Schütze inGerman means "rifleman" or "shooter",[1] or in older terms originally connoted "archer" before the advent of the rifle. It also occasionally occurs as a surname, or asSchütz, as in the operaDer Freischütz. The word itself is derived from the German wordschützen, meaning to protect, or to guard. It was originally used forarchers as they protected castle walls, and is the German equivalent toSagittarius, the mythical form which held bow and arrow.[citation needed]
As a rank of the Armed Forces ofGermany inFirst World War until 1918,Schütze was used for the lowest enlisted ranks inmachine gun units and some elite troops like SaxonSchützen-Regiment 108 exclusively. Usually translated as "private", from 1920 on it names the lowest enlisted rank of theReichswehrinfantry. The equivalent ofSchütze in the other branches of the German military wasJäger,Kanonier,Pionier,Kraftfahrer orGrenadier[2] in thearmy;Flieger in theLuftwaffe,Matrose in theReichsmarine andKriegsmarine, respectively.[2]
| Collar patch | Shoulder strap | Sleeve badge (left upper arm) | Rank description | Equivalent |
 |  | --- | Schütze (OR-1) |
During theSecond World War, it also became arank in theWaffen-SS, SS-Schütze.[1] Other branches of the SS referred to the rank asMann.[3]
The present-day German military maintainsSchütze as the lowest enlisted grade, with aNATO rank code of OR-1. ASchütze ranks belowGefreiter which is the equivalent of a private (OR-2); the equivalent of aprivate first class being anObergefreiter orHauptgefreiter.
During various periods in German military history, a senior private rank known asOberschütze existed between the grades ofSchütze andGefreiter. In the modern German Army the rank ofSchütze is not used very often. Every part of theBundeswehr has a different name for this rank. For example, in thePanzergrenadiertruppe (heavy mechanized infantry) the name of the rank isPanzergrenadier, and within theFernmelder (communication troops), the name isFunker (radio operator).[citation needed]
| Junior Rank no | Rank Waffen-SS SS-Schütze | Senior Rank SS-Oberschütze |
| Junior Rank SS-Anwärter | Rank Allgemeine-SS SS-Mann | Senior Rank No equivalent |