Archer: Valentine chassis developed to house the 17pdr gun. Unusual as it pointed backwards in a fixed mount.
Ashita: Tomorrow [Japanese]
ATPAU: Army Tank Prototype Assessment Unit. As far as I am aware, this is a figment of my imagination.
AVRE: Armoured vehicle, Royal Engineers.
B-29: The American Superfortress, high-altitude heavy bomber.
BA64: Soviet 4x4 light armoured car with two crew and a machine-gun.
Baka: Fool [Japanese]
Balebetishen: Roughly means respectable or respectable person.
Bali radar: German Ant3 Radar Detector.
BAR: US automatic rifle that fired a .30cal round. It was an effective weapon, but was hampered by a 20 round magazine. Saw service in both World Wars, and many wars since.
Battle of the Bulge: Germany’s Ardennes offensive of winter 1944
Bazooka: Generic name applied to a number of different anti-tank rocket launchers introduced into the US Army from 1942 onwards.
Beaufighter, Bristoclass="underline" British twin-engine long-range heavy fighter, saw extensive service in roles from ground attack, night fighter, to anti-shipping strikes. Also served in the USAAF in its night fighter role.
BefehlsPanther: Command version of the German battle tank, equipped with extra radios. Most versions retained their 75mm gun whereas, a few others, converted from Beobachtswagen, did not.
Beobachtungspanzer Panther: Observation vehicle, with main gun removed and a ball-mounted MG34 in the turret front. Its main purpose was as an artillery vehicle but could be used as a mobile command post.
BergePanther: German Panther tank converted or produced as a engineering recovery vehicle to service Panther Battalions in combat.
Bianchi: Italian motorcycle
Blau Division: Designated the 25oth Infanterie Division in the German Army, the Blau Division was made up of Spanish volunteers who signed up to fight the communists.
Bletchley Park: Location of the centre for Allied code breaking during World War two. Sometimes known as Station X.
Blighty: British slang term for Britain.
Blue and Grey Division: The nickname of the 29th US Infantry Division.
Boyes: .55-inch anti-tank rifle employed by the British Army but phased out in favour of the PIAT.
Bren Gun: British standard issue light machine-gun.
Browning Hi-Power: 9mm handgun with a 13 round magazine, used by armies on both sides during WW2.
Brylcreams: Slang expression for RAF aircrew.
Buffalo: British term for the LVT or Amtrak, the amphibious tracked vehicle which became a mainstay of the Pacific War, and featured in all major Allied amphibious operations from Guadalcanal onwards.
Buffalo Soldiers: The 92nd Colored Division was sometimes referred to as the Buffalo Division
C47: US development of the DC3, known in British operations as the Dakota. Twin-engine transport aircraft.
Calliope: Also known as the Sherman T-34, the tank was fitted with 60 4.5” rocket tubes, mounted on a frame over the turret and aimed by a simple arm attached to the main gun. Other combinations of rocket tubes existed.
Cavalry: The German army had cavalry until the end, all be it in small numbers. The SS had two such divisions, the 8th and 22nd.
Centauro tank division: Officially, the 131st Armoured Division ‘Centauro’, this Italian formation surrendered in Tunisia during May 1943.
Centurion I: British heavy tank, equipped with the 17pdr and a Polsten cannon.
Challenger: The British Challenger [A30] was mounted on an altered Cromwell chassis and equipped with a 17pdr gun.
Chekist: Soviet term used to describe a member of the State Security apparatus, often not intended to be complimentary.
Chesterfield: American cigarette brand.
Chickamauga: A battle in the American Civil War, fought on 19th to 20th September, 1863. It was a Union defeat of some note, and second only to Gettysburg in combined casualties.
Chikushou: Damn it or Fuck [Japanese]
Churchill IV: 6pdr equipped version of the British heavy tank, some of which fought with the Soviet Army at Kursk.
Churchill VII: Much improved version of the Churchill tank, equipped with a 75mm gun and uparmoured.
Colloque Biarritz: The fourth symposium based at the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg.
Combat Command [CC]: Formation similar to an RCT, which was formed from all-arms elements within a US Armored Division, the normal dispositions being CC ‘A’, CC ‘B’ and CC ‘R’, the ‘R’ standing for reserve.
Comet: British medium tank armed with a 77mm high-velocity gun.
Contraband: Derogatory name applied to black escapees from the Southern States, originating from General Benjamin Butler’s declaration that he would treat runaway slaves like ‘contraband of war.’
Corvette: Small patrol and escort vessel used by Allied navies throughout WW2.
Court of Bernadotte: The Court of the Swedish Royal Family.
Crusader III: British cruiser tank that saw a great deal of action in the Desert Campaign. With a 6pdr gun it was superior firepower wise to the PzIII and PzIV it encountered there.
Dacha: A country cottage, but has become synonymous with a retreat for Soviet ruling classes.
Deuxieme Bureau: France’s External Military Intelligence Agency that underwent a number of changes post 1940 but still retained its ‘Deux’ label for many professionals.
Douglas DC-3: Twin-engine US transport aircraft, also labelled C-47. [Built by the Russians under licence as the Li-2]
DP-28: Standard Soviet Degtyaryov light machine-gun with large top mounted disc magazine containing 47 rounds.
Dva: In Russian, the number two.
Easy Eight: An M4A3E8 Sherman tank, derived from the E8 designation.
EBW: Explosive bridge-wire detonators.
Elektroboote: A Type XXI U-Boat
Falke: Infra-red sighting system, installed on some German vehicles, especially useful for night fighting.
Fallschirmjager: German Paratroops. They were the elite of the Luftwaffe, but few Paratroopers at the end of the war had ever seen a parachute. None the less, the ground divisions fought with a great deal of élan and gained an excellent combat reputation.
Fanculo: Italian expletive meaning ‘Go forth and multiply’
Fat Man: Implosion-type Plutonium Bomb similar in operation to ‘The Gadget’.
FBI: Federal Bureau of Intelligence, which was also responsible for external security prior to the formation of the CIA.
FFI: Forces Francaises de L’Interieur, or the French Forces of the Interior was the name applied to resistance fighters during the latter stages of WW2. Once France had been liberated, the pragmatic De Gaulle tapped this pool of manpower and created ‘organised’ divisions from these, often at best, para-military groups. Few proved to be of any quality and they tended to be used in low-risk areas.
FG42: Fallschirmgewehr 42, a hybrid 7.62mm weapon which was intended to be both assault rifle and LMG.
Firefly, Fairey: British single-engine carrier aircraft, used as both fighter and anti-submarine roles.
Firefly, Sherman V: British variant of the American M4 armed with a 17-pdr main gun, which offered the Sherman excellent prospects for a kill of any Panzer on the battlefield.
Flak: Flieger Abwehr Kanone, anti-aircraft guns.
FUBAR: Fucked up beyond all recognition.
FUSAG: Acronym for the First US Army Group, a phantom formation set up to mislead the Germans for the Invasion of France.
G2: Military Intelligence branch of the Irish Army.
Garda: The Garda Síochána, the Irish police force.
GAVCA: Grupo de Aviação de Caça [Portuguese] Translated literally means ‘fighter group’, the 1st GAVCA serving within the Brazilian Expeditionary Force.
GAZ: Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, Soviet producers of vehicles from light car through to heavy trucks.