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fyrd
fyrd, tribal militia-like arrangement existing in Anglo-Saxon England from approximately ad 605. Local in character,......
G.I. Bill
G.I. Bill, U.S. legislation adopted in 1944 that provided various benefits to veterans of World War II. Through......
general
general, title and rank of a senior army officer, usually one who commands units larger than a regiment or its......
general staff
general staff, in the military, a group of officers that assists the commander of a division or larger unit by......
Geuzen
Geuzen, the largely Calvinist Dutch guerrilla and privateering forces whose military actions initiated the Netherlands’......
Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), patriotic organization of American Civil War veterans who served in the Union......
Green Berets
Green Berets, elite armed force and unit of the U.S. Army specializing in counterinsurgency. The Green Berets (whose......
grenadier
grenadier, soldier particularly selected and trained to hurl grenades. The earliest grenadiers (late 16th century)......
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, resolution put before the U.S. Congress by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 5,......
Gurkha
Gurkha, soldier from Nepal serving in either the British or Indian army. The term Gurkha refers to the region around......
Harlem Hellfighters
Harlem Hellfighters, nickname given to the 369th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army during World War I.......
Henry Kissinger: A Life in Pictures
Henry Kissinger, who served as national security adviser and secretary of state in the administrations of U.S.......
hetman
hetman, military title used in the Polish–Lithuanian state (16th–18th century); the hetman wielki (“great hetman”)......
Hewlett-Packard Company
Hewlett-Packard Company, American manufacturer of software and computer services and a major brand in the history......
Honor, Medal of
Medal of Honor, the foremost U.S. military decoration, instituted by Congress in 1861 for the navy and in 1862......
hoplite
hoplite, heavily armed ancient Greek foot soldier whose function was to fight in close formation. Until his appearance,......
hussar
hussar, member of a European light-cavalry unit employed for scouting, modeled on the 15th-century Hungarian light-horse......
hwarangdo
hwarangdo, youth group following a unique military and philosophical code developed in the ancient Korean state......
Hünkâr İskelesi, Treaty of
Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi, (July 8, 1833), defensive alliance signed between the Ottoman Empire and Russia at the......
impressment
impressment, enforcement of military or naval service on able-bodied but unwilling men through crude and violent......
infantry
infantry, troops who fight on foot, even though transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, aircraft, tanks......
International Brigades
International Brigades, groups of foreign volunteers who fought on the Republican side against the Nationalist......
Iron Cross
Iron Cross, Prussian military decoration instituted in 1813 by Frederick William III for distinguished service......
Iron Dome
Iron Dome, short-range mobile air defense system developed for Israel by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel......
Janissary
Janissary, member of an elite corps in the standing army of the Ottoman Empire from the late 14th century to 1826.......
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff, panel of high-ranking U.S. military officers who advise the president of the United States......
knight
knight, now a title of honour bestowed for a variety of services, as in the British system of nobility and peerage,......
Knox, Fort
Fort Knox, major U.S. military reservation in Meade, Hardin, and Bullitt counties, northern Kentucky, U.S. It lies......
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial, monument in Washington, D.C., honouring the U.S. military personnel who served in......
Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), ethnic Albanian Kosovar militant group active during the 1990s that sought Kosovo’s......
La Trémoille Family
La Trémoille Family, noble family that contributed numerous generals to France. The family’s name was taken from......
Landsknecht
Landsknecht, German mercenary pikeman of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. At the height of their success,......
launch on warning
launch on warning (LOW), military strategy that allows high-level commanders to launch a retaliatory nuclear-weapons......
legion
legion, a military organization, originally the largest permanent organization in the armies of ancient Rome. The......
levée en masse
levée en masse, a French policy for military conscription. It was first decreed during the French Revolutionary......
lieutenant
lieutenant, company grade officer, the lowest rank of commissioned officer in most armies of the world. The lieutenant......
limited nuclear options
limited nuclear options (LNO), military strategy of the Cold War era that envisioned a direct confrontation between......
Little Entente
Little Entente, mutual defense arrangement among Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania during the period between......
Locarno, Pact of
Pact of Locarno, (Dec. 1, 1925), series of agreements whereby Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Italy......
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe, component of the German armed forces tasked with the air defense of Germany and fulfillment of the country’s......
major
major, a military rank standing above captain. It is the lowest field-grade rank. The term was originally used......
marine
marine, member of a military force especially recruited, trained, and organized for service at sea and in land......
marshal
marshal, in some past and present armies, including those of Britain, France, Germany, Russia or the Soviet Union,......
Mercedarian
Mercedarian, member of a Roman Catholic religious order founded by St. Peter Nolasco in Spain in 1218 for the purpose......
mercenary
mercenary, hired professional soldier who fights for any state or nation without regard to political interests......
Merit, Legion of
Legion of Merit, the only U.S. military decoration that has distinct ranks, and the first U.S. medal to be awarded......
midshipman
midshipman, title used in the Royal Navy from about 1660 for “young gentlemen” in training at sea to qualify for......
military intelligence
military intelligence, in military science, information concerning an enemy or an area. The term is also used for......
military law
military law, the body of law concerned with the maintenance of discipline in the armed forces. Every state requires......
Military League
Military League, group of young Greek army officers who, emulating the Young Turk Committee of Union and Progress,......
military police
military police, disciplinary force, composed of soldiers, that exercises police and related functions in armies.......
military unit
military unit, a group having a prescribed size and a specific combat or support role within a larger military......
military, naval, and air academies
military, naval, and air academies, schools for the education and training of officers for the armed forces. Their......
military-industrial complex
military-industrial complex, network of individuals and institutions involved in the production of weapons and......
militia
militia, military organization of citizens with limited military training, which is available for emergency service,......
minuteman
minuteman, in U.S. history, an American Revolution militiaman who agreed to be ready for military duty “at a minute’s......
Mocenigo Family
Mocenigo Family, one of the most renowned patrician families of the Venetian Republic, to which it supplied military......
Morosini family
Morosini family, noble Venetian family that gave four doges and several generals and admirals to the Republic,......
mutual assured destruction
mutual assured destruction, principle of deterrence founded on the notion that a nuclear attack by one superpower......
Napoleon’s major battles
From the Siege of Toulon (August 28–December 19, 1793) to the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815), Napoleon shaped......
National Guard, U.S.
U.S. National Guard, reserve group organized by the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. Every state and territory of......
National Security Act
National Security Act, U.S. military- and foreign-policy reform legislation, signed into law by Pres. Harry S.......
National World War II Memorial
National World War II Memorial, monument in Washington, D.C., dedicated both to the Americans who served in World......
nauarch
nauarch, in ancient Greece, an admiral or supreme commander of the navy, used as an official title primarily in......
navy
navy, a nation’s warships and craft of every kind maintained by armed forces for fighting on, under, or over the......
Navy SEAL
Navy SEAL, in the U.S. Navy, a member of a special operations armed force trained to engage in direct raids or......
New Look
New Look, U.S. military strategy developed by the administration of Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower and articulated......
New Model Army
New Model Army, army formed in February 1645 that won the English Civil War for Parliament and itself came to exercise......
New South Wales Corps
New South Wales Corps, (1789–1818), British military force formed for service in the convict colony of New South......
noncommissioned officer
noncommissioned officer (NCO), military officer appointed by a commissioned officer, generally to supervise enlisted......
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), military alliance established in 1949 that sought to create a counterweight......
Notitia Dignitatum
Notitia Dignitatum, official list of all ancient Roman civil and military posts, surviving as a 1551 copy of the......
nuclear proliferation
nuclear proliferation, the spread of nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons technology, or fissile material to countries......
nuclear triad
nuclear triad, a three-sided military-force structure consisting of land-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-missile-armed......
officer cadet
officer cadet, a young person undergoing training to become an armed forces officer. The term cadet arose in France,......
Organization of American States
Organization of American States (OAS), organization formed to promote economic, military, and cultural cooperation......
panzer division
panzer division, (“armoured division”), a self-contained combined-arms military unit of the German army, built......
paramilitary
paramilitary, group or organization that operates outside a country’s formal military structure. Paramilitaries......
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, naval base and headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Honolulu county, southern Oahu Island, Hawaii,......
Pentagon
Pentagon, large five-sided building in Arlington county, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., that serves as the headquarters......
People’s Liberation Army
People’s Liberation Army, Unified organization of China’s land, sea, and air forces. It is one of the largest military......
phalanx
phalanx, in military science, tactical formation consisting of a block of heavily armed infantry standing shoulder......
platoon
platoon, principal subdivision of a military company, battery, or troop. Usually commanded by a lieutenant, it......
police action
police action, isolated military undertaking that does not require a declaration of war. Police action is intended......
Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference, (July 17–August 2, 1945), Allied conference of World War II held at Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin.......
Pour le Mérite
Pour le Mérite, distinguished Prussian order established by Frederick II the Great in 1740, which had a military......
private
private, in most armies, the lowest grade of enlisted personnel. In the armies of the United States, Germany, and......
private military company
private military company (PMC), independent corporation that offers military services to national governments,......
Purple Heart
Purple Heart, the first U.S. military decoration, instituted by General George Washington in 1782 and awarded for......
Quartering Act
Quartering Act, (1765), in American colonial history, the British parliamentary provision (actually an amendment......
quartermaster
quartermaster, officer who superintends arrangements for the quartering and movement of troops. In Europe the office......
Quds Force
Quds Force, elite clandestine wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), responsible primarily for......
ranger
ranger, in U.S. military usage, a soldier specially trained to act in small groups that make rapid surprise raids......
Ranks, Table of
Table of Ranks, (Jan. 24, 1722), classification of grades in the Russian military, naval, and civil services into......
Red Army
Red Army, Soviet army created by the Communist government after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The name Red......
regiment
regiment, in most armies, a body of troops headed by a colonel and organized for tactical control into companies,......
Rosyth
Rosyth, town and naval base in Fife council area and historic county, Scotland, on the north shore of the Firth......
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force (RAF), youngest of the three British armed services, charged with the air defense of the United......

Military Encyclopedia Articles By Title