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Wachtmeister (Wm; German for 'master-sentinel' or 'watch-master') is amilitary rank ofnon-commissioned officers (NCO) inAustria andSwitzerland. It is also used in civil authorities in German-speaking countries (police, judiciary, customs service, border protection). TheWachtmeister was initially responsible for the guard duty of the army. Later, it became theFeldwebel equivalent NCO-grade of thecavalry andartillery. Besides Austria and Switzerland today, the rank was also used elsewhere, for example in Germany, Russia, and Poland (wachmistrz).
In the German police service,Wachtmeister denoted the lowest rank; it was abolished in the 1980s, but is still the colloquial term referring to police patrolling in uniform.[1]
TheWachtmeister was in the beginning responsible guard, sentry, or sentinel, responsible for the armies' guard duty. Later he became theFeldwebel equivalent NCO-grade of thecavalry andartillery.
In theLandsknecht armies and in the town of the 16th century,Wachtmeister was the official title to a «war experienced, skilful, and honest fellow», which was – in line to the order of his superior – responsible for the security of the military compound, or/and had to take care for the marching troops. He organized and controlled the guards, was responsible for discipline and attention, and took care for knowing the watchword. The watch service was provided almost by the cavalry, and often the mounted troops were responsible to guard the whole army, what was the case for instance in Brandenburg about 1620.
With the formation of standing armies, the designationWachtmeister became of universally valid for the Feldwebel of the cavalry, later also of the artillery and other armed service branches. As regards to the three Feldwebel-ranks until 1945 there were the equivalent ranks Unterwachtmeister, Wachtmeister and Oberwachtmeister. Until 1970 in the GDR NPA the Feldwebel of the artillery was designated Wachtmeister.[2]
| Wachtmeister | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Country |  Austria |
| Service branch | Austrian Armed Forces |
| Rank group | Unteroffiziere |
| Non-NATO rank | OR-5[3] |
| Formation | 1857 |
| Next higher rank | Oberwachtmeister |
| Next lower rank | Zugsführer |
Until the 1970s year the artillery and air defence troops used the designationFeuerwerker instead ofWachtmeister. Today, theWachtmeister is the lowest NCO-rank (assignment group M BUO 2 / professional NCO; respectively M ZUO 2 / longer-serving volunteer) in theAustrian Bundesheer. TheWachtmeister will normally be deployed as a leader (Austrian: Kommandant) of asquad (8 to 13 soldiers).
Regarding the promotion to the rank there are three possibilities:
Wachtmeister was a cavalryrank of the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces (1867–1918). It was comparable toCavalry Master-sergeant in Anglophone armed forces.
In the Austro-Hungarian Armed ForcesWachtmeister was equivalent to:
| Junior rank Zugsführer |  (Austro-Hungarian armed forces rank) Wachtmeister | Senior rank Stabswachtmeister |
Then rank insignia was a gorget patch on the stand-up collar of the so-calledWaffenrock (en: tunic), and consisted of three white stars on 13 mm ragged yellow silk galloon. The gorget patch and the stand-up collar showed the particularWaffenfarbe (en: corps colour).
| Designation | Non-commissioned officers/ Feldwebel ranks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  | |
| Paroli | |||||
| Rank description | Feuerwerker | Wachtmeister | Oberjäger | Feldwebel | |
| Branch | Artillery | Cavalry | Mountainers infantry | Infantry | Military Guard Corps |
Similarly to thecompany sergeant major appointment to army units (de: Kompaniefeldwebel / popularly: Spiess), theNCOs with port épée on board larger warships wears the designation «Wachtmeister». Among other responsibilities, he might be required to deal with S1 (coordinating staff area – personnel service) obligations. Assigned to this role will be experienced port épée NCOs up to the rank ofHauptbootsmann (OR7) or higher.
In the German army ground forces, the designation of the Feldwebel rank ofCavalry andArtillery was the «Wachtmeister» until 1945.
In the GDR National People´s Army (NPA), the «Wachtmeister» was replaced byFeldwebel in 1970.
In theImperial German Navy,Reichsmarine, andKriegsmarine, the lowest port épée NCO rank of the sea operations divisions was named «Wachtmeister» as well. However, the equivalent rank of land operations divisions was namedFeldwebel.
In the GDRNational People's Army (NPA) the «Wachtmeister» was replaced by the universal rank designation Feldwebel. The equivalent rank of the Volksmarine (en: People's Navy) was theMeister of the Volksmarine.
| Junior Rank Unterwachtmeister (Unterfeldwebel) | .svg) National People's Army rank Wachtmeister (Feldwebel) | Senior Rank Oberwachtmeister (Oberfeldwebel) |
In Poland, "Wachmistrz" was a sergeant serving in cavalry.
To theRussian Army, the rank ofWachtmeister (ru: Ва́хмистр /Vakhmistr) was adopted in 1711, by order of theTsarPeter the Great. Until 1877, there were the unofficial ranks ofstarshij vakhmistr (Старший ва́хмистр) andmladshij vakhmistr (Младший ва́хмистр) in order to identify and distinguish between what could be called platoon non-commissioned officers.
TheWachtmeister was responsible for providing support to the troop commander, which normally wasRittmeister (cavalry captain, roughly equivalent to OF-2) Among aWachtmeister’s responsibilities were basic unit training, command task training, service support, and the maintenance of unit morale.
The German equivalent to the RussianWachtmeister was the infantryFeldwebel. Until 1826, it was the highest non-commissioned officer rank, and superior to all subordinate NCOs. In 1826 the so-called “old”Oberwachtmeisters were counted to the senior officers’ rank group in line with the Russian rank table (XIV, before XIII). However, the reorganisation was never accepted in practical usage, although such a position would have been equivalent to the rank ofcornet.
| junior rank: Junior NCO |   Wachtmeister (Feldwebel) | senior rank: Podpraporshchik |
| Wachtmeister | |
|---|---|
  Swiss and Swiss guard insignia | |
| Country |  Switzerland Vatican |
| Service branch | Swiss Armed Forces(SAF) Swiss Guard(SG) |
| Rank group | Non-commissioned officer |
| Next higher rank | Oberwachtmeister(SAF) Feldweibel(SG) |
| Next lower rank | Korporal(SAF & SG) |
In theMilitary of Switzerland theWachtmeister (abbr.Wm, French:sergent, Italian:sergente) is a non-commissioned officer rank. The rank is higher than aKorporal, and lower than anOberwachtmeister.
Until the so-called Army reform XXI (in effect from 1 January 2004), the rank was regularly assigned to aZugführer-Stellvertreter (deputy platoon leader). However, in 2014, a newly appointed Wachtmeister was to be a squad leader or vehicle leader (Gruppenführer,Wagenkommandant), e.g. a gun commander (Geschützführer).[citation needed]
In United Nations missions and in NATO Partnership for Peace, the rankWachtmeister will be designated in English withSergeant (Sgt).
