Selected Book
Bismarck
A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship
Zetterling, Niklas
Allied Warships
Check out our new extensive section on all the Allied Warships during WWII in all theatres of the war.Over 11,300 ships
The Wolfpack Names
More than 135 wolfpacks were formed during WW II and most of them were given German names. The following list explains what these names mean.
| Adler | Eagle |
| Amrum | Small German island in the North Sea |
| Amsel | Blackbird |
| Arnauld | Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière (1886 - 1941) (Most succesful U-boat commander in WW I on U-35 and U-139. Sank 194 ships with a total of 453,716 tons.) |
| Benecke | We supposed that Benecke was a camerade of Störtebecker |
| Borkum | Small German island in the North Sea |
| Bosemüller | Gruppe Bosemüller (Platoon Bosemüller) (Title of a poular novel about a WWI infantry platoon, written by Werner Beumelburg and published 1930) |
| Blitz | Lightning |
| Blücher | Gebhardt Leberecht von Blücher (1742 - 1819) (German Cavalry General in the wars against Napoleon) |
| Boreas | Cold North wind, also the Greek God of wind |
| Brandenburg | German territory |
| Breslau | German town in Silesia, since 1945 Polish (Wroclaw) |
| Büffel | Buffalo |
| Burggraf | Earl, Count |
| Coronel | Chilean town, south of Valparaiso (Here the Sea Battle of Coronel took place in November 1914, where the German Far East Squadron commanded by Vize-Admiral Maximilian Reichsgraf von Spee sank the British cruisers HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth.) |
| Dachs | Badger |
| Delphin | Dolphin |
| Donau | Danube (river in Middle Europe) |
| Donner | Thunder |
| Dragoner | Dragoon |
| Draufgänger | Daredevil |
| Dränger | Pusher |
| Drossel | Thrush |
| Eisbär | Polar Bear |
| Eisenbart | Johann Andreas Eisenbarth (1661 - 1727) (In his time a popular wandering surgeon) |
| Elbe | River in Germany |
| Endraß | Engelbert Endraß (1911 - 1941) |
| Falke | Falcon |
| Faust | Fist |
| Fink | Finch |
| Föhr | Small German island in the North Sea |
| Geier | Vulture |
| Goeben | SMS Goeben (German battlecruiser in WW I, operating in the Mediterranean under the command of Admiral von Souchon and later sold to Turkey. The Goeben (then Yavuz Sultan Selim) was the only (ex-)German cruiser ever to have received a NATO-signation number. Efforts to prevail it as museum ship failed and it was scrapped in the 1970's.) |
| Gödeke | Gödeke Michels (Second-in-Command and Quartermaster of Klaus Störtebeker (see below)) |
| Greif | Bird of prey |
| Grimm | Grim |
| Grube | Pit |
| Habicht | Hawk |
| Hagen | Character from a German myth |
| Hai | Shark |
| Hammer | Hammer |
| Hartherz | Hard Hearted |
| Hartmut | German prename meaning "he got courage" |
| Haudegen | Warhorse |
| Hecht | Pike |
| Hinein | Let's go! |
| Igel | Hedgehog |
| Iltis | Polecat |
| Inn | German River |
| Isar | German River |
| Isegrimm | On old fashioned lyrical word for "Wolf" |
| Jaguar | Jaguar |
| Jahn | Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778 - 1852) (well known as the Turnvater) |
| Keil | Wedge |
| Knappen | Shield Bearer, Squire |
| Körner | Theodor Körner (1791 - 1813) (German poet, fought against Napoleon) |
| Kreuzotter | Common viper |
| Kurfürst | Elector |
| Landsknecht | Soldier, Mercenary |
| Landwirt | Farmer |
| Lech | German river |
| Letzte Ritter | Last Knights |
| Leopard | Leopard |
| Lerche | Lark |
| Leuthen | Silesian small town. (Here the Battle of Leuthen took place in 1757, where Frederick the Great won over the Austrians.) |
| Löwenherz | Lionheart |
| Lohs | Johannes Lohs (1889 - 1918) (German U-boat commander in WW I on UC-75 and UB-57. Sank 76 ships with a total of 148,677 tons.) |
| Luchs | Lynx |
| Markgraf | Markgrave |
| Meise | Tit(mouse) |
| Mordbrenner | Arsonist |
| Mosel | German river |
| Neptun | Neptune |
| Neuland | New Territory |
| Oder | German river |
| Ostmark | The name for Austria in the Third Reich |
| Panther | Panther |
| Panzer | Tank |
| Pfeil | Arrow |
| Pirat | Pirate |
| Preußen | Prussia |
| Puma | Puma |
| Raufbold | Brawler, Rowdy |
| Rasmus | God of wind (also known as Erasmus) |
| Raubgraf | Robber Baron |
| Raubritter | Robber Baron |
| Reißewolf | Tearing Wolf |
| Rhein | German river |
| Ritter | Knight |
| Robbe | Seal |
| Rochen | Ray |
| Roßbach | German town in Saxonia (Here the Battle of Roßbach took place in 1757, where Frederick the Great won over French and Imperial German Troops.) |
| Rügen | German island in the Baltic Sea |
| Schill | Ferdinand von Schill (1776 - 1809) (German cavalry officer, led in 1807 a rebellion against Napoleon. Highly decorated for the successful defence of the town of Kolberg, Prussia against the advancing French armies.) |
| Schlagetot | Hooligan |
| Schlei | Fish or bight in the Baltic |
| Schlieffen | Alfred Graf von Schlieffen (1833 - 1913) (Chief of the German General Staff before WW I and inventor of the "Schlieffen Plan" which should have had assured Germany winning a two front war against France and Russia. The plan, however, was not put into action as it should have been, resulting finally in the entrenched war and the defeat of Germany in WWI.) |
| Seeräuber | Pirate |
| Seeteufel | Sea Devil |
| Seewolf | Sea Wolf |
| Seydlitz | Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz (1721 - 1773) (German Cavalry General under Frederick the Great) |
| Siegfried | Character from a German myth |
| Specht | Woodpecker |
| Spitz | Pomeranian |
| Star | Starling |
| Steinbrinck | Otto Steinbrinck (1888 - 1949) (German U-boat commander in WW I on U-6, UB-10, UB-18 and UC-65. Sank 204 ships with a total of 243,424 tons.) |
| Steuben | Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730 - 1794) (Former German officer, Major General and Inspecting General of General Washington's Army. Contributed to the victory of the Americans over the British in the War of Indepence. Still held in high esteem by the Americans as he is considered in having a great share of the victory as he was the organizer of the American Army, directly responsible for training.) |
| Stier | Bull |
| Stock | Stick |
| Störtebeker | Klaus Störtebeker (~1360 - 1401) (German privateer and pirate, operated in the Baltic and North Sea, mainly fought against the German Hanse Trading Organisation. Executed in Hamburg 1401 under spectacular circumstances.) |
| Stoßtrupp | Assault Team |
| Streitaxt | Battle Axe |
| Stürmer | Forward |
| Sylt | German island in the North Sea |
| Taifun | Typhoon |
| Thor | German God |
| Tiger | Tiger |
| Tirpitz | Alfred von Tirpitz (1849 - 1930) (Organisator of the German High Seas Fleet before WW I, Großadmiral) |
| Trutz | Defiance |
| Tümmler | Dolphin |
| Ungestüm | Vehemence |
| Ulan | Lancer |
| Veilchen | Violet |
| Vorwärts | Let's go! |
| Weddigen | Otto Weddigen (1880 - 1915) (German U-boat commander in WW I on U-9 and U-29. Sank in Sep 1914 the three British cruisers HMS Aboukir, HMS Hogue and HMS Cressy. This was the first major U-boat success in military history.) |
| Werwolf | Werewolf |
| Westgruppe | Westgroup |
| Westmark | Name for the Saar-Pfalz territory in the Third Reich since 1940. |
| Wiking | Viking |
| Wildfang | Brat |
| Wolf | Wolf |
| Wotan | German God |
| Ziethen | Hans-Joachim von Ziethen (1699 - 1786)
(German cavalry officer under Frederick the Great) |
| Zorn | Fury |