Grammar problems
A poster created by Charles B. Falls in 1918 (exhibited further up) was one of the first recorded references to the term.
In German, a compound noun is always a single word, so using two words "Teufel Hunden" is grammatically incorrect. The correct German would be Teufelshunde in nominative, genitive, and accusative cases, and Teufelshunden only in the dative. In either form, the linking element "s" steps between the words. Examples:
Sie waren Teufelshunde. - they were devil dogs.
Er war ein Teufelshund. - he was a devil dog.
Er sprach von den Teufelshunden. - he talked about the devil dogs.
Furthermore, the word "Teufelshund" is unknown in the German language, and may possibly be an example of Denglisch. The nearest equivalent is "Hllenhund" ("dog of hell"), the German translation of the mythical Kerberos; a term that can also be used to describe a reckless and courageous person. All this suggests that the Marines were never actually referred to as "devil dogs" by German WWI soldiers.[1]
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