Boscawen - Armoured Guardsman: A War Diary June 1944-April 1945

B.L.A.

British Liberation Army, comprised of 1st (Canadian) Army and 2nd (British) Army

G.A.D.

Guards Armoured Division, composed of 5th Guards Armoured Brigade and 32nd Guards Brigade, with Divisional Troops. About 16,000 men, 3,400 vehicles, 246 medium tanks and 48 field guns.

G.A.T. Wing

Guards Armoured Training Wing, Pirbright.

Armoured Battalion

36 officers, 630 other ranks. 61 medium tanks and 11 Recce tanks.

Squadron

19 tanks, with 4 Troops of 4 tanks.

F Echelon

Tanks and Scout cars.

F2 Echelon

One petrol and one Ammunition 3-tonner wheeled truck per Squadron.

A Echelon

1st line Petrol and Ammunition trucks, fitters and stores.

B Echelon

Stores, Cookers and officers mess trucks.

R.A.P.

Regimental Aid Post, normally a White Scout Car where the Battalion Medical Officer was to be found.

L.A.D.

Light Aid Detachment, part of Brigade workshops for limited repairs to tanks.

O Group

Orders Group.

H.C.R.

Household Cavalry Regiment Armoured

G.G.

Grenadier Guards

C.G.

Coldstream Guards

S.G.

Scots Guards

I.G.

Irish Guards

W.G.

Welsh Guards

A.G.R.A.

Army Groups Royal Artillery. Medium and Heavy regiments allocated to Corps Commanders.

R.E.

Royal Engineers, Sappers

R.A.S.C.

Royal Army Service Corps

C.M.P.

Corps of Military Police, M.P.s, Redcaps

E.N.S.A.

Entertainments National Service Association

C.I.G.S.

Chief of the Imperial General Staff

G.O.C.

General Officer Commanding, the Divisional Commander

M.S.

Military Secretary

G.1, 2, 3

General Staff Officer, Grade 1, 2, and 3. Brigade Majors were the former.

A.Q.M.G.

Assistant Quartermaster-General

L.O.

Liaison Officer

L.O.B.

Officer left out of battle, usually in A or B echelons.

R.S.M.

Regimental Sergeant-Major

S.S.M.

Squadron Sergeant-Major

T.Q.M.S.

Technical Quartermaster-Sergeant

D.R.

Despatch Rider

L.c.t.

Landing craft tank carried five tanks

L.s.t.

Landing ship tank

M.t.b.

Motor torpedo boat

E-boat

German torpedo boat

Monitor

Shallow draft warship with two 15 inch guns for bombarding shore installations.

Tanks, mostly described in text.

Cromwell

Main tank of Reconaissance Battalion

M.10.

Armoured self-propelled anti-tank guns on a Sherman hull with 3 inch or 17 pounder gun

A.R.V.

Armoured Recovery Vehicle. Sherman tank without a turret, carried fitters and gear.

Bren Carrier

Universal infantry carrier. 3 men with Bren gun, 30 m.p.h.

Flail tank

Sherman tank with minesweeping flails revolving in front

Honey

Stuart light tank, with 37 m.m. gun, used by Recce Troop.

Scout car

2-seater Humber, armoured, exceeded 55 m.p.h.

White scout car

Large, half-tracked, lightly armoured

German weapons

Spandau

Standard German 7.92 m.m. m.g.

Lger

German 9 m.m. automatic pistol

Panzerfaust

Hand-held anti-tank rocket launcher, often called by U.S. name Bazooka

88 m.m.

German mobile dual purpose flak anti-tank gun

105 m.m.

German fixed heavy dual purpose flak anti-tank gun

Nebelwerfer

German six barrelled 150 m.m. rocket launcher

Mortar

German 81 m.m. infantry mortar, and 120 m.m. 7 and 35 lb bombs

Teller mines

German heavy anti-tank mines, 20 lbs.

H.E.

High Explosive

A.P.

Armour piercing shot

u.x.b.

Unexploded bomb

O.P.