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276 GLOSSARY

Afrika Korps German expeditionary

force, commanded by Erwin Rommel

and sent to North Africa in spring 1941

to support the Italians following a string

of defeats by the British. Later it was

substantially reinforced to become

Panzerarmee Afrika (Panzer Army Africa).

aircraft carrier Large naval vessel

capable of launching and recovering

aircraft, such as torpedo bombers,

dive-bombers, and protective fighters.

Anschluss The absorption of Austria

into Germany on March 13, 1938, the

day after Hitler’s troops marched into the

country on the pretext of restoring order.

area bombing Blanket aerial

bombardment of large urban areas.

armistice The temporary suspension

of hostilities between warring countries

so that negotiations for a formal peace

agreement can take place.

army group The largest military land

formation used in World War II, consisting

of two or more armies serving under

a single commander.

Atlantic Wall The massive coastal

defenses the Germans built to repulse

an Allied invasion of Western Europe.

Axis, Rome–Berlin The friendship pact

agreed between Germany and Italy in

November 1936, followed by the Pact of

Steel, a formal military alliance in May

1939, and the Tripartite Pact, signed by

Germany, Italy, and Japan in September

1940. Other Axis powers included Hungary,
      Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Croatia.

battalion Military unit typically

consisting of between 300 and 800

soldiers, subdivided into companies

and platoons. Battalions are commanded

by lieutenant-colonels with a major as

second-in-command. Generally, three

or more battalions grouped together

make up a regiment.

battleship An extremely large, heavily-

armored warship, principally armed with

large-caliber guns mounted in rotating

turrets. Although vitally important to both

GLOSSARY

the Allied and Axis powers, battleships

proved highly vulnerable to air attack

by carrier-borne aircraft.

beachhead An area close to the

sea or a river that, when captured

by attacking troops, is the foundation

for a subsequent advance deeper into

enemy-held territory.

“Big Six” The six members of

the Japanese Imperial General

Headquarters-Government Liaison

Conference (later the Supreme Council

for the Direction of the War): the Prime

Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs,

Minister of War, Minister of the Navy,

the Chief of the Army General Staff,

and the Chief of the Naval General Staff.

Bletchley Park Headquarters of

Britain’s Government Code & Cypher

School, tasked with decoding enemy

military communications.

Blitz The Luftwaffe’s mass bombing

campaign against British cities, ports,

and towns from September 1940

to May 1941.

Blitzkrieg As employed by the

Germans, blitzkrieg (“lightning war”)

involved mass tank formations,

supported by dive-bombers and

motorized artillery, making a thrust

forward on a narrow front.

Bomber Command The branch of the

RAF specializing in bomber operations

from 1936 to 1968.

bouncing bomb A spinning cylindrical

bomb, invented by British engineer

Barnes Wallis to destroy the Ruhr

hydroelectric dams.

bridgehead see beachhead

brigade Military formation, typically

consisting of three to six battalions

plus supporting reconnaissance,

artillery, engineers, supply, and

transport elements.

BEF British Expeditionary Force. British

troops sent to France in 1939.

capital ship One of a navy’s most

important warships. Traditionally a

battleship or battle cruiser and, from

1942 onward, an aircraft carrier.

carpet bombing see area bombing

corps A military formation, consisting

of two or more divisions and typically

commanded by a lieutenant-general.

Desert Rats The nickname of the

soldiers of the British 7th Armored

Division during the fighting in the

1940–1943 North African campaign. It

later was applied to the entire 8th Army.

division Military formation consisting

of a team of all arms and services required

to sustain independent operations. An

army can have anything from four to

ten divisions.

Eastern Front In World War II, the theater

of war between the Axis powers and

Finland—a co-belligerent—against the

USSR. It took place in central and Eastern

Europe, the Baltics, and the Balkans. In the

former USSR this part of the war is known

as the Great Patriotic War.

Einsatzgruppen Four battalion-sized

mobile killing squads that targeted

Jews and political enemies in territories

occupied by Germany.

enfiladed Gunfire directed from

a flanking point along the length

of an enemy battle line.

escort carrier Smaller and slower than

aircraft carriers, escort carriers were largely

converted merchant ships carrying aircraft.

They were principally tasked with escorting

convoys carrying materiel and supplies.

Fighter Command Branch of the RAF

specializing in fighter operations, founded

in 1936. Integral in defeating the Luftwaffe

during the Battle of Britain in 1940.

Free French French citizens who rallied

to General Charles de Gaulle following

his call for a continuation of the war after

France’s capitulation in June 1940.

front (Soviet) The Soviet equivalent

of a Western army group. A front was

generally made up of three to five armies,

plus an army-size air wing to provide

ground forces with aerial support.

Führer German word meaning leader.

Hitler took it as a title in 1921 to signify

his position as leader of the Nazi party.

Geneva Conventions Four political

conventions, plus additional protocols,

regulating the laws of war and allowing

for the protection of POWs and civilians

during war. First ratified in 1864, the

Geneva Conventions were amended

and extended in 1906, 1929, and 1949.

German high command Germany’s

military leadership, the Oberkommando der

Wehrmacht ,was set up by Hitler in 1938

to help him establish undisputed control

of the armed forces.

gulag Network of forced labor camps

that operated in the USSR from the 1920s

onward. Although the government

agency administrating the gulags closed

in 1960, forced labor in the USSR

persisted for decades.

Habforce A British military force raised in

Palestine in April 1941 and sent to relieve

the RAF base at Habbaniyah in Iraq, before

being besieged by rebel Iraqi forces.

howitzer A large artillery piece,

generally with a comparatively short

barrel, capable of firing shells at a high

angle of elevation with a steep descent.

Depending on the type of howitzer,

range varied from around 5 miles (8 km)

to 20 miles (30 km).

Imperial Japanese Navy Navy of the

Empire of Japan from 1868 until 1945.

kamikaze Japanese pilots of World War II

who, from October 1944, launched mass

suicide attacks against Allied shipping.

Karelian Isthmus The stretch of land

between the Gulf of Finland and Lake

Lagoda where the Finns built the fortified

Mannerheim Line.

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