Metgethen: Scene of a successful German counter-attack in 1945, where evidence of Soviet atrocities against the civilian population was uncovered.
MG.08: German WW1 machine gun. Many survivors were employed during WW2.
MG34: German standard MG often referred to as a Spandau.
MG42: Superb German machine gun, capable of 1200rpm, designed to defeat the Soviet human wave attacks. Still in use to this day.
Mills Bomb: British fragmentation hand grenade.
Minox: Gained notoriety as the first ‘miniature’ spy camera.
Mitsubishi Ki-46: Japanese twin-engined reconnaissance aircraft.
Mlad: Codename of Theodore Hall, Nuclear Physicist, and Soviet Agent.
Molotov Cocktaiclass="underline" Simple anti-tank/vehicle weapon, consisting of a bottle, a filling of petrol, and a flaming rag. Thrown at its target the bottle shattered on impact and the rag did the rest.
Moscow Crystal Vodka: Highest quality triple distilled vodka.
Moselle: Mainly white wine originating from areas around the River of the same name.
Mosin-Nagant: Russian bolt-action infantry rifle.
Mosquito: DH98 De Havilland Mosquito was a multi-purpose wooden aircraft, much envied by the Luftwaffe.
Mosquito Mk NF30, De Havilland: British twin-engined night fighter.
Mosquito Mk VI: British twin-engined fighter-bomber.
Mosquito Mk XXV, De Havilland: British twin-engined light bomber.
MP-40: German standard issue submachine-gun.
Mustang, North American: P51 Mustang, US single seat long-range fighter armed with 6 x .50cal machine-guns.
Nagant pistoclass="underline" 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 Anviclass="underline" 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 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 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.
OT-34: T-34 variant with a medium flamethrower in the hull.
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].
Panzertruppen: The German tank crews.
Panzer VIb: 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.
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.
Ranger, USS: US Aircraft carrier [CV-4], Survived WW2 and was scrapped in 1947.
RCT: Regimental Combat Team. US formation which 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.
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.