– nuclear weapon. Atomkrieg – nuclear war. Aufbau Ost (Buildup East) – code name for the preparatory measures taken amid great secrecy for the attack on the Soviet Union, now known as Operation Barbarossa. aufgelöst – "dissolved"; disbanded, written off the order of battle. Aufklärung – reconnaissance. Aufklärungs-Abteilung – reconnaissance unit or battalion, also used to designate certain battalion-sized units. Aufklärungsgruppe (Aufkl.Gr., later AGr) – "Reconnaissance group", an aerial recon group of the Luftwaffe, e.g. Aufklärungsgruppe 11. "Auftauchen!" – "surface the boat". Auftragstaktik – mission-type tactics, the central component of German warfare since the 19th century Aus der Traum – "It's over!", "It's finished!", literally, "The dream is over"; a common German phrase for dashed hopes and a slogan painted by German soldiers near the end of the war expressing the inevitability of their situation. Ausführung (Ausf.) – version, model, variant, batch, for non-aviation related vehicles and ordnance. Ausführung!/Ausführen! – command to execute a given order ausgefallen – statement that equipment is down, has failed, is out of action. Ausrüstung – equipment Ausschreitungen – bloody atrocities (see Greuelerzählungen). Auszeichnung – medal, accolade, distinction. außer Dienst (a.D.) – [literally: "out of service"] a retired officer. Example: Oberleutnant a. D. Johann Schmidt. B B-Stand – Dorsal (top of fuselage) defensive gunner's position on aircraft. Backbord (Bb) – Port side of a ship. Balkenkreuz – equal-armed black cross flanked in white, the emblem used on German Empire and Third Reich military aircraft and vehicles from March/April 1918 until V-E Day Banditen – bandits, partisans in occupied territories in World War II; bewaffnete Banden – armed gangs; Soldaten in Zivilkleidung – soldiers in civilian dress; (see Franktireure). Bandengebiet – territory controlled by partisan squads in occupied territories during World War II. Barbarossa (Red Beard) – code name for the massive Nazi attack against the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) which began during June 1941 and failed miserably in the end despite early success. Operation Barbarossa is the English rendering of the German "Unternehmen Barbarossa." Barbarossa or `Redbeard' (Frederick I) lived from 1123 AD to 1190 and was both King of Germany and Holy Roman emperor from 1152–90. He made a sustained attempt to subdue Italy and the papacy, but was eventually defeated at the battle of Legnano in 1176. He was drowned in Asia Minor while on his way to the Third Crusade. Nonetheless, German superstition holds to this day and certainly was evoked by