Translation of the word kalmü

[Dann Falk]

Greetings all,

I found a German reference naming a hill kalmü. This is during fighting in Romania 1944. Any idea what kalmü is in English?

Thanks in advance.

Dann

A quick update...

[GregSingh]

Sounds like of Turkish origin. Ask Tosun Saral in Ottoman Empire section.
Period Soviet map has it as Гора ХАЛМУ (Mount HALMU).

[Waleed Y. Majeed]

Could it be the spot mentioned here as “Hill 254” also called “Kalmu” or “Kalmu Peak”?
https://relicsandmilitaria.ro/targu-fru ... ak-battle/

Waleed

[Dann Falk]

Great info

On the Soviet maps that I have seen, it's only listed as 256, no name.

I will check it out.

Thanks

[GregSingh]

Fragment of map from files of Soviet 40th Army.
256 - Г. ХАЛМУ

[Dann Falk]

I posted this info on the Ottoman Empire section and my post disappeared.

[Max]

I posted this info on the Ottoman Empire section and my post disappeared.

It's back
viewtopic.php?f=80&t=250929

BTW
In Turkish, kalmü could mean "stay" or "remain" [Bing Translator]
Maybe it could mean "hold"

[Dann Falk]

OK Max...that is real information.

Yes I posted my request to the Ottoman Empire section again. No hits back yet.

Stay, Hold, Remain? Strange name for a hill... HOLD the hill, REMAIN on the hill,. STAY on the hill.

Let us keep looking.

Thanks Max!

[Max]

I wonder what Kalmu refers to here

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Repro-Foto-K ... 4439344792

[Dann Falk]

Very interesting.

kalmü must be some type of slang word.

Maybe a German speaker can fill us in on the meaning.

Thanks Max

[Hohlladung]

Hi Dann,
There is no slang expression in German language for Kalmü.
AFAIK it is the short form for Kalmücke (Kalmyk).

The link Max was posting refers to 116. Pz. Division. The Division was formed out of remnants of the 16. Pz.Grn. Div. They led the greyhound as divisional sign. This Division reached the farest point East during Barbarossa campaign, crossing the geographical border to Asia in the Kalmyk Steppe, in September 1942 in a reconnaissance patrol to Astrachan.
There they picked up a greyhound, which was the mascot of the division from there on.

This is all I can offer you for Kalmü.

Best regards
Armin

[Dann Falk]

I found this....

Kalmuckor or Kalmuck

a member of any of a group of Buddhistic Mongol tribes of a region extending from western China to the valley of the lower Volga River.

a Mongolian language used by the part of the Kalmuck people that was formerly powerful in northwest China, specifically in Dzungaria, and is now relocated northwest of the Caspian Sea.


So I could call kalmü a shortened version of Kalmücke for the "Kalmyk Steppe" area, that was a nickname for the 16 Pz GD then 116 Pz Ds. Yes?

[GregSingh]

That name has been appearing on maps as way back as maps can be found (at least a couple of hundreds of years), so it has nothing to do with any WWII German division.
But Armin/Max might be onto something, coincidentally a Hungarian words for Kalmuks/Kalmyks is also Kalmü.

So it is quite possibly some German/Hungarian settlers named it a "Kalmyk hill". It's anyone guess how they knew about Kalmyks at all in 17/18 century ?

BTW on Romanian maps they used word movilă, which in English is mound/heap/hump. Not even a hill.

So Kalmyk(s) looks quite promising as English translation of Kalmü is this particular case.

[Max]

What if the hill was called Kalmü because it looked like a Kalmyk yurt (or gher) ?

[Dann Falk]

The kalmü hill was the highest point around, so it was a prominent feature.