Gefreiter

Gefreiter is the German, Swiss and Austrian equivalent for Private (OR-2) (US Army E-2) in the armed services. Gefreiter was the lowest rank to which an ordinary soldier could be promoted. As a military rank it has existed since at least the 16th century. From the 1920s on "Gefreiter" has expanded into several ranks equivalent to Private (OR-3) to Corporal, those being "Obergefreiter", "Hauptgefreiter", "Stabsgefreiter" and "Oberstabsgefreiter".

A similar rank exists in Russia ("Ефрейтор"; yefreytor, efreitor), Ukraine (Єфрейтор, ; yefreytor, efreitor) and Belarus and existed in late Soviet Union.

Germany

German Army rank insignia (shoulder tab)
German Navy rank insignia (sleeve)In today's German Federal Armed Forces Bundeswehr, almost every soldier or sailor successfully passing the 12 weeks basic training is promoted to Gefreiter. Following the NATO ranking system, "Gefreiter" ranks as Private (OR-2), "Obergefreiter" as PFC (OR-3 lower half), "Hauptgefreiter" as Lance-Corporal (OR-3 upper half), "Stabsgefreiter" and "Oberstabsgefreiter" as Corporal (OR-4). The German equivalent of Private (OR-1) is "Schütze" or another unit type-specific term (like "Kanonier", "gunner") in the "Heer" (German Army), "Matrose" in the "Deutsche Marine" (German Navy), "Flieger" in the "Luftwaffe" (Air Force), or simply "Soldat" (" [ordinary] soldier").

The lowest NCO grade in the German army is "Unteroffizier" (literally "Sub-Officer"), which is equivalent to an American sergeant or a British corporal in responsibility (e.g. squad leader).

The "Kriegsmarine" used the rank of "Matrosengefreiter", equivalent to an Able Seaman or Leading Seaman.

One of the best known holders of the rank of "Gefreiter" was Adolf Hitler, who held the rank in the Bavarian 16th Reserve Infantry Regiment during World War I.

witzerland

See Swiss army ranks.

Austria

Russia, Ukraine, Belarus

See Russian military ranks, Army ranks and insignia of Ukraine.