Abteilung

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Abteilung ([apˈtaɪ̯lʊŋ] ^ⓘ; abbrv. Abt.) is a German word that is often used for German or Swiss military formations and depending on its usage could mean detachment, department or battalion; it can also refer to a military division. In German, it is used both for military and civilian departments (as in "office department").

In the military of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and the Wehrmacht (during World War II), the term Abteilung was generally a battalion equivalent in the armoured, cavalry, reconnaissance and artillery arms of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS. For example, Schwere Panzerabteilung refers to German heavy tank battalions. However, when the term was used for large military formations, it generally meant "detachment". For example, Armee-Abteilung translates to "army detachment" and Korpsabteilung to "corps detachment".^[1] The German term Abteilung is used in the same sense as the Russian term divizion (дивизион) or the Polish term dywizjon.