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The Relief of Tobruk
Glossary
page 537
page 546
Glossary
| AA | anti-aircraft |
| AA & QMG ‘A & Q’ |
Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General |
| Abiar | wells or cisterns (pl. of bir) |
| Abteilung | (German) unit (reconnaissance troops, etc.); battery (of field or medium guns) |
| Ack | Acknowledge |
| acrobat | Code-name for planned continuation of crusader to capture Tripolitania |
| ACs | armoured cars |
| ACV | Armoured Command Vehicle |
| ADC | aide-de-camp |
| Adm, Admin | Administration |
| ADS | Advanced Dressing Station (forward medical establishment usually situated behind RAPs of fighting units) |
| adv | advance(d) |
| A Echelon | Transport usually taken into battle |
| AFC | Air Force Cross |
| AFV | Armoured Fighting Vehicle (tank or armoured car) |
| AG | Adjutant-General |
| AIF | Australian Imperial Force |
| Ain | spring |
| Air Fleet | Major Italian air formation (=Luftflotte) |
| Air Support Control | Combined Army-RAF organisation to bring air support to bear on ground operations |
| ALG | Advanced Landing Ground |
| amn ammn |
ammunition |
| AOC-in-C | Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief |
| AP | armour-piercing |
| 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 |
| A tk A Tk a-tk A T |
anti-tank |
| Aust | Australian |
| barbarossa | Code-name for German invasion of Russia, starting 22 June 1941 |
| battleaxe | British offensive of 15–17 June 1941 on the Egyptian-Libyan frontier |
| Bde | Brigade (British or Allied formation, normally three tank or infantry battalions) 34page 538 |
| Bde | Brigade (unusual German formation of two Regimente, the latter the equivalent of brigades) |
| B Ech(elon) | Transport sometimes temporarily dispensed with in battle |
| Bel | Belgian |
| Bersaglieri | Italian motorised infantry, organised in regiments each of two or three battalions |
| BGS | Brigadier, General Staff (chief staff officer at Corps or Army) |
| binary | (division) two-brigade (rather than three-) |
| Bir | well or cistern (pl. Abiar) |
| bivvy | bivouac tent; or small makeshift shelter in lieu of same |
| Blenheim | British twin-engined bomber |
| blower | radio-telephone |
| BM | Brigade Major (chief staff officer at Brigade) |
| Bn | Battalion (a unit of tanks or reconnaissance troops, normally three squadrons plus HQ; or infantry, four rifle companies plus HQ company; or machine-gunners, four companies of Vickers guns) |
| Bn | Battalion (German unit of tanks, anti-tank or anti-aircraft guns, engineers, infantry, machine-gunners, or motor-cyclists) (Italian organisation was similar) |
| Bofors | Automatic 40-millimetre light anti-aircraft gun of Swedish design |
| Box | All-round defensive position for battalion, brigade or division in static operations |
| BRA | Brigadier, Royal Artillery (Corps or Army) |
| Breda | Italian heavy machine-gun or light automatic cannon |
| Bren | standard British light machine-gun |
| Bren-carrier | light armoured tracked vehicle intended to carry same, but also used for reconnaissance, carrying ammunition or wounded under fire, etc. |
| brevity | Code-name for British offensive at Libyan-Egyptian frontier and Tobruk at end of May 1941 |
| BTE | British Troops in Egypt (command excluding Western Desert Force, later Eighth Army) |
| Bty | battery (two, three or four troops of guns) |
| call sign | code identification of sender or intended recipient of R/T or W/T signal |
| carrier | see Bren- |
| Cav | Cavalry (light tanks, armoured cars, carriers) |
| 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 |
| CBO | Counter-battery officer |
| CCS | Casualty Clearing Station (large medical establishment situated between MDS and field hospital) |
| Cdr | Commander |
| CE | Chief Engineer (Corps or Army) |
| CGS | Chief of the General Staff |
| CIGS | Chief of the Imperial General Staffpage 539 |
| CIH | Central India Horse (cavalry unit of 4 Indian Division) |
| C-in-C | Commander-in-Chief |
| CLY | County of London Yeomanry |
| CO | Commanding Officer (usually of a unit) |
| Col | Colonel; Column (of troops or transport) |
| Coln | Column |
| Comando Supremo | Italian Supreme Command (counterpart of OKW) |
| Comd | Commander; Commanding |
| comn commn |
communication(s) |
| conc | concentration (of troops, equipment, fire) |
| coy company |
(own) sub-unit of engineers, infantry or ASC troops (in infantry, three platoons; in others three or four sections) |
| (enemy) sub-unit of tanks (=squadron), anti-tank or anti-aircraft guns, engineers, signals, infantry, service, or medical troops | |
| CRA | Commander, Royal Artillery (of division) |
| CRASC | Commander, Royal Army Service Corps (of division—later in NZ Division called CNZASC |
| CRE | Commander, Royal Engineers (of division) |
| crusader | Code-name for British offensive resulting in relief of Tobruk |
| Crusader | British Cruiser tank Mark VI, the latest model in crusader |
| Cs | Cars |
| CSM | Company Sergeant-Major |
| D1 | Opening day of crusader |
| DAK | Deutsches Afrikakorps (German Africa Corps, commanded by Lt-Gen Cruewell) |
| DAQMG | Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General |
| DCM | Distinguished Conduct Medal |
| DEOR | Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles (South African) |
| det(s) | detachment(s) |
| DFC | Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Div Division |
formation above brigade or Regiment, below corps |
| Div Arty | Divisional Artillery (Headquarters, often HQ NZA) |
| Div Workshops | Ordnance unit for maintaining guns, vehicles and other equipment |
| DLI | Durham Light Infantry |
| DR | despatch rider (usually motor-cyclist) |
| DSO | Distinguished Service Order |
| Dudaforce | The half of 19 Bn left at Ed Duda |
| Ech Echelon |
First, Second, Third, three main contingents of 2 NZEF in order of embarkation, chiefly comprising 4, 5 and 6 Brigades respectively (see also A Echelon, B Echelon) |
| ED | Efficiency Decoration |
| El | the (in place-names, elided with certain consonants—en-Nbeidat, Ed-Duda, ez-Zemla, etc.) |
| Engr(s) | Engineer(s) |
| en portée | (of 2-pdr gun) carried on special lorry, ready to firepage 540 |
| FAA | Fleet Air Arm |
| FAD | Field Ammunition Depot |
| fd | field |
| Fd Amb | Field Ambulance (medical unit) |
| Fd Coy | Field Company (of engineers) |
| FDL(s) | Forward defended locality (localities) (the front was seldom a line, usually a series of FDLs) |
| Fd Pk Coy | Field Park Company (of engineers) |
| Fd Regt | Field Regiment (unit of artillery) |
| Feldzug | campaign |
| FFC 36 | Plan 36 of the Field Force Committee, War Office |
| Fieseler Storch | German army co-operation light aircraft |
| Fifth Column(ist) | Subversive group working for Axis powers (member of same) |
| Fliegerfuehrer Afrika | German Air Commander, North Africa |
| FMC | Field Maintenance Centre (included FAD, FSD, etc.) |
| FOO | Forward Observation Officer (field or medium artillery) |
| formation | any grouping higher than unit |
| FSD | Forward Supply Depot |
| Fwd Base | Forward Base (main supply and maintenance area and organisation, usually at Railhead) |
| fwd(def) | forward (defence; defensive) |
| G50 | Fiat fighter aircraft |
| Gabr | tomb |
| Gasr | fort; hill resembling same |
| G Branch (Office) | Staff of division or higher formation or command dealing with operations |
| GCMG | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George |
| Gds | Guards |
| Gen Tpt Coy | General Transport Company, RASC |
| GHQ | General Headquarters |
| Gk | Greek |
| GOC (-in-C) | General Officer Commanding (-in-Chief) |
| Gp Group |
(Battalion or Brigade) force of all arms; (RAF) major formation, above Wing |
| GPO | Gun Position Officer (field or medium artillery) |
| Grid (line) | Numbered map ruling, part of pattern usually of one or ten kilometre squares; on artillery boards the grid (of any convenient size) would be corrected if possible by survey and own and enemy gun positions, OPs, etc., marked in |
| GSO (I, II, III) | General Staff Officer (Class 1, 2, 3) |
| H | Hussars; heavy |
| HAA | Heavy anti-aircraft |
| Hagfet | unroofed cistern |
| Half-track | Vehicle with wheels in front, tank-like tracks in rear |
| HE | high explosive |
| HMG | heavy machine-gun |
| Honey | nickname for General Stuart tank (American M3) |
| HQ | headquarters |
| hy | heavypage 541 |
| I Int |
Intelligence (of enemy) |
| 2 i/c | Second-in-command |
| incl | inclusive; including |
| Ind | Indian |
| inf | infantry |
| I Infantry tank |
heavily-armoured slow tank, either Mark II (Matilda) or Mark III (Valentine) |
| IO | Intelligence Officer |
| Iti | Italian |
| Jock Column | usually a field battery, two infantry companies, anti-tank troop, etc., on an independent mission (after Brig ‘Jock’ Campbell) |
| KBE | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
| KCB | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
| KDG | King's Dragoon Guards (a reconnaissance unit) |
| Kessel | cauldron; basin-like hollow in ground |
| kilo km |
kilometre |
| 1KRRC | 1 Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle Corps (the ‘60th Rifles’) |
| LAA | light anti-aircraft |
| laager | defensive disposition of unit or formation halted in mobile operations, open order by day and close order by night (often spelt ‘leaguer’, though pronounced ‘laager’) |
| LAD | Light Aid Detachment (Ordnance establishment for repairing guns, transport, etc., within brigade or unit) |
| leaguer | encampment of troops besieging fortress; by analogy, laager |
| line (transport) 1st |
unit |
| 2nd | divisional (carrying between FMC and division) |
| 3rd | rear (carrying between railhead and FMC) |
| LMG | light machine-gun |
| LO | Liaison Officer |
| LOB | Left out of battle |
| L of C | Line(s) of communication |
| LRDG | Long Range Desert Group |
| LRS | Light Recovery Section (of armoured formation, for repairing or salvaging tanks) |
| Lt | Lieutenant; light |
| 2 Lt | Second-Lieutenant |
| Luftflotte | German Air Fleet, largest formation of Luftwaffe |
| Luftwaffe | German Air Force |
| M | medium |
| M 13 | chief Italian medium tank |
| Magen | cistern (=bir) |
| mantle (gun-) | part of tank turret immediately protecting gunpage 542 |
| Mark (I, II, etc.) | designation of production type, especially of tanks (in German documents, ‘Mark II’ = Matilda tank; British documents refer to Pzkw II, III, IV—q.v.—as Mark II, III, IV; see also ‘Crusader’, ‘I tank’; the Mark VIB was the standard British light tank) |
| Maryland | twin-engined bomber (American) |
| Matilda | See ‘I tank’ |
| MBE | Member of the Order of the British Empire |
| MC | Military Cross; motor-cycle |
| MDS | Medical Dressing Station (divisional medical establishment usually situated between ADS and CCS) |
| ME(F) | Middle East (Forces) |
| Me109F | high-flying single-engined Messerschmitt (German) fighter |
| Me110 | twin-engined long-range fighter or fighter bomber |
| Med | Medium |
| MET | mechanised enemy transport (i.e., enemy vehicles) |
| (M)MG | (Medium) machine-gun |
| M.H.s | armoured cars fitted with Marmon-Herrington four-wheel-drive |
| m.i.d. | Mentioned in Despatches |
| m.i.h. | miles in the hour (a rate allowing for halts) |
| MM | Military Medal |
| MO | Medical Officer |
| Mot | motorised |
| m.p.g. | miles per gallon |
| m.p.h. | miles per hour (actual rate) |
| MT | mechanised transport |
| mtd | motorised |
| Mtd | Mounted |
| NAAFI | Navy, Army, Air Force Institute(s) |
| NCO n.c.o. | non-commissioned officer |
| NZA | New Zealand Artillery |
| NZE | New Zealand Engineers |
| NZEF | New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
| NZOC | New Zealand Ordnance Corps |
| Oases Group | British force based on Jarabub, Force E of which captured Jalo, etc. |
| Oasis Coy | Specially trained and equipped German company of positional infantry, one of five grouped under an independent headquarters, z.b.V. Bn 300 |
| OBE | Officer of the Order of the British Empire |
| OC | Officer Commanding (squadron, battery, company) |
| offrs Os |
officers |
| OKH | Oberkommando des Heeres (High Command of the German Army) |
| OKW | Oberkommando der Webrmacht (Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces, roughly equivalent to the War Office) |
| OP | Observation Post |
| Ops | Operations; staff branch dealing with samepage 543 |
| Ord (Fd Pk) | Ordanance (Field Park—unit for supplying and maintaining equipment issued through Ordnance) |
| ORs | other ranks (not officers) |
| PA | Personal Assistant (to GOC) |
|
Panzergruppe Afrika
Pz Gp Africa |
Panzer Group Africa (commanded by Gen Rommel) |
| pl | platoon |
| POL | Petrol, oil and lubricants |
| portée | see en portée |
| posn | position |
| pr pdr |
pounder |
| Point Pt | Height marked on map, usually in metres above sea level |
| PU | pick-up (truck) |
| PW p.w. |
prisoner(s) of war |
|
Pz
Panzer |
German tank; armoured (unit or formation) |
| Pzkw (II, III, IV) | Panzerkraftwagen (German tank) (Mark II, III, IV) (see ‘Mark’) |
| Q | Quartermaster; (broadly) administration |
| QM(G) | Quartermaster(-General) |
| quad | lorry for towing British field gun or anti-tank 18-pdr |
| RA | Royal Artillery |
| RAAF | Royal Australian Air Force |
| RAC | Royal Armoured Corps |
| RAP | Regimental Aid Post (unit medical establishment) |
| RASC | Royal Army Service Corps |
| RE | Royal Engineers |
| RECAM | short title of reconnaissance group of Corpo d'armata di Manovra (CAM), the Italian Mobile Corps (more strictly Corps of Manoeuvre) |
| recce | reconnaissance; reconnoitre |
| Regem | cairn or similar natural feature |
| Regt | Regiment (unit of tanks, reconnaissance troops, or artillery; in British Army also groups of tank, artillery or infantry units, e.g., RTR, RHA, Black Watch) |
| Regt | Regiment (enemy) (formation of armoured troops or infantry, roughly equivalent to ‘brigade’; also unit of field or medium artillery) |
| Reichsmarschall | German rank above Field Marshal, exclusive to Goering |
| Reinforcements (4th, 5th, etc.) | Successive contingents of 2 NZEF after Third Echelon |
| Repat | Repatriation |
| rept, rpt | repeat (message) |
| Res | reserve |
| RFC | Royal Flying Corps |
| RGH | Royal Gloucestershire Hussars |
| RHA | Royal Horse Artillery (motorised, usually supporting armoured troops) |
| RHQ | Regimental Headquarterspage 544 |
| RMO | Regimental Medical Officer (of a unit) |
| RMT Res MT |
Reserve Mechanical Transport (general carrier when not taking infantry into or out of action) |
| RNC | Royal Natal Carbineers |
| RNZA | Royal New Zealand Artillery (Regular Force only) |
| Royals | The Royal Dragoons (reconnaissance unit) |
| r.p.g. | rounds per gun (expenditure of ammunition) |
| RSM | Regimental Sergeant-Major (senior NCO of unit) |
| R/T | radio-telephony (wireless transmission of speech) |
| RTR R Tks |
Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Tanks (part of RAC) |
| Rugbet | watercourse |
| Ry Op Coy | Railway Operating Company |
| SA | South African(s); small arms |
| SAAF | South African Air Force |
| sangar | rocks piled up for protection in lieu of slit trench where ground was too hard to dig |
| SC | Staff Captain (administrative staff officer at Brigade) |
| sec | section (2–3 guns; detachment of Signals; third of infantry platoon; third of ASC company, etc.) |
| Serb | Serbian |
| shd | should |
| Sidi | saint or marabout |
| 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 |
| sommernachtstraum | Code-name for German reconnaissance-in-strength into Egypt, 14–16 September 1941 |
| SP | self-propelled (of guns; usually portées); Starting Point |
| spandau | nickname for standard German light and medium MG |
| sqn | squadron (of tanks, reconnaissance troops, or aircraft) |
| ST | Starting Time |
| Stuart (General) | American M3 light cruiser tank |
| Stuka | Junkers 87 dive-bomber |
| Svy | Survey |
| Tac/R | (aerial) Tactical Reconnaissance |
| TAF | Tactical Air Force |
| tentacle | wireless detachment, usually of Air Support Control |
| tiger | Code-name for naval and air operation to pass shipments of tanks and aircraft through Mediterranean to Malta and Egypt early in May 1941 |
| Tk | tank |
| Tommy gun | Thompson sub-machine-gun |
| Totensonntag | lit. Sunday of the Dead, equivalent on the Lutheran calendar to All Souls Day |
| tp(s) | troop(s); part of squadron of tanks or reconnaissance troops (usually four tanks, armoured cars); part of battery (4–6 guns) |
| Trg | Training |
| Trigh | trackpage 545 |
| U-boat | German submarine |
| UDF | Union Defence Force (South Africa) |
| unit | tank, reconnaissance or infantry battalion, artillery regiment, or equivalent grouping (usually in British Army commanded by lieutenant-colonel) |
| Valentine | see ‘I tank’ |
| VC | Victoria Cross |
| VD | Volunteer Officers' Decoration |
| wadi | watercourse |
| war establishment | authorised full allotment (of men, weapons, etc.) |
| wastage | reduction of manpower |
| WDF | Western Desert Force |
| Wehrmacht | German Armed Forces |
| Y & L York & Lancs |
The York and Lancaster Regiment |
| Zaaforce | The half of 19 Bn which returned to Zaafran |
| z.b.V. | zur besonderen Verwendung (for special purposes—i.e., independent) |
