OberLeutnant is the second lowest officer rank of the German Wehrmacht, found in the Heer (Army) and Luftwaffe (Air Force) ranks. For those with no German background, this is pronounced as "Oh-ber LOYT-nent". It is the equivalent to an Oberleutnant zur See in the Kreigsmarine and an Obersturmführer in the Waffen-SS. It also generally equates to a First Lieutenant in the US Armed Forces. After a few years of active service, a Leutnant would be promoted to Oberleutnant, although the responsibilities would not change much. They would still be a company level Junior officer.

The rank was represented by the Junior officer shoulderboards with a single pip. The shoulder boards would then have "colored piping," or waffenfarbe, along the edges indicating what branch the soldier was from - whether it be medical corps, or signal corps, infantry or one of the many others.



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