Schützen (military)

Schützen (En:Shooters) is a German plural noun used to designate a type of military unit of infantrymen, originally armed with a rifled musket and used in a light-infantry or skirmishing role - and hence similar to the Jäger. The individual infantrymen are termed Schütze. Prior to the introduction of firearms the word was used for 'archer', and is sometimes used in the form Bogenschütze (bowman - lit. 'bow shooter'). When used as a verb schützen has the meaning 'guard' or 'protect'.

The English translation of the German word Schütze is 'shooter' (from Schuss-'shot' or schießen-'shooting'), as in Scharfschütze = sharpshooter or sniper, or Schützengraben = a firing trench and by extension Geschütz = 'gun' -- in the sense of artillery as in Sturmgeschütz = assault gun (a type of tank used as self-propelled artillery and originally intended for infantry support). Schuetze is the correct variant spelling (without the umlaut). The noun Schutz (which never has an umlaut or variant spelling, and thus has a different pronunciation) means 'guard', 'protection' or 'defence' (as in Zivilschutz () = 'Civil Defence', or Grenzschutz () = 'Border Protection' or 'Border Guard').

The rank of Schütze was used for 'Private' in the Imperial German Machine Gun Abteilungen (independent horse-drawn Machine Gun detachments) and for the Saxon Schützen (Fusilier) Regiment No 108. During the First World War the term became more widespread in the Imperial German Army, when it was applied to dismounted Cavalry Divisions, the Kavallerie-Schützen-Division (). The Imperial German Colonial Infantry were referred to as Schutztruppe, however this is translated as 'defence troops' and is not related to the Schützen.

The Wehrmacht (or more correctly Heer – the army of the Third Reich) and the Waffen-SS, adopted the rank title Schütze for an infantry private (still used in the present day Bundeswehr), and therefore perhaps the best translation is 'rifleman' (or for the plural noun, as in British military usage, 'Rifles', e.g. 'Queen Victoria’s Rifles') with the additional sense of 'sharpshooter' or 'marksman'. The French equivalent is Tirailleur.

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