Pillars of Fire

Glossary and Introductory Notes

AA&QMG

Assistant Adjutant & Quartermaster General.

A Branch

Adjutant General's Branch of the General Staff: responsible for administration, discipline and awards.

ADMS

Assistant Director of Medical Services.

ADS

Advanced Dressing Station - most forward medical treatment posts behind the Regimental Aid Post (RAP).

AHQ

Army Headquarters.

AMC

Army Medical Corps: later to become Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC).

Anzac

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (used as term for all Australian and NZ troops).

AP

(Medical) Aid Post.

APM

Assistant Provost (Military Police) Marshal.

Area Shoot

Term used for artillery/mortar saturation bombardment of a targeted enemy area.

Army Troops

Supporting units (e.g. transport, services, logistics units in general) attached to divisional order of battle from army resources for miscellaneous duties.

Arty

Artillery.

ASC

Army Service Corps (Logistics support units), later to become Royal Army Service Corps (RASC).

Aus

Australian.

Aussie

Australian.

BAB

'Bab code' British telephone code-book post-1916.

Banjo

Australian slang for a spade.

Barrage

Artillery bombardment (different types shown in glossary).

Battery

Artillery sub-unit, level equivalent to an infantry company. Commanded by a Major.

Battle bowler

British slang for the steel helmet.

Battle Order

Reduced infantry order of dress and equipment, worn for action. Also known as 'fighting order', it disposed of the main back-pack and consisted of steel helmet, gas-mask, haversack for emergency rations and spare ammunition, webbing-belt, water bottle(s) and ammunition pouches. This facilitated freedom and speed of movement in battle.

Bde/bde

Brigade - infantry bde - fighting unit of four infantry battalions, plus supporting artillery, engineer and other support units - approximately 5,000 men. Commanded by a Brigadier/Brigadier-General.

BEF

British Expeditionary Force (original term was used for the British force sent to France and Belgium in 1914, although the term was used throughout the war to describe the total British and Empire forces deployed in the conflict).

BGGS

Brigadier-General, General Staff.

Bn/bn

Battalion (infantry, approximately 650-800 men in 1917, comprising four rifle companies, support (heavy weapons) company and HQ company). Commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel.

BGHA

Brig-Gen Heavy Artillery.

BGRA

Brig-Gen Royal Artillery. Commander of the Corps artillery units.

BGRE

Brig-Gen Royal Engineers. Commander of the Corps engineer ('Sapper') units.

'Black Hand Gang'

Expression used for a trench-raiding party.

Blighty

Common expression used for Britain (or the mother-country for some Empire troops) - 'Getting a Blighty one' meant being wounded seriously enough to be evacuated home: those who did were often a source of envy for their mates who had come through a battle unscathed.

'Blue Caps'

Nickname for the Royal Dublin Fusiliers (dating back to the Indian Mutiny).

Boche

French term for German and adopted by most Allied troops. (Sometimes seen as Bosche.)

Bomb

British term for hand-grenade.

Bombardier

RA rank equivalent to corporal.

Bomber

Infantry soldier tasked as grenade-man for attacks against enemy positions.

Bomb-proof

Well-defended position, position or dug-out which is well protected against enemy artillery or mortar bombardments. Also used colloquially to describe a lucky or clever soldier or officer.

Bomb-stop

Barricade built within a trench as an obstacle to enemy attackers.

Bonk/Bonking

To shell/shelling the enemy.

Bonzer/Bonza/bosker

Australian slang for good, or very good.

Box barrage

Artillery barrage targeted on a small ('box') area, often to protect troops carrying out a limited attack, such as a trench raid.

Bracket

Artillery method of finding the correct range to a target. Guns would 'bracket' and fire on a target area, observed by an artillery (gunner) forward observation officer (FOO). The FOO would then correct the range and direction of the guns via telephone reports to the artillery gun-line until the shells were landing 'on target'.

Brass/The Brass

Generally derogatory term used by the troops and more junior officers for senior officers and the General Staff officers.

Brig/Brig-Gen

Brigadier/Brigadier-General.

Bully Beef

Canned corned beef; as the hors d'oeuvre to 'Plum and Apple' jam, the staple diet of most of the BEF!

Bung

Processed cheese issued to the men: also known as 'cheese possessed'. Known as 'bung' for its uncanny ability to reduce the need to visit the latrines.

Bunker

German protective position, normally reinforced concrete, designed to protect HQs, medical units and shelter for forward troop concentrations etc.

Cable

Telephone land-line, generally buried to protect it against artillery fire.

Cage/PW Cage

Prisoner of War (PW) cage - a fenced and guarded PW camp close to the front line.

Camouflet

Counter-mining explosives-chamber used for destroying or disrupting the use of enemy mine-tunnels.

CB fire

Counter-Battery fire: artillery bombardment to neutralise or destroy enemy artillery batteries.

CCS

Casualty Clearing Station - main medical site behind the front-lines. Site would be tented or hutted camp.

CEF

Canadian Expeditionary Force.

CHA

Commander Heavy Artillery (of a corps).

C-in-C

Commander-in-Chief.

CO

Commanding Officer (normally of a battalion-sized unit), usually Lt-Col rank.

Company/Coy

Company. Infantry company: a tactical sub-unit of four platoons, plus company HQ. Approximately 150 men in 1917. Commanded by an OC (Officer Commanding), a Major or Captain.

'Cord' road

Corduroy trackway laid over uneven, broken or muddy ground, built from cords of wood laid at right angles to the direction of the path.

Corps

Formation usually consisting of three or four infantry divisions, with artillery, engineers, tanks, cavalry and other supporting and logistic units as part of the order of battle (ORBAT). Commanded by a Lieutenant-General (Lt-Gen) as General Officer Commanding (GOC).

CRE

Commander Royal Engineers.

Creeping barrage

Artillery bombardment (designed to protect advancing infantry while neutralising enemy defenders) which extends its range at timed intervals. Introduced to BEF in September 1916, as an improvement to the...