''Stabsgefreiter'' (''abbr.'' StGefr, on lists SG) is the second highest rank of enlisted men in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

, which might be comparable to

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

(OR-4) in Anglophone armed forces.

History

In the 19th century German Army the ''

Gefreiter Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural ''Gefreite'') is a military rank used in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria since the 16th century. It is typically the second rank or grade to which an Enlisted rank, enlisted soldier, airman, or sailor can be prom ...

'' (plural: ''Gefreite'') always belonged to the rank group of enlisted men (below noncommissioned (NCO) level). However, during training and fatigue duty ''Gefreite'' were competent, authorized, and tasked to act on behalf of NCOs. So ''Gefreite'' became the first superior rank above the lowest-level privates. Nevertheless, until 1853 there were no special rank insignia for ''Gefreiter''. In contrast, from 1811 to 1853 the ''Vize-Unteroffizier'' (deputy sergeant) wore the NCO ''Portepee'' (sword-knot). In 1846 the rank of

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 ...

() was introduced. This rank was shown by the so-called sergeant's button on the collar and the NCO ''Portepee'' on the sword. From 1853 to 1919 promotion to ''Obergefreiter'' was suspended with the exception of the ''Fussartillerie'' (foot artillery). In the early German

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

the ranks of ''Gefreiter'' and "Obergefreiter" were both indicated by one identical horizontal 9 mm ''Tressenstreifen''" (lace stripe) on both upper arms of the uniform jacket. Regarding regular 12 years duty time from 1921 onwards, the newly introduced ranks of enlisted men ( Oberschütze (1st/Senior rifleman) and ''Stabsgefreiter'' (Staff Gefreiter) were indicated by angular cuff chevrons on the left upper arm. The sequence of ranks of enlisted men was now as follows: WMacht H OR4 StGefr 1935-1945

National People's Army

In the GDR National People's Army the rank Stabsgefreiter was used until 1990. The equivalent of the ''

Volksmarine The (VM, ; ) was the Navy, naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence ...

'' was '' Stabsmatrose''. ;See also main articles: * Comparative ranks of Nazi Germany * Ranks of the National People's Army

Bundeswehr

A soldier of the German Bundeswehr might be promoted from OR1 Soldat (en: private) to ''Stabsgefreiter'' OR4b after a regular service time of 36 months.

References

External links

Rank-insignia learning at simsso.de

Uniformen
{{German military ranks Military ranks of Germany