"What do German soldiers say when they receive an order?" Topic

Just a piece of curiosity and Google is failing me.. when given an order by say, the squad leader, what would a German soldier (whether ww2, cold war or today) say to affirm it?

Okee Dokee?

Most likely just "Ja"

Ya voll! (Yes, fully or completely)

I'm sure it was always "Jawohl mein herr" in the Commando comics…..

"Jawohl Herr …"

Usually the rank accompanied the afirmation. For pronounciation see link:

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jawohl

Cheers,
Robert
18thcenturysojourn.blogspot.com

oder "zu Befehl."

Doesn't ja wohl translate to "probably"? Maybe it's dependant on context.

oder "zu Befehl."
to command

Eine Heinekin Bitte

Doesn't ja wohl translate to "probably"?

No – wohl is an emphatic, so Jawohl is even more definite; not just yes, but something likely absolutely or certainly. (As an aside, it's one word not two – the Germans like compound words….)

OK It's been a while since I studied German,makes sense viele dank Dom.

Ich benötige ein Bier auch.

Sgt. Schultz always said, "Ja wohl" when answering the commandant.

Isst Scheisse!

Can you get a better source than Sgt. Schultz? He was the best!

mjc

Ich weiss nicht.

But he, "..knows nothing!"

Today soldiers answer "Jawohl, Herr Feldwebel!" for example if given an order by a Feldwebel (Sergant?). But quite often a "Ja!" or "Ok" is answerd if the situation does not require a formal answer.
But then my time in the Bundeswehr was almost 10 years ago.
Oh, und für mich bitte auch ein Bier!

Could also just be a quiet "ja ja", nod or grunt of assent and then quietly going off to do what you're told. Middle of the night in the ruins of Stalingrad is no time for clicking of heels and a hearty "Jawohl Herr Feldwebel!"

Ach du lieber Augustine…

only ein bier?

And how do soldiers in each of the U.S. armed forces answer a command?

In the Army, they say "Yes, sir".

In the Marines, they say "Sir, yes sir!"

In the Navy, they say "Aye, aye, sir"

And in the Air Force, they say "I don't know Bob, can you run that by me again?"

Shades of black
Dank für das Teilen das mit uns lässt uns jetzt gehen Zupacken ein Bier

Towards the very end a lot of them apparently said the German equivalent of "is you crazy!?" :0)

or… "you don't happen to have any spare civilian clothes lying around do you?"

"Thank you, sir! May I have another?"

Okee Dokee?

Sapphon, Sapphon, Sapphon…

The Germany Army is and always has been very professional and respectful. As such, they would never say something as undignified as "Okee Dokee"

They would say "Okee Dokee, SIR."

"You betcha!"
or
"OK, boss. Soon as I finish my coffee."

Totally OT, but the end of the war comments seem excuse enough for a Mitchell & Webb link…. ;-)

YouTube link

Dom.

Wir brauchen ein größeres Boot

"Du kannst meine arsch lecken!"

Ich habe keine Ahnung.

Mike

Germ soldiers? Aren't they always yelling something like :"!"

Way to go on the offensive / racist angle there; the use of the present tense was particularly well-considered….

"… and would you like mustard on that?"

I am a jelly doughnut

My German is pretty rusty but Sergeis are you advocating the destruction of Jewry or is my translation bad or is this in a WW2 context, if so you have used the wrong tense.

This is what Google came up with CanuckCommander. Robert

link

Bavarian troops might say,"Ja, siche, und auch einer Masse Weissbier bitte."
"Servus"

Wasn't that what Cartman was getting the mob to chant in the Southpark episode lampooning the Passion of the Christ?

Watch the German War Film "Men Against Tanks" on youtube. Early on the LT calls out to one of his men to load the anti-tank gun. You'll have your answer.

YouTube link

The translation of "zu Befehl" would, in this circumstance, be "as ordered", not "to command"

or maybe "by your command" with a suitable metallic ring in your voice?

My friend Yogi, who invaded Russia, always said he got in the habit of answering his superiors by 1943 with the German equivalent of "sure thing, chief" in a fairly laid-back manner.

As he puts it, "Of course, we were all cold and hungry and itching, so what use was all that saluting and all that rot?"

What do kamikaze pilots say when they receive orders?

Must movies or video games the Germans are always yelling "Saenitator!" Seems to be a favorite of most armies.

The Japanese might say "It's all fun and games until someone gets their eye poked out" Which in Japanese would be "Hai, Domo!"

"Must movies or video games the Germans are always yelling "

In Close Combat 2 they mostly yelled 'Wir gehen an der sicherheit' (apologies for dreadful spelling and grammar) as they ran for safety.

Anyway, I didn't think the German Army did 'orders', it was all mission directed tactics stuff:-)

Definitely "zu Befehl", (at least in WW2.)

I'm sure it was always "Jawohl mein herr" in the Commando comics…..

There were some interesting national differences in the Commando comics. For example Germans always said Gnarrgh! when shot where as the Japanese said Aieeeeee! Brits and Americans on the other hand it was usually Gnnngh!

'Wir gehen an der sicherheit'

"Deckung!" would have covered this a lot more succinctly…