Abteilung

Abteilung is a German word widely used for German and Swiss military formations, and depending on context it can mean detachment, department, battalion or even division. Wikipedia explains that in the armed forces of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and the Wehrmacht during World War II the term generally denoted a battalion-equivalent unit in the armoured, cavalry, reconnaissance and artillery arms, including the Waffen-SS. Examples are the Schwere Panzerabteilung, a heavy tank battalion. When the word was applied to larger formations it usually meant a detachment, as in Armee-Abteilung for an army detachment and Korpsabteilung for a corps detachment. It corresponds to the Russian divizion and the Polish dywizjon, and German also uses it for civilian departments such as an office department.