Stalemate (The Red Gambit Series) (91 page)

Nagant pistol

Standard Soviet revolver, very rugged and powerful using long case 7.62mm ammunition.

Natzwiller-Struhof

Concentration camp in Alsace.

Nebelwerfer

German six-barrelled mortar weapon, literally translated as 'Smoke Thrower' and known to the Allies as the Moaning Minnie, ranging up to 32cms in diameter.

NKGB

Narodny Komissariat Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti, the Soviet Secret Police, separated from the NKVD in 1942 and absorbed once more in 1946.

NKVD

Narodny Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del, the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs.

Normandie Squadron [Normandie-Niemen Regiment]

French Air force group that grew to three squadrons and served on the Russian Front throughout WW2.

OFLAG XVIIa

Offizierslager or OfLag No 17A, prisoner of war camp run by the Germans for officer detainees.

Operation Anvil

August 1944 landing in Southern France.

Operation Apple Pie

US project to capture German officers with specific knowledge about the Soviet Union’s industry and economy.

Operation Berkut

Soviet land operation designed to push through the Alsatian plain and break into France via Colmar.

Operation Kurgan

Soviet joint-operation to employ paratroopers, Naval Marines, NKVD agents and collaborators to attack and neutralise airfields, radar, communications and logistic bases throughout Europe. Subsequently enlarged to include assassinations of Allied senior officers.

Operation Paperclip

OSS project to recruit German Scientist to the Allied cause post May 1945.

Operation Sumerechny

Soviet plan to remove German leadership elements from their prisoners. All officer ranks from captain upwards were to be executed.

Operation Unthinkable

Study ordered by Churchill to examine the feasibility of an Allied assault on Soviet held Northern Germany.

Operation Varsity

The largest single airborne operation of WW2, undertaken in March 1945, Varsity involved dropping over 16,000 paratroopers to the east of the Rhine.

OSS

US Intelligence agency formed during 2, The Office of Strategic Services was the predecessor of the CIA, and was set up to coordinate espionage activities in occupied areas.

P.O.L.

Petrol, oil, and lubricants.

Panther

German medium tank, considered by many, to be the finest tank design of WW2. Armed with a high-velocity 75mm, it could stand its ground against anything in the Allied arsenal.

Panther Tank

German heavy-medium tank carrying a high-powered 75mm gun and 2-3 machine-guns, considered by many to be the finest all-round tank of World War 2.

Panzer IV

German tank, which served throughout the war in many guises, mainly with a 75mm gun.

Panzer V

See Panther Tank

Panzer VI

See Tiger Tank

Panzerfaust

German single use anti-tank weapon. Highly effective but short ranged.

Panzerjager

Antitank troop[s] [German]

Panzerkanonier

Tank gunner

Panzertruppen

The German tank crews.

PanzerVIb

See King Tiger Tank

PE-2

The Soviet Petlyakov PE-2 was a twin-engine multi-purpose aircraft considered by the Luftwaffe to be a fine opponent.

PEM scope

Soviet sniper scope for Mosin and SVT rifles.

PIAT

Acronym for Projector, Infantry, Anti-tank, the PIAT used a large spring to hurl its hollow charge shell at an enemy.

Plan Chelyabinsk

Soviet assault plan utilising lend-lease equipment in Western Allies markings.

Plan Diaspora

Soviet overall plan for assaulting in the East and for supporting the new Japanese Allies.

Plan Kurgan

Soviet joint-operation to employ paratroopers, Naval Marines, NKVD agents and collaborators to attack and neutralise airfields, radar, communications and logistic bases throughout Europe. Subsequently enlarged to include assassinations of Allied senior officers.

Plan Zilant

The Soviet paratrooper operations against the four symposiums, detailed as Zilant-1 through Zilant-4.

PLUTO

Acronym for 'Pipeline-under-the-ocean’, which was a fuel supply pipe that ran from Britain to France, laid for D-Day operations and still in use at the end of the war.

Pointe-du-Hoc

Cliff face and bunker position near Omaha beach, Normandy, assaulted by US 2nd Ranger Battalion on D-Day.

PPD

Soviet submachine gun capable of phenomenal rate of fire. Mostly equipped with a 72 round drum magazine but 65 rounds were normally fitted to avoid jamming. It was too complicated and was replaced by the PPSH.

PPS

Simple Soviet submachine gun with a 35 round magazine.

PPSH

Soviet submachine gun capable of phenomenal rate of fire. Mostly equipped with a 72 round drum magazine but 65 rounds were normally fitted to avoid jamming.

Pravda

Leading newspaper of the Soviet Union, Pravda is translated as 'Truth'.

PS84

Passenger Aircraft built at factory 84, the initial designation of the Li-2 transport aircraft.

PT-34

Soviet T34/76 with mine clearing Mugalev attachment.

PTAB

Each Shturmovik could carry four pods containing 48 bomblets, or up to 280 internally. Each bomblet could penetrate up to 70mm of armour, enough for the main battle tanks at the time.

PU scope

Soviet sniper scope for Mosin and SVT rifles.

Puma

German eight-wheel armoured car with a 50mm and enclosed turret.

Pyat

In Russian, the number five.

Ranger, USS

US Aircraft carrier [CV-4], Survived WW2 and was scrapped in 1947.

RCT

Regimental Combat Team. US formation that normally consisted of elements drawn from all combatant units within the parent division, making it a smaller but reasonably self-sufficient unit. RCT’s tended to be numbered according the Infantry regiment that supplied its fighting core. [See CC for US Armored force equivalent.]

Red Devils

Nickname for the British Airborne troops, the Red berets.

Red Star

Standard issue Soviet military cigarettes.

Rodina

The Soviet Motherland.

Schmuck

A Jewish insult meaning a fool of one who is stupid. It also can literally mean the foreskin that is removed during circumcision.

Schwere Panzer Abteilung

Heavy tank battalion [German]

SDKFZ 234

German eight-wheel armoured car equipped with a range of weapons, the most powerful of which was a 75mm HV weapon. Of the four variants, the Puma with its 50mm and enclosed turret is probably the most well known.

Seagulls

Affectionate nickname for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy.

Senninbari

Japanese good luck charm given to soldiers, rooted within the Shinto religion. Each one carried 1000 stitches, each from a different woman. Typically, they were waist belts but could also be headbands, vests, and flags.

Shaska

A Cossack's curved sword.

Sherman  [M4 Sherman]

American tank turned out in huge numbers with many variants, also supplied under lend-lease to Russia.

Shinhoto Chi-Ha

Upgraded Japanese battle tank, based on the Chi-Ha. The Shinhoto had a 47mm gun superior to the 57mm in its forebear.

Shinto

Japanese religion [Shintoism].

Shtrafbat

Soviet penal battalion.

Shturmovik

The Ilyushin-2 Shturmovik, Soviet mass-produced ground attack aircraft that was highly successful.

ShVAK

Soviet 20mm auto cannon that equipped aircraft, armoured cars, and light tanks.

Skat

German card game using 32 cards.

SMLE

Often referred to s the ‘Smelly’, this was the proper name of the Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield rifle.

SOE

British organisation, Special Operations Executive, which conducted espionage and sabotage missions throughout Europe.

Spitfire, Supermarine.

British single-engine fighter aircraft.

SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer

SS equivalent of captain.

St Florian

Patron saint of Upper Austria, Linz, chimney sweeps, and firefighters.

ST44 [MP43/44]

German assault rifle with a 30 round magazine, first of its generation and forerunner to the AK47.

Standard HDM .22 calibre pistol

Originally used by OSS, this effective .22 with a ten round magazine is still in use by Special Forces throughout the world.

Starshina

Soviet rank roughly equivalent to Warrant Officer first Class.

Station ‘X’

See Bletchley Park entry.

STAVKA

At this time this represents the ‘Stavka of the Supreme Main Command’, comprising high-ranked military and civilian members. Subordinate to the GKO, it was responsible for military oversight, and as such, held its own military reserves that it released in support of operations.

Sten

Basic British sub-machine gun with a 32 round magazine. Produced in huge numbers throughout the 40's.

Stroh rum

Austrian spiced rum.

Studebaker

US heavy lorry supplied to the Soviets under lend-lease, or built in the USSR under licence, often used as the platform for the Katyusha.

Stuka [Junkers 87]

Famous dive-bomber employed by the Luftwaffe.

SU-76

76mm self-propelled gun used as artillery and for close support.

Sunderland

British four-engine flying boat, used mainly in maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine roles.

SVT40

Soviet automatic rifle with a 10 round magazine.

Symposium Biarritz

Utilisation of German expertise to prepare wargame exercises for allied unit commanders to demonstrate Soviet tactics and methods to defeat them.

T.O.E.

Table of Organisation and Equipment, which represents what a unit should consist of.