KatiePie:
Moody:
We called the British Tommies while we were called Jerries in return
I think jerries was a reference to the helmets the German soldiers wore, which were thought to resemble chamber pots, or jerries.
I've heard of them being called 'coal scuttle' helmets.
The British often referred to the German forces by the singular name 'Jerry' during World War II, just as Americans referred to the Vietnamese National Liberation Front as 'Charlie' during the Vietnam conflict.
During the second world war, Americans were rather crude in using pejorative racial/ethnic terms like 'Nips' (Japanese) and 'Krauts' (Germans) for enemy servicemen. The Germans referred to their Soviet enemies simply as 'Ivans' or 'Russkies.'
War can be strange at times, hmmmm...?? --C.K.