World War One Vocab
Ace An ace was a fighter pilot with five or more confirmed victories or ‘kills’. To be
confirmed, another pilot had to testify to having witnessed the outcome.
Aerial Photographs of the battlefield from over-flying aeroplanes hugely added to
photography the accuracy of intelligence available to generals.
Airship Flying machine with gasbags for lift, and engines driving propellers for
propulsion. Wartime examples included German zeppelins.
Anti-aircraft (AA) Detecting and combating enemy aircraft, using balloons, fighter planes and
defences guns on the ground. AA guns shooting at aircraft were known as ‘flak’ (from
German) and ‘Archie’ (after a popular song).
Artillery spotting Identifying targets for artillery guns out of visual sight, and reporting on the
accuracy of the guns’ fire by noting where the shells landed.
Biplane An aircraft with two wings, set one above the other. A triplane had three
wings. A monoplane has one wing.
“Bite and hold” A term used to describe the tactic of capturing part of the enemy trench line
and then defending it when the Germans counterattacked.
Bombsight A bombing aid that enabled aircrew to locate a target and drop bombs with
greater accuracy, allowing for variables such as wind and aircraft speed.
British Army sent to France by Britain on the outbreak of war in 1914 to assist the
Expeditionary French army on the Western Front. It included the Royal Flying Corps.
Force
Carrier pigeon Homing pigeons were used by the army to carry messages; the British used
more than 20,000 pigeons on the Western Front.
Combined arms Fighting the enemy by blending together the different branches of the army,
tactics for example, artillery, infantry and tanks.
Creeping barrage An artillery bombardment, where the shells are meant to keep falling just
ahead of the attacking troops.
Conscientious Someone who refuses conscription for military service on grounds of
Objector conscience or religious belief.
Flamethrower Incendiary weapon that used gas to project burning liquid at the enemy.
Carried by a soldier, a flamethrower was effective, but the carrier was usually
quickly targeted.
GHQ General Head Quarters, comprising military staff officers who advised the
commander-in-chief on policy and administration and helped him to carry out
his plans.
Going over the Leaving the trench and attacking the enemy across no-man’s-land.
top
Gotha The main German bomber.
Grenade A small bomb thrown by soldiers. British grenades looked like small
pineapples; Germans threw stick grenades with wooden handles.
Hindenburg Line A heavily fortified German defence system, prepared over the winter 1916-
1917.
Interrupter Gear System linking a plane’s forward-firing gun to the rotation of the engine, so
that bullets were ‘interrupted’ to prevent them hitting the propeller blades.
This intervention made gun aiming more a matter of pointing the plane at the
enemy.
Kite balloon A sausage-shaped balloon, with fins for stability, tethered to the ground. It
was the forerunner of the later anti-aircraft ‘barrage balloon’.
Lice The human body-louse Pediculus humanus humanus was a parasitic pest that
few soldiers in the trenches escaped. It dwelt on the body, and in clothing and
Ace An ace was a fighter pilot with five or more confirmed victories or ‘kills’. To be
confirmed, another pilot had to testify to having witnessed the outcome.
Aerial Photographs of the battlefield from over-flying aeroplanes hugely added to
photography the accuracy of intelligence available to generals.
Airship Flying machine with gasbags for lift, and engines driving propellers for
propulsion. Wartime examples included German zeppelins.
Anti-aircraft (AA) Detecting and combating enemy aircraft, using balloons, fighter planes and
defences guns on the ground. AA guns shooting at aircraft were known as ‘flak’ (from
German) and ‘Archie’ (after a popular song).
Artillery spotting Identifying targets for artillery guns out of visual sight, and reporting on the
accuracy of the guns’ fire by noting where the shells landed.
Biplane An aircraft with two wings, set one above the other. A triplane had three
wings. A monoplane has one wing.
“Bite and hold” A term used to describe the tactic of capturing part of the enemy trench line
and then defending it when the Germans counterattacked.
Bombsight A bombing aid that enabled aircrew to locate a target and drop bombs with
greater accuracy, allowing for variables such as wind and aircraft speed.
British Army sent to France by Britain on the outbreak of war in 1914 to assist the
Expeditionary French army on the Western Front. It included the Royal Flying Corps.
Force
Carrier pigeon Homing pigeons were used by the army to carry messages; the British used
more than 20,000 pigeons on the Western Front.
Combined arms Fighting the enemy by blending together the different branches of the army,
tactics for example, artillery, infantry and tanks.
Creeping barrage An artillery bombardment, where the shells are meant to keep falling just
ahead of the attacking troops.
Conscientious Someone who refuses conscription for military service on grounds of
Objector conscience or religious belief.
Flamethrower Incendiary weapon that used gas to project burning liquid at the enemy.
Carried by a soldier, a flamethrower was effective, but the carrier was usually
quickly targeted.
GHQ General Head Quarters, comprising military staff officers who advised the
commander-in-chief on policy and administration and helped him to carry out
his plans.
Going over the Leaving the trench and attacking the enemy across no-man’s-land.
top
Gotha The main German bomber.
Grenade A small bomb thrown by soldiers. British grenades looked like small
pineapples; Germans threw stick grenades with wooden handles.
Hindenburg Line A heavily fortified German defence system, prepared over the winter 1916-
1917.
Interrupter Gear System linking a plane’s forward-firing gun to the rotation of the engine, so
that bullets were ‘interrupted’ to prevent them hitting the propeller blades.
This intervention made gun aiming more a matter of pointing the plane at the
enemy.
Kite balloon A sausage-shaped balloon, with fins for stability, tethered to the ground. It
was the forerunner of the later anti-aircraft ‘barrage balloon’.
Lice The human body-louse Pediculus humanus humanus was a parasitic pest that
few soldiers in the trenches escaped. It dwelt on the body, and in clothing and
