This is a list of words, terms, concepts, and slogans that have been or are used by the German military. Ranks and translations of nicknames for vehicles are included. Also included are some general terms from the German language found frequently in military jargon. Some terms are from the general German cultural background, others are given to show a change that was made before or after the Nazi era. Some factories that were the primary producers of military equipment, especially tanks, are also given. Glossary A A-Stand – forward defensive gunner's position on aircraft. abgeschossen – shot down; destroyed by means of firing. Abschnitt – sector, district. Ablösungsdivision – relief division (1917), later renamed Eingreif division (intervention division). Abteilung (Abt.) – a battalion-sized unit of armor, artillery or cavalry; in other contexts a detachment or section. Abteilungsarzt – battalion physician Abteilungschef – battalion commander in artillery and cavalry formations Abteilungsführer – substitute battalion commander in artillery and cavalry formations Abteilungsveterinär – battalion veterinarian Abwehr – "defense"; as a shortening of Spionage Abwehr (spy defense) the term referred to the counter-espionage service (German Secret Service) of the German High Command, headed by Admiral Canaris. Also an element in such compounds as Fliegerabwehr-Kanone "anti-aircraft gun." Abzeichen – insignia; badge of rank, appointment or distinction. Adlerangriff – "Eagle Attack"; term for projected "decisive attack" by the Luftwaffe on RAF Fighter Command under the direction of Hermann Göring, instituted to gain control of the skies from the Royal Air Force and soften Britain for the impending invasion forces planned in Operation Seelöwe (Sea Lion). These attacks ultimately failed and the air campaign is now known in the anglophone world as the Battle of Britain. Afrika Korps – the elite German mechanized force commanded by Erwin Rommel, known as the "Wüstenfuchs" (en: Desert Fox), which performed exemplary in Hitler's North African campaigns between 1941 and 1943. Allied efforts to defeat Rommel were high and many historians believe that had Rommel convinced Hitler to provide him with three additional divisions of tanks, he very well could have gained command of the Suez Canal in early 1942 and cut off the vast supplies being sent from America to the Soviet Union via the Persian Gulf. In the end, the Afrika Korps was defeated by combined offensives from the British and Americans. Aggregat 4 (A4) – original name of the German V2 rocket. AGRU-Front – Technische Ausbildungsgruppe für