Documents for "Military Affairs (nonnaval)":

• air forces those portions of a nation's military organization employing heavier-than-air aircraft for reconnaissance, support of ground troops, aerial combat, and bombing of enemy lines of communication and...

• amphibious warfare employment of a combination of land and sea forces to take or defend a military objective. The general strategy is very ancient and was extensively employed by the Greeks, e.g., in the Athenian...

• antiballistic missile see guided missile.

• armor apparatus for defense of persons, horses, and such objects as vehicles, naval vessels, and aircraft. Body armor developed early as protective suits made of such materials as leather, shells, wood,...

• army large armed land force, under regular military control, organization, and discipline.

• artillery originally meant any large weaponry (including such ancient engines of war as catapults and battering rams) or war material, but later applied only to heavy firearms as opposed to small arms. Types of artillery include antiaircraft and antitank guns (which fire at high muzzle velocity through long barrels at flat trajectories) and howitzers (with shorter barrels, lower velocities, and...

• atomic bomb or A-bomb, weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of atomic energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei (see nuclear energy ). The first atomic bomb was produced at the...

• bazooka in warfare, portable, lightweight metal tube from which rockets are launched, usually operated by two men. It is used by infantry as an antitank weapon and also for attacking pillboxes and bunkers...

• biological warfare employment in war of microorganisms to injure or destroy people, animals, or crops; also called germ or bacteriological warfare. Limited attempts have been made in the past to spread disease among...

• blockhouse small fortification , usually temporary, serving as a post for a small garrison. Blockhouses seem to have come into use in the 15th cent. to prevent access to a strategically important objective such as a bridge, a...

• blowgun hollow tube from which a dart or an arrow is blown by a person's breath. The arrow was usually tipped with a poison, such as curare , which would stun or kill the struck prey. Blowguns were widely used by prehistoric peoples. In modern times they are still employed in SE Asia and by some indigenous peoples of the Amazon and...

• boomerang special form of throwing stick, used mainly by the aborigines of Australia. Other forms of throwing sticks were used by the peoples of ancient Egypt, Ethiopia, and India and by the indigenous...

• bow and arrow weapon consisting of two parts; the bow is made of a strip of flexible material, such as wood, with a cord linking the two ends of the strip to form a tension from which is propelled the arrow; the...

• camouflage in warfare, the disguising of objects with artificial aids, especially for the purpose of making them blend into their surroundings or of deceiving the observer as to the location of strategic...

• catapult mechanism used to throw missiles in ancient and medieval warfare. At first, catapults were specifically designed to shoot spears or other missiles at a low trajectory (see bow and arrow ). They were originally distinguished from ballistae and trebuchets, both of which were large military engines used to hurl stones and other missiles, but these distinctions later blurred. Later,...

• cavalry a military force consisting of mounted troops trained to fight from horseback. Horseback riding probably evolved independently in the Eurasian steppes and the mountains above the Mesopotamian...

• chemical warfare employment in war of incendiaries, poison gases , and other chemical substances. Ancient armies attacking or defending fortified cities threw burning oil and fireballs. A primitive type of flamethrower...

• civil defense nonmilitary activities designed to protect civilians and their property from enemy actions in time of war. A civil defense program usually includes measures taken during peace (e.g., building home...

• cobalt bomb see hydrogen bomb.

• commando small, elite military raiding and assault unit or soldier. Although the word was coined in the Boer War (1899-1902), the role is as old as battles themselves. In 1940, when the British organized a...

• conscription compulsory enrollment of personnel for service in the armed forces. Obligatory service in the armed forces has existed since ancient times in many cultures, including the samurai in Japan, warriors in the Aztec Empire, citizen militiamen in ancient Greece and Rome, and aristocrats and their peasants or yeomen during the Middle Ages in Europe. In England, compulsory military...

• crossbow see bow and arrow.

• cruise missile low-flying, continuously powered offensive missile designed to evade defense systems. Although the German V-1 (1944) was a simple cruise missile, the cruise missile did not realize its potential...

• decorations, civil and military honors bestowed by a government to reward services or achievements, particularly those implying valor. The practice of bestowing such decorations dates back at least to the laurel wreaths of the...

• Distinguished Service Cross   Distinguished Service Medal, and Distinguished Service Order: see decorations, civil and military.

• draft, military see conscription ; selective service.

• firearm device consisting essentially of a straight tube to propel shot, shell, or bullets by the explosion of gunpowder. Although the Chinese discovered gunpowder as early as the 9th cent., they did not develop firearms until the mid-14th cent. By that time, firearms, particularly in the form of heavy cannon, were...

• flamethrower mechanism for shooting a burning stream of liquid or semiliquid fuel at enemy troops or positions. Primitive types of flamethrowers, consisting of hollow tubes filled with burning coals, sulfur, or...

• fortification system of defense structures for protection from enemy attacks. Fortification developed along two general lines: permanent sites built in peacetime, and emplacements and obstacles hastily...

• francs-tireurs see guerrilla warfare.

• gas mask face covering or device used to protect the wearer from injurious gases and other noxious materials by filtering and purifying inhaled air. In addition to military use (see chemical warfare ), gas masks are employed in mining, in industrial chemistry, and by firemen and rescue squads. The gas mask consists essentially of a face cover with two eyepieces and a mouthpiece that...

• germ warfare see biological warfare.

• Greek fire a flammable composition believed to have consisted of sulfur, naphtha, and quicklime. Although known in antiquity, it was first employed on a large scale by the Byzantines. Bronze tubes that...

• grenade small bomb filled with explosives, gas, or chemicals and either thrown by hand or shot from a modified rifle or a grenade launcher. Grenades were in use as early as the 15th cent., and men trained...

• guerrilla warfare [Span.,=little war], fighting by groups of irregular troops (guerrillas) within areas occupied by the enemy. When guerrillas obey the laws of conventional warfare they are entitled, if captured, to...

• guided missile self-propelled, unmanned space or air vehicle carrying an explosive warhead. Its path can be adjusted during flight, either by automatic self-contained controls or remote human control. Guided...

• gun in general, any weapon that discharges shot, shells, or bullets by the explosion of gunpowder or some other explosive from a straight tube. See firearm ; artillery ; small arms.

• howitzer see artillery.

• hydrogen bomb or H-bomb, weapon deriving a large portion of its energy from the nuclear fusion of hydrogen isotopes. In an atomic bomb , uranium or plutonium is split into lighter elements that together weigh less than the original atoms, the remainder of the mass appearing as energy. Unlike this fission bomb, the hydrogen bomb...

• ICBM see guided missile.

• infantry body of soldiers who fight in an army on foot and are equipped with hand-carried weapons, in contradistinction originally to cavalry and other branches of an army. Infantry has often been divided...

• intercontinental ballistic missile see guided missile.

• intermediate range ballistic missile see guided missile.

• IRBM see guided missile.

• Iron Cross see decorations, civil and military.

• lance see spear.

• land mine see mine , in warfare.

• Legion of Honor see decorations, civil and military.

• machine gun see small arms.

• maquis see guerrilla warfare.

• marines troops that serve on board ships of war or in conjunction with naval operation. A British marine corps was established in 1664, and the need for skilled riflemen aboard military vessels brought...

• mechanized warfare employment of modern mobile attack and defense tactics that depend upon machines, more particularly upon vehicles powered by gasoline and diesel engines. Central to the waging of mechanized warfare...

• military science see strategy and tactics.

• militia military organization composed of citizens enrolled and trained for service in times of national emergency. Its ranks may be filled either by enlistment or conscription. An early prototype was the...

• mine in warfare, term formerly applied to a system of tunnels dug under an army fortification and ending in a chamber where either explosives were placed to be detonated at the chosen moment or the...

• MIRV see guided missile.

• missile, guided see guided missile.

• mortar in warfare, term originally applied to certain types of artillery with high trajectories, but later applied to an infantry weapon that consists of a tube supported by a bipod that fires a projectile at a very high trajectory. The mortar is not usually classified...

• musket see small arms.

• mutual assured destruction see nuclear strategy.

• neutron bomb see hydrogen bomb.

• nuclear strategy a policy for the use of nuclear weapons. The first atomic bombs were used in the context of the Allies' World War II policy of strategic bombing. Early in the cold war , U.S. policy was for massive retaliation with Strategic Air Command bombers in the event of war with the USSR. In 1949, after the Soviets exploded their first atomic device, the United States elaborated other policies, but these did not affect the ever-increasing...

• nuclear weapons weapons of mass destruction powered by atomic, rather than chemical, processes. Nuclear weapons produce large explosions and hazardous radioactive byproducts by means of either nuclear fission or...

• pike weapon: see spear.

• pillbox small, low fortification that houses machine guns and antitank weapons. Similar to a blockhouse, it is usually made of concrete, steel, logs, or filled sandbags. Pillboxes came into use during the...

• pistol see small arms.

• radiation weapon or radiological weapon, a bomb or warhead that uses conventional chemical explosives to disperse radioactive material, sometimes called a "dirty bomb." Designed to produce radiation sickness in a military force or a civilian population instead of destroy a target, radiation weapons typically consist of a highly radioactive material encased in lead and surrounded by a high explosive...

• radiological weapon see radiation weapon.

• recoilless rifle light artillery piece, without recoil, usually operated by two men. An American invention, it was used as an infantry weapon for attacking fortifications such as pillboxes and bunkers during the...

• revolver see small arms.

• rifle see small arms.

• shield piece of defensive armor , worn on the arm or shoulder to ward off weapons during combat, used prior to the dominance of gunpowder. Originally for individual defense during hand-to-hand combat, it is the most primitive and...

• shotgun see small arms.

• siege assault against a city or fortress with the purpose of capturing it. The history of siegecraft parallels the development of fortification and, later, artillery. In early times battering rams and bores were employed to break down the walls and gates of a fortified place (see castle ) if deception, treachery, starvation, or storm could not carry it. To protect the attackers from missiles, hot oil, and incendiaries launched by the defenders, a shelter was constructed, usually...

• small arms firearms designed primarily to be carried and fired by one person and, generally, held in the hands, as distinguished from heavy arms, or artillery.

• smart weapon missile or steerable bomb equipped with a laser , television , or satellite guidance system. Smart weapons, which use guidance systems that rely on external assistance, are distinguished from brilliant weapons, which are totally self-guided. In the case of a...

• spear primitive weapon consisting of a wooden shaft tipped with a sharp point, usually 8 to 9 ft (2.4-2.7 m) in length. The point was made first of flint, later of bronze, and ultimately of steel; the...

• Star Wars see Strategic Defense Initiative.

• stealth technology designs and materials engineered for the military purpose of avoiding detection by radar or any other electronic system. Stealth, or antidetection, technology is applied to vehicles (e.g., tanks),...

• Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), U.S. government program responsible for research and development of a space-based system to defend the nation from attack by strategic ballistic missiles (see guided missile ). The program is administered by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (until 1993 the Strategic Defense Initiative Office), a separate agency in the U.S. Dept. of Defense. SDI, popularly referred to as "Star Wars," was announced by President Ronald Reagan in a speech in Mar., 1983, and was derided by his critics as unrealistic. Space programs from other agencies and services were brought together in the...

• strategy and tactics in warfare, related terms referring, respectively, to large-scale and small-scale planning to achieve military success. Strategy may be defined as the general scheme of the conduct of a war,...

• sword weapon of offense and defense in personal combat, consisting of a blade with a sharp point and one or two cutting edges, set in a hilt with a handle protected by a metal case or cross guard. The...

• tactics see strategy and tactics.

• tank, military armored vehicle having caterpillar traction and armed with machine guns, cannon, rockets, or flame throwers. The tank, together with the airplane, opened up modern warfare, which had been...

• trench warfare Although trenches were used in ancient and medieval warfare, in the American Civil War, and in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5), they did not become important until World War I. The introduction of...

• underground see guerrilla warfare.

• war armed conflict between states or nations (international war) or between factions within a state (civil war), prosecuted by force and having the purpose of compelling the defeated side to do the...

• warfare violent conflict between armed enemies. In modern times warfare has usually been conducted by the armed forces (e.g., army, navy, and air force) of a nation or other politically organized group...