War and Peace

Vocabulary Exercise:

Common Terms:

A.

1. Parthian Shot
2. crossing the Rubicon
3. Pyrrhic victory
4. deterrence
5. MAD
6. scenario
7. neutral/neutrality
8. xenophobia
9. jingoism
10. Armageddon

B.

1. conscription
2. alliance
3. war of attrition
4. pacifist
5. disinformation
6. overkill
7. aftermath
8. logistics/logistical
9. morale
10. ultimatum
11. nuclear holocaust; nuclear winter
12. manoeuvres
13. warmonger

War:

A.

1. curfew
2. pre-emptive strike
3. escalate
4. infiltrate
5. incursion
6. evacuate
7. flank
8. mobilise
9. cannon fodder
10. vanguard
11. blitzkrieg
12. enclave
13. skirmish
14. pincer movement

B.

1. tactical/strategic withdrawal
2. provocation
3. retaliate
4. collateral damage
5. scorched earth policy
6. reneging
7. reprisals; atrocities
8. saturation bombing
9. violated/contravened
10. consolidate
11. theatre of war
12. convoy
13. superiority/supremacy
14. military intelligence

Peace:

A.

1. arbitrate
2. detente
3. capitulate
4. cease-fire
5. ratify
6. negotiate
7. non aggression pact/treaty
8. Carthaginian Peace
9. appeasement
10. unconditional surrender

B.

1. unilateral; bilateral
2. compromised
3. amnesty
4. mediator
5. conciliatory
6. reparations
7. comply
8. reciprocal
9. truce

Types of Conflict:

1. terrorism
2. crusade
3. propaganda
4. biological warfare
5. guerilla warfare
6. Jihad
7. counter-intelligence
8. sabotage
9. conventional warfare
10. civil war
11. espionage
12. psychological warfare

What’s the Difference?

1. Biological warfare entails using living organisms such as bacteria against the enemy whereas chemical warfare uses inorganic, toxic compounds (e.g. in the form of lethal gas) as weapons.
2. Nuclear warfare obviously entails the use of nuclear weapons whereas the term conventional warfare is employed to deliberately exclude this scenario – “conventional” referring to “regular” warfare using “usual” weapons such as guns, tanks, aircraft, etc.
3. Sectarian conflict is between religious groups whereas secular conflict is non-religious.

World War II:

1. Luftwaffe
2. Maginot line
3. Manhatten project
4. Marshall plan
5. Gestapo
6. Furhrer
7. concentration camp
8. Vichy
9. Zionism
10. anti-semitism
11. pogrom
12. Holocaust
13. Nazi
14. Facist
15. Nuremberg

Nuclear War – Word Square

(a) Alliance

Quick Quiz

1. Computerised weapons programmed to track/locate targets en route and adapt accordingly (e.g. change direction, speed, etc.)
2. The first means pieces of metal scattered by a shell when it bursts; the second means fragments left/wreckage after some act of destruction.
3. False.
4. A fusillade is a rapid continuous discharge of many firearms; a barrage is an intense concentration of artillery fire on a particular area.
5. A blockade is the complete or partial closure of a place by hostile forces to prevent contact with the outside world; a barricade is a hastily improvised obstruction put across a way to block the advance of the enemy.
6. (b)
7. A battery is a number of big guns together with the men and officers attached to them forming a unit or a set of guns mounted in a warship or fort; artillery is a more general term for any large guns connected to wheels or fixed in a ship or fort.
8. Someone who refuses to serve in the armed forces because of moral or religious beliefs. See also pacifist.
9. False – it is a chemical used to cause the leaves to drop of f plants/trees to reveal hidden enemy positions.
10. A trench is a deep ditch dug in the ground for the protection of soldiers; a parapet is a protective wall of earth or store built in front of trenches.
11. An ambush is a surprise attack from a place of hiding; an assault is a more general term for a sudden, violent attack.
12. America. Because they can fly long distances without refuelling, are extremely heavily armed and are designed to evade radar detection.
13. To kill people without damaging property.
14. SDI (Strategic Defence Initiative) to protect the USA from a nuclear assault by a system of space and land-based lasers intended to shoot down enemy missiles. It was originally considered too expensive and impractical, but the U.S. has recently renewed research on an updated version nicknamed “Son of Star Wars”!
15. A weapon which can fire repeatedly without the need of repeated manual operation.
16. The spreading of nuclear weapons-making capability and ownership to other countries. This could have a destabilising effect and make the world a more dangerous place to live in.