Gefreiter
Gefreiter 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 soldier, airman, or sailor can be promoted.
The word has also been lent into the Russian language as yefreytor and is in use in several Russian and post-Soviet militaries.
History
Historically, the military rank of Gefreiter emerged in 16th-century Europe for the German Landsknechte foot soldiers. These soldiers were predominantly composed of German and Swiss mercenary pikemen and supporting infantry foot soldiers. Soldiers who proved especially reliable and experienced were appointed to gefreyten Knechten. They were positioned in critical battlefield roles and, along with their extra rank privileges, they were generally exempted from sentry duties.From the 18th century, Gefreite were the frontline members of a military company, with every Gefreiter leading and commanding a section or squad of Gemeine. The rank existed in the cavalry, infantry, pioneers, and artillery, where Gefreiter rank held a higher rank-class status.
Gefreiter was the only enlisted rank within the Royal Prussian Army and the imperial army of the German Empire until 1918, to which an exceptional enlisted soldier could be promoted on the recommendation of the Hauptmann or Rittmeister, and ultimately endorsed by the Regiments-Commandeur. An exception to this was the rank of Obergefreiter in the foot artillery, which later replaced the artillery cat=no rank.
The Gefreiter rank was also considered a transition rank for promotion to and from which replacements were selected to the Unteroffizier rank. Within the Royal Prussian Army and the imperial army of the German Empire, the rank Gefreiter served as a deputy to the Unteroffizier and was distinguished by the wearing of an Auszeichnungsknopf known as the Gefreitenknopf on each side of their uniform collar, similar to the slightly larger rank collar side-buttons worn by both the Sergeant and Feldwebel ranks.
In the Royal Prussian Army until its reorganization after 1806, there existed, along with the rank of Gefreiter, the rank of Gefreite-Korporale, who wore a silver Portepee. These officer cadets were specifically selected for higher advancement and stood equal with their officer cadet counterpart, the Portepee-Ensign. The rank of Gefreite-Korporale also existed alongside Gefreiter in the Austrian Army during the Thirty Years' War.
Since the 1920s, the German rank of Gefreiter has expanded into several additional ranks and duties:
- Obergefreiter
- Hauptgefreiter
- Stabsgefreiter
- Oberstabsgefreiter
The female form, Gefreite, is not used by the military; the formal address is Frau Gefreiter.
Austria
Gefreiter is a military rank of the Austrian Bundesheer. It is officially translated as lance corporal.Austro-Hungarian Army
In the Austro-Hungarian Army, Gefreiter corresponded to Patrouilleführer and Vormeister. It was used by the Kaiserjäger as well as the Feldjäger, Standschützen troops, cavalry, medical corps, and infantry.Then rank insignia was a single white celluloid star on the stand-up collar of the so-called Waffenrock on gorget patch. The stand-up collar and background of the gorget patch displayed a particular egalisation colour.
| Junior rank Soldat | 30px Rank insignias of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces Gefreiter Patrouilleführer Vormeister | Senior rank Korporal |
'''Gefreiter in the context of infantry'''
Germany
Bundeswehr
Gefreiter is the second enlisted rank grade within the modern-day Army, Air Force, and Navy of the Bundeswehr. Following the NATO ranking system, Gefreiter equates to OR-2 on the NATO-standard rank scale, making the rank equivalent to either private, private first class, vice corporal, lance corporal, or corporal, depending on the chosen NATO-allied force used for the comparison. It is grade A4 in the pay scale of the Federal Ministry of Defence.The sequence of ranks in this particular group is as follows:
- OR-4a: Oberstabsgefreiter
- OR-4b: Stabsgefreiter
- OR-3a: Hauptgefreiter
- OR-3b: Obergefreiter
- OR-2: Gefreiter
- OR-1: Soldat , Flieger, Seaman
| Junior rank Soldat | Gefreiter | Senior rank Obergefreiter |
1935–1945
Throughout the periods of the Royal Prussian Army, the Imperial Army of the German Empire, the Reichswehr, the Wehrmacht, and the Waffen-SS, the rank of Gefreiter was considered equivalent to that of a lance corporal.The Obergefreiter was regarded as senior lance corporal or rather second corporal in the artillery, and the full corporal rank known as Unteroffizier replaced the Korporal rank from 1856.
Within the army branch of the Wehrmacht, a rank of Oberschütze once existed between the ranks of Gefreiter and Schütze/Soldat.
A Gefreiter was considered an "exempted man", who was not typically assigned more menial duties, such as guard detail. A soldier promoted to Gefreiter was seen as showing some promise of leadership capability, while those who did not were promoted to Oberschütze.
Since the unmasking of the Luftwaffe on 1 March 1935, the Gefreiter was also part of their ranks. Prior to this, the Luftwaffe operated secretly under the guise of the German Air Sports Association. The Gefreiter emerged from the Flieger-Gefreiter of the DLV flying corps, where this rank served as an assistant aircraft pilot, assistant radio operator, or assistant supervisor.
The Luftwaffe Gefreiter ranked immediately above the lowest rank, Flieger ; there was no equivalent to the army rank of Oberschütze. Instead of the rank insignia of its DLV counterpart, which was three aluminum-colored wings on both collar patches, the Luftwaffe Gefreiter wore only two collar wings. The collar patches were in one of the respective Luftwaffe branch colours. Additionally, the Gefreiter wore a chevron on the left upper arm according to the army pattern, but on a base made of blue-grey fabric. The chevrons were made of aluminium-coloured braid, grey-blue braid, or dark brown braid.
"Bohemian corporal"
The best-known holder of the rank of Gefreiter was Adolf Hitler, who held the rank in the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 of the Royal Bavarian Army during World War I."Bohemian corporal" was a derogatory term used privately in World War II for Adolf Hitler by German generals dissatisfied with Hitler's military leadership and detailed control. Among the generals were Gerd von Rundstedt, Erich von Manstein, and Friedrich Paulus.
Wilhelm Keitel once asked Hitler, "Do you realise that Rundstedt called you a Bohemian corporal?" Hitler replied, "Yes, but he is the best field marshal I have".
Von Rundstedt used the term dieser böhmische Gefreite, which Hitler had acquired in the 1930s from World War I hero, German President Paul von Hindenburg. Hindenburg, who took an instant mutual dislike to Hitler on their first meeting, mistook Hitler's hometown of Braunau in Austria for another town of the same name in Bohemia. Initially, he said "Austrian corporal", but later used "Bohemian corporal", which was a pejorative term, as he regarded Bohemians as "essentially gypsies", unlike the more cultured Prussians or even Austrians.
Russia
Yefreytor is a German loanword in Russian and denotes a similar rank in the Russian army.In Russia, the rank of yefreytor was introduced by Peter I in 1716 to the infantry, cavalry, and engineer forces. The rank was not used after 1722. During the reign of Paul I, it was made an equivalent rank to private which, after the reign of Alexander I, was used only for the Imperial Guard. Yefreytor was re-introduced in the course of the military reforms of 1826.
In the armed forces of the Soviet Union, yefreytor is the highest rank of enlisted personnel. According to NATO-rank system, the rank might be comparable to OR-4 in Anglophone armed forces.
| junior rank: Ryadovoy | Yefreytor | senior rank: Junior sergeant |