In the modern German Army the rank of ''Schütze'' is not used very often. Every part of the ''Bundeswehr'' has a different name for this rank. For example, in the ''Panzergrenadiertruppe'' (heavy mechanized infantry) the name of the rank is ''Panzergrenadier'', and within the ''Fernmelder'' (communication troops), the name is ''Funker'' (radio operator).

Notes

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schutze Military ranks of Germany SS ranks

Overview

Second World War

Modern-day Schütze

See also

Notes

Bibliography