Sturmscharführer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article does not cite any references or sources. (November 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Sturmscharführer was a Nazi rank of the Waffen-SS that existed between 1934 and 1945. The rank was the most senior enlisted rank in the Waffen-SS, the equivalent of a Sergeant Major in other military organizations. Sturmscharführer was unique to the Waffen-SS and was not used in the regular SS (the Allgemeine-SS), where the highest enlisted rank was Hauptscharführer.
The rank of Sturmscharführer was first created in June 1934, after the Night of the Long Knives. Due to a reorganization of the SS, Sturmscharführer was created as the most senior enlisted rank of the SS-Verfügungstruppe, replacing the older Sturmabteilung title of Haupttruppführer.
By 1941, the Waffen-SS had become the successor organization to the SS-Verfügungstruppe and Sturmscharführer was established as the most senior enlisted rank. A Sturmscharführer was typically assigned as the head sergeant of an entire regiment or, in some cases, an infantry division.
Sturmscharführer was not the same as Stabsscharführer, which was a positional title given to the head SS-NCO of a company. The rank of Sturmscharführer was also not a prerequisite for promotion to Untersturmführer and was generally considered as a rank for “career” enlisted SS soldiers, rather than a rank on the path to becoming an officer.
The insignia for Sturmscharführer was two silver pips and two silver stripes worn on a collar patch along with the shoulder boards of a Wehrmacht Stabsfeldwebel. As was the case with Waffen-SS enlisted insignia, the collar patch of a Sturmscharführer was worn with silver piping.
Junior Rank Hauptscharführer |
SS rank Sturmscharführer |
Senior Rank Untersturmführer |