Admiral Mountbatten:Great-grandson of
Queen Victoria, Admiral in the Royal Navy, Chief of Combined Operations
between 1941 and 1943 (responsible for planning the Dieppe Raid),
and supreme Allied commander in South East Asia between 1943 and
1945.
Aircraft carrier:A large warship designed
to carry and serve as a base for military aircraft.
Ambush: A surprise
attack by military personnel from a concealed position.
Anti-tank: Any type of weapon meant to
be used in combat against tanks and other armoured vehicles.
Armed merchant cruiser:
A commercial ship (usually a cargo ship or freighter) armed with
one or more guns for defence or surprise attacks against enemy shipping.
Armoured regiment:
An army unit employing tanks and/or armoured cars.
Artillery: Large
guns used in land warfare in support of other army personnel.
Artillery batteries:A
form of organization for artillery, usually incorporating six to
eight guns, as well as other vehicles and troops.
Artillery plan:
The plan used to provide artillery support during land warfare;
often referred to as "fire plan".
Bailey Bridge:
A temporary steel bridge designed for rapid construction from
prefabricated parts.
Balmoral:A type
of large, pancake-shaped bonnet usually worn by soldiers in a
Scottish regiment (looks somewhat like a large beret).
Barracks: A building
used to house soldiers.
Barrage:The
concentrated use of artillery support over a wide area.
Battalion:
An infantry unit containing a large number of soldiers (often
around 800 to 1,000 in Canadian military formations), larger than
a company and smaller than a brigade.
Battle dress:
The everyday combat uniform for Canadian soldiers throughout the
Second World War.
Battle of Britain: A series of air
battles fought between the Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe
(air force) over Britain and the English Channel between August
and October 1940.
Battleship:An
extremely large, heavily armoured and well-armed warship meant
to provide heavy support for naval forces and bombardment of land
defenses.
Bayonet:A stabbing
blade attached to the end of a rifle.
Black Watch:
The commonly used name for The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment)
of Canada.
Bomber Command:
The Royal Air Force command responsible for bombing operations.
Braid: A woven
band of thread, often silk, used as trim on a piece of clothing.
Bren light machine gun: A .303 calibre,
air-cooled light machine gun used by the Canadian Army as its
standard infantry light support weapon. Bridgehead:A fortified position
held on an enemy’s side of a waterway (ocean, river, etc.).
Bytown:The
original name of the city of Ottawa.
Cadet:An apprentice in a military organization.
Camp Borden:
Constructed in 1916 northwest of Toronto, Ontario, Camp Borden
has been used ever since by the Canadian Army and the Royal
Canadian Air Force as a training base.
Canadian Army: The
overall title given to the land-based formations of the Canadian
military which, during the Second World War, was made up of
units of the Permanent Force (regular army) and the Militia
(part-time, volunteer army).
Canadian Army Occupation Force (CAOF):
The formation created by First Canadian Army to serve as an
occupation force with other Allied troops in Germany between
1945 and 1946.
Casemate: A shellproof or armored enclosure with openings
for guns, as in a fortress wall or on a warship.
Casualty: Someone
killed or injured in a military conflict or accident.
Casualty collection point (CCP):A location where casualties are brought
together for medical treatment and/or transport to a medical
facility.
Causeway: A
raised road across low, wet ground or a body of water.
Cavalry: Military
forces mounted on horseback armed with a saber (type of sword)
or lance. Chief of the General Staff (CGS): The
senior army officer responsible for providing military advice
to the cabinet minister responsible for the military.
Cockerel: Young,
male bird (usually a rooster in French symbolic usage).
Codebook: A
list of symbols, words, letters, figures and numbers used in
a secret code.
Coder:
Someone who encrypts text using a secret code.
Colonel-in-Chief:The
senior honorary officer in a Canadian military unit.
Colours: The
flag or flags of a military unit or formation. Commando:A member of the
military trained in amphibious warfare. Commonwealth:The organization
consisting of Great Britain and nations that were members of the
British Empire. Company: A subdivision of a battalion
(often about 100 soldiers) usually commanded by a Captain or Major. "Compo" rations: A large container of food intended to last
for several days.
Conning tower: The
superstructure built on the top of a submarine that houses the bridge
(control room) and the periscope apparatus.
Conscript:
A soldier who was drafted (conscripted) into the military, as opposed
to a volunteer.
Convoy: A
group of ships travelling together with a naval escort.
Corps:A
subdivision of an army. It usually consists of two or more divisions;
also, a large, specialized body of troops (such as the Royal
Canadian Army Medical Corps).
Corvette: A
small warship used by the Royal Canadian Navy primarily in the North
Atlantic in anti-submarine warfare.
Cruiser:A
fast, medium-sized warship (between a destroyer and a battleship)
used for a variety of duties, including anti-submarine, convoy protection,
fire support and escort.
D-Day:The day on which a military operation
is set to begin, especially the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944.
Demobilization: The
disbanding of an organization, including the transportation
of military personnel home and their return to civilian life.
Depth charge:An
explosive device launched from a warship and exploded at a predetermined
depth as a weapon against submarines.
Destroyer:Small,
fast warships originally intended to sink smaller vessels and
attack larger warships; also used in the anti-submarine role
during the Second World War.
Disarm: To
take weapons away from a person, organization or nation.
Dispatch rider: A
member of the military on horseback or motorcycle used to deliver
military dispatches (messages).
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC):
A decoration given to air force officers
for acts of bravery while flying in active operations against
the enemy.
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC):
A decoration given to naval officers below the rank of Lieutenant-Commander
for distinguished service against the enemy.
Distinguished Service Order (DSO):
A decoration given to officers from all three services for "meritorious
or distinguished service in war".
Dressing: A
piece of cloth used as a bandage for a wound.
Drill: Training
or instruction in military exercises.
Dugout:A
shelter with a roof, especially for soldiers.
Escutcheon:A shield bearing a coat of
arms.
Esplanade:
A long, flat piece of land for walking on or for separating a fortress
from surrounding buildings.
Fairmile B motor launch:A very small
warship used primarily for coastal anti-submarine patrol, port defence
and rescue duties.
Ferry Command:
A branch of the Royal Air Force used to deliver military aircraft
from North America to Great Britain.
Field ambulance: A
medical unit whose job it was to deliver wounded soldiers from front-line
medical stations to rear-area medical facilities.
Field hospital: A
temporary hospital located near a battlefield.
Field kitchen: A
mobile cooking facility used to provide front-line personnel
with hot food. Flare:
A bright light used as a signal, especially in the air.
Fleet Air Arm (FAA): The
aviation arm of the Royal Navy.
Flotilla:A
group of small warships, such as destroyers or submarines.
Formation:A
specific grouping of military personnel.
14th Calgary Tanks: A
short form of the title for the 14th Canadian Armoured Regiment,
now The King’s Own Calgary Regiment.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: President
(Democratic Party) of the United States of America from 1933 to
1945.
Freedom of the City:An
honour given to a military unit, which allows the unit to parade
on public streets without permission of municipal authorities.
Frigate:A small warship (between
a corvette and a destroyer) specifically designed for anti-submarine
warfare.
Frogmen:Swimmers
equipped with rubber suits, flippers and an oxygen supply for underwater
protection.
Garrison duties:Guard duties performed
by units stationed in fortresses, towns or larger locations in defence
or administration of those areas.
Gestapo: The
German secret police under the National Socialist (Nazi) regime.
Great Escape:An
escape attempt by seventy-six Allied airmen from the German prisoner
of war camp Stalag Luft III, on March 24/25, 1944.
Grenade:A
small hand-held or rifle-launched bomb used by the infantry.
Gurkhas:British
Army soldiers recruited from Nepal and well-known for their toughness
and fighting abilities.
Halifax bomber:A
British-built four-engined heavy bomber used by Bomber Command,
including No. 6 (RCAF) Group, during the bombing campaign over
Europe.
Hemorrhage:The
escape of blood from a damaged blood vessel or artery.
Her/His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS):
The prefix given to all Canadian warships.
Her/His Majesty’s Ship (HMS): The
prefix given to all British warships.
Hitler Line: A
German defensive line in Italy running along a line south of Rome
captured by Canadian troops in May and June 1944.
Hurricane fighter: A
British-built monoplane (single wing) fighter aircraft used by
the Royal Canadian Air Force during the war as a fighter and fighter-bomber.
Incendiaries:Devices, especially bombs,
used to start fires.
Infantry:Traditionally, a
group of soldiers who march and fight on foot; by the Second
World War, infantry were also moved trucks (motorized infantry)
and armoured personnel carriers (mechanized infantry).
Insignia: Badges
or other distinguishing items worn to identify units and formations.
Internment:To
place in captivity.
Jaundice:A medical condition resulting
in the yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes.
Jerry:A nickname
for German soldiers.
Juno Beach: The
Normandy beach where the Canadian 3rd infantry landed on June
6, 1944."
Khaki:A dull yellish-brown fabric, or
military clothing made from khaki-coloured fabric.
Kinetheodolite: Technology
used to test the accuracy of anti-aircraft guns and equipment.
KLIM cans: Red
Cross containers of powdered milk spelled backwards as "KLIM".
Kukri: A
curved knife carried by Gurkha soldiers.
Lancaster bomber: A
British-built four-engined heavy bomber used as Bomber Command’s
primary weapon in the bombing campaign over Europe.
Landing Craft Infantry (LCI):
A small vessel able to deliver approximately
100 troops during an amphibious landing.
Landing Ship Infantry (LSI): Vessels
that carried large numbers of troops plus smaller landing craft
towards invasion beaches. There were only two in Canadian service,
the armed merchant cruisers Prince David and Prince Henry, converted
in 1943 and employed on D-Day in Normandy.
Leave: Permission
to be absent from military duty (like time off or a vacation).
Lee Enfield rifle:The
basic Canadian infantry firearm during the Second World War.
An earlier version was also used by Canadian soldiers during
the First World War.
Light aid detachment:A
support unit, often electrical and mechanical engineers, used to
provide assistance to military vehicles and equipment at, or near,
the battlefield.
Malaria:A
fever caused by a parasite carried by certain species of mosquitoes.
Manacles:Handcuffs
or restraints.
Maquis: The
French resistance movement against the German occupation of
France during the Second World War.
Medaille de Guerre: The
"War Medal", a French military decoration.
Mentioned-in-Despatches (MID): The lowest military gallantry award,
represented during the Second World War by a small bronze
oak leaf worn on the ribbon of the Canadian Volunteer Service
Medal (CVSM). Merchant ships:Unarmed
civilian freighters and other commercial vessels.
Mess:
A place where a group of individuals meet to have their meals
together.
Mess tins:Containers,
usually metal, used by soldiers to eat their meals.
M.G.: Abbreviation
for machine gun.
Military Medal (MM): The
third-highest decoration for bravery awarded to other ranks
(enlisted men and non-commissioned officers) for bravery in
an engagement against the enemy.
Militia: A
part-time, volunteer armed force of armed soldiers in peacetime.
A number of Militia units became part of the Active Force
during the Second World War and indeed formed the majority
of Canadian military units.
Mine:An
explosive device planted in the ground or below water used
to destroy enemy personnel, vehicles or ships.
Minesweeper:A
small warship designed to detect and destroy naval mines.
Minister of National Defence: The government minister responsible for
the Department of National Defence.
Missionary:
A person working to spread the beliefs of a religious faith.
Moaning Minnies: The
Allied nickname for a German multi-barrelled mortar launcher.
Mobile Command (Force Mobile
Command, FMC): The name for the
Canadian land forces from the 1960s to the mid-1990s.
Mobilize:
To activate troops and units for service in war.
Moored: Tied
down, often with a cable.
Moreuil Wood Day: The
commemoration of the Battle of Moreuil Wood, March 21, 1918,
fought between the German army and the cavalry of the Canadian
Cavalry Brigade.
Mortar: A
short cannon, often portable, used to launch bombs at high
angles, making it an extremely effective front-line infantry
weapon.
Motor torpedo boat (MTB):A
very small and fast warship designed to launch torpedoes or
depth charges against enemy warships and commercial vessels.
Murmansk: A seaport in
northwest Russia on the Barents Sea with a year-round ice-free
port.
Mutton:Item
of food formed from sheep-flesh.
Nissen hut: A half-moon-shaped structure
with walls of corrugated steel and cement floors.
Nom de guerre: An
assumed name which someone uses while on operations to disguise
their identity.
Non-commissioned officer (NCO): An
officer not holding a commission; in practice, the ranks from Corporal
up to Chief Warrant Officer, indicating positions of authority and
responsibility within an army unit (some definitions restrict the
range of ranks from Corporal to Staff Sergeant, with Warrant Officers
to Chief Warrant Officers being described as "warrant officers").
NORAD: North
American Aerospace Command, an organization established by Canada
and the United States in 1957 to coordinate defence of the North
American continent.
Nursing sister:A military nurse,
in the Canadian military a position equivalent to a Lieutenant or
Captain.
Occupation forces: Military units used
for the occupation of an area.
Oerlikon:A light anti-aircraft
gun used by Allied forces during the Second World War.
Official war artist: In
the Canadian military an artist in uniform employed to portray
scenes of military life.
Order of the British Empire (OBE):A
British award, also awarded to Canadians for military and civilian
non-combatant service (one of three levels of the decoration, the
others being a Member (MBE) and Commander (CBE)).
Orderly room: A
military centre used for unit administration and meetings.
Padre: The military term for a chaplain.
Paratrooper: A member of
a military unit equipped to be dropped into an area by parachutes
from aircraft.
Pats:
A nickname for the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
Paybook: The document
which lists vital information about a military member, including
service number, next of kin, pay information and other data.
Pennant:
A tapering flag, usually flown from the antenna of a tank or
other vehicle.
Permanent Force: The
full-time, professional force of the peacetime Canadian military.
Pipe-Major (PM): A
non-commissioned officer in command of a regiment’s pipe
band.
Platoon: A
subdivision of a company (often 30 to 35 soldiers) usually commanded
by a Lieutenant.
Plotter and range finding equipment:
This equipment helped land-based personnel
locate enemy naval activity and direct naval forces or gunfire towards
it.
Pom pom gun:A
light automatic quick-firing gun, especially on a ship.
Posthumous:"Occurring after
death". The only gallantry awards that could be awarded posthumously
were the Mentioned in Despatches and the Victoria Cross.
Prisoner of war (POW): A
member of the military who has been captured in wartime.
Raid:A quick, surprise attack.
Rations: A
fixed amount of food, provision, clothing, etc. in the military.
Reconnaissance (recce): A
military examination of an area to locate enemy forces or survey
geographical features.
Red Cross: An
international humanitarian organization responsible during the
war for, among other things, visiting prisoner of war camps
on all sides. Regiment: The
combination of one or more battalions into the primary infantry
organization.
Repatriation: The
return of an individual to his/her native land.
Royal Air Force (RAF):The
air force of Great Britain.
Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
(RCAMC): Formed in 1904, the Royal
Canadian Army Medical Corps provided personnel and equipment
for field medical services, hospitals and convalescent homes
in peacetime and during the First and Second World Wars.
Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer
Reserve (RCNVR): Organized in 1923
across Canada as a means of training naval volunteers, the reserve
eventually provided the bulk of Canada’s wartime naval
personnel.
Royal Military College (RMC): Canada’s
primary professional military school (university-level), formed
in Kingston in 1876.
Royal Navy (RN): The
naval force of Great Britain.
Sarcee Camp: A
military training camp near Calgary, Alberta.
Scheldt Estuary:
The area of land which controlled access to the large Belgian
part of Antwerp.
Scottish tartan: The distinctive
sett or pattern of cloth worn by the Scottish clans to denote
their particular clan and identify themselves to others.
Scuttle:
To sink a ship intentionally.
Sentry: A soldier on guard
duty.
Sergeant’s stripes: The
three chevrons (hooks) worn as insignia by a Sergeant.
Shell: The explosive projectile
launched by a mortar or gun.
Shell shock:
A psychological problem resulting from exposure to combat
conditions, now referred to primarily as Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder.
Shrapnel: Metal
fragments launched by an exploding shell or bomb.
Sick Berth Attendant: A member
of the navy who provides medical assistance to sick or wounded
on ships or on land (in a naval hospital).
Slit trench: A
narrow trench for a soldier.
Sniper:
A soldier trained to shoot targets from a concealed position,
often at a great distance.
Sortie:
An operational flight by a military aircraft.
Sovereign:A supreme ruler,
especially a monarch.
Special Operations Executive (SOE):A secret British organization that carried
out clandestine operations and supported resistance movements
in occupied Europe.
Spitfire:The
main British-built fighter aircraft of the Second World War. Squadron:
An organized group of military personnel and equipment –
in the air force, a group of approximately twelve to sixteen aircraft;
in the navy, a detachment of warships; in the cavalry or armoured
units, the subdivision of a regiment, usually consisting of two
or more troops; as well as in engineer or signals units.
SS troops:
Members of the German Schutzstaffeln (defence unit), the elite
guard of the German Nazi Party.
Stalag:A
German prisoner of war camp, especially those housing non-commissioned
officers and other ranks.
Starshell:
Naval ammunition that lights up to provide illumination of
targets and possibly start fires on enemy warships.
Sten gun: A
lightweight submachine gun.
Stenographer: An office
worker who takes notes in shorthand form.
Submachine gun: A hand-held,
lightweight machine gun (also known as a machine pistol).
Tank Landing Craft (TLC): Usually referred
to as Landing Craft Tank (LCT), vessels capable of carrying tanks
and other armoured vehicles and delivering them to shore during
amphibious operations.
Teletype: A means of transmitting
telegraph messages through keys and of printing incoming messages.
Tommy gun: The nickname for the
American-built Thompson .45 calibre submachine gun.
Torpedo:A self-propelled, cylindrical
missile fired at a ship that explodes upon impact.
Trench:A
long, narrow ditch used by soldiers for protection against enemy
gunfire.
Tunic:The
close-fitting coat of a military uniform.
Turret: The
low, and usually revolving, tower for a gun and its crew on a tank,
warship or aircraft.
U-boat: German
submarine of the First and Second World War years (Unterseeboot,
literally "under-sea boat").
Universal carrier:A
type of small tracked vehicle used to carry weapons, ammunition
and equipment; often referred to as a "Bren gun carrier".
Victoria Cross (VC): The highest decoration
for bravery in the militaries of the British Commonwealth; sixteen
were awarded to Canadians during the Second World War.
Victory in Europe Day (VE Day):The day the German military surrendered
– May 8, 1945.
Victory in Japan Day (VJ Day):
The day the Japanese military stopped fighting – August
15, 1945; or the day the Japanese government surrendered –
September 2, 1945.
Vickers machine gun: A .303
inch calibre medium machine gun used by the Canadian military
for infantry support.
Volunteers for hazardous service:
Troops who volunteered for highly dangerous assignments.
War booty: Slang for items captured during
military operations.
War correspondent:
A reporter who covers a war. Wardroom:
A room onboard a naval vessel reserved for the use of commissioned
officers.
William Lyon Mackenzie King:
Canadian Prime Minister (Liberal Party), 1921-1926, 1926-30
and 1935-48.
Winston Churchill: British
Prime Minister (Conservative Party), 1940-45 and 1951-55.
Wolf-pack: A group of attacking
German submarines.
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF):
A British military formation also known as the Women’s Royal
Air Force.
Wound stripe:
A small cloth or metal insignia used to indicate that the recipient
had been wounded.
Wrens: Nickname
for members of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS).
"Z" Force: The Canadian units
deployed on garrison duties in Iceland in 1940 and 1941.
