|
|
|
|
|
SturmscharfhrerSturmscharfhrer 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. Sturmscharfhrer was unique to the Waffen-SS and was not used in the regular SS (the Allgemeine-SS), where the highest enlisted rank was Hauptscharfhrer. The rank of Sturmscharfhrer was first created in June 1934, after the Night of the Long Knives. Due to a reorganization of the SS, Sturmscharfhrer was created as the most senior enlisted rank of the SS-Verfgungstruppe, replacing the older Sturmabteilung title of Haupttruppfhrer. By 1941, the Waffen-SS had become the successor organization to the SS-Verfgungstruppe and Sturmscharfhrer was established as the most senior enlisted rank. A Sturmscharfhrer was typically assigned as the head sergeant of an entire regiment or, in some cases, an infantry division. Sturmscharfhrer was not the same as Stabsscharfhrer, which was a positional title given to the head SS-NCO of a company. The rank of Sturmscharfhrer was also not a prerequisite for promotion to Untersturmfhrer 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 Sturmscharfhrer 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 Sturmscharfhrer was worn with silver piping.
|
 |
| |
|
|