Can anyone point me to an online reference for German military map symbols used in WW2? (i.e. the equivalent of the NATO symbols now in common use).
I am writing an expansion module for the VASSAL board game engine (www.vasalengine.com) to autogenerate symbols, but can find no references for the German WW2 symbol system.
Thanks.
"To the uninitiated, German military symbols appearing on documents, maps, orders-of-battle, and throughout post-war German WWII military literature, can appear indecipherable. Yet an understanding of their meaning is key to being able to seriously read and research all aspects of the WWII German Armed Forces. This book aims to provide the reader with a clear and comprehensive reference to these symbols, as seen in photos, tables of organisation and maps for the period May 1943 onwards.
The first two parts of the book feature an overview of how the German Armed Forces used the symbols in the field. Parts III, IV and V deal with specific forms and categories of symbols used. The format used throughout has been to provide an image of the symbol, accompanied by the relevant German term and its English translation, along with any pertinent information that will aid the reader’s understanding of the symbol and the unit that it represented.
The final part of the book, containing a list of over 500 abbreviations and their German terms, supplemented by English translations, should prove invaluable to any reader who has more than a passing interest in the Second World War German Armed Forces.
Author Details
Terry Booth was born in the Australian outback. His interest in the military began at an early age, and he has managed to develop his passion over the years whilst pursuing a highly lucrative civilian career as an international IT consultant, by being involved as an Australian army reservist for six years, building an extensive reference library and travelling worldwide to translate original WWII German documentation.
Terry has a young son, and lives with his wife, Julianne, in an evergreen home surrounded by peaceful trees in Brisbane, Australia."
£15.25 from http://www.helion.co.uk/product.php?xProd=1396
No idea what that is in your money (I’m guessing Aussie/NZ dollars?)
Thanks BDL,
I had seen that, but I was hoping for an on-line (i.e. free) reference. I have found one at http://www.feldgrau.com/tacsym.html which is a start, but something with a bit more explanation would help also.
Thanks again.
What do you need explaining mate? I can have a look at that site and see if I can work anything out for you if you want.
I have to be able to create any symbol for any unit, any size based on menu selections, so some sort of overview doc would be nice. Next project is ‘The Longest Day’ by Avalon Hill. I’m being sent a scan of the counter roster tonight, so will see what questions I have after that.
Cheers.
So basically you want to know what symbol to use for each type of unit?
Yep, that’s right. Plus the appropriate markers to indicate the different unit sizes (Army Group, Army, Corps, Division down to platoon, and section) plus any appropriate modifiers or doodads.
Send me a PM with a list of the units you need and I’ll see what I can do. The library at work is pretty good for finding this kind of stuff.
The German Eagle :?
http://chrito.users1.50megs.com/_data/divemblems/emblemsmain.htm
See here, there is probably everything.
Welcome Général Leclerc :lol: :lol: